The future of Unsung Composers

[calico]

I feel rather sad at the suggestion that we should be expelled if we don't contribute enough to discussions. I must admit that I hadn't altogether taken on board that the forum was supposed to be about 19th century music, or realised how far it had diverged from its original purpose, probably because I became aware of it while searching for obscure early 20th century British composers.  I joined the forum about 18 months ago because it's a wonderful repository of musical knowledge and, as others have said, almost entirely without the unpleasantness seen on so many other forums. I enjoy reading and learning, but rarely know enough to contribute myself. I have particularly enjoyed watching Albion's wonderful British music broadcast section grow, (thanks, Albion!) and downloading what interests me, without realising that that was providing extra headaches for Alan and Mark.

I have no particular solution to suggest, other than saying that, like others here, I'd be prepared to pay a subscription, if that would help. And I'd like to add my thanks to Mark and Alan for everything they've done - it's a great achievement.

[Leea25]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with Amphissa's suggestion. I think it would actually create more work. I honestly really dislike the whole idea (largely because I would be booted out!), but even if it were implemented, I think it would mean more things to do. If it were not a simple, 'x number of posts and you're in' system, which as you say, could be easily circumvented by a lot of 'yes, what a lovely idea' posts, then it would mean moderators would have to look at each individual's posts and make judgements on the merits of those posts - another job to do, and perhaps not a terribly pleasant one.

It is the nature of all boards like this that the majority of members are 'lurkers'. Admitedly, some of them are just there to grab the downloads (and I was horrified to read that some dishonest people had been selling downloads from another forum!), but most people join because they are interested. I spend hours every week reading this forum, but as I mentioned earlier, unfortunately contribute little.

Lee

[Alan Howe]

Thanks to the two last posters - and rest assured it is precisely folk such as yourselves that we are privileged to welcome to this site.

[Leea25]

Thank you Alan 

[TerraEpon]

I always -- always -- hated any forum that required contribution of some sort. Not everyone has something new to put on the table or is even comfortable making a public post (for whatever reason). Certainly the requirement to register to DL is fine, but forcing contribution? /Especially/ so-called 'meaningful'? It's something that's an incredibly uncomfortable idea.

[mikehopf]

In view of the large number of replies in this section of UC, the following suggestion may have been made by another member so apologies in advance for any duplication of ideas.

I would suggest that rather than posting material straight to the Downloads Section, potential contributors write to say which work(s) they are prepared to upload with reasons for their choice. The level of interest can then be gauged by the number of positive replies. If more than, say, 5 members request the upload and it is approved by Mark & Alan, then it can be uploaded to the relevant Country Section. If only one or two members express an interest then some private arrangements can be made via the Message Section.

The same system can be used with Download Requests: the work can be offered as a UC Download if enough members want it or simply sent to the requestor by private arrangements.

All I can say for this method is : it has worked well for me!

[calico]

Thanks, Alan, it's reassuring that you don't plan to expel lurkers like Lee and myself (and many others) who rarely post but who always appreciate others' posts.

[britishcomposer]

I would suggest that rather than posting material straight to the Downloads Section, potential contributors write to say which work(s) they are prepared to upload with reasons for their choice. The level of interest can then be gauged by the number of positive replies. If more than, say, 5 members request the upload and it is approved by Mark & Alan, then it can be uploaded to the relevant Country Section. If only one or two members express an interest then some private arrangements can be made via the Message Section.

Mike, I had the same idea but did not post it here because I have reservations about it: there may be just three or four members who are interested TODAY but a few weeks later new members may have joined UC and be very much interested. They may not find the posting because it is buried among so many other similar postings and therefore cannot joing the ranks of supporters of an upload. Anyway: is it actually a waste of time and energy to upload a piece if there is just ONE person on this planet interested in it? 
But, as Alan said before, it's the whole site, not just the downloads section which needs a major recast.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks to you all for your many helpful suggestions. Mark and I have decided to close this thread now as we think it has probably served its purpose. Of course, any members who come up with some spiffing new idea are welcome to send a message via the site or to email us privately. We'll let you all know in due course what our preferred solution is going to be.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks to everybody for contributing to this debate. I've reinstated this temporary board, not for a continuation of the discussion but to make a statement:

I've had a good opportunity to think about the future of UnsungComposers whilst on holiday and Alan and I have also discussed the issue fully in the last few weeks. Much as we would like to, it seems to us both that it would be selfish of us to attempt to return UnsungComposers to its original remit as a forum solely for discussion of the music of the romantic era. The changing membership and growth in the forum's features (particularly the Downloads board) have dictated the direction which the forum has taken, a direction which unfortunately has diluted our own interest in some of its content. Added to which, to be honest we are both weary of the job of administering UC. I have been doing it since I launched the Raff Forum almost a decade ago and Alan has been sharing the job, and shouldering much of the burden, since UnsungComposers itself was launched. Trying to maintain a high and civil standard of discussion, keeping threads on track and relevant and ensuring that downloads offered keep to our guidelines turns out to be a surprisingly time-consuming job. We are extremely grateful for all the messages of support which we've received recently but we agree that it's time for us to pass UnsungComposers on to other hands to look after.

As I own the site, I'm legally responsible for what goes on here and so it will not only be necessary to find new moderators/administrators, I need to transfer ownership to someone else. I don't want paying for the site but obviously the new owner will be responsible for the running costs, which are modest: currently they stand at about £125/$195 a year. There may be some charges involved in the transfer of ownership of domain names and web hosting account; they must also be met by the new owner but I don't anticipate them to be a large sum. If it's needed, I'll be happy to give some short term initial guidance for using the site's software and web hosting set up.

So, we are now looking for expressions of interest from members in taking over the ownership and management of UnsungComposers. Because we want to make sure that the site continues to be well and responsibly run, we expect to see teams of at least two people put forward; we'd like to know who the owner will be, who the moderators/administrators would be and any ideas the new team may have for developing the site. This isn't an appropriate issue for public posts, so EMAILS ONLY, NOT PERSONAL MESSAGES VIA THE WEBSITE to me please, with a copy to Alan. The deadline will be Monday 13 August.

Needless to say Alan and I will remain active and enthusiastic members of the forum.