Welcome back!

[Mark Thomas]

Welcome back to Unsung Composers. I'm sorry that UC has been offline for a couple of days but the down time was needed to implement the changes which you'll have noticed as soon as you logged on.

The background
As you know, a few weeks ago I asked for expressions of interest from members who would be prepared to take over UC as Alan and I wished to step down from ownership and moderation duties. Unfortunately credible proposals were not forthcoming. So we have decided to carry on but to revert Unsung Composers to its original purpose as a discussion board focussing on unsung music of the romantic era or written in the romantic style. Exactly what we mean by "romantic" is the subject of another post.

The changes
In the process we have simplified the forum, reducing it to just three discussion boards: the main Composers & Music board, a merged board for Recordings and Broadcasts discussion and a Downloads board. These are supported by a board about the web site itself, Suggestions & Problems, into which have been merged all the posts from the three previous boards serving this function. Still accessible, but now read-only, are three archived boards to which have been moved the previous Downloads and its associated Downloads Discussions boards, together with content from the Composer Reference board which no longer fits a forum refocussed on romantic music. Other still-relevant posts from that board have been moved to the Composers & Music board. The only posts which are no longer available anywhere are those in the old Download Requests board, now irrelevant as the Downloads board itself has been archived, and the Trading Post board, which was a largely unused feature.

The future of downloads
In view of the ongoing concern about copyright, we have now restricted the Downloads board to posts of recordings of radio broadcasts. Any discussions about downloads should take place in the Composers and Music board.

Semloh joins the team!
I'm delighted to announced that Semloh, a highly respected and senior member of the forum, will be joining Alan and me in the moderation team from the beginning of October. As a long standing member, he has much experience to bring to the role and has the added benefit of hailing from Australia, so moderation coverage will no longer be confined to the UK's waking hours.

Our thanks
Alan and I are hugely grateful to all members of Unsung Composers for their forbearance whilst we worked though this difficult issue and particularly for all the generous messages of support, both public and private, which we have received. Inevitably, this refocussing and simplifying of UC won't please everybody in every respect, but we are certain that it enables us both, now ably joined by Semloh, to return with enthusiasm and enjoyment to the job of running the forum. I hope that those feelings will be shared by its members, who have contributed so much of their own time and expertise into building UC into the civilised, co-operative community and great resource which it has become.

[Lionel Harrsion]

this refocussing and simplifying of UC won't please everybody in every respect...

For what it's worth, Mark, it certainly pleases me.  I am very grateful to you and Alan for being prepared to continue with running the forum in its renewed (and, if I may say, improved) form and thanks also to Semloh for making up the moderating triumvirate. 

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Lionel. Much appreciated,

[Mark Thomas]

Indeed.

[Greg K]

Like Lionel certain of the membership here will feel relieved or even celebratory about the rollback,
but I can't be alone in feeling huge disappointment together with resigned acceptance over it myself.  In time I'll appreciate and be grateful there's still something, - but for right now I'm in the dumps.

[shamokin88]

Things being what they are, it is clear that I will not be able to contribute much from this point on. Please do not misunderstand - it is just that the bulk of my collection and the core of my interests fall outside UC's newly-defined boundaries. I will watch this site with sympathetic interest and wish to everyone the very best, especially the hard-pressed moderators.

Shamokin88

[Alan Howe]

So sorry, Greg, but the old version of UC was just too unwieldy, unmanageable and unenjoyable for us to continue with. I hope you'll still want to contribute when you can..

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks nonetheless for your measured and understanding, if regretful, reactions.

[Arbuckle]

Interesting how things get out of hand, even with no one's evil intent. I, too, will miss the expanded version very much, and will have basically nothing more to contribute. None of that means I don't appreciate the original intent of the Forum, in fact the British Archive alone is one of the best things to happen to me in my entire collectaholic life, and I thank you for it. I will still try to find broadcasts of appropriate pieces, and I hope others will, too, especially those of you in Europe (Germany in particular)  but here in the US such are very slim pickin's. If anyone finds a broken link to anything I have uploaded of the not-so-romantic styles, please don't hesitate to PM me and I will try to send you fresh links, also in PMs. Also, if anyone knows of another forum that embraces more 20th and 21st century music, I would love to hear about, being an unredeemable collectaholic and all. Oh, well... Jim

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Jim. We'll look forward to whatever you feel you can contribute in the future.

[woofer]

Thank you for continuing to do the work which allows so many to inform the more. Woofer.

[kyjo]

 I hate to say this, but I'm in a pretty black mood after seeing the changes. I love music of the romantic era, but I also have a passion for accessible, tonal modern music. There is no site called "Unsung Modern Composers", so where will those, who, like I and other members of this site, go to discuss and upload modern music? I am sure UC will continue to be a great site, but I will, unfortunately, not have as much enthusiasm for the site as when I joined .

[Alan Howe]

That's your choice, kyjo. We simply can't be all things to all men. It's impossible.

[ahinton]

That's your choice, kyjo. We simply can't be all things to all men. It's impossible.

Of course you can't - and why should you try in any case? Unsung means unsung, does it not? Eitgher we have the forum as it is, devoted to unsung composers of all kinds and all persuasions from all eras or we seek to divide and (not) rule by fragmenting it into who knows how many special agenda fora which might still risk leaving something out.

[Mark Thomas]

Well, we have chosen a narrower path, Alastair, I'm afraid.