I probably did get frustrated this morning when I saw the number of posts following my suggestions concerning the possibility that a simple FAQ or Sticky or some posted guidelines might be helpful. Seems like everyone was more interested in fretting over whether or not Sheriff had insulted me or not ("not" incidently - I'm not the only one who needs to lighten up here). Also Nigel's daily emails to me are very troubling - he has this belief that I am trying to reform this forum to suit me alone... with an FAQ? And overall there is a lot of "we can't do this or that" with no counterpoint as to what we CAN do. It's all very negative... so few ideas.

We have so much being used for so little: a General Forum - the perfect place to discuss overall synth issues of any kind. We have The Bar - a nice place for OT posts of any kind. And we have the Arranger Forum - great for discussion about arrangers. Now why can't we make a Sticky that goes at the top of these forums with some posting guidelines and/or suggestions? Lots of forums have this feature and it's nothing instrusive or threatening - I don't even want to be involved in drafting it. That's so low-keyed a suggestion that it couldn't possibly hurt anyone, but I can't even get a light discussion about it going and Nigel is quick to veto anything I say now without providing a better idea of his own.

Why am I even bothering to pursue this topic when so many seem interested in keeping the status quo? One member here said it well:

"If I were to come upon the Arranger Forum as a newbie today would I be interested in sticking around? I can't really say. All I know is that everything has its ebb and flow. Right now this forum seems to be ebbing. Maybe it's the lack of new information, maybe it's the interests of the newer members. Whatever it is, it is. We can all make the SZ whatever we want it to be as long as we stay active. When we move into the background, others will step forward to take our places - and make it their own.

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 04-13-2005).]"

Here is the current guidelines for posting, written by Nigel I assume:

"Please keep discussion to music related topics. Vendors are welcome to make product announcements & participate. Offensive postings will be removed, as well as warez related messages or any messages that may infringe copyright. This is simply to ensure a constructive & useful resource for you to use."

The current FAQ conerns how to use Smilies and such. With the exception of the "music-related topics" there are no real guidelines. Couldn't this stand a little updating, if only to "ensure a constructive and useful resource"?

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 04-29-2005).]