Hello All,

What on earth is happening at Synthzone?

I have been coming here for years and it has never been as bad as this. Petty arguments over whose gear is better is one thing but personal attacks are quite another.

Then in the middle of it all we have members taking obvious delight in stirring the pot a little more in order to provoke a response.

If you take the view that this is 'Just the Internet' then feel free to tell me to get a real life.

HOWEVER.... in my opinion this may be just an online forum and I may not have actually met the majority of you BUT this in no way de-values my interactions or relationships here. I actually care as much about what happens here as I would if a group of my 'non internet' friends were at each others throats. Words can hurt others just as much if they are written as when they are spoken out loud.

I have tried to leave when things have got silly in the past but this forum draws you back somehow. However we need to sort ourselves out otherwise Synthzone will stop being special. All of us have more than enough hassle to cope with in everyday life without signing on here for a heap more.

I made a resolution a while ago to try not to post negatively when someone got my back up. Lately it has been hard to keep BUT if we all tried I am sure that things would get back to how they should be.

I'm not having a go at anyone, I'm not apportioning any blame, I don't care who said this and who said that and above all I am not taking sides.

All I am asking is that we all think about what we write BEFORE we write it, think again BEFORE we retaliate (or at least keep it in private emails) and try to remember that there are real people who will be affected for good or for bad by what we post here.

Of course I don't want Synthzone to become a sanitised eutopia of politeness where there is no passion. Healthy debate is a good thing and something that the members here excell in. BUT there is a big difference between healthy debate and what has been going on here lately.

I am not trying to be superior or patronising here, beleive me some of the posts in my head lately have been as bad as the worst of recent examples. BUT at least I managed to KEEP THEM IN MY HEAD and as a result no-one has been hurt or offended by my words. After a day or two passed I was so relieved I had not posted them because I want my friends to see the best of me not the worst.

Well that is it. If you agree with my observations or not I am sure that we all agree that Synthzone is worth the effort. That is a good starting point imo.

Best wishes to all
Tony

Hello Boo,

Actually I had a similar situation. I bid for and won a TC helicon voice prism a little while ago. Dave said when I had put my bid in that he could beat the price. However because I had bid I felt obligated to honour it however much I would have prefered to buy from someone I knew and trusted. I was hoping to be outbid but it did not happen. I explained this to Dave and he understood that a bid is a bid.

Typically however the voice prism was damaged on arrival and I am still trying to sort the mess out! So no voice prism and the money I had saved for it gone! Still it could be worse! I have had over a hundred flawless ebay transactions both buying and selling so it won't put me off.

I hope you enjoy your laptop! My employer very kindly bought me a Dell laptop last year so I got rid of my aging Sony Vaio. I think my employer knew what he was doing though because now I don't take a book to bed I take the laptop and catch up on work!!!

At first I was going to use the Laptop for music as well but ended up using the laptop for work and my own pc for everything else!

Best wishes
Tony

Hi Tony,
It sure is good to have you back with us after your travels.
DonM

I participate in about eight forums regularly, both online and in subscribed newsgroups. None are more "sensitive" than Synth Zone... bruises appear with so little provocation here that it feels like egg shells are everywhere.

I used "WTF" in an Arranger post recently and got several responses about "the use of profanity" when I've seen WTF used regularly in other forums with no notice at all (heck, it's an abbreviation! It means whatever you want it to mean). Touchy, touchy.

Why people in this forum have to be so careful and polite is beyond me - more like a tea party for old ladies than a gathering of musicians. I wouldn't be so restrained in my comments in real life so why would I want to do it here? Measure twice, write once? I'd rather not write at all. How many movies do you sit through that only have good guys in them? That would be pretty dull, eh?

Loosen up the belts ladies and leave your regrets at church - the men need a little room to exercise their opinions. A few egos could stand a bruise or two if only to keep them from growing entirely out of proportion, just like in real life.

Sometimes you gotta say WTF...

Jim, the difference..on line comments, you don't have to face consequences for your actions[words]...allowing most of us to get away with anything we say....In the real "bar"...you are face to face, and comments that we put in print on line..if they were spoken in the presence of my family or friends..would probably annoy me enough..that you would land on your butt...very much unlike a tea party...BTW, I love my tea,,matter of fact, I am going to have a cup now..

......Maybe, if your vocabulary skills are challanged, or your Momma never taught you any manners. I see these forums as public places, and in my world - abusive language is never tolerated in public places.
BTW - what do you have against ladies or church goers? A real man would know how to behave in the presence of both.

Again, thank you UD, you have eloquently summed up the feelings of more than a few of us, I think.


[This message has been edited by mikeathome1 (edited 01-11-2005).]

I've seen the WTF abbreviation before and though I don't normally choose to use it, the WTF abbreviation is merely the universally & commonly accepted on the internet acroynm used to express ANGER & FRUSTRATION :
http://www.mp3-faq.org/tips/abbrv.html

of which its emotion (as clearly evidenced by your reactions) CANNOT be matched by a legitimate word.

Come on guys: NONE of us are saints (I'm not), or should be shocked (or appalled) to read this, especially coming from members who claim to work & play in bars, where this kind of talk is commonplace. I'm willing to bet everyone of you (including myself) have resorted to actually saying: "What the f _ _ k" on at least one occasion in your lifetime. If not, I seriously doubt your honesty (of which is a lot MORE important to me).

As far as Jim's reference to: ladies and church-goers, he was only attempting to stress a point. There really appears to be a : "if I say it, its ok, but if you do, it's not ok" attitude going on among some members here. This type of reference has been used before here by others in the so called SZ 'good ol boy' click, but when someone else like the Pro chooses to use it, it's now suddenly: an attack against women & church.

I realize that you guys claim to be Christians, so let the words of the Bible guide you: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone".


Scott

Scott, you missed the point...we are at the "Bar", we can say and do what we want..unless that BIG bouncer says we are outta here..

PS: don't forget anyone can see what you write on the internet, not just our musically linked group....your mother, your children , your preacher, even your boss at home and work...

Just the other day a friend[who happens to be a great musician], searched for help info on the net[I think a PA1Pro question], and he was surprized to run across a quote from me on the subject VIA SZ...

These words and your reputation go much farther than our SZ members..

BTW, my comments[earlier post] were not in jest ,I am serious, but feel the need to lighten things up a bit...

[This message has been edited by Fran Carango (edited 01-11-2005).]

Personally, I don't believe that WTF or any form of profanity should be used in a PUBLIC ANYTHING--PERIOD! And, not everyone on this forum is a Christian.

I thoroughly agree with UD about this one.

Bottom's up,

Gary