Save ZG!!

I am fairly happy with my system now, only want to change speakers but dont have the cash. So my interest in hifi forums has waned somewhat.
Also new hobby takes up a fair amount of my time.

 

Sure.

If a group of you guys could go round to m parents place to do the garden.....I would then have more chance to play with bits of hifi.

Just a thought



"My interest in HiFi has waned over the years - I've got a system within my price range that I'm perfectly happy with, and I've no plans to upgrade it in the foreseeable future. I'm just making the most of it and enjoying my music!

I'm sure others are in the same boat and find they contribute less as a result?"


abolutely not....just other stuff cropping up else where that needs attention.

 

I would say that what spare dosh there was for this hobby is steadily being eroded by increasing expenses...not the least of which is diesel.

The ain't much left at the ned of the month now.

 

I'm sure the quiet bit we're in is just part of a larger cycle of activity / inactivity. I like the idea of the extra thread categories though, especially 'vintage' stuff!

 

Its still a great site - however, for me personally - Ive purchased a TT, so for the timebeing Im using a dedicated vinyl site - why dont we have a proper vinyl section here? Articles, tips, second hand values etc....? It may add a different perspective. Ill be back- just have a nother focus at the mo. same for others at various time sof year I guess - I dont look so much in the summer, light nights etc. but tend to post more in the winter when its dull and dark -LONG LIVE THE GAIN!

 

I enjoy this place too. I don't post on every (or many) threads, as I tend to restrict myself to threads about which I have direct experience or a particularly stunning insight. Always enjoy reading the conversations unfold though.

I like the idea of a vinyl section...

 

One option, probably too radical but worth at least discussing, would be to moderate the hell out of the forum to remove any posts which do not contribute to moving the thread forward. Might be annoying but in the longer term you'll have a archive of hifi wisdom that I could see people genuinely valuing and making an effort to track down, search, read and maybe even contribute to.

 

I personally like to keep moderation to absolute minimum. We generally only moderate when we see an AUP breach. I fear what you are suggesting may alienate too many people.

I suspect most people don't take any forums too seriously. It's good to have a laugh now and then and if we "moderate the hell out of the forum" most of my ramblings would need to be deleted and we can't have that surely.

 

I've always liked ZG - and I still do - but post more on another forum now with higher hits - sorry - but certain attitudes amongst some posters pushed many away and they have just not returned . . . .the moderators did know about this, I sent several PM's asking whether something could be done and I know i was not the only one. A ZG destruction was in progress and I think measures were either ignored or came too late.

 

Its been like a guide book to my own journey through hifi, I still check in every day - (okay only been on just over a year!)

I think less people are joining, (sorry not read this whole thread if I'm wrong), the thing with hiffy is that when you get up to a certain body of knowledge, you stop asking so many questions.

I for one consistently balls my system up (just when I get it right) with wrong synergies so will always be looking for advice and new equipment! But I actually enjoy this part of the hobby as an excessive tweeker.

One of my main interests on this forum was the classifieds, as I would not have the great stuff and learning curve I have had so far. I think I found this forum from looking for an item.

I like it, not as much as when I joined as whenever I try and sell something now, I feel like going off and crying in a corner, as even at a considerable "hit" nobody seems interested. I feel like saying for sale "The Ark of the Covenant" £200, just to see how long it takes for someone to offer £150. Sign of the times I suppose. I just wonder if the taste for talking about expensive hifi has just waned temporarily, I look at my kit and worry about how much I have tied up in it, and on occasion how the passion for the hobby has got the better of my purse (er.. wallet) strings.

I read the other areas more now I must admit.

 

Some interesting stuff so far. A vintage or classic room is always a good idea IMO.

Something I've noticed over on PFM at the moment is that the thread with by far the most posts is the one displaying the greatest level of rudeness and aggression. What does that tell us about the nature of audio fora?

Can any lessons be learned from that?

Is it wrong to ban all the nutters ? - well, you know what I mean.

 

There's only one answer. Shut down PFM!

 

They attract mouthy types? IMO you can't have it both ways; you can have the rudeness and aggression and a 'busy' forum, or you can have a nice, polite forum that's as dull as ditchwater and dies on its arse. Opinionated bastards are a must!

 

I disagree Joe. I would hold up DIYAudio.com as an example of a forum with about 99% polite and nice posters but also has strong daily activity and constant interesting threads.

What a good forum needs is interesting subject matter (with room for opinion). If that is lacking then people rubberneck the aggressive posts.

PFM is doing very well as far as I can see. There are the occasional rude posts but they are mostly by a select few who are known to do it in a light hearted way.

I used to post mostly on ZG, but now on PFM. ZG and PFM are too similar and so share a lot of the same members. And PFM won the battle. ZG, as I have said before, needs to think up a new unique selling point. How about making a forum room for discussion of time travel?

 

Joe - I respectfully disagree. The car club I belong to has a very busy, active forum and yet is extremely civil. Plenty of banter, but no bruised egos.

Tenson - diyaudio is not quite so polite and nice as you suggest. It's also extremely prone to hero-worship. It's a great forum, but there's no nirvana among audio forums.

 

I think this is a real possibility.

I hope they return (ie the constructive inputs!) .

 

i've rarely been a full time member here, so have not really noticed the downward turn. I find this happens frequently with forums that have a relatively large membership.

Im a more frequent (read very frequent) poster over on the cyrus unofficial forum, and it has a small membership, but of very loyal, friendly and interesting people that regularly post. It has a casual and much less moderated atmosphere.

I think a lot of these larger forums suffer from too varied an audience, and over moderation.

 

maybe the forum has lost 2 things it will never get back...

1. folks happy with their systems (like penance) why come back?
2. individuals like JW from Mana and the like. they were all booted off years back but were characters in their own right. I see the other forums diyaudio, pf etc and they still have characters that truly pi** people off but keep things going.

Like I said back before, I rarely post and have only started in recent weeks BUT from what I can see mosts posts are about the same topic. It's all been done before!

Maybe ZG should reinvent itself as a retro 70's audio and music forum..ONLY! why be the same as PF and wigwam and the rest of them.

 

Why not come back?

 

How about £100 and a fatted calf?