This forum dead or dying?

VVS

Banned
Battle Points: 133
What's the verdict? Do members come and go like a revolving door or do most stick around long term? I had fun the first couple of battles, gave some positive feedback, shared some knowledge, had a few pointless arguments with certain members..etc. A forum is only as good as it's active and participating members.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
I wouldn't say dead or dying necessarily because we still have the same traffic we've always had, it's just people lurk more than ever. During the pandemic there was a lot more activity because people had nothing else to do.

But even back in the early days of ILL, it was mainly just general discussions that were the most popular, not as much production talk. The problem today is that everything's changed so that instead of having a community with discussions, everyone would rather just post their beat and leave then come back hoping for likes and feedback. Social media is what really changed a lot in how people behave online and especially with something like Tiktok where it's short clips, that's one of the reasons people don't post much since their attention span is fried. If anything I think social media is dying.

The other thing is that a lot has already been discussed over all these years. There's only so many times we can have a discussion about Boom Bap vs Trap, for example. Even all the articles that I've written - there's only so many ways I can cover the topic of how to make beats. Even Youtube has become boring because there's only so many beat making videos I can watch before I get bored.

As for people posting on here, well, there's plenty of people that login here every day but just don't post, they just lurk. That's okay but there's this whole beat making platform for everyone to use and it's one of those things where they don't know how good they have it until it's gone. I mean, even when I post an AOTB show I rarely get anyone commenting even though I gave feedback and tagged them. It's weird.
 

digis

Member
Had to pull up subway surfer clips on my other monitor to read this thread.

I mostly lurk on here, trying to be more active recently, but even then I come and go. I think it's just the nature of forums in general. I've signed up for so many forums (mostly not music related) in my life and it seems like it's always been that way for not only myself, but many other user's as well. Given that this is a producer and beat maker focused forum, I think it's expected to see people drop by, see if their sound is liked or not, and keep it pushing. I think people only stick around if they want to be a part of a community, can't make them.
 

VVS

Banned
Battle Points: 133
Those are all good points @Fade. Social media has conditioned our brains to have short attention spans. I think most users as mentioned already just come in looking for instant feedback on their beats and then bounce. Granted, you can't force anyone to contribute in a meaningful way and if they only care about sharing beats and asking for advice that's their choice. We're all very biased on different topics when we should embrace our trap members versus shitting on that style of music because your preference might be boom bap. Yes, I'm guilty of stirring up shit with the trap boys but it's not that serious. I guess there's really nothing anyone can do to get this forum popping. Lurkers will lurk and the active members will keep using this forum as they do.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
I agree that if someone just wants to drop their beat and leave, that's fine, it's just when I've seen it be much more active in the pre-social media days, it's disappointing. Like I mentioned, the Basement was more popular back then with people getting into heated debates about last night's Yankees vs Red Sox game lol.

There's still lots of forums around in various niches and if I do happen to check them out I see the same type of thing. Lots of sections where the last post was weeks or months ago. I just think overall that socializing is out the window nowadays and we see that on here too.

But as long as the traffic is the same and I see people are still logging on regularly then it's not too bad. If I were to see the traffic drop in a big way then I'd be concerned.

Or maybe we should have Boom Bap vs Trap discussions every day and regular arguments between members!
 
I think people are realising how toxic social media is and as a result forums are taking a hit too. Social media created a generation of self obsessed entitled people that think success should be handed to them on a plate. Emoji's were the nail in the coffin for actual communication and using words to communicate, people are too lazy to say full words, and its even easier still to just react with an emoji. Emoji's killed talk IMO.
I stopped being very vocal on here when I kept getting told off for having my own opinion, an opinion disliked by others. I miss the days of free speech, was only about 10 years ago.
 

VVS

Banned
Battle Points: 133
Or maybe we should have Boom Bap vs Trap discussions every day and regular arguments between members!

Arguments/trolling is bound to happen. Some members avoid the fuckery and just reply with creative criticism or in a positive way. I can't speak for everyone else but there are certain members that can rub you off the wrong way and some people get offended easily and get in their emotional bag. Could be one the reasons new members don't stick around long term or even bother to engage on this forum in a meaningful way. Nothing wrong with expressing your thoughts on a topic in an adult manner regardless of the subject matter. Yeah, I dislike trap as genre, I don't dislike the person producing trap as an individual.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
I think people are realising how toxic social media is and as a result forums are taking a hit too. Social media created a generation of self obsessed entitled people that think success should be handed to them on a plate. Emoji's were the nail in the coffin for actual communication and using words to communicate, people are too lazy to say full words, and its even easier still to just react with an emoji. Emoji's killed talk IMO.
I stopped being very vocal on here when I kept getting told off for having my own opinion, an opinion disliked by others. I miss the days of free speech, was only about 10 years ago.
Yeah the like button is what started that slope. I'll post a gif as a reply sometimes for fun but nothing beats using text. As for free speech, free speech 10 years ago versus free speech today is very different. 10 years ago it meant people would have discussions and express their opinions. Now it's full of politics/hate/conspiracies/etc and those topics never end well. I can't even talk to relatives without someone getting aggressive over some topic.

Arguments/trolling is bound to happen. Some members avoid the fuckery and just reply with creative criticism or in a positive way. I can't speak for everyone else but there are certain members that can rub you off the wrong way and some people get offended easily and get in their emotional bag. Could be one the reasons new members don't stick around long term or even bother to engage on this forum in a meaningful way. Nothing wrong with expressing your thoughts on a topic in an adult manner regardless of the subject matter. Yeah, I dislike trap as genre, I don't dislike the person producing trap as an individual.
There might be some new members that get turned off by certain arguments on here but most likely not since it doesn't happen often. That's also one of the reasons why I've had the no race/religion/politics rule in place for a long time.

The bottom line is we have this great forum community for everyone to use, so it's up to the members to use it. It's a great escape from social media and real world nonsense!
 

VVS

Banned
Battle Points: 133
I think people are realising how toxic social media is and as a result forums are taking a hit too. Social media created a generation of self obsessed entitled people that think success should be handed to them on a plate. Emoji's were the nail in the coffin for actual communication and using words to communicate, people are too lazy to say full words, and its even easier still to just react with an emoji. Emoji's killed talk IMO.
I stopped being very vocal on here when I kept getting told off for having my own opinion, an opinion disliked by others. I miss the days of free speech, was only about 10 years ago.

That's just your experience but I understand your point of view. I don't think it's a problem with social media per say but more of an issue with how technology is advancing. We longer need to call someone to have a conversion or be in the same place physically. Forums, chat rooms, game lobby's, etc..have been the wild west for ages now. I bet Fade would love to ban certain members who are rude/disrespectful to other members but the reality is that would be pointless. If they are trolls they would just come back under a different username. Not even sure what constitutes a ban on this forum?
 
Now it's full of politics/hate/conspiracies/etc and those topics never end well. I can't even talk to relatives without someone getting aggressive over some topic.
I was talking about all of those things back in 2006, was never a problem then, me and Relic were always going back and forth.
The inability of emotional midgets to control their own emotions shouldnt mean everybody else losing their tongue.
I just feel like Im walking on eggshells with certain things so just stay silent, dont get involved too much. Easier that way, I dont want to get banned and have my achievements here be for diddly squat.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
I bet Fade would love to ban certain members who are rude/disrespectful to other members but the reality is that would be pointless. If they are trolls they would just come back under a different username. Not even sure what constitutes a ban on this forum?
LOL no. I don't ban for whatever. It has to be something that is spam or someone constantly starting shit, or just being disruptive long enough to everyone on here. It's always going to vary.

I was talking about all of those things back in 2006, was never a problem then, me and Relic were always going back and forth.
The inability of emotional midgets to control their own emotions shouldnt mean everybody else losing their tongue.
I just feel like Im walking on eggshells with certain things so just stay silent, dont get involved too much. Easier that way, I dont want to get banned and have my achievements here be for diddly squat.
What stuff in 2006?

Again, I don't just ban people lol. This isn't Facebook. I mean, like FB, you can't post cartel beheading videos or porn but we can talk about it.

One thing I wish people would discuss more on here would be actual music. Everyone keeps saying there's great music out there but you have to look for it, so let's discuss it so we don't have to all go look for it. Having that "new boom bap" thread is cool, that's a start. Like when I found this site the other day: https://undergroundhiphopblog.com and for the DJs it's always good to check Qbert's instagram for some dope shit: https://www.instagram.com/djqbert
 
What stuff in 2006?
Literally anything and everything except politics and religion, a thread might start on the finer points of subtractive EQ, progress onto some sports discussion, maybe take a diversion into a bit of comedy, horror movies. The thing was you never knew where a thread would go, and I loved that. The problem is that EVERYTHING became political, and when everything is political whats left to talk about. Sure talking about music is great and all, but you never get to know a person and build friendships if you never take the opportunity to communicate with each other. No man is an island and success takes a team with a common goal, the "check out my latest beat" brigade who never contribute anything, never leave feedback have always existed and always been annoying and selfish. Just seems to be more of it now, its become the norm instead of the exception.

There are many variables as to why traffic and participation has dropped off, its just "progress". Technology advances and we try to keep up with it. It moves so fast it can be hard to get ahead of the curve instead of reacting to it. AI is going to be the next big game changer, its going to change the world like computers did and later the internet. Might be worth investing into while its still early days.

The way people talk to each other has changed too, people are a lot ruder to each other when they aren't face to face. People also tend to take broad sweeping statements as personal attacks and get defensive and argue over bullshit. Maybe WW3 isnt such a bad thing, a few years stuck in a trench might bring some masculinity back to the world, ironically while a huge swathe of men are wiped from existence. I'm just watching the world descend into madness and making music while it happens, lol. My bad.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Literally anything and everything except politics and religion, a thread might start on the finer points of subtractive EQ, progress onto some sports discussion, maybe take a diversion into a bit of comedy, horror movies. The thing was you never knew where a thread would go, and I loved that. The problem is that EVERYTHING became political, and when everything is political whats left to talk about. Sure talking about music is great and all, but you never get to know a person and build friendships if you never take the opportunity to communicate with each other. No man is an island and success takes a team with a common goal, the "check out my latest beat" brigade who never contribute anything, never leave feedback have always existed and always been annoying and selfish. Just seems to be more of it now, its become the norm instead of the exception.

There are many variables as to why traffic and participation has dropped off, its just "progress". Technology advances and we try to keep up with it. It moves so fast it can be hard to get ahead of the curve instead of reacting to it. AI is going to be the next big game changer, its going to change the world like computers did and later the internet. Might be worth investing into while its still early days.

The way people talk to each other has changed too, people are a lot ruder to each other when they aren't face to face. People also tend to take broad sweeping statements as personal attacks and get defensive and argue over bullshit. Maybe WW3 isnt such a bad thing, a few years stuck in a trench might bring some masculinity back to the world, ironically while a huge swathe of men are wiped from existence. I'm just watching the world descend into madness and making music while it happens, lol. My bad.
That's true though, the discussions back then were more immersive I guess. Basically, it was because people were more active. Back then we were coming out of the Myspace era and FB wasn't a thing yet so people were still posting regularly on forums.

People today for sure are much ruder. Everything has changed to the point where sometimes I just don't want to go outside and even deal with people at the store. It's a terrible thing but the amount of nutjobs I've encountered in just the past couple of years is staggering.

If WW3 were to pop off I hope it's quick, or even better - aliens finally show up and are all "SUP BITCHES" and they wipe out all our weapons and tell us to knock it off.
 
That's true though, the discussions back then were more immersive I guess. Basically, it was because people were more active. Back then we were coming out of the Myspace era and FB wasn't a thing yet so people were still posting regularly on forums.

People today for sure are much ruder. Everything has changed to the point where sometimes I just don't want to go outside and even deal with people at the store. It's a terrible thing but the amount of nutjobs I've encountered in just the past couple of years is staggering.

If WW3 were to pop off I hope it's quick, or even better - aliens finally show up and are all "SUP BITCHES" and they wipe out all our weapons and tell us to knock it off.
If aliens did ever turn up they are far more likely to put us on their menu than help us. Ive seen the movies.
 

VVS

Banned
Battle Points: 133
I'd rather join a Discord group and discuss topics, debate and get feedback in real-time via voice. I just don't have the patience but more importantly desire anymore to listen to everyone's beats and post feedback. YouTube and reddit are my go to sources for anything music related so is there even a need to open a topic on another forum for all the "experts" to chime in with the same answers and sometimes incorrect information? Speaking of AI...if you have a specific question just ask ChatGPT and it will provide you with all the details you need related to mixing/mastering. I'm predicting in the future, AI having the ability to interact with your DAW to make mixing decision for you based on your desired outcome (ex. match eq curve of XYZ song. blend my kick and bass samples perfectly so frequencies don't overlap, etc.). It's scary how good AI will be in just a few years and I'm all for it!
 

inflated sac

Beatmaker
Battle Points: 1
I'd rather join a Discord group and discuss topics, debate and get feedback in real-time via voice. I just don't have the patience but more importantly desire anymore to listen to everyone's beats and post feedback. YouTube and reddit are my go to sources for anything music related so is there even a need to open a topic on another forum for all the "experts" to chime in with the same answers and sometimes incorrect information? Speaking of AI...if you have a specific question just ask ChatGPT and it will provide you with all the details you need related to mixing/mastering. I'm predicting in the future, AI having the ability to interact with your DAW to make mixing decision for you based on your desired outcome (ex. match eq curve of XYZ song. blend my kick and bass samples perfectly so frequencies don't overlap, etc.). It's scary how good AI will be in just a few years and I'm all for it!
i use ai alot, try google ai, they just dropped gemini.
 
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