Well...a lot of changes have taken place in the last 6 months or so,Wyatt's passing being the most obvious one,some people having a preference for the KVR forum that have left and then there is the odd one or two individuals who have felt that their relationship with this forum has run it's course,so they've moved on.
I had contacted Martin a while back,via his e-mail from his personal website & he told me that he lost interest in K-M forum,because of how many people had dropped out in the past couple of years or so.He did tell me though,that he would visit here from time to time,but who knows.
Wondering about why it's been so quiet lately,is like wondering about why some of the long term members here,have hardly commented at all,in the last 3 years...not too much point in wondering about that,I think.
As for myself,sometimes a fellow member will post a couple of songs that I don't like,but that does not mean that I did not bother to listen intently.
If there is an element or a portion of a section of someone's tune that I like,I will comment....but otherwise,I see no point in reviewing a song that I have no interest in(even though sometimes I feel a little guilty,when someone has commented on a string of songs that I did & I have not returned the feedback equally).
Wyatt once told me that he turned down the offer to be a moderator,because he felt that by being one,he was obligated to comment on every tune,from everyone on the forum.
I sort of understand where he was coming from,since it is better to be honest about what you like and don't like,rather than to just placate everyone,by commenting on a tune you have no interest in.
Sometimes there is that tug of war....where that you want to encourage & nurture your fellow musician,but should one give a false impression,by commenting on everything that everyone has ever done?
I remember one time,long ago...when a former member had complained about not receiving any feedback on his song,despite the fact that he had only posted it only a few hours prior.
I thought it was silly of him to react that way,but still,I chose to just reassure him that he should allow ample time for people to get the chance to respond.
The most difficult time I ever had with a member in terms of feedback was Antonis,because after a while,his music began to take a on rather extreme curve that just didn't interest me at all and I declined from commenting on most of his work.
I felt really horrible about it because he's such a nice guy,but I was honest with him in my explanation of it and seemed that he took it very well at the time,& I was very glad of that.
He hasn't been on here much lately and I don't know if it's due in part to this,or if he just prefers KVR for some other reason.
As I have said in the past,I've tried numerous times,in an effort to entice people from YouTube,& gear forums,into participating here and despite my success in that,they never stick around for the long haul.
It seems that the internet is made up of mostly transients,who are only interested in talking about gear.About 3 years ago,I joined a forum that was specifically geared towards keyboards,but I left after a short while,because I was accused of soliciting and that I was actually from a company,rather than a simple gear owner...simply because I had a considerable amount more of gear knowledge,than most of the novices there,who were mainly Casio users...so I left the forum.
I then re-joined the forum recently and got along great with my fellow members,especially with the moderator there.After a while though,I noticed that the moderator-in the 3 years he's been there,that he was only interested in posting his music for feedback,& couldn't be bothered commenting on anyone else's music(with the exception of one comment 2 years ago).
On one particular song of his,I gushed over it,telling him how much I enjoyed his tune and he did not even acknowledge my feedback with even so much as a "thanks for listening".
So with that,I confronted him about it and I got slammed by him and another forum member,for being immature,despite this guy's infantile tirade of excuses as to why he did not comment on other people's music.
Maybe I'm just spoiled by the generous sense of community here at K-M and that I should not expect other forums to be this way,but I like to adhere to a code of ethics,with regard to music sections,in ANY forum.
I mean...where are people's manners and common courtesy??Why do such gear forums have a music section to begin with??Aside from all this,the moderator on that forum,really does not have much else to do anyway,apart from talking about gear,as it one of the most quiet gear forums on the internet,as that forum makes this forum seem like Grand Central Station,in terms of internet traffic.
This may very well be the most quiet stretch in K-M's history,but the love and the music flows better here,than anywhere else on the net.
-Thom
