Goodbye!

Firstly Mike, I want to make it quite clear that I believe your contribution to this web site has been nothing short of phenomenal over the past several years; a contribution which I have benefited greatly from during that time. So, if I appear to be critical in what I am about to say, please view it constructively, and in that light.

There is no-one on this site who will deny that in ProgFreak, you have developed an incredibly impressive statistical tool, which enable progressive fans to get lost in for hours at a time to tag, label and create charts for their favourite music. Its capability is truly impressive, and I personally don’t know of anything in the marketplace, which comes anywhere close to it, in terms of quality. You might call it the ‘Bugatti’ of rating sites.

The problem seams to lie in the fact that some of us, less sophisticated types remain happy driving around in our Peugeots, because we feel comfortable in them, and they are really all we seek in life. Now, this parallel existence has existed within PA quite happily for over 3 years now; some of us driving around PA in your lovingly crafted Bugatti, while others are in Peugeots, and others still are happy on their push-bikes.

I think however that something changed, at about the time you left the Prog Metal Team. Because you had no genre teamwork to concentrate on any longer, you poured all your energies into trying to improve your Bugatti. You refined it, added extra buttons, and have tried to make it more user-friendly, in a concerted effort to get other PA members to ditch their Peugeots and buy in to what you were doing.

Because you have (inevitably) invested so much in it emotionally, you started pushing it in every conversation, in an attempt to convert people to your way of thinking. Having so much faith in your product, you simply cannot believe that any self respecting PA’er’s life can be complete without ProgFreak in their daily lives. Under the misconception that if you push something hard enough and for long enough, people will relent, you took it very personally when they didn’t.

Now, I’m quite confident that there is no-one on this web site who has deliberately boycotted ProgFreak, because you are its founder. If there are such people, then they are very shallow and spiteful, and not worthy of your time and attention. There are however people who simply don’t think membership will enhance their enjoyment of the music they listen to, while others find it all a bit scary and intimidating.

The problem is, you have (in my opinion, wrongly) taken this to be a personal slight, and have increasingly alienated some with your over-wrought outbursts about how we are ‘ripping your heart out with our bare hands and throwing it into the kitchen blender’ every time we ignore your posts. Now, I’m no salesman, but I would guess that isn’t the most effective way to attract new business, and a possible way of existing users.

Now, I speak from the heart when I say that this makes me very sad. You may not believe it when I say this, but I am very pleased for you, when others decide to join your site; networking and friendship is, after all, what we are all here for. That said, few products, no matter how earth-shattering they might be, will suit everyone. Unfortunately, this is something you fail to accept, and I am not afraid of standing up to you, when I think you have gone too far.

Recently, for reasons we have discussed, I think you crossed the line, in policing a thread, stipulating that only those with Prog Freak accounts could post in. That is simply wrong. It is like telling the Peugeot drivers that a road has been closed off to them, because they are driving the wrong type of vehicle, and for that reason, I am not sorry for the way I spoke to you.

That said, if a break away from PA is something which you would benefit from, and help you regain some of your otherwise very clear perspective, that might not be a bad thing. I will stress that because of all the good that you have done for this site over the years, you permanent departure will ultimately make PA a poorer place. Whatever you decide Mike, I wish you nothing but happiness.

Best Wishes

Jared