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.

I always try to.

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.

So far, so good ... thanks!

The problem seems 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.

No. I'm definitely not trying to "lure people away" from this website. I've always seen my website as something people could use in addition to PA. Sure, you can also post reviews at PF, but you don't have to. I added this facility because I want my website to be a place where you can simply do everything you want, on any level you want. A website for rating music would simply be incomplete without a reviewing facility.

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.

You may have a point there. But of course I know that when I push things too hard people will turn away. Ironically Tony posted a week ago that he didn't think I was promoting my website too much, but that didn't stop him to move my thread into no man's land (I understand why you did it, Tony, but I hope you also understand why it makes me feel sad. At least I know now that my website is no closer to PA than any other site which you find in "Get the Word Out").

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.

I think that one of the biggest misconceptions about my website is that it is complicated. Yes, it offers complex features, but you don't have to use those. The most important thing about my website is that it combines a wide range of approaches. You can use it if you simply want to assign 5 star ratings to your favorite albums, you can also use it if you want to assign twenty tags to each album, or if you want to rate albums on the track level. You can also start simple and add details later, or you can be very detailed about one artist and more general about others. *You* decide.

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.

That's true. However, what harm could there be done? 500 clicks in my thread, and maybe 3-4 new people decided to give it a try (thanks guys!), and now the thread is gone. No, it seems like I simply have to accept the fact that PA and PF can't get along.

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.

At the risk of repeating myself: My website is designed to suit everyone. If it doesn't suit you: Please tell me what's bothering you, and I'll fix it. Even if you don't want to join, I'd still be interested in why, so I can make it better for other users.

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.

No, No, No. Can't you understand that this was a simple misunderstanding? And about "policing you" ... did I really? I checked the thread again, and unfortunately I edited it and can't remember why, but here's the current version (from a few hours after you posted your list):

"sorry, but this thread is intended for people who enter the data at PF ... I'd be glad if you entered the albums there, all you need to do is to log in and assign a rating to the albums."

Now is that so horrible? All I did was *ask* you to enter the data at PF, and I wasn't expecting some kind of spanish inquisition. Just another misunderstanding ...

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

Maybe I won't leave completely, but the user known as MikeEnRegalia is gone ... I'm not a collaborator anymore, not even a honorary one. I don't want to over-dramatize things ... I think another way of putting it is that I'm simply burned out from this parallel co-existence (as you put it). So, before I'm losing my mind, I need to choose a side and then stick with it.