Reviews discussion

Snow Dog wrote: Andy Webb wrote: darkshade wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: darkshade wrote: Maybe it's time PA made me a collaborator.  Good luck. I was told "Prog Reviewer" status came about "more or less automatically" after a certain number of reviews...doesn't seem to be the case.... Collaborator and Prog reviewer are two different things. I write reviews too randomly to be a PR. But I'm always willing to help make the site better by updating album/band pages, etc. You could try bugging Ian (Snow Dog) to try to become a member of the Erros and Omissions team to update albums and such, but don't forget that I can't even update band pages.  Not sure we need another member right now but if you are keen PM me. I can talk it out with the team, but we normally onlylike to recruit from current Collabs. So it would need the Admin Ok after we approve and if they had no objections...your in! BTW...I haven't noticed you regularly reporting errors.

Vacancies exist in other areas, there is no upper limit on team size - Band Submissions could probably do with some help and maybe one of the Genre teams could consider Mike as a possible member (JR/F for example).

Edited by Dean - June 08 2012 at 05:41

ExittheLemming wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: Yup, Finnforest, you just confirmed it for me: people on MMA are WAY cooler, and I don't really care what people's opinions of me here are. My rating system is like a test grade: 5 stars is the 95-100 range 4.5 is 90-95 4 is a B 3 is a C 2 is a D 1 is an F You may think you're smart by never giving a 5 but the bands and fans find it insulting and in other areas of the net they are saying they don't like it here because people are snobby. Go ahead, say it's ignorant perception or whatever you wanna say. But I'm gonna follow my instincts for ratings and I really don't care if you say I haven't given out enough lows. I have plenty of low ratings to give, but it's not really worth my time. Amongst 6 active users online at MMA and 75 on PA currently, even a sad old husk of a man who smells of pee like myself would be on the cusp of cool on MMA. You say you don't care about people's opinions on PA yet your shrill indifference as to the merits of apportioning 5 star reviews or the unsubstantiated perception that PA is 'snobbish' smacks of disingenuous zeal. Why share your ratings evaluation criteria if you don't give a f*ck? You also appear to be the unofficial mouthpiece of many artists listed on PA and would have us believe they find PA raters 'insulting' by the dearth of 5 star reviews given out - please do tell when such private exposes were revealed to yourself (in the strictest confidence of course). I've only ever met two prog musicians (Arthur Brown and Fish) and neither gave a discarded fig about anyone who submitted any review of their work (amateur of professional)

I'm sorry I'm being vague.  I don't really want to go to all the places that this particular situation happened and copy quotes and usernames and send them all to you, so you're just going to have to trust me on this: at one point I decided something had to be done about the fact that some Prog Metal albums were being rated low on the charts.  So I went to some other forums I am on (Prog Power forum, Seventh Wonder forum, Dream Theater forum) and a bunch of band's Facebook pages and posted asking people to think about coming on here and rating their favorite albums.  In every case, at least one person replied along the lines of "oh, I know that site well and I don't like hanging out there - bunch of snobs."  Perception?  Yes.  Far from true?  Maybe.  But it's a perception, and I can say I've definitely seen things around here that have made me feel the same way.

MMA is new, yes.  MMA doesn't have a lot of people on it, and will probably change, and I'll probably hate when that happens because it probably WILL get meaner around there.  But so far it seems like people on MMA are much more respectful, they don't care to go around the sub genres they don't like and go give out a bunch of 1 stars, and they don't go into the forum BOASTING about how their 5 star ratings are rare and everyone should be like them.  It seems like people there are more proud of the music they ARE giving 5 stars to, and spend more time talking about that, and leave the stuff they don't like alone.  It makes the site feel a lot more positive, and I love it.  Yup, it's probably gonna change when more people come online.  But I am going to enjoy things the way they are right now.

Man I really don't get this dilemma, if you even can call it that. Geoff, if you genuinely feel this way, why the blue feck are you spending this much time on PA? I don't eat capers, therefore I avoid them. Pretty simple.

But setting PA up as this huge conglomerate of distasteful reviewers that seem snobbish and furthermore don't even like the music you like, at least not as much, is just like Lemming mentioned perhaps the wrong way to go about this. I find it pretty petty to be honest. If you look at this site from the view of different folks from all over the world coming together to speak about the music we love, and additionally leave it up to them on how to rate and whatnot, you have all the more time to focus on what you want out of this place. Just don't look for reviewer status by pissing people off.

Dean wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Andy Webb wrote: darkshade wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: darkshade wrote: Maybe it's time PA made me a collaborator.  Good luck. I was told "Prog Reviewer" status came about "more or less automatically" after a certain number of reviews...doesn't seem to be the case.... Collaborator and Prog reviewer are two different things. I write reviews too randomly to be a PR. But I'm always willing to help make the site better by updating album/band pages, etc. You could try bugging Ian (Snow Dog) to try to become a member of the Erros and Omissions team to update albums and such, but don't forget that I can't even update band pages.  Not sure we need another member right now but if you are keen PM me. I can talk it out with the team, but we normally onlylike to recruit from current Collabs. So it would need the Admin Ok after we approve and if they had no objections...your in! BTW...I haven't noticed you regularly reporting errors. Vacancies exist in other areas, there is no upper limit on team size - Band Submissions could probably do with some help and maybe one of the Genre teams could consider Mike as a possible member (JR/F for example).

I hadn't thought of JR/F. That might not be such a bad idea, given that he's a collab at JMA and all.

Personally, if I see someone who uses too many 1's or 5's, I'm just less inclined to take them seriously.  Like the boy who cried wolf.  Even if you really love/hate those albums, it makes sense from a credibility standpoint to mix it up a bit.  Take a step back, and consider the album's worth on the whole spectrum of what you consider progressive rock.  I don't think that someone who rates their first 10 or 20 albums as 5's is necessarily abusing the system, particularly if they back it up with a reasoned review.  But people tend to trust some reviewers more than others, and if you want to be perceived as a "trusted" reviewer, it makes sense to try and at least appear as objective and even-handed as you can.

Edited by HolyMoly - June 08 2012 at 14:14

Andy Webb wrote: Dean wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Andy Webb wrote: darkshade wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: darkshade wrote: Maybe it's time PA made me a collaborator.  Good luck. I was told "Prog Reviewer" status came about "more or less automatically" after a certain number of reviews...doesn't seem to be the case.... Collaborator and Prog reviewer are two different things. I write reviews too randomly to be a PR. But I'm always willing to help make the site better by updating album/band pages, etc. You could try bugging Ian (Snow Dog) to try to become a member of the Erros and Omissions team to update albums and such, but don't forget that I can't even update band pages.  Not sure we need another member right now but if you are keen PM me. I can talk it out with the team, but we normally onlylike to recruit from current Collabs. So it would need the Admin Ok after we approve and if they had no objections...your in! BTW...I haven't noticed you regularly reporting errors. Vacancies exist in other areas, there is no upper limit on team size - Band Submissions could probably do with some help and maybe one of the Genre teams could consider Mike as a possible member (JR/F for example). I hadn't thought of JR/F. That might not be such a bad idea, given that he's a collab at JMA and all.

I could do JR/F, I'd love it in fact. Errors and Omissions is fine (or both ) But wherever you need help, I can do it.

Dean wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: Gerinski wrote: but you have to understand and accept that this is not a prog-metal site This is not the first time I've heard this phrase, and it seems that it is a reminder some people love to make, but you know what?  You're wrong.  Listen: I am NOT a death metal fan.  I like my metal to be a little more...eh...for lack of a better term, sophisticated.  But you will never ever see me telling someone over on MMA that "this is not a death metal site."  Don't like Death Metal...but the fans who do can be pretty cool people, and if they want to come onto MMA and go on about how Death Metal is the greatest form of music, more power to them.  And while they're at it, I'll throw in a suggestion or two for something proggy, try to bring them over to the...er...light side I guess.  The reminders that this site is not a prog metal site are part of the reason, I think, that the feeling of being unwelcome has come upon some people, including myself at times. I sense you have missed the point there Geoff by quite some margin. This is nothing like having Death Metal on a Metal site.   Imagine that MMA had a Neo Folk category - it's related to Metal but it's not really Metal because it's Folk - that's how some people see Prog Metal here - it's related to Rock but it's not really Rock because it's Metal... the "prog" part is actually irrelevant.   In my experience people feel unwelcome here because they make themselves unwelcome. I've never seen anyone here harass you because you like Metal just as no one has ever harassed me for liking Metal.

Lol, Walter much?

Dean wrote: Failcore wrote: Lol, Walter much? Ah, poor Walter - he hated everything that was made in his lifetime, regardless of what genre it was.

A man of infinite jest.

darkshade wrote: Walter has kind of become legend around here, almost cult-status. I do miss his antics.

I must confess, I don't believe I tired of his schtick.

That said, review what you want to review.  But don't complain about others who review differently than you do unless they violate our guidelines.  If they do, then report them. 


Edited by Epignosis - June 08 2012 at 18:36