Problems with implementing a split forum:
How does it even work?
It can't just be open to everyone from the off, otherwise ChadDub and jrisreal and every other new member will just go straight to it and you'll end up in the same scenario you're in now; so do you get invited? If so what's the criteria?
Will it be done according to length of membership here? There are people here who've produced years but contribute very little to the forum, and equally people with posts counts in single digits who've only been here a few weeks who's every thread has been of a very high, educational level that's really helped. Lurkers really lose out here, they might not all have accounts but surely we should consider them too, I lurked for a good four months before I joined, there are people who have been lurking for years - they'd just get screwed over and stuck in the basic forum despite the length of time they'd been here hiding our and absorbing knowledge, and ultimately, this should be a place of free information where anybody can come and take from it without requirements being set for them to meet before hand. The problem with an advanced forum by merit of length of time you've been producing or a member of this forum is that there are too many exceptions to the general rule making it horribly unfair both on the people who don't get in and those who do (because they'll lose out on the contributions that could have been made by those who didn't get in)
Does it go by post count? If so, jrisreal gets in instantly despite his still being a n00b and not having much to contribute (which is essentially something at the core of this - people wanting a place to discuss deep and advanced topics regarding production) with regards to 'advanced production'.
Neither of those seem like viable ways of doing it. So there's only really one more route to take.
According to Contribution.
In that case, I probably wouldn't get in, as I have nothing to contribute to an advanced production forum, my production tech/knowledge isn't advanced. I still don't know what a compressor really does, or what a parabolic shaper is, or how reverb works and how that's different from delay. I literally know nothing. Somebody had to tell me who mala was a few months ago... MALA... Seriously, I'm a production idiot. I use all these things but I don't know what any of them do or where they came from or what I'm meant to do with them. I haven't made a single production related thread in my entire time on DSF simply because I've nothing to contribute in that realm (maybe in music theory and the likes but not production) because I know nothing. I just do stuff and sometimes it works.
Are my other contributions taken into consideration (music theory/answering questions/samples...etc)? If so the new forum again becomes kind of silly, because everyone gets in despite their knowing nothing about advanced production and we end up again in the same position we're in now where people who know nothing are making threads and getting in the way of these in depth discussions people want to have.
Essentially this advanced forum can only exist effectively as something that is inherently unfair - This enriches the path to knowledge for the few and hinders it for the many.
If it's made fair, then we end up in the same situation we're in now, with people like me in it who have nothing to contribute in terms of production knowledge who are there simply because it seemed unfair to leave us out.
You might think that it's not a problem being 'unfair', but this is a community, and if we're just going to be making little secret cool clubs that exclude people and prevent people from learning just because we find them a bit annoying or because they get in our way then really this place won't be any better than a school play ground where we make fun of the fat kid and tell him to go play on his own.
EDITii:
On another note
I'd very much like to see how this is going to be implemented laid out clearly by mods BEFORE it goes up for a vote.
If I were to vote for something like a split forum with an advanced section, then not get into said advanced section, I'd feel kinda cheated, so I think really, if something like this is going up for vote people really need to be informed on what exactly is going to happen with regards to deciding who gets in and who doesn't.
EDITiii:
Well, there you go then, it won't be exclusive, or at least, it's highly unlikely to be.badger wrote:even if this does happen, an exclusive forum is extremely unlikely. both because of the reasons kaiori mentioned, and for the simple fact that it would take a lot of work to keep the membership list maintained (and that would be something that the current production mods wouldn't have the necessary access to)
if it was decided to implement it then it would probably have to be a sub-forum within production with open access to anyone that wanted it
As I've pointed out, I feel, this will make it a pointless endeavor to split the forum, since splitting the forum only works when it's inherently unfair and has some degree of exclusivity.
