Thought it might be useful if people could share their thoughts and tips for people trying to join in on here. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel I consistently put my foot in it and am perhaps subject to more scrutiny to the average user
This is a thread to unpick this board and suggest ways users can join in - especially as there are hundreds of lurkers in this thread who may join in if they feel less like they’re going to be reprimanded for doing something that was unclear
We have a How to DiS board but I feel like there’s some lore and expectations on what some regular things are on here and if I’m not even aware of what some of the social norms are (hello autism my old friend) then I’m sure there are others
Check to see if there’s already an existing thread before posting. You might have to scroll beyond the first couple of results and/or try a different set of words. If you think “surely we’ve had this thread before” there’s a good chance we have
Nobody minds an occasional bit of self-promotion, but when a significant percentage of a user’s engagement with the boards is to promote their own work then people tend not to like it.
I’m a lurker, I only occasionally post, mainly due to bouts of online social anxiety more than a fear of being reprimanded!
It’s good to know where JAG comes from. One bit of DiS lingo I’ve never been able to decipher is TV- I know it’s used to mean partner/significant other, but can’t for the life of me work out what it stands for, can someone fill me in?!
When someone used to make a reference to a partner/spouse etc, people would joke they were deliberately showing off they were in a relationship and their post was a “thinly veiled” way of boasting. People then started referring to their partners as their thinly veileds, which became abbreviated to TV.
Like a bunch of disisms, I find it relatively harmless in how I see it used these days, but the etymology doesn’t reflect particularly well on our history.
Bleach was an ep
Radiohead have no drums or something, lost track of Radiohead chat
My vitriol are capitalist fan milking douchebags but make for an entertaining thread
Don’t add a big list of releases to the new release thread
No one quite knows what to do about separating the art from the artist
Cans. Shower. Slayer.
It’s better to keep criticism subjective rather than objective.
e.g. writing “I hated this album” is fine, but writing “this album is terrible” to convey the same thought could lead to people who like that music feel like the absolute objectivity of the message suggests their different opinion is invalid.
I don’t think the same applies for positive messages - it’s easier for people to infer the “in my opinion” if someone posts something like “this is great” than it is for the negative opinions.
Given it’s the weekly new releases thread that birthed the consternation in the OP, here is a guide (rather than rules) to that series as I understand it:
Thread Creation
Thread will be posted early Friday morning by whoever goes first.
The newmusicfriday tag should be included, this helps alert users following the tag to the new thread, and is useful for searching back through older threads.
Different emojis are added to the thread title each week, some users find this makes the thread more accessible.
Sharing
When sharing a release, starting the post with a bold Artist - Title format is the norm, and makes it easier for the poll which @dantrobus puts together every Thursday (this is not a minor task and is hugely appreciated).
The best posts are those where the user adds their own words to why they are going to listen to a release or why having done so they now think you should. Failing that, a quote from the release notes or something is welcome so people know what it is. FFO (for fans of…) also appreciated.
Some sort of link is also good practice. Bandcamp is good and usually allows a preview. Spotify links are still common and embed well for a preview, despite the evil. Songlink and the like, where one click takes you to a landing page with links for multiple streaming sites are handy but don’t embed or preview that well.
Some people like to keep one release per post, to make it easier to express a like for a specific release, some will have multiple in one post.
Posting an album someone already shared is not a crime, but is probably wasted effort and somebody will no doubt point out the duplication. Best to check if someone already shared an album you are going to post, and you can engage with that post instead of they got in first.
Lists of releases without context are best linked to rather than posted in full in the thread.
Reacting
Liking a post could mean many things. For me, I usually like a post if I would have posted the release myself, or if I am interested to check it out based on the post. Or sometimes I won’t listen to it but I just like the enthusiasm or a joke. It might mean I like the album, but typically I leave that for the poll.
It’s always great to see someone responding to an earlier shared release to say they are really enjoying it. Personally this is how things get bumped right up my list.
Poll
On Thursdays (usually) Dantrobus will put all the releases from the week into a poll for people to vote on what they enjoyed. It’s great to see both what was popular with a lot of people but also if you know whose tastes align with yours you can check out what they liked.
Putting together a poll of what could be >100 releases in a thread is quite a task - this is where following a relatively standard format and not sharing bulk lists lists (that might not be fully accurate or contain releases that haven’t piqued anyone’s interest enough to recommend) really make a difference.
I personally revisit these polls at the end of each month to consider if I need to check out anything I had missed ahead of the album of the month poll. I keep updating my votes as I get round to stuff in case anyone else is also revisiting them - but it honestly might just be me.
Bumping old threads
Bit of a grey area. If a new release wasn’t shared at the time but someone later wants to recommend it, they will sometimes add to the appropriate weekly thread. This makes sense, but can occasionally cause confusion, especially if done on a Friday, where people mistakenly think the bumped thread is for current release week.
Best practice is to clearly acknowledge within the post that you are bumping an old thread. And maybe avoid doing so on Friday mornings!
Get Involved
The best way to get involved with these threads or indeed any other on this forum is to engage with the users. Reply, like, quote, whatever. If you’re unsure how to approach getting involved, look at what other people are posting and take a cue from them.
