well put.

I like beer.

everyone knows i'm a taker.
i will try harder.
and you billy g are single handedly responsible for opening up a whole world of music to most of us. you made good points all around.

so what sign are you?

I haven't really thought too much about the boards until this thread, and this is exactly what I came up with. CMJ had a chicago-boston base that had taken ownership of the board. While some of those people still post, the board is no longer dominated by it.

dude, for a 2 word post, that was damn hard to place here. Tried, timed out, backed all the way out, didn't show it, tried again, gave up waiting and made lunch. Then it shows twice. Now I have to come up with a clever Edit.

<apologetic rant>

The two strongest cliques on the old CMJ board, the Chicago contingency and the Boston crowd, were both splintered quite severely over the course of this whole transition. I kinda warned people when obner started up that the existence of both boards would ultimately hurt both boards, but a decision was made to move here and I was one of the many that followed. Many did not.

During the last days of CMJ, it became increasingly apparent that Velouria, KPH and others were becoming much less active in CMJ anyway, and that was in turn rippling off to other folks in that area (mlle, neuro). This probably has something to do with the intermittant shutdowns during the last days of our CMJ era. That's when things started to change I guess.

The biggest lynchpin of the Chicago crew's on and off board social activity from 2003-4 was Aaron and Katie and Phil, and when Aaron and Katie moved, I saw a lot less of everyone in person and kept in touch with people less on the board. Phil and Aaron would throw parties and we'd see twenty people from the board. Jen and I knew that losing them would be a big blow to the Chicago contigent. Everyone was really sad when they left and everyone misses them a lot.

Also, one of the biggest reasons I was so into CMJ was because I had a personal relationship with 15+ people on that board, and not just on the internet. It was really cool. People also were really supportive of my record label at the time in so many ways, and that was really cool too. Without that crew, I know SKR would've never gotten as far as it did.

We did gain a new crew down south, with Loogar, Bloor et. al... without which I'm not sure this board would've survived well at all in the early months. If they hadn't injected a new angle into the board it would've just seemed like it was a CMJ that was half-attended, and interest might've really petered off. Thank god for them.

You all know some of my reasons for absence, but I've attempted to put most of that behind me. I tried to quit this place, but ultimately could not because mostly it's too cool of a place, and also because I really like almost everyone here. I know I come off as a drama queen sometimes, but mostly that's because many of the people here I have a personal relationship with, not just over the internet, and some very hurtful things happened that strained some personal relationships at times.

Bottom line...it's different folks. It's not CMJ. It's become it's own thing. And because we are a smaller group, it takes more effort....and it's something I need to do too. I would hate for us to become the kind of board that just rants on anything NMR. Usually, when I want to read about music, this is still my first stop, and there are 5-6 people here whose opinions on music I really care about. I can't say that about any other board.

And this is not the kind of thing we can nurture in a few months. It'll take years for us to get the kind of community we had at CMJ...but we're getting there. I guess that's what I meant to say 8 paragraphs ago. We've probably got 40% of the old board and 100 or so new posters....but luckily for us the quality of boarding at this place is remarkably mature and pretty on-topic compared to some other zoos I could mention. There aren't flame wars everyday. There aren't invasions weekly. There aren't spammers. Mostly, it's just cool.

</rant>

But we have hackers changing the theme.

well, that makes up for like 10% of the people that post here. off-board social lives, while entertaining, aren't all that vital to this board, at least in the everyday sort of way.

I need to get to work on this.



It's good.

I've been waiting weeks to throw that one out there. Bwahahaha.

It seemed like a lot of the boarders with the most posts were from Chicago a couple years ago, and a lot of them just aren't into it as much anymore, e.g. Jen.

I read all of this thread and here's my random points:

1) There haven't been as many music posts. I think a lot of it has to do with it being a weak year. But when I look at what everyone's top 10 for the year, most or all of them I've discovered from this board.

2) Dalen, I always appreciate your music posts. Our tastes are similar. Your Elements IDM mix is often in rotation on my iPod.

3) Haq's posts leave me in fear. If this board is in danger of becoming unmaintained, let us all know in advance and we plan something.

coming to you live from house-sitting at the moms: BORT

ta-da! ...cricket chirp...cricket chirp


ahem, i don't have a computer at home anymore, and now that school is out, no connection through school either...i try to get a word in every other day or so but it's tough.

anyway, i always thought of myself has an old-school hardcore cmj/obner lover. i mean, i don't have a massive post count here but still, i think this community is great. however, that being said, it's becoming clear to me that as much as i hold CMJ/Obner dear to my heart (heck i even peek the old CMJ board now and then), there are others here who hold it even dearer. there are others here who spend way more time here than i. there are others here who use obner not just for online companionship, but also as bridge to meeting the other rare music-lovers that live locally/regionally.

every negative that everyone has mentioned about obner just hasn't really applied to me. i don't have the time to pour through every silly thread, and since i'm personally not that much of a sports nut or movie buff those threads pass me by too.

i don't mean to sound condescending (not sure if that's the right term), but i think those who are concerned about this-and-that on the board are suffering from "too much of a good thing". CMJ/Obner means a lot to us, and, as nerdy as it sounds, plays some kind of role in our everyday lives, just like an old friend and close family. the trick is though, is to remember we should define the board, the board does not define us. if you are so caught up in Obner-land that you are worried about it's growing pains, then you should seek a change in yourself, not the bulletin board.

obner should be like your baby nephew. he's so adorable and cute and wonderful, but when there's poop in his diaper, don't fret and worry and continue to whiff his butt. just give him back to a parent, take a break from the baby, and come back later when he's cute again and not so smelly.

with much love,

bort

bort is the yoda of obner.

Hmmm, the Yoda of Obner bort is.

Nice words spade and bort, I agree. I wish I could post more often. I wish I had time to listen to more music. I hope I have given as much as I've gotten, but I don't think so. I hold much appreciation for this community. The rare occasion I might bring something new to the table well, is so rare I don't think it has happened. That's what happens when you swim in a pool full of mad geniuses. You're never the first to know anything.

I'm not saying there isn't enough music threads, I'm saying there's too much offtopica. I think they were happy with the amount of music talk, just not all the entropy.

Hey, what did I miss, I think there is plenty music chatter out there, some have mentioned this hasn't been the greatest year for tunes, but that's a good reason for being here, tell me what sux, so I can save my money for what rocks. I rely heavily on this board for hints and backalleys and clues to the good stuff, like everyone, sometimes I don't agree, but sometimes its a nugget or even a whole vein of music I haven't discovered (unable to jump into my ride and cruise over to Criminal Records and a Vortex burger anytime.... I miss the You are Here samplers...they still do those?) oh, and

I second that emotion! Thanks

Spade - thanks, man. I think you're right that a lot of seperate but simultaneous forces were going on when the whole transition took place. In the end, all of the above complaints/comments have some validity, it's just that there's no perfect solution to any of it, except for individuals who choose to just leave (not an option for those of us who, say, administrate the board and would like to see its continued vitality). I would be happy if a transition back to CMJ were possible. I don't think it will go over well until they update the site, but I think it could happen.

As for me, I just wish PHPBB was even kind of secure.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

Have a party, bitches. Monty is over, and out, for the next week.

For me, the board isn't as essential as it used to be. There are days when I'm at work and I won't even check in anymore, when in the old days, the board was a must-read.

I think it also has to do with the fact that the old CMJ was about friendships and people exchanging mixes, and genuine people getting to know one another through the board. These days it seems that the board has become more of a place for smartass comments and posts with no substance and I find that to be boring. For me, Obner is simply a message board to read and post once in a while, where as CMJ was more of a community of friends.

And I totally disagree that the old CMJ board was taken over by the Boston and Chicago crews since there were quite a few posters from other areas like FT, mojo and Billyg, etc. that were fine people and major parts of that board.

You're from Atlanta?

Never knew this.

a) can't access net from work.

b) work six days a week.

c) it's summer, gotta get OUT there. (not much time for net at home)

d) busy busy busy!!!

i thought Pete and Repeat were sittin' on a fence. Where'd this boat come from?

Perhaps if I'd said pirogue?