Dear Mat_Zo:
I was thinking about the website this morning. Let me know if I've got this right:
You started the website because you were reflecting on how feedback and exposure via online forums was enormously helpful to you when you were starting out, but looking around now years later you don't see anything like that--it's all overgrown with BS. So you started a bare-bones forum in order to provide exactly those things to others that were so helpful to you, and to cut out everything else.
Is that right?
If so, I think you've mostly stuck to that mission very well. But in the rush to push out the site, there are a few areas that present risks to that mission. I.e. they are areas where the site could devolve into the type of thing you were trying to avoid. Now that the site is underway and you've got some breathing room, consider some or all of the following:
- The "creativity/inspiration" section often turns into either navel-gazing pseudo-psychology, or long tangent conversations that likely aren't especially helpful to producers looking to improve their craft.
(I suggest either suspending/locking this section, or moderating it much more closely according to the guideline that all discussion should focus on "actionable information that producers can use to help them create music"; introspective musings and philosophical pondering is best left to other websites or blogs.) And BTW I'm fully aware I'm part of the problem!
- The "composition/theory" section also has the tendency to wander off-topic a lot.
(It just needs a bit tighter moderation.)
- Calls to turn TPS into an app will not help young producers starting out. Part of your success was due to the fact that you couldn't take those forums with you everywhere, that you had long stretches away from your computer, and that when you were on the forums, it was in a context where you could quickly switch between those and your DAW.
(Shut down threads calling for an app, maybe pin an announcement to the top of the "suggestions" section saying there will not be one.)
- Add a section for "music business/branding". A lot of producers on TPS are at that stage where they're ready to transition from their bedroom to a studio/label, just as you once were. They'll need help navigating and surviving in the shark-infested waters of the music industry. This section could contain anything from information about how contracts are structured, to tips on picking a good manager, to information about copyright and fair use, to tips on good DJ names and so on. You'd have to pin an announcement at the top stating in clear terms that nothing in that section is "legal advice" or to be interpreted as such, and that legal advice should instead be sought from experienced professionals licensed to practice in the relevant areas.
(This section would also need tight moderation, particularly to make sure nobody was "giving legal advice".)
