First, I would like to hear some logical explanation for removing the bioggest, most viewed and very educational thread on forum. Than I will express my opinion about such move and hope some of you will do the same
Good question, Alex and I contacted Audiogon staff last night to ask what the reason was. I have not heard back. The last time I had checked the thread there was a very pleasant dialogue going on about Croatia. This had followed a brief exchange about politics which was fairly benign compared to previous ones. I don’t know if there had been more recent posts after those nor their content.
All I can surmise as an explanation is perhaps related to what I had suggested several times previously: “Stick to the subject of the thread, Jazz”.
Last posts I saw were few from Schubert, mentioning following US holidays, canadian ww2 sailor veterans and one where organ is played in a church.
I can understand that some posts which were not related to music may seem redundant, but they were rare and not really offensive to anyone. Even if they were, its possible to remove the post (happened before) and continue with the thread.
By removing the entire conversation that lasted for years and that had so many usefull informations with so many beautiful music that represents the cultural heritage which is on the best way to be lost and forgotten is an unprecedented and unwise move on such scale that any political rant on these pages seems pale and comic in comparation, to say at least.
Oh, oh, oh. I do not believe that Audiogon staff, if did it, did it on purpose. There is nothing wrong with the postings being not strictly related to the theme (jazz) now and then, as long as 90% of the thread is about the theme. One cannot completely avoid (and why it should?) other subjects after so many years of participating in addition to good vibe between mostly long time participants.
I followed the thread even though I rarely (if ever) posted in it and don’t know what its most recent posts might have said. But there are a few users here who go out of their way to inject politics into their discussions and they can derail the conversation. The moderators don’t have the time or inclination to babysit a thread, so they’ve been known to kill a thread that becomes unruly. That may be what happened here.
This is all why we users should stick to the topics here - which are basically audio and/or music - and leave the politics aside. This is a private group and the First Amendment doesn’t apply.
I bet it was a mistake and they will rectify it in short order.
One reason they may have deleted the thread is that it has been so popular for so long with so many posts that they may have had to make the tough decision to either delete the thread or buy a new server with more storage. (Tongue i cheek)
Alex, I completely agree with you that the positives of the thread far outweigh the negatives. It would be nice if everyone we interact with shared the same sensibilities about all matters including flexibility with “rules”; especially when dealing with a topic (the thread) with the many positives that you nicely laid out. Also, after years of interaction with others on a subject such as music which has so many personal overtones (pun) it is, as Mary_jo points out, only natural that discussions should veer off into subjects of a more personal nature. However, not everyone shares the same sensibilities nor level of flexibility with rules and, importantly, that includes those with the power to regulate and control the thread (Audiogon).
On a personal level, I don’t much care about the political (and other) rants and would not object but for two reasons: they often created ill will between the participants while interrupting discussions of the music and, as perhaps is being demonstrated now, they created the possibility for thread censorship given the clearly stated “rules”. THAT was the reason for my suggestions that we stick to the subject of the thread.
Where I disagree with you is in the idea that these deviations from the thread’s subject matter were “rare” and “not really offensive to anyone”. They occurred fairly regularly and the rancor that sometimes was expressed over some of these rants tells a different story.
Perhaps Audiogon staff is monitoring this thread as well and I would respectfully ask that they reconsider their decision for the reasons that you state. I would also encourage all those non-participants who followed the thread to petition Audiogon staff to reconsider as well. I have a strong suspicion (hope) that all this would serve as “lesson learned”. As Cleeds points out “This is a private group and the First Amendment doesn’t apply”. As unfortunate as the ramifications of this may seem, the way I see it, if the main concern and love of the participants truly is the music this restriction shouldn’t matter that much. I doubt the censors would object to an occasional comment about the beauty of Croatian women.
Edit:
I just received a response from Agon staff to my question re the reason for the thread’s removal:
**** If I am not mistaken, it was closed because the discussion got way off topic and even got political.
**** If I am not mistaken, it was closed because the discussion got way off topic and even got political.
Tammy ****
I can't believe it. I am reading again and must say that I still can't believe it.
You seriously think that bunch of crazy and mostly older jazz enthusiasts with few mild political comments are representing a threat to the state system? Is this a joke?
I haven't checked today (yet), but as of yesterday there were half a dozen open threads with way more political comments in them than this one ever had.
Need to stay on topic. Music and equipment this is our Hobby . What can we share with others that maybe helped us along our journey. I myself have gotten a lot of enjoyment from this forum. We all know that music is a universal language. The equipment referenced in this forum is something that we only appreciate and can share with others. Thanks to all for contributing
I had the pleasure of seeing Dexter Gordon live at the old Howard Rumsey’s "Concerts by The Sea" jazz club in Redondo Beach, California. He was a very large (tall) man with a very soft voice. After soothing every one with his velvet sounding dialog, he proceeded to blow the danged walls down. That was a great night of saxophone playing for sure.
One of the greats without a doubt. Heard him at the Village Vanguard a few times when he made his heralded return from Europe in the late 70s. Fantastic!
It warms my heart to see appreciation for Dexter Gordon. He and Sonny Stitt are two true giants of jazz saxophonists who I feel are not fully recognized.
Wow. I'm relatively new here and was looking forward to a good jazz room where we could trade notes on new music and new masterings of old stuff. Doesn't this thread offer a new start?
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
