I know this isn’t exactly a Moog topic or product, but with some of the discontent about MoogSpace I thought this might be of interest. For those of you who are unfamiliar with EM Forum (http://www.emforum.nl/index.php), it was a very popular free site based out of The Netherlands. Ron Boots, an extraordinary Berlin-style electronic musician, ran it. It had members from all around the world, and besides gear, EM Forum talked alot about music and concerts.
Here’s the message posted today about its closing:
The EM Forum has closed.
As of this moment the EMForum is closed.Why?
This forum provided a very good opportunity to interact and share information about our common love Electronic Music.
We had hoped that this forum would and could be a place for fans to meet and greet, discuss our music and exchange ideas.This can only work if certain rules are set, but more important also followed and lived by.
And it is this case that showed us more and more that it was no longer possible to keep this forum open.
However, the constant stream of bending and breaking these rules was not the main issue to close it;
the response that the Moderators got after an email to abide the rules of the forum was.Every time they had to go into a discussion with forum members,
especially some of the musicians about these rules,
and often they got an improper or even rude response.
(I put it very!! mildly considering that terms like Tyrant, Nazi etc where being used.)
At that point the fun goes out of everything.
Forum moderators are no human pinata to be abused.
James and Kees, I think you did a great job, thanks for all your hard work and sorry for all the abuse.
You guys where the foundation of the EM Forum.For al those who participated positively on this forum a big thanks, you made it to what it was:
a thriving place where we would discuss, write and tell about our passion.
That it closed down was not your fault. Not ours, and not the the lack of good topics.
It was the lack of respect by some and the attacks by others that are the sole reason.
This could have been a great source of information, even promotion if you followed the rules.
Now, there is nothing.
A missed opportunity for many, killed by a few.
What a waste.Ron Boots