Too Many Unreplied Topics - Solutions

Hello

As you can easily notice in our board music navigator, we're having a lot of new uploads, but many are ignored, members do listen sometimes but nothing else, which is not the purpose of the site, most of us do want to know what people think about our music, and how can we improve it.

We have too many "Please Review This Work", we're been thinking in bringing back the Reviewers Team, but is not an easy task.

This topic will be for all of us to offer solution for this issue, not to post complains, but real ideas could work as solution for this.

Please, don't post if you don't have something solid to suggest, this topic needs to be kept clean of large useless conversations.

I will speak of something I've noticed, that could be a reason members don't comment much, I've felt this in the Orchestral Forum, were I spend more time, it might not be the case in other sections of YC, but I think it does happens in Orchestral....

I've felt very often a member goes to listen, with much interest, but then leaves without saying anything because very probably he feels himself unable to comment, perhaps afraid of posting a comment might sound silly, that others could find as nonsense, or ridiculous, maybe is like "Well I'd like the horns do that too" but then he may think "I don't even know a thing about horns, so maybe is not possible"

Perhaps members think they must have a solid knowledge to be able to comment about an orchestral piece, well that's true somehow, but we can help them.

What about if we set the "Comments Templates" that anyone can use to start, to have an idea of how to comment, what to say, what would he like to say about the music, the member would click, and then complete the comment... like these:

• I Liked the language in this, but the form was a bit confusing to me because...
  
• I liked the beginning, then I got lost after...
  
• I think the work is good but doesn't require so much...
  
• I like how you started this, but I feel it needs more...
  
• I didn't like more of the piece, but the part where...
  
• Your work is too short, you could use or simply repeat the...
  
• Your work is too large, I think sections like...
  

The Server would reject the unchanged template, to avoid bare spam posts, it still would have its probable negative usage, but we can always try new things.

Also, in our music navigator, I think would be better to see the member is uploading and not just the title, what do you think ?

Remember, if you're going to complain, go somewhere else, create you thread or whatever, here is to offer ideas, solutions, suggestions. Thanks.

I don't see how the templates would help at all. If a person can't type "I Liked the language in this, but the form was a bit confusing to me because" by himself, then he or she is like, stupid or something less harsh. I don't know.

It is the things not provided by the template that people have trouble coming up with.

The reason I don't review more is the lack of incentive. I don't enjoy listening to meh pieces and brainstorming for valid and helpful things to say. Most of the time I find I really have nothing to say. And why should I do this? Why should I comment on this thing uploaded by some guy who has never made a post in the forums, and never comments on anyone else's works?

The feedback system only works when everyone participating is part of the community, not new members spamming stuff. reviewing stuff is like a job where you don't get paid. There's already World of Warcraft for that, thanks.

Some sort of reward system could work. The reviewer stats thing gave me a brief boost because I wanted to climb the ladder outdoing others. Maybe more than just a statistic?

You know what you should do? Chopin should start paying me for every post I make in this site is what. Why did nobody think of this before.

I would like to see quality in the reviews as well. Providing templates does seem to counteract that and even give precedent to shallow responses.

Embargo, embargo, embargo! That's your solution to everything!

Ok, so I added the templates, we can add more later. I don't see harm in this because they are just a few words to start, and to aid someone. If people don't use them, I can easily take it off. So let's see how it works for now. Also, I think we should start up the review team once again. I can create a dashboard for reviewers so that they can view their stats. An incentive to start reviewing could be exposure of works on an internet radio we broadcast each night, or each week. For example, maybe we don't even consider playing works on the radio if the composer has a low review count. I think that all 3 combinations may work. The template system, a new review team (and a dashboard of stats), and internet radio.

Radio reward for good reviewers sounds great, just we'll have a problem when pieces lack so much of musical material, (many cases) all those pieces are just taking down the good ones too, what could we do about it ?

I don't do reviews often for two reasons:

1) They're a great effort for little gain to either the young composer, or to myself.

2) Related to #1, I have no direct incentive to provide commentary. I have no interest in providing complicated reviews if the composer won't use the info, or I won't get something in return, like a review back. Its quid pro quo, and rightly so.

We can do a combination, great pieces get exposure to the radio, as well as members who do reviews. Apparently the members showcase didn't really solve this problem. I probably can do away with the showcase and replace it with the radio instead. We would need DJ's to host the sessions. We can use tinychat (the chat built into our IM) as the spectator room.

I was reviewer for one year, non stop.... I didn't need anything in return to review BUT yes, those short, empty, hollow pieces were too hard to review, very often the so called- "review" was nothing but an almost fake comment... wouldn't like to "have to do" those comments again..

"Exposure" from crappy Sibelius/Finale renditions? Really?

What would be real exposure is a way to get performances together, of real people.

"Exposure" from crappy Sibelius/Finale renditions? Really?

What would be real exposure is a way to get performances together, of real people.

ok, might be true, but when there is nothing but the crappy rendering, I might prefer the rendering over nothing. But if you could take care to get my pieces performed, that is fine :D

If the Reviewers thing was to be revived, one could sweeten the deal by providing a prize of a detailed review from each Reviewer for the best non-member of the panel of every week/two weeks/arbitrary amount of time.

Upsides: It'll give most everybody more incentive to review.

Downsides: The Reviewers have no reason to be on the panel, because they could do the same amount of work with gain by not being on it.

Solution: Provide Reviewers with extra something or, obviously, include them in the review prize.

Additionally, if we could get people on-board, we could try to organize a prize of a recording of a piece of the best reviewer's per arbitrary, but long, amount of time.

There we go. Anybody who wants to take this idea and bake the other half is welcome to.

I really like that idea a lot. Let's organize something, perhaps a monthly reward goes to the reviewer with the best types of reviews. I can create the scoreboard without a problem, but we need people willing to do the recordings. Let's set something up.

How about medals/awards for various achievements? I doubt you could get people to willingly record music for a long time.