Is it my imagination or are there a lot fewer postings here these days? Maybe it’s the weather, or the war or the new format?
yes
absolutely
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cran, it wasn’t you.
If anything, it was probably all the stupid arguments and flamewars and other such nonsense that chased them off…
I would agree.
Yup. Gaelic Crossings has some of us. Though I still do bite at some posts, I am keeping very quiet because of current events. YES, for me, this is QUIET, okay? Besides, what would FOX/MSNBC/BBC/CNN/CBS do without me?
Forum changeover had some effect too.
I have always said that this membership is cyclical. There will reach a point when you no longer want to discuss tweaking etc. You may move on, or adopt a beloved (or reviled) OT personality to occasionally polish.
We do have fun in CHAT every evening, except that Stout and Eld are bound to turn it into a vast wasteland of flute nomenclature 
Yes, I really DO want a PrattenOlwellHammyRudallRoseplatedEmbrouchureCOCUSkeylessEbblackwood somethin-or-other. That I get allergic to six months later and need another better, one. And so forth…
I honestly don’t think GC has anything to do with it. Postings are even slower there than here.
Speaking for myself only, I imagine the war has something to do with it. Now that real bullets are killing real people, I just don’t find that I have much interest in reading or posting snappy political commentary, pseudo-intellectual BS or soul searching pathos. Overall, IMO. there just doesn’t seem to be the usual level of light-heartedness, but maybe I’m just mis-reading my own mood into the forum as a whole.
In truth, though, it does seem like some of our most prolific posters seem to be conspicuous by their absence, or near-absence, anyway.
Definitely. People are turned off by a whistle board that’s mostly political pontificating.
'hawk, amen. I got turned off of this board when things got ‘nasty’ a couple of months back. I lurked for a while, came back, and have just got more and more depressed by the pontificating.
Let me tell you what really irks me though. If you look at the people who are keeping the political rants going, then check over at GC, you will find that most of them are posters there too. GC has a place for this type of discussion, off of the whistle board, and yet they still feel that they have to bring their arguments over here. Its almost like they are trying to kill C&F.
Sorry, end of my own rant.
Ain’t it the truth?
Speaking for myself, I have cut waaaay down on reading (and posting) to this board because:
a) taking care of my three kids and buying a house/selling this one has me so busy I don’t have much time for it
b) there doesn’t seem to be much of interest on C & F lately
c) the light-hearted fun and humor seems to have disappeared for the most part
d) the change-over has kind of thrown me…everything looks so different than what I’ve come to know as C & F, and also RIGHT after the change- over the board was down for almost a week and after a few days of withdrawal I just got out of the habit of getting on here much.
I hope the loss of fun and humor is just temporary and that it will get back to its old self sometime in the future! (And with far less arguments and far more kindness and friendship.) One of the main reasons I loved hanging out here was that it felt like a second family to me. It doesn’t really feel like that so much anymore… 
I think that what could be happening to the board is a combination of things, as already suggested.
Gaelic Crossings is quieter and more peaceful. I’d probably settle on that board myself if I wasn’t, like, Dale Wisely and everything.
I think that CF has reached something close to a saturation point. When I started, there were a handful of makers. CF and has been around to see the burgeoning of new makers and new whistle-related products and the immense popular wave of, uh, popularity of whistle music. To some extent, CF has reported that and, to some small extent, it has been a catalyst for it.
But, I think there’s a bit a saturation here…I don’t update the webpage much, partly because there’s not much to add and partly because my own interests, after 8 years, have changed a good bit. Still love the whistle, but I’m just less likely to spend an evening WRITING about it!
I still enjoy writing the newsletter, but I find that’s mostly because I enjoy the human element and the personalities and sharing my own creative impulses. To be blunt, the content (whistles) has become nearly beside-the-point. Lately, I’ve been thinking about starting another newsletter which would probably channel some of those impulses.
CF has grown and grown for 8 years, far more than I ever would have thought possible or even advisable! 3300 subscribers and a huge website, etc. etc. and a mammoth msg board. But, these things have a lifespan and CF may well be over the hill, or past its prime, or whichever metaphor you prefer. Maybe a dinosaur with a small brain.
I haven’t been able to give it up yet because of the people–many of whom I think of as friends and some almost as family. I have enjoyed it so much and I know I’ll miss the hell out of it when I step down. I’ve also really enjoyed this extremely weird business of my being a very minor celebrity in Irish music. precisely because it has been so unlikely.
On the other hand, specifically about the board, I just think it may need a little breathing time. A little time to cycle. As I wrote on GC, THAT board may become what CF once was, if that hasn’t happened already. I regret this not at all. As a dead Beatle said, quoting somebody else who is also dead, “All Things Must Pass.”
Cees -
Sure its like a family - only a dysfunctional one. I’ll probably be accused of preaching, but I sure hope folks will read what you wrote and really think about it.
Family always applied two ways. First, of course. C&F did often seem like family - or a gathering of old friends. Second, though, it was a place where a parent didn’t have to worry about their kids dropping in. It was an adult place that was kid-friendly.
The C&F we’ve seen the last few weeks was probably NOT a place for kids to visit. In addition to being boring as h**l, it was not always a place where people could play nice - not a great example.
Dale may be right - it may be a factor of critical mass or an aging process - but don’t give up yet. Rejuvenation is possible - just ask the Hair Club for Men or the makers of Grecian Formula.
I’ve slowed down in coming to the C&F forums for several reason:
- There is too darn much OT posting. I get tired of wading through this trying to find something of interest. It needs to have its own area…if any at all.
- Too many frivilous postings. People saying things without saying anything seemly just to drive up their post count.
- My needs have changed as a whistle player. I’m past the point of “should I buy a Susato or a Dixon?”. We really need an FAQ for these types of questions.
I’ve been to Gaelic Crossings and like it a lot more probably because it has more specialized areas in which to post. I can get on and off without wasting a lot of time. Then again, if C&F were like GC then it wouldn’t be C&F any more…quite a pickle.
When I click on your GC link, I get the Museum of Black Death? Has GC already given up the ghost?
No…but if everyone went to Gaelic Crossings then there wouldn’t be anyone left here!!!
Actually, here is the real address.
OK, OK…so this is REALLY the REAL address!!
There are two obvious reasons why things are quiet here at the moment. First, there was an explosion a few weeks back due to personality clashes. Anybody who’d been following the board for a few months would have seen it coming. What puzzled me was people carrying on as though it were all a big surprise and onlookers rushing around trying to put out spot fires that didn’t exist. A suppose that just reflected the extent to which so many people saw this place as a large family home.
Much more important is the fact that there is a major and deeply divisive war going on. I really don’t think that the people who’ve used this as a pretext to engage in Xenophobic rantings have driven many people away. I don’t read that stuff any more. But I’m much more often simply not in the mood to start a new thread or crack a joke. So I don’t post as often.
To those who think that the place has got boring quite independently of the war, I have a proposal. Stop sitting back waiting for someone else to entertain you and generate the interest, fun and laughter yourself. Maybe, just maybe, some of us will feel like joining you. :roll:
I disagree.
I for instance may be guilty of quite opionated postings in the political threads here, contributing to a tense atmosphere. However, I’ll pledge that when I heated up It was reacting to xenophobia, when it appeared some were hijacking this board as a tribune, not for discussing political matters between concerned adults, but for the lowliest kind of French-bashing. So did Claudine.
Now check GC and you won’t find any of us in the OT fora. Neither bothered to answer the attempts to fire up some more ranting on GC.
This may be because these threads are carefully separated from the Instruments forum. So we can ignore this tribune, as we ignore whatever ranting may go on top of a soapbox at Hyde Park Corner, just because we don’t live in London.
I think you should have made this thread a poll. 