Forum How To Focus

[Joe W]

As you try to understand your new keyboard, you will faced with a lot of questions on how to do this or how to do that ON YOUR KEYBOARD.  Place your question in the board that deals with your keyboard or the particular feature on your keyboard that is giving you problems.

This board is for questions you may have about how this forum works.  How you might post something, how to reply to things, how to attach a file, how to download an attachment, how to use the calendar feature, how to access your profile and what is in there, how to find HELP about this forum.

[Toril S]

Hello I have a question about a link to my performers page. I just get the string of letters, but I see other people have got the link to read for instance Toril's Jukebox or something like that. How do I do this?

And, concerning the how to section, I have "sinned" many times by posting how to do this and that with my keyboard here. So the clarification was in its place

Merry Christmas to all

[Roger Brenizer]

I'll amend your profile, Toril, just as soon as I have time.  After it's amended you can look at your profile and see how this was done. 

[Toril S]

Thank tou Roger😀🌲

[Bill]

Hi ALL

Maybe it is time to take a step back and evaluate how each of us behaves on the Forum.

We have had the removal of the  "miscellaneous and just for fun" board and the lockdown on the discussion thread relating to it.

First I personally except everything that Joe and his moderators do.  I consider it a privilege, not a right to be part of this forum.

However, I just wanted to air some of my views on the subject. 

Moderator Behavior.

As I said whatever they do, they do with the best intentions for the well being of the Forum.  However, I think they could at least let us know what they are doing. They do NOT have to justify anything, just a quick statement at the time would be greatly appreciated.

OP Locking of Threads

A suggestion which I do not think will be generally accepted, however here goes.   Should the Original Poster not have the ability to close a thread when they feel a solution has been given and their problem has gone away.


Stupid Questions.

I have said many times to newcomers that there is no such thing as a Stupid Question, this is especially true as somethings are really easy for some folks BUT are extremely difficult for others.  However lately, I have started to think that there are some stupid questions.  But this I mean several people post questions simply to stir up a conversation when they do not have any problem or interest.

Thread Hijacking

Many times someone (Original Poster - OP) will start a new thread to ask a question about their Yamaha Keyboard, etc.
The second post will often reply without actually giving an answer - something along the lines of "I have never had that problem with mine", then go on to say they have been unwell lately.
The third poster replies to the 2nd poster to state they are sorry they are unwell.
Everyone else then jumps on the bandwagon about someone's health issue, leaving the poor OP in limbo.
Occasionally someone will post a reply "You don't get that type of problem with Korg XXXX keyboards.
Then off we go again on a totally different topic.

KEEP THE REPLIES DIRECTED TO THE OP NOT SUBSEQUENT ONES.
If you wish to reply to subsequent posters, Start a NEW Thread, otherwise it makes life very difficult for those that genuinely wish to help. They have to read all the responses to sort the valid replies from the Chaff or frivolous ones.   

Regards

Bill

[Joe H]

... However, I just wanted to air some of my views on the subject... 

In other words... Moderators should be doing their job. (Actually some Moderators are breaking the rules themselves as you have outline in your comments)



Joe H

[mikf]

While this forum has a core purpose, it is also a just collection of people with a common interest. Over time on this forum they act like all people, they get to know each other, they wander off topic, they enquire after their health - all the things they would do if they were meeting face to face. I am sure that many of you belong to some kind of club or group, maybe even a keyboard group that actually meets. If so, you will know that while the core purpose and common interest may be clear, people are still people, social beings. Not only is that not a bad thing, it's often the attraction. Even on this virtual medium, in my view, its important to allow some of this social side, provided it doesn't get too controversial or wander too far, or too long off topic. If we get too strict about the core purpose, it can become dry and academic, and maybe not attract and hold that strong core that is its lifeblood.
Of course, occasionally that can go wrong, and sometimes people will disagree and get a little heated. But its not hard to fix it, without making it a federal case, or fundamental re-visiting of the 'purpose of the forum'. And the moderators are just members too.
One area that can be difficult in an international forum, is where we may not even realize what is and what is not considered controversial in another culture or country. So that can maybe wander over the line from time to time, and get a little heated. But we don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water, and should just deal with the individual situation.
Mike

[Joe H]

... We have had the removal of the  "miscellaneous and just for fun" board and the lockdown on the discussion thread relating to it...

The culprit was the word "miscellaneous".  There is undoubtedly a broad interpretation of the meaning.  It should have been defined more clearly and to what discussions/topics it was limited to, so members had a better understanding.



Joe H

[Toril S]

I feel bad that the board is gone because I probably caused it by posting about the state of emergency in my country, and thereby starting some discussion about the corona situation. No one was rude or any thing, we just discussed the situation, whitch effects us all these days. No, it is not keyboard business, but we are human.
I understand that the moderators have a hard time monitoring all boards and keeping threads from going out of hand. PSR Tutorial is the best forum ever, and there is a reason for that. But I think we need a board like this, so I am sad that it is gone, but understand the reason for it.

[EileenL]

Well I have to agree with a lot that has been said and I do think that forums benefit from having a social section. We are all going through hard times at the moment and it is only natural that some members would want to let us all know how they are managing.
I fully understand that this is a keyboard forum. I run one myself and like to keep it Happy and Friendly as one big Yamaha family. Of course the enfaces is on keyboards and how to get the best from them,to help where needed and any information that comes from Yamaha that members should know, but we are also people that sometimes want to share other things. They maybe funny things that have happened on gigs or additional hobbies they might have.
In these hard times ahead I think many people will want a friend and what better place than on a forum you visit some times daily.
If you don't want to be social and have a bit of fun on the way then you don't have to visit the section. 

[Joe W]

Comments on the social nature of the forum are well taken.  I'll give some additional thought on how best to implement this.

[Toril S]

Thank you Joe😀

[3dc]

Comments on the social nature of the forum are well taken.  I'll give some additional thought on how best to implement this.

My suggestion would be to open "lounge" area in the top "PSR Tutorial Forum" Category (last in order).
Name suggestions: The Lounge, The Lobby, The Club or something similar. 
Forum Description: Casual topics on PSR user mind ( or something in that order). Keep this forum clean and user friendly. No advertising and spamming.

Hope this helps.   

   

[Bill]

If you don't want to be social and have a bit of fun on the way then you don't have to visit the section.

Hi Eileen

With the greatest respect, it is not as easy as that.  I do not look at the individual section but look at the most recent posts. 
Maybe Joe could consider some form of filtering so that users only see whatever they are interested in.

Bill

[EileenL]

I suppose it is each to there own but I always go to most sections that have a recent date on them and ones where I may be able to help.

[DrakeM]

I am with Bill on this one. I always go the bottom of the forums and read all the resent postings. I click on just about all of them. You never know who you can help out, or what you are going to learn. 

I read the TITLES and never notice what section of the forum it is located, as it is "small print and not bold print" and thus harder to read.

Would be best to have the "Social" section "not" appear in the "Recently Posted" section of Forum. That way nobody will click on the subject matter by mistake. 

Facebook would be maybe best. Just add a forum title and stick ONE post in it with a link to the FACEBOOK page and then CLOSE that section off to any new postings.

[Joe H]

... Facebook would be maybe best. Just add a forum title and stick ONE post in it with a link to the FACEBOOK page and then CLOSE that section off to any new postings.

Drake,

I don't do Facebook or any other social media... and never will. You are against non-music, non-keyboard topics, but yet you participated in the last thread on the board that was removed.  I rarely start a new thread (maybe a hand full over the last several years).  If you look at my history, I'm always responding to someone who has a problem and even worked with several of the Forum programmers as a beta tester. But do read others' non-keyboard topics.  As has been stated by Joe W and several of the Moderators on several occasions... just don't read a particular thread if it doesn't interest you.

Regards,
Joe H

[Graham UK]

This is a very helpful Forum but if a solution is given to a question many a time reply's are not acknowledged.
Just clicking the SAY THANKS icon would be a plus.

[DrakeM]

Joe H ... I guess you just don't get it. The last couple of Social topics were political not social (or at least began to turn political). Posting a social topic is one thing but adding your political/religion (as politics today has become a religion now as well for some) should not be a part of this keyboard forum. 

my 2 cents
Drake

[Fred Smith]

I don't do Facebook or any other social media... and never will. You are against non-music, non-keyboard topics, but yet you participated in the last thread on the board that was removed.  I rarely start a new thread (maybe a hand full over the last several years).  If you look at my history, I'm always responding to someone who has a problem and even worked with several of the Forum programmers as a beta tester. But do read others' non-keyboard topics.  As has been stated by Joe W and several of the Moderators on several occasions... just don't read a particular thread if it doesn't interest you.

Joe, why don't you do social media? The reason you don't do social media is the same reason we shouldn't have a social board on this forum. They're impossible to control.

While I could live with a social board, I'm more concerned about the impact on moderators. Moderating is difficult. We're blessed with a spam-free forum. We're blessed with a forum where people can get their questions answered quickly and accurately. We're blessed with a friendly atmosphere. This is all because there are moderators who put in a lot of work. If we don't support our moderators, we'll lose them. And that would be far more damaging to this forum than the deletion of a board.

Moderators made a decision with the best interests of the forum in mind. I support the decision. If we get into the habit of reversing moderator decisions, we'll regret it.

Cheers,
Fred

[Fred Smith]

I am with Bill on this one. I always go the bottom of the forums and read all the resent postings. I click on just about all of them. You never know who you can help out, or what you are going to learn. 

I read the TITLES and never notice what section of the forum it is located, as it is "small print and not bold print" and thus harder to read.

In a similar fashion, I look at all the posts, but I use the Show unread messages feature, with the following URL:
http://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php?action=unread

It's one of my startup pages in Chrome, so seeing the unread posts is quick and easy. I also have the same URL as an icon on my iPad.

If this helps others, feel free to copy the URL.

Cheers,
Fred

[EileenL]

Afraid I still do not see a problem with a social thread. Political or Religious posts can easily be removed by a moderator surly that is part of being a moderator.
  If someone is poorly and you want to send good wishes to them where are you going to do it, in the middle of a keyboard post.

[mikf]

The last thread in the closed board was about the Coronavirus. It is the number one issue in all our lives at the moment, so of course people are going to raise it. Even if we didn't have a suitable section I bet it would still have come up. Similarly with the Australian fires.
I think people outside the US are probably scratching their heads as to why these are considered contentious topics.
On the subject of what you can ignore if you choose, there are dozens of new posts that show up in other boards that I either don't open because the title tells me it is of no interest, or I open and quickly close and move on because it's obviously of no interest. I don't think we need filters to do that.
If there are posts that cross the line in any board, we either should remove the post, shut down the thread, or shut down the person - whatever is appropriate. Over the years we have had to do that a number of times across all boards, I don't think this one was any different.
Mike

[Joe H]

Joe H ... I guess you just don't get it. The last couple of Social topics were political not social...

There you go again Drake, being argumentative. I didn't read any political statements except from you.



Joe H

[Joe H]

Joe, why don't you do social media? The reason you don't do social media is the same reason we shouldn't have a social board on this forum. They're impossible to control...

No Fred that's not the reason I avoid social media, nor do I have a cell phone. I installed an ad and tracking blocker on my PC a couple of years ago. The total ads and trackers blocked has exceeded 281,000.  My spouse and I were in a federal database that got hacked about 3 years ago.  The government thought it was serious enough to give us free ID protection.

It's simple, we are all getting tracked, hacked and bombarded with ads everyday.  I receive at least a dozen phone calls a day on my business phone line each day and an equal number of solicitations and scammers via my business and personal emails. It's all a nuisance.

That's why I don't participate in social media. I choose to keep a low profile.

Regards,
Joe H

[DrakeM]

There you go again Drake, being argumentative. I didn't read any political statements except from you.



Joe H

Nope Joe, it's you that doesn't get it , or else that Section wouldn't have been removed. 

Just go onto Facebook and be HAPPY
But don't bring Facebook to the PSR site.

[3dc]

By reading some comments here I realized maybe an "Off Topic" forum section IS NOT good idea after all. 
I am now with mods on this one. 

[EileenL]

Why should certain members think we should go on face book just to be kind to one another. It is just as bad as being told to buy a Korg or Roland keyboard. What are you all frightened off just being social  and also helping out with keyboard problems.

[Toril S]

I agree, Eileen! Now we have no place to wish someone a happy birthday or come with a funny story about keyboards or other things. Remenber, most of the things posted in the board were not threatening things like our situation now.

[Joe W]

I certainly appreciate all the comments since I last posted.  The discussion illustrates why it is worthwhile to think about the best solution a bit longer.  There are many good points that have been made but no consensus  yet.