A Gig Thread?

Knifey Spoony

I was just thinking that maybe we could do with having a gig tread in this fine forum ours. Just a thread in which people could post information about up coming gigs, either local bands or big well known bands. The idea would be to keep a list of these gigs by when they are occuring in the first post.

It's just that I've noticed that when rock/metal gigs of lesser known bands are posted here or in the gigs forum there would be very little discussion on them and most of the time be forgotten about by the time the gig is on. I'm not saying that this thread should replace the discussion of gigs but would be a way of keeping track of them.

So, I'm just wondering, before the actual tread is started, would this be a good idea? Would people support it or would you think that it would just be forgotten about after a period of time? I would like to see something like this here, but that's just me, what do you think?

Malice

I think you read my mind Knifey Spoony as I was going to start this exact thread myself .
A few times I've looked at the front page of the Rock & Metal forum and it's been dominated by gig or event threads. Bigger gigs might deserve their own thread but threads like this, this or this would be better off in one big Gigs & Events thread in my opinion. That does of course raise the question of whether those threads should in fact have been moved to the Gigs & Events forum. What do the rest of you think?

I don't visit the the Gigs & Events forum all that often so I've tended not to move threads there unless they don't relate to Rock & Metal at all.

That_Guy

Personally I'd welcome the idea. I often frequent the Gigs and Events forum but lesser known bands always get lost with the large bulk of more popular threads.

I remember seeing a Chimaira thread saying they were due to play last year and this was a day before the gig.

Good thing they cancelled because my ticketmaster didn't have any tickets left for it.

A gig listings thread for the rock and metal forum is a brilliant idea.

Knifey Spoony

Malice_ wrote: »

That does of course raise the question of whether those threads should in fact have been moved to the Gigs & Events forum. What do the rest of you think?

I don't think that rock/metal gig threads should be moved over to the Gig/Events forum as I think they are better suited to this forum and going to gigs is a huge part of being into rock/metal.

What I was thinking for the thread is that the first post could be used to show gigs going on for each month, that post being updated as people post gigs, something like the rock bars thread. But that does sound like a bit too much up keep. So, would it be better to just let people post away in the thread whenever they find out about gigs?

honru

I find a good bit of crossposting between here and Gigs/Events. I remember Karl Hungus used to direct and move discussion re: Gigs/Events to that forum, and then he decided to lift that policy. I would prefer it the way it was before to avoid multiple threads on the same topic between forums, for example, Download: here and here.

Malice

f®eak s©enery wrote: »

I find a good bit of crossposting between here and Gigs/Events. I remember Karl Hungus used to direct and move discussion re: Gigs/Events to that forum, and then he decided to lift that policy. I would prefer it the way it was before to avoid multiple threads on the same topic between forums, for example, Download: here and here.

Thanks for your input f®eak s©enery. As I said, I don't visit the the Gigs & Events forum all that often so I'm wary of letting my personal preference override what makes the most sense. Just because I'd prefer to read about and discuss rock & metal gigs in this forum doesn't mean everyone else does . Can you remember what the reason behind leaving the gig threads here was?

Funnily enough I see a few posters that have posted in both Download threads. I guess none of them thought it a bit odd that essentially the same discussion would be carried on in two places or if they did, they didn't feel like mentioning it to anyone.

There is also the question that if, for example, a less well-known metal band is playing a gig, which forum is likely to give them greater exposure? As I check the main Music category page I see that Rock & Metal has 11 viewers and Gigs & Events has 8 so there's not a lot of difference in traffic.

honru

Malice_ wrote: »

Can you remember what the reason behind leaving the gig threads here was?

I remember Karl just changed his mind about it, but I can't find the exact thread. Prior to that all threads specifically about concerts were put in Gigs/Events.

Here's an old thread on the same subject.

Malice_ wrote:

Funnily enough I see a few posters that have posted in both Download threads. I guess none of them thought it a bit odd that essentially the same discussion would be carried on in two places or if they did, they didn't feel like mentioning it to anyone.

I'd be one of those posters. It is something I have wanted to address as the other traffic-heavy forums in the Music category (Alternative/Indie, Bands/Musicians, the general Music forum, etc.) are relatively free of threads specifically about concerts.

Malice_ wrote:

There is also the question that if, for example, a less well-known metal band is playing a gig, which forum is likely to give them greater exposure?

Good question, and it reminds me of that recent Exodus thread where someone was reunited with his lost camera. Now I wouldn't consider Exodus a small metal band as far as metal bands go, but would that owner of the camera have spotted the thread had it been on Gigs/Events? Hard to say.

Malice

f®eak s©enery wrote: »

I remember Karl just changed his mind about it, but I can't find the exact thread. Prior to that all threads specifically about concerts were put in Gigs/Events.

Here's an old thread on the same subject.

Thanks for the link. There are a few good points raised in that thread. This could be worth discussing:

Crucifix wrote:

all the pregig stuff should be in the gigs/events forum, but
discussion of a gig after the fact should go here

It might be a bit messy if there are multiple threads on the same topic though so I'd like to get more people's feedback on it before any decisions are made.

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

It is something I have wanted to address as the other traffic-heavy forums in the Music category (Alternative/Indie, Bands/Musicians, the general Music forum, etc.) are relatively free of threads specifically about concerts.

Well the Alternative/Indie forum has this thread which would seem to be along the lines of what could be done here. The Bands & Musicians mods obviously do a fantastic job of keeping that forum clutter free and I suppose something similar could be said for the other genre forums.
I see that the Jazz forum has a gigs thread too, as does the Soul forum (here), the Traditional forum (here) and the Punk forum (here). Mind you, people don't seem to be using the Punk one - out of twenty non-sticky threads on the first page, twelve are gig-related.

Anyway, what specifically do you think needs to be addressed before a gigs thread is added in this forum (assuming one is to be added)?

Also, while I'm addressing f®eak s©enery, I'd still like to hear from other posters!

honru

Malice_ wrote:

Thanks for the link. There are a few good points raised in that thread. This could be worth discussing:

Crucifix wrote:

all the pregig stuff should be in the gigs/events forum, but
discussion of a gig after the fact should go here

I'm not fond of that idea at all. It sounds cumbersome especially when there is post-gig discussion going on for concerts that (chances are) wouldn't have a thread on Rock/Metal. It would mean closing a thread on Gigs/Events and redirecting traffic to Rock/Metal, but there's no reason why such discussion couldn't continue on Gigs/Events.

Malice_ wrote:

Anyway, what specifically do you think needs to be addressed before a gigs thread is added in this forum (assuming one is to be added)?

Should all future threads that are dedicated to particular gigs be moved to Gigs/Events? The main issue is that threads are popping up between the two boards discussing the same topics about a particular concert. I remember the Guns N' Roses gigs last year generated very similar discussions: here; here and here.

I think a thread/sticky for upcoming gigs is a good idea for the majority of Music forums (probably should have clarified that ) but as a user of both Gigs/Events and Rock/Metal it's a shame that discussion gets splintered between the two boards. Then there's the issue of posters advertising/spamming gigs between both forums.

Somnus

A thread for upcoming gigs might not be a bad idea.

But would threads on individual gigs still be allowed or would they have to be in the stickied thread?

It'd be great to have a no discussion thread just for seeing who is playing in coming months, but still have individual threads for talking abouts how the gig was, favouritem songs,moments, sound etc etc.

Zombienosh

I like it having seperate threads, Its ok if people just want post about a gig, but most gig postings end in a discussion anyway, so if it was all in one thread people couldn't discuss the gig, clog it up?

Knifey Spoony

Dr.Poca wrote: »

A thread for upcoming gigs might not be a bad idea.

But would threads on individual gigs still be allowed or would they have to be in the stickied thread?

It'd be great to have a no discussion thread just for seeing who is playing in coming months, but still have individual threads for talking abouts how the gig was, favouritem songs,moments, sound etc etc.

My original idea was to have just one thread where people could post just about up coming gigs and have seperate threads then for discussing the gig. It was just that for smaller band's gigs there would be very little discussion and the thread would be forgotten about by the time the gig had come around, that's if it wasn't constantly being bumped by the OP. So, one stickied thread for gigs, just for advertising them was what I thought.

Somnus

Knifey Spoony wrote: »

My original idea was to have just one thread where people could post just about up coming gigs and have seperate threads then for discussing the gig. It was just that for smaller band's gigs there would be very little discussion and the thread would be forgotten about by the time the gig had come around, that's if it wasn't constantly being bumped by the OP. So, one stickied thread for gigs, just for advertising them was what I thought.

+1 for this

Malice

Okay so I think everyone is in favour of a sticky thread for Rock & Metal gigs. I'd like to get a these questions answered before we proceed though:

What is the best thing to do about festival and bigger gigs threads? For example, at the moment there are discussions on the Download festival active in both forums and the infamous Guns N' Roses gig last year generated threads in both forums as well.

What to do about gig discussion? For example, unknown metal band's gig gets added to the thread and people want to discuss it. Should they do that on the gig thread, a separate thread in the Rock & Metal forum or a separate thread in the Gigs & Events forum?

GrizzlyMan

I Reckon just have a Sticky Entitled Metal and Rock gigs, so people can see whos playing when and maybe have a seperate one for summer festivals!

If people want to discuss a certain gig in detail, let them just start a new tread....Just a thought:o

Knifey Spoony

I think that gig thread should only be used to give details about upcoming gigs, whether they be local or international acts, with no discussion in that thread.

People should then create their own threads to discuss the gig, if they feel that people would want to discuss it. As for where these threads are created, I think that rock/metal gigs might be more discussed in this forum rather than in gigs and events. Just my two cents.

Somnus

I agree with GrizzlyMan and Knifey Spooney. A thread with no chat for posting gig dates,prices etc. maybe a format such as

Band
Venue
Price Range

And then if people want to discuss a particular gig in depth then make a thread on it. I definitely feel that the gigs will be more discussed if the threads are in the rock & metal forum instead of the the gigs forum.

Malice

Okay, I've create a gig listing thread here. If you have any comments on it, please put them in this thread.

JBnaglfar

I think this is a great idea, as I often miss out on smaller gigs because I either don't hear about them in time, or hear about them months in advance and then they just fall off my radar. The only worry I have with the thread is that if a gig is posted 3 or 4 months before its due to take place, it could get buried in the thread during the weeks coming up to the gig which would defeat the purpose.

Two suggestions: You could keep a list of upcoming gigs that have been posted in the first post as an easy reference point to see what's coming up. It could be updated every 2 weeks, every month or whatever. However, that may be a lot of unnecessary work.

The second suggestion, which I would prefer, is to basically do what the Alternative and Indie thread you linked to does. In their thread, gigs are only posted if they are taking place within the next two weeks. Something similar could work here. Depending on how busy the thread is, it should be possible to expand it to three or four weeks without the post being buried by the time the gig comes around.

Malice

Well I would hope that there would be a natural order imposed by time so that the third post on the thread doesn't contain details of a gig that's on in 2012 for example. I don't think there's much point arbitrarily restricting gigs to a certain timeframe.

As for updating the first post with a list, I think I'll empower the viewers of the thread to be able to read for themselves .

Malice

I'm probably preaching to the choir here but if anyone notices a gig thread from now on that should be part of the sticky thread, please don't reply to it. The problem is that when thread merges are done, the replies are carried over as well and I end up having to delete them. I can see there being a lot of deleted posts in the sticky thread unless people use their common sense.