Is it me ...

[Hook]

Whoa!

i think i'll stick to heroin.

Me too!

[Vaisvil]

Whoa!

i think i'll stick to heroin.

Me too!

obviously a request for a agonized blues song....

[phantasm777]

all in all ... group hug anyone!

[T.C. Elliott]

Is there a site we can print on demand an official t-shirt that says "I'm a Songcrafter!" with maybe a logo or something? I'd order one, I think. Maybe upcharge a couple bucks and help pay for the site? I know I heard of a place like that back when I thought my band would be more active than it will ever be.

Re: Rules - In general it isn't polite to bump your song to the top of the list by saying thank you twenty times. But there have been (and even are) a few people who do it somewhat regularly and no-one has ever, to my knowledge, pointed it out as being against any rules. I just made a thank you in my only song post of the year, but it was already near the top and I am genuinely grateful to everyone who listened (even though most of them won't see the thank you.)  I'll bet you a quarter that no-one makes mention of it even if it. Doesn't sound like a big deal to me. I understand the point, but the reality is that mentioning a point of common courtesy is much different than a rule you must follow in order to belong to a community. Be courteous or don't, I doubt many people will notice either way.

re: posting - I check in at least once a week (most weeks) or more often, but I admit I'm not that active. I write a crap load of songs but I don't post most of them here. I'm getting out what I put into this site and I'm perfectly happy with it. It is among the best sites on the internet as far as supportive and generous members go.

re: 64s and admin crew. Thank you. For everything.

[Vaisvil]

T.C what you said made perfect sense to me

20 times is a bit much - especially over a prolonged time period. I may have had a couple songs that had that many comments - unless Reg was involved.

t shirts   http://www.zazzle.com/on+demand+tshirts 

re: posting - I check in at least once a week (most weeks) or more often, but I admit I'm not that active. I write a crap load of songs but I don't post most of them here. I'm getting out what I put into this site and I'm perfectly happy with it. It is among the best sites on the internet as far as supportive and generous members go.

I'm with you on that.

[phantasm777]

well put tc, because of it not being liked much i always wait for a handful of comments to say thanks instead of one by one. unless someone asks questions, then i try to thank them for the listen and reply to the question!

[Rata-tat-tat]

Just wanted to thank the entire admin crew since I only mentioned 64... All of you do a wonderful job. I know keeping this herd of woolly critters on the right path is no easy task... and I sincerely from the bottom of my heart thank all of you for the time and effort you put into this place. It continues to inspire develop and mature...  It ... whatever that is... will continue. Like the old saying goes Rock-n-Roll will never die... neither will Songcrafters.

[64Guitars]

I just searched all of my posts for the word "thank" and cannot find a single reference to the topic of thanking people for their comments. So I don't think I've ever mentioned the subject publicly. It's possible that I've mentioned it to one or two members in private PMs but I don't recall.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the subject:

Things that are considered good manners in day-to-day life don't always work well on the internet. "Thank You" posts are unnecessary, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they should be discouraged. Instead, I think they should be limited. I suggest that, after posting a new song, you wait two or three days to give people a chance to hear it and post their comments. Then, if you feel the need, post a single reply thanking everyone for their comments. But don't feel obliged to as you might in the real world. Most people don't need a "Thank You" for their comments and they won't be the least bit offended if you choose not to thank them.

As T.C. pointed out, the real problem with "Thank You" posts is that a few members have, in the past, gone overboard and posted a separate "Thank You" for each and every comment they receive. That gets annoying very quickly. Many of us try to keep up-to-date on the latest posts by frequently checking the All Unread Topics or Since Last Visit links. When we've read a new reply, that topic is removed from our list of unread topics, reducing the number of topics we still need to read. But, when another comment is posted in that topic, it will again be considered unread and will appear in our list of unread topics. That's fine when the new post is a comment about the song. But when the same topic keeps popping up in our unread topics because the original poster keeps posting a "Thank You" to every single comment, it gets very frustrating because we can't catch up on our unread topics when they keep getting bumped with "Thank You" posts.

Also, as others have already pointed out, it's unfair to keep bumping your own topics by replying to each and every comment. When your song stays at the top of the page for several days because you're frequently bumping it, it means that other people's songs get pushed further down the page; in some cases, even to the next page.

So, please, don't post multiple "Thank You" messages in the same topic. Instead, wait till most people have had a chance to comment on your song, then post a single message thanking everyone who has commented (as a group rather than individually). If you really feel the need to thank people individually, then perhaps a PM would be a better way to do it. That way, you're not continually bumping your own topics and causing them to keep reappearing in everyone's list of unread topics.

And remember, you needn't feel obliged to post a "Thank You" at all. I'm sure nobody will be offended because you didn't thank them for their comments. In fact, a much better way of thanking people for their comments is to post some comments of your own on other people's songs. And not necessarily the same people who commented on your song, in a "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" fashion. That's too obvious and contrived. Instead, just find a few songs that you like by any members and post some supportive and encouraging comments. You will soon become known and appreciated as an active member of the community who frequently supports and encourages other members. What goes around comes around. Just take a look at the members who get the most comments on their posts and you'll generally find that they're also the members who give the most comments on other members' posts.

[Hilary]

Firstly I think it speaks volumes about the Songcrafter site that people care enough to comment on these threads - if the site wasn't important to people, they wouldn't be bothered about anything now would they.

I suggest that, after posting a new song, you wait two or three days to give people a chance to hear it and post their comments. Then, if you feel the need, post a single reply thanking everyone for their comments.

It's a good point 64 but only if you assume you get a lot of comments on your posts. For those of us who don't, we might only get one comment, say when the song is first posted, and if we then leave it a couple of days and then post a thank you we would be guilty of bumping it up the board, which I personally wouldn't do.

I think it would be easier, just to have a proper rule not to thank people, if that's the majority view. However, it is a community and part of a community is communication and I believe it's a 2-way thing. All this political wrangling about where a song is on the board and how many comments you should or should not post sucks all the fun out of it for me and makes it all seem a bit contrived. However, if that's what the majority want then it's fine with me.

[IanR]

Firstly I think it speaks volumes about the Songcrafter site that people care enough to comment on these threads - if the site wasn't important to people, they wouldn't be bothered about anything now would they.

I suggest that, after posting a new song, you wait two or three days to give people a chance to hear it and post their comments. Then, if you feel the need, post a single reply thanking everyone for their comments.

It's a good point 64 but only if you assume you get a lot of comments on your posts. For those of us who don't, we might only get one comment, say when the song is first posted, and if we then leave it a couple of days and then post a thank you we would be guilty of bumping it up the board, which I personally wouldn't do.

I think it would be easier, just to have a proper rule not to thank people, if that's the majority view. However, it is a community and part of a community is communication and I believe it's a 2-way thing. All this political wrangling about where a song is on the board and how many comments you should or should not post sucks all the fun out of it for me and makes it all seem a bit contrived. However, if that's what the majority want then it's fine with me.

I agree with 64 Guitars suggestion - I like to say thanks and will usually wait for a handful of comments before I respond.  It makes sense and should be added to the list of etiquette posts in the "post your work section".

On the other hand, I think responding to questions others have about your work asked is fine and should be done as often as necessary.  We often will see someone asking the songwriter how they did something, or what instrument was used for a lead break or whatever.  In those cases, responses from the poster should be acceptable and are necessary so that we can learn from each other.  In these cases people should not feel uncomfortable about responding.

Ian