where is the hindi movie forum?

[barend]

Didn't I look right or is the hindi (raga based) movie forum canceled?

[david]

It was taken down due to lack of interest.

However if there is sufficient interest I might create a general purpose film music forum.

Peace
David Courtney

[barend]

too bad. I always liked it. But your right there was very little response to the topics.

[povster]

It was taken down due to lack of interest.

However if there is sufficient interest I might create a general purpose film music forum.

Peace
David Courtney

Hi David. Sometimes I have noticed you will remove a forum due to lack of (or seeming lack of) interest. But does keeping the forum intact increase your workload or the amount of board maintenance you need to do (a serious question)?

Not so long ago I was talking to a friend from Mumbai at my last place of work who enjoys ICM and also popular Indian music. He was fascinated by the number of raga and the related film songs. I was as well. Although there may be nothing to actually contribute, I know I found that a very intriquing forum as did my friend.

I am sorry to see it go. I was not able to contrinute to it but i did learn from it, as I'm sure others did as well.

Also I have noticed that some boards have a spate of interest, then lay fallow for some time, then back energetically. The Sarod forum is a good example. At one point you had removed it but fortunately you put it back. There were periods of no posts or few responses and now there are periods of great vigor.

So unless there is some real hardship in leaving a forum up even though it seems to generate little interest, it would be great if you would not remove them because there seems to be little interest. After all, shared knowledge is what this place is about. And with that forum gone, the knowledge it brought no longer exists here. That is sad.

[Aanaddha]

Out of curiosity.... why "SITAR RECORDINGS, VIDEOS, & BOOKs" and not simply "RECORDINGS, VIDEOS, & BOOKs"?
Seems potential contributors (and readers) might get thrown off or even discouraged by the 'Category' IMO - and doesn't leave much room for cross-over discussion.

[david]

The sitar recordings etc. was an experiment that I feel just has not worked. I will probably amalgamate it into the sitar section.

Aside from a Film Music Forum, I have also toyed with the idea of a Dilruba/ Esraj/ Taus forum. I always interested in feedback in these matters.


You see I am always experimenting to see what works. If something does not seem to be attracting a lot of traffic, I seriously consider amalgamating it with another section it. Conversely if a section of another site seems to be attracting a considerable amount of activity, I seriously consider spinning it off into a new group.

Such considerations are of course moderated by other factors. For instance, the Indian dance forum does not attract a lot of activity, but I just can not see amalgamating it into another section. The sarod forum was always marginal but after several flip flops I decided to keep it as a separate forum.

Remember that every time you post, you are voting for a forum, Ultimately it is YOU who decides the layout of these forums.

I am always interested to hear suggestions from the users, but, in the final analysis, it is the traffic which determines how things are laid out.

Peace

David

[povster]

I am always interested to hear suggestions from the users, but, in the final analysis, it is the traffic which determines how things are laid out.

Peace

David

David, I have tremendous respect for the efforts you make here. But I have to disagree with this concept. Some topics may not require a tremendous amount of traffic, but for posterity, they are very useful. I feel that way about the Film forum. How much information was there? Quite a lot in a single area. I figured it was a lot of work to develop and a part of me felt that at some point this forum may drop by the wayside because of the lack of traffic. But a simple lack of new input does not mean the information contained is not important and of interest.

So, if a forum does not require extra work on your part to maintain, why not just leave it?

[david]

You are right, there is a lot of information, and that information has not gone away. It is just a question of organization. All the classical music based film song information is at:
http://www.chandrakantha.com/raga_raag/song_title.html

and again at:
http://www.chandrakantha.com/raga_raag/ ... _raga.html

If there is not going to be any discussion on a topic, then a flat HTML based page is the best way to present the information. Conversely if there is a lot of change and discussions, then a PHP based forum is the best way to handle it.

Again I must stress that at no time does something go away, it is all just a question of organization.

Peace

David Courtney

[ragamala]

The sitar recordings etc. was an experiment that I feel just has not worked. I will probably amalgamate it into the sitar section.

Aside from a Film Music Forum, I have also toyed with the idea of a Dilruba/ Esraj/ Taus forum. I always interested in feedback in these matters.
David

I'm not quite sure I understand the idea that the sitar recording etc hasn't worked - it seems to draw a lot more more traffic than quite a few other categories, if that is a significant criterion! Although I also agree with Aanaddha on this - so why not widen the title rather than amalgamate - there is plenty of general sitar traffic as it is and some of us who are not interested in the technicalities of sitar construction are more interested in the contribution sitar music makes to ICM in general.

Also I am not at all sure that a "Dilruba/ Esraj/ Taus" forum is a priority - firstly these instruments are well-catered for in forums generated by the Sikh community, and secondly they have been mentioned very infreqently in these forums compared with sarangi.

BUT if you widened this to a "bowed instruments" forum I could support that idea a lot more, and I'm sure it would generate more interest, even if small compared with sitar.

But not as important as establishing a vocal music forum?? I am sure this idea has cropped up many times. And may have been attempted before my time here. But many of the recent general topic conversations relate to vocal music, with a lot of topics and replies being devoted to both dhrupad and khyal concepts. That would really place the whole of these forums on a more even keel?



Best
Alan

[david]

Your input on the whole bowed instrument thing is well taken.

My problem with the separation of the sitar forum and and the sitar recordings forum is more conceptual rather than traffic. Certainly it is a highly trafficed forum, but I wonder sometimes whether it is logical to divide it in this way. My question is whether the present division makes things easier for the participants or harder. I can see it go either way but I need feedback from all of you for making a decision.

Ultimately my goal is:
1) Navigation should be easy.
2) Navigation should be logical
3) It should be organised in such a way as to stimulate discussions.

Although I can control the layout, only you, the participants can determine the three criteria mentioned.

Peace

David Courtney

[ragamala]

Re the sitar split, if the navigation ease is important, then for a lot of folks who hope to use the forum as a way of getting access to recordings, then the current divide is perfect. I am not saying the desire to acquire the latest posting of new material, be it unpublished or published, copyright or grey area, is right or wrong, just that this is something obviously some forum members are keen on.

This does not generate discussion necessarily (just as the announcement of concerts does not). However this does sometimes act as a stimulus to draw in extra knowledgeable people who have not previously contributed to a particular topic elsewhere (eg the illumination of Kaushiki vs Kaunsi Kanada recently) and this is why I think a forum on recorded material is important - it can illustrate concepts in a practical way and lead to a useful input on some of the more generalised debates.

[david]

Again point well taken. The natural extension of this is that if this is a logical division, then why not extend it into the tabla. Perhaps a Tabla recorded material forum is in order.

I am certainly not opposed to the idea of a tabla recorded material forum, but I would certainly like more feedback.

I just have a few hesitations concerning having too many forums. There is already a problem with people getting confused as to which forum something should go into. For instance, I am always having to move or delete announcements for performances from the tabla, or sitar forums. After all, it is a natural confusion that if one is wishing to announce a sitar performance, then does it go into the sitar forums or the announcements forums. Increasing the number of forums simply compounds the confusion.

Furthermore, traffic in the forums has to be high enough to reach a critical mass to stimulate discussions. Having too many forums dilutes the traffic to the point where in some cases this critical mass is not attained.

I think that you will agree that there are not any easy answers to these fundamental questions.

Peace

David Courtney

[ragamala]

Many thanks David for your promptness and courtesy, as always, and I understand the need to keep down the number of forums.

But I think Aanaddha's suggestion of a general recordings/videos/books instead of the sitar-specific might answer your reservation there?

Best
Alan

[Aanaddha]

Many thanks David for your promptness and courtesy, as always, and I understand the need to keep down the number of forums.

But I think Aanaddha's suggestion of a general recordings/videos/books instead of the sitar-specific might answer your reservation there?

Best
Alan

esp. in such cases as the inquiry regarding the tabla player of a sitar recording.... duh?

[povster]

I think that you will agree that there are not any easy answers to these fundamental questions.

Peace

David Courtney

How often the fundamental questions are the most difficult to answer!

All of what you say does make sense, David. AAnd I was glad to be shown the Film flat topic area. Sometimes i forget this place has much more than just the forums!

I do agree that a more generalizes Recordings/Videos/Books section would be very useful. Perhaps a single one that would encompass sitar. No question, as Anaddha says, a tabla recordings one would be most useful, as the top to forums here seem to be Sitar and Tabla. But if you made a seperate Tabla one, then a third for "all the rest" would well be in order. Yaaaa! Perhaps just removing the word "Sitar" from the "SITAR RECORDINGS, VIDEOS, & BOOKs" forum would be the answer.

In any case, many of us here understand the effort that can entail. I know someone (probably you) moves relevant posts formerly residing in other forums to a new one. not an enviable task. But always appreciated.