Where's the German contingent?

[Ghosttrain]

I'm a new poster and do not find it intimidating at all,i find it really interesting and never thought i would ever join a Forum.I am a huge Fairport Convention fan(longer than NMA).I have followed their Forum for years,but never joined despite pressure from my mates,the reason...............because of all the sycophants on the site,and have seen many new posters ripped to shreads for saying what they think.You have to agree with them or you don't fit in,NOT what i thought a Forum was all about ?....I am more than happy here  and would encourage more people to take the plunge and post.

[Master Ray]

don't get me wrong master ray, i don't use translators to write that gibberish, it's all my fantasy that does it;-)

there could be something to it what you menat with intimidating. it could feel like a game that has already started, and if you try to join you could disrupt it.
but there are enough other topics anyone could join and give their opinion, but they don't.
LIKE THE WINTER GRAPHICS NOVEL THREAD §%&"/"&§&§/ ;-)))
just kidding. i'm ok with it and i will wait patiently for an answer and re-start that thing over and over again.

Ha!   

Sometimes a thread doesn't hit home.  I've never looked at the Winter graphic novel, graphic novels just aren't my thing.... sorry.  I hope you get a good answer to that question one day!

And, please, feel free to disrupt any long term threads / 'in'jokes'... 

[cthulhu]

..I've never looked at the Winter graphic novel, graphic novels just aren't my thing.... sorry.

maybe that's the misunderstanding here. you think it's not your thing but this is not just a graphic novel you can read. the novel character comes by the lyrics of the songs, so that's the story. you don't have to read it. imagine if joolz made a very in detail in-sleeve of an album and almost every word or meaning of a sentence is put into fantastic graphics. i bet then you would go for it..?

you can hear the song and watch the story evolve in front of your eyes. of course it's a different interpretation by the artist from which you could have in mind. but i promise, this willl not take anything from you. like some people don't want to watch movies about novels.
to me it was a fantastic new experience, an intense one. like the songs grow with each hearing, so does the graphics become deeper and deeper. buy it!
;-)

i came up with a plan about my question and will start it after i come back from work this sunday. bloody hell...i have a 9 days week this time. working from monday to next wednesday...

[Master Ray]

Fair enough!  Cash is a bit tight right now (I was looking forward to seeing NMA next weekend but don't think I can make it...  ), but you talked me into getting hold of Winter.  When I get around to it, I'll be sure to let you know what I thought of it!

[cthulhu]

That's cool master ray and i bet you won't be disappointed. I'm eager to get to know your opinion about it.

[8]

posted A LOT on the German board, back then... neither on Twitter nor FB nor any other social media and check here only sporadically.

Most of them write on Facebook as far I checked.

Was on the german board, but as you and Lupus - I don`t want to be a member of FB.  FB is making an update - and your private things are online for some days without your willing - and FB only says- sorry, our fault and we will become better in the future and it won`t happen again ...
Fu*k you very much - you`ve promised that too often ....

I am also not on facefook or fritter... never plan to be either.  Friends keep asking me to join, but I really LOATHE the visual set-up, not to mention all the privacy violations happening of late.  Hopefully this place will never go under, otherwise, I'll definitely be out of luck and loop.  See, thing is, I'm the only NMA fan I know in real life, so if this ship (meaning this board) sinks, I'll definitely be going down with it. 

i have to ask myself how do i use this forum. as german native speaker its not that easy to express the thoughts i have and often i think, "damn, this said in english is maybe not quite what i meant" but as you've noticed, it won't stop me either.

As a native german speaker, I have problems to express my thoughts in english or sometimes I think, I´ve understand something wrong reading some postings and so I don`t post an answer...

Cthulhu, Lotus, and anyone else floating / posting here in the same predicament, I beg each and everyone of you to PLEASE never let the language barrier get in the way of you all expressing yourselves.  PLEASE.  If you can't say it in English, either because you can't find the right words or its just taking way too long, too much effort, just jump in and say it in your mother tongue(s).    I adore languages!!  lol, even when I have no clue what's being said.  NEVER fear, just be yourselves and speak your hearts out... someone's bound to be in the same boat, and just might muster up the courage to reply, participate with each of you. 


I wish to send further special shout outs / greetings to:  all the Turkish, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazillian, Bulgarian, Polish, etc. etc. posters who also used to post here quite regularly, a number of years back.  And any newbie lurkers, of a foreign tongue, PLEASE don't let it stop you from participating, either... ever, ok? 

Lots of love... 8.

[Master Ray]

Great post, 8, I agree with every single word...

[Stephanie]

Can I ask, if someone checks in (but rarely or never posts anything) is it something about us regular posters that puts you off?   

Hmm, I guess I am one of those people.  But I can't say that I find anything on here is keeping me from posting - what is stopping me, mostly, is that I find some topics really interesting and want to reply at length (because I find it so hard to keep replies short when the topic is interesting  ) - and I never seem to have the time. Like, I tell myself I'll reply when I have a bit more time...then forget...and then it's kind of too late. 

Generally speaking, while I am surprised to see so many people on here are NOT on FB, it is these platforms that have killed forums. It's actually really great to see this one is still as alive as it is. There used to be a great forum for my other favourite band, L.A. Guns. It was a lot like this forum, not too big but most members would post regularly and we could discuss all sorts of topics on there. Very interesting as members  were from all over the world. Many friendships were formed on this board (and many still last to this day) - but at some point people started joinging first MySpace, then FB. I guess the thing is that, on there, you can get infos on all of your favourite artists without having to switch between pages, you can be in touch with all of your friends - it just seems a lot more...covenient.

Having said that, I actually prefer the privacy of a forum like this one (although I am on FB  ) - and you are right, of course, Master Ray, it is up to us to keep this one alive by posting as often as possible...so I'm going to try and do just that. 

[Anna Woman von NRW]

Cthulhu, Lotus, and anyone else floating / posting here in the same predicament, I beg each and everyone of you to PLEASE never let the language barrier get in the way of you all expressing yourselves.  PLEASE.  If you can't say it in English, either because you can't find the right words or its just taking way too long, too much effort, just jump in and say it in your mother tongue(s).    I adore languages!!  lol, even when I have no clue what's being said.  NEVER fear, just be yourselves and speak your hearts out... someone's bound to be in the same boat, and just might muster up the courage to reply, participate with each of you. 

This - a million times over 

I don't think there is any doubt that Twitter & Facebook have taken most of the folks who used to come here. Luddites like me who don't use them are very much in a minority, it's just the way social media has developed and older ways of communicating like here are probably almost "historical" curiosities  I also think that probably the fanbase that moved into the brave new world itself fractured and diverged in that on facebook for example i know there was at least one other unofficial fanpage that a whole group of people went to, others probably exist too - maybe for fans from other countries, groups of friends etc. Essentially I guess a pretty small group of the worlds population (fans) became fractured and split across different parts of cyberspace.

what is stopping me, mostly, is that I find some topics really interesting and want to reply at length (because I find it so hard to keep replies short when the topic is interesting  ) - and I never seem to have the time. Like, I tell myself I'll reply when I have a bit more time...then forget...and then it's kind of too late. 

Truth in this for me too 

But I also think it touches on another reason why a board like this is not so popular anymore: Time. Current models of social media are fast - they function on speed and the ability for users to quickly respond and move on. This board by it's nature is slower and perhaps a bit more considered (mostly  ) Two different beasts and most people prefer the other one.

Finally there's also the interaction between fan and band organisation. You can see the twitter page and facebook homepage without being a member and there is more communication from the NMA organisation on those 2 forms of media than here: best album, where to tour next - both recent questions from @officialnma on twitter, when was the last time that happened here? I'm not having a dig - it's perfectly understandable, NMA is a business and their market is found "over there" not here . I don't know how much it costs to maintain a board like this but I doubt it's an earner  I often think the band is just doing their bit for charity in keeping it going for sad old buggers like me who can't/won't move on into the new world 

[Shush]

I might be wrong but I imagine this board is included with the main web page package rather than paid for separately. Probably of limited storage space, in the past - remember when Viv used to clear out some of the back log when the site was busy and people used to moan that their "Posts" tally had gone down ? Doesn't seem to happen now. I know he sorted out the post tally issue, but the archive still seems to go back a long way.
Although it was 2012 when I first joined this forum, I did used to look at it before that. It has decreased in activity greatly over the years. There is still a note on the bottom of its main page saying  - most on-line ever, 260 back in 2008, but that was before Facebook and twitter were as big as they are now, and also when Joolz was one of the most active members.
What should have been the biggest event on this board ever was the Q/A session with band, think it was February 2014. While it was happening I did look at the home page out of interest and at the peak there were around 200 people on the forum. I was surprised so few were in attendance, and only a handful of us offered questions to the band. It was notified on Facebook, but would no doubt have got a bigger audience if it had been held there.
Although I am a fraction as active now as I used to be here, I will always be grateful to the board for making contact with some fine people here who I have been lucky enough to meet in person from as far away as Finland and the States. 
So many regular posters here are now never seen, I assume doing what they used to do here on the F/t media. My life long friend and formerly very active member here "Barty" gave up on the forum and is now a twitter regular.
Anna I think you are right, there is a certain appeal to this sort of forum to luddite computer user. I have looked at F/B and twitter, they just do not appeal to me. Nothing against either but it just isn't me. 
I said on here years ago, what I think the forum needs is a regular blog from the band. Any little tit-bits would be of interest. Funny stories, how did the gigs go, etc. They must have had an interesting time down in South America. I for one would love to hear about it. 

[Master Ray]

Nice posts, Anna and Shush, exactly the sort of thing that I wanted to say but put far more eruditely.

I am on Facebook, but with a very limited number of close friends and I use FB as a tool purely for keeping up with those same dear folks, I almost never accept friend requests or any other sources of information.  Tried the NMA threads a couple of times, didn't last long, other than the official NMA thread.  Twitter... I lasted less time with that!

I'm grateful that the band keep the NMA Forum going because I've made some great friends here, friends who I wish I could see more often in the real world!

Shame that so many have given up on this Forum.  But heck, way of the world, etc... 

[dilla]

I think I love this board because it is now more cosy.In  a funny sort of way,comparing this board with F***book is like comparing NMA with the music industry.I also have met some people on here who are no longer here,who I still see at gigs.Am not on facebook and am only on 1 other forum.Try not to spend my life on line.There's a great big beautiful world out there to see and FEEL which you can't do behind a screen.I know I should post more often,but as Phil Lynott says in the brilliant "Got to give it up"."I never seem to get the words out right,quite right"

[orlando]

I agree with a lot that has been posted before. While I am only registered for a comparatively short time and don't post too much, I have been a regular reader for a long time already. Facebook and Twitter don't appeal to me very much and I am registered for neither, so I love to spend time on the NMA Board, reading about the concerts I haven't been able to go to or about the thoughts of a new album etc.

It was also nice to meet a lot of people in real life at the NOATV which I had already met online. Being from Germany, I was also registered on the German Board, but didn't post there regularly either.

The NMA forum is one of the sites I visit almost daily, so I will try to do my part and increase my post count so everybody else also has a reason to visit frequently.

Hope to see some of you in Groß Gerau soon.

[Master Ray]

There was something that I forgot to add to add to my last post... I like the anonymity of the NMA forum.  My Facebook profile has my real name on it (my real name isn't Ray!) and a picture of my face... I keep it that way just in case an old friend from the past wants to find me and contact me... I've reignited old friendships with long lost pals several times and I'm grateful to FB for that.  But... there are some odd folks out there on the internet and I'd prefer to keep my communication a bit 'incommunicado' until I get to know them better, I like to 'vet' them.  Does that sound arrogant?  Hopefully not... there are several folks here who know my personal details and have other ways of communicating with me, people who I consider friends.  But then again, a few years back, there was an unpleasant dispute about some silly shite or other (something to do with Manchester pubs I think) and there were threats of violence from an idiot poster who got modded right the **** out of here and rightfully so.  I'd hate to think that the person in question knew what I looked like...

So, yeah, The NMA Forum works for me.  Long may it continue.

[cthulhu]

Ich würd auch sagen, dass das Forum hier für mich seinen Zweck gut erfüllt, es Spaß macht sich mit anderen Fans auszutauschen zu können und das ein wenig mehr Teilnahme nicht schlecht wäre, aber es ist halt so wie es ist.
Prost!