Where have the long-time regulars gone?


With the holiday season here, I find myself thinking about friends and acquaintances, as well as the good people I have met here on Audiogon. Next month will mark the start of my fourth year of participation on Audiogon, so it is with regret that I note how many of the long-time "regulars" who began this forum are no longer making posts (at least not with any regularity).

I miss the spirited exchange and occasionally sharp differences of opinion that were aired here (although I don't miss the nastiness that sometimes crept into some posts). I always enjoyed and/or learned from the posts by folks such as Albertporter, Cornfedboy , Garfish, Bob Bundus, Tireguy, Trelja, Sc53, and others, and the forum section is the poorer for their absence.

So, I pose a 2-part question: where have the long-time regulars gone, and what will it take for them to return so that this forum section regains its vitality of old?
sdcampbell
What question was rejected? I am not aware of this, so you will have to help and be more specific.

Yes, the law is for sale, as a tacit dynamic. Its an aristocratic transient oligarchy run as an imperialistic capitalist empire; socio-economic status significantly effects outcome. I thought everyone knew that...You see no latin up my sleeve, so percieved.

Nunc pro tunc means retroactive effectiveness, in this context, retroactive responsibility.
After the several incredibly vulgar, threatening personal emails my family received after a minor technical disagreement with Carl I stayed away from Agon until the coast was clear. It was no fun to have my 14yr old daughter open said emails before I could delete them. Phew....
Yet Audiogons censors seem overly active when manufacturers are fairly criticized. For example, they closed an important thread re Electrocompaniet just when their goodwill gesture was coming in to vindicate them! Now THAT's shortsighted, eh?
I've now become somewhat active around here, and hope I'm not seen as one of the boring newcomers. Life's too short, and believe me, there aren't too many places to go and vent when my system just doesn't sound right, or when cruel naive visitors laugh at the funny cables (SPM and my bright red DIY PCs) swim across the floor. Good night folks.
Yet Audiogons censors seem overly active when manufacturers are fairly criticized. For example, they closed an important thread re Electrocompaniet just when their goodwill gesture was coming in to vindicate them! Now THAT's shortsighted, eh?

The Voodoo at work!
Unsound, send it to me personally.

On manufacturers, throughout the hiend there is a dynamic - again, tacit - that 1) justifiably protects reputations from incendiary comments that can ruin a small manufacturer (I've seen reviewers do it), and 2) seeks to hide from you the reliability issues involving a particular model.

So, I can understand a ceratin level of moderation/mediation that protects people who aren't in the position to protect themselves - particularly personal and/or unsubstantiated accusations (remember, a manufacturer would be a fool to engage a disgruntled person on a thread).

But, I can not respect censorship of substantiated ideas, even anecdotal, and particularly if the reason is to protect the reputation of someone whose bad acts should be disclosed (I don't believe that a website provider is responsible for third party liability issues, but I could be wrong - maybe we could be enlightened about this. Audiogon, hint, hint).

The ability to converse with each other about reliability and service, in addition to performance, should be an integral part of the service of this site - but that's just my opinion. If it is not, then, IMO, the management should be explicit in those parameters, which are theirs to set (its a private company). And, then, ours to accept or reject as a proffered product. Again, if they wish, regardless of the letter of the law, to "play it safe" for business reasons, then that is their choice. They should be willing, if so, to stand up and say so, however. BUT, again, that's just my opinion, because other than authenticity issues, they have no legal obligation to do so, i.e. capitalism has no interest in authenticity.

Ah, the vagaries of capitalism (self-interest) and the interplay with democracy (freedom). I always love when the capitalist-identified run into the inherencies of the system they are so attached to...

If you are an "American" then you must be a capitalist. If you are a capitalist, then you must agree with the proposition that for-profit enterprises can set their own rules, within the law, on the disemination of information on their property, and particularly if it is for a profit motive (the only definition we have for a corporate entity is one "for profit", not a word about freedom, authenticity, compassion, etc...).

So, do you feel like an "American" this morning?