Save ZG!!

robM said:
Maybe ZG should reinvent itself as a retro 70's audio and music forum..ONLY! why be the same as PF and wigwam and the rest of them.
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That's very much in line with what I'd do with it.

Take it off-line for a week or so, revamp it and bring it back with a specialism. Tube centric, retro centric, flat earth paradise, server/computer based etc.

All have a market IMO.

To give an example, World Designs lost many excellent posters from the old WAD forum when the new owners took a harder line on allowing non WD equipment to be discussed. This is perfectly understandable (and right IMO) for a manufacturers own forum but where have all those guys gone?
 
think Zg needs to be a bit different to the rest imo...something that specifically attracts members to here - and here alone...

pfm is fine because it has a photography section and most of it's posters think that they're never wrong... :D

the wam' is like the tabloid forum amongst hifi forums...

I've been on these forums for almost 5 years now! and there has been a hardcore number of members during that time whilst a lot come and go...
 
Agree it's sad to see how quiet the place is lately.

As far as the Hifi part of the forum goes, I've long been MOre of a reader than writer. Finances are prioritised elsewhere for now, but as soon as I'm ready to start investing into equipment again, ZG shall be my first port of call.

I generally use the forum for it's off topic and music sections, but even they have dried up lately.

Hope it kicks back into life, but not sure what the solution is.
 
mr cat said:
think Zg needs to be a bit different to the rest imo...something that specifically attracts members to here - and here alone...

pfm is fine because it has a photography section and most of it's posters think that they're never wrong... :D

the wam' is like the tabloid forum amongst hifi forums...
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The problem IMO is that ZG's unique selling point was that it was centre-ground, friendly and quite moderate. pfm was irreverent, subjectivist, flat-earth and strongly into second hand, tweaked & DIY kit, Hi Fi Choice was for the entry-level / mainstream market and ZG existed in the middle and was frequented by folk from both sides, plus it had the best classical music section of any audio forum. In recent years this middle-ground has filled up, there are a lot of UK based audio forums competing in this area, and in an allegedly declining market too.

I'm really pleased to see this thread as I like ZG a lot (I'm a mod here) and I've certainly noticed it getting a lot quieter of late, yet whilst I think I understand why (see above) I can't personally think of a way to fix it. Forums are organic things, it is IMO a fool who thinks he runs one. They choose their own path and as such change has to come from within, i.e. the membership itself. All the admin / moderation team can do is spot trends and facilitate them as best they can. As an example pfm was never "designed" to have a DIY, classic or photo room, it just seemed to develop the need for these things so I bolted them on. In fact the only thing I've ever 'designed' on pfm is the logo and the buttons! Everything else just happened by itself. I hope this thread is the start of something new and interesting growing at ZG…

Tony.
 
I originally joined Groovehandle (which morphed into ZG?) and really enjoyed the middle ground - as mentioned by Tony L above. I'm not a frequent poster but have posted as the mood takes me. I think that the 'old' membership lurks much more whereas in its heyday many posted in quantity daily.
I occasionally post to PFM and find myself increasingly enjoying the debate there. Without naming names I feel ZG has lost some of its more controversial posters and the tolerant (but occasionally irreverent) debate which went on.
HiFi itself is also changing - lots more digital / portable / streamable stuff with some traditional manufacturers - like AVI - shifting emphasis considerably.
I'm sure ZG will revive / evolve as its in a dip at the moment.
 
A lot of posters on PFM seem interested in same sex relationships. Perhaps ZG can capitalize on this in some way? Clearly there is a need that PFM is not fulfilling amongst a large percentage of its members.
 
Hmm....

ZeroGay

Well, it's certainly different.

Have you been at the sherry tonight Simon ;)
 
Tenson said:
A lot of posters on PFM seem interested in same sex relationships.
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How do you know????!!
Does one's choice of interconnects or the way they hang say more about someone than I knew? Are certain brands Gay? I think we should be told!
 
eisenach said:
How do you know????!!
Does one's choice of interconnects or the way they hang say more about someone than I knew? Are certain brands Gay? I think we should be told!
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Pink Triangle used to be :D
One thing that irritates the shit outa me on PFM is the hijacking of almost every thread by people determined to have conversations about their Linns or Naim cd players/amps-it's very rude imo the way OT is allowed to run riot;-)
Although we need the mods I wonder if it'd be better to have(in fact I'm bloody sure that this idea is genius) a year zero day ie a new, clean slate, fresh start where all banned members are accepted back into the fold and any future decisions on banning are by popular vote ie MrArse is about to be banned the crowd are baying for his head...let's have a poll.
This would be very news worthy across the web and reignite interest in ZG.Oh and change the mental hospital grey background arrrrggghhhhhhhh;-)
 
cooky1257 said:
Although we need the mods I wonder if it'd be better to have(in fact I'm bloody sure that this idea is genius) a year zero day ie a new, clean slate, fresh start where all banned members are accepted back into the fold and any future decisions on banning are by popular vote ie MrArse is about to be banned the crowd are baying for his head...let's have a poll.
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We have had a poll or 2 about the standard of moderation here and generally the opinion was that it should be left as is.

cooky1257 said:
Oh and change the mental hospital grey background arrrrggghhhhhhhh;-)
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We used to have the option to change this to blue but it seems to have disappeared after tidy up/upgrades etc.

Mark?
 
I must have missed the poll as it flashed past ( or was it done amongst moderators :) )

An amnesty for banned members is different from changing the level of moderation and not a bad idea.
 

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