BP's State of the Forum Address

[Big Poppa]

Hey Knuckleheads!

THought I would fire off a thread with some random thoughts and things Ive been wanting to talk about. This isnt really a discussion but an opportunity for me to vent!

The collection of people here is amazing. We help each other out and are involved in others lives way beyond guitars and basses. Our forum is still growing and like many things there are going to be things that you liked when it was tiny and some things that you dont like as well that come with growth. Aybody can say what they want but the fact is that we are growing at a very rapid pace. There are more comments about us both positive and negative because we are making an impact.

I love this place. Sometimes it gets sticky....sometimes testy...sometimes people mistake familiarity with the concept of entitlement. But bottom line what a great collection of wacko's!

Hijacking

I am comcerned with hijacking. It is really out of control, especially with the very frequent posters...Im not naming names but how many threads have started with one thing and eneded uptalking about Albert Lee's or bfrs..... I am guilty too but my sugestion is to make sure that we show the original poster the respect he or she deserves.


What others say......

The frequent knock on us at other forums is that we are Fanboys and cannot accept critisism. The Fanboy part is just cliche and stupid. They are Fanboys where ever you are. Tell me that you spend time on forums that you are not fans of....Fanboy is the epitome of redundancy.... Its like "Mammal" Homosapien!

The criticism part is partly correct. Just this morning there was someone with less than 10 posts that chose to start a thread about the 20th being ugly. Normally this would have gone straight into the dumper but it didnt. Usually the big flames that end up in banning and closing is the oiginal posters delivery.

Look at sevenstring.org and the issue of the bfrs.....several people used that as a chance to declare our quality was in decline. It got a lot of air time. There were regulars that felt that they could express themselves more there rather than here. There was one guy who is in purgatory here so that only he can see his posts that bashed away. I asked myself to take the emotions out of it and there is a perception, how do I fix it....I came up with the BFR sticky thread and the concept that dealers could only use our photos......

Two things came out of that......The delivery wasnt very nice but there was a problem in how the BFRs were being presented leading to misconception regarding quality. I fixed that. The second was the idea that regulars felt that they would be jumped on if they talked objectively....IF people only sugarcoat and never objectively discuss our stuff here how are we going to fix a problem?

I understand part of the strong defense is a sense of your loyalists of protecting me and the company, but lets allow opinions and discussions and work towards makig this place even better.

That being said obvious trolls will not be entertained and be deleted. I also wont engage anymore.........


Fanboys and girls go forward with a healthy dose of humor and tolerance and lets continue to have a blast

 

[acwild]

Thanks for posting this. I'm definitely an EBMM convert and enjoy reading posts at this forum as there are really some good people here. What turns me off is that any negative comment gets attacked, even if it's valid. That makes this forum lose some credibility in my opinion. I can certainly understand the enthusiasm, but there's a point at which I can't help but to roll my eyes.
Sorry for the mini rant.

 

[brentrocks]

BP,

I cant express how happy i am to be a part of your organization, as far as playing the guitars you make, and this forum. I am also please to hear that business is good and expansion is imminent.

I know i havent always been the poster child for keeping my big fat mouth shut on certain topic, but those days are gone and i very grateful for your support of this forum, financially and personally.

I think i speak for a large amount of the members here when i say that it is not everyday that you get the humor and personal contact from a company owner...in such a layed back setting like we have here, not to mention the resourcses, help, friendliness and just down right good times that are had here!

I'm glad that EBMM is flourishing...and i am also glad that I had a small part to do with that by buying great American made guitars.

Keep up the good work!!

 

[Big Poppa]

ac did you read my post? I hopefully addressed the negative issue...I also need to make sure that if people have something negative to discuss that they make suretheir delivery is respectful.......you dont walk in to a lions den in a jackass suit with steaks all over it!

Ac do me a favor...next time you roll your eyes do so whlie posting a defense for the person you think isnt being heard..I would love that! I will have your back.

thanks

 

[acwild]

ac did you read my post? I hopefully addressed the negative issue...I also need to make sure that if you have something negative to discuss that you make sure your delivery is respectful.......you dont walk in to a lins den in a jackass suit with steaks all over it!

I did read and you have addressed it, thanks! Personally, I have no issues with EB products and am proud to say that I am a very happy owner who enthusiastically pimps your products to anyone who will listen. Respectful criticisms are a given as outright bashing isn't appreciated by anyone and is basically counter-productive. It's just that I've read some threads where a cult mentality is apparent and it makes it hard for someone to recommend coming to this forum if there's a legitimate question. In all fairness, I have seen you chime in several times about letting some gripes be aired. I just wanted to thank you for doing so as you certainly have a different attitude about it than some of your competitors.

 

[Big Poppa]

just stick around and participate and hopefully help that fat guy out!

 

[Norrin Radd]

I like what Brent said a lot and I have also spent more than a little time here with the taste of "Nike" on my breath from posting something I shouldn't have.

I also saw the 20th thread, and as a proud owner was ready to pounce - but - then I stepped back and decided not to - everyone has their own opinion on what they like so why should I comment on someone else's tastes?

A new rule I've implemented for myself - if I'm going to attack/defend/criticize another's post on the forum (in other words - be kind of negative/mean) - I force myself to write the post in MS Word & let it sit for an hour - otherwise it just become s too easy to be a jerk and hit "Submit Reply". If any of you are quick to judge and be overly critical (like I am) - this can really help! There have been many posts I've written that went into the trash - as they should have.

I love this place - I come every day and I will do whatever I can to make it welcoming to the growing masses. Something about flies and honey and vinegar - I don't know.

 

[paranoid70]

I have a random comment.

One thing I like about this forum is that there are threads especially for people trying to sell their EBMM guitars and basses. I joined another guitar/bass forum a year ago in hopes of selling my bass to a more enthusiastic group, but we were explicitly told not to initiate posts on selling guitars, etc. The whole Ebay treasure thread would have probably been deleted there too.

Obviously EBMM won't see any $ if I sell my guitar to another forumer, so having a thread set aside for that is really pretty cool IMO. (They are not for sale by the way.)

 

[fogman]

If this were really a state of the forum address, shouldn't it have been televised, or at least YouTubed?

No this is NOT a hijack! I read it all and agree and repect all the words.

 

[jazzbo jim]

BTW, Has anyone played any AL BFR with a piezo yet?....









KIDDING!

Ground rules are useful and mutual respect should be the prevailing theme.

 

[meenahga]

Thanks BP!

 

[banjoplayer]

I have a random comment.

One thing I like about this forum is that there are threads especially for people trying to sell their EBMM guitars and basses. I joined another guitar/bass forum a year ago in hopes of selling my bass to a more enthusiastic group, but we were explicitly told not to initiate posts on selling guitars, etc. The whole Ebay treasure thread would have probably been deleted there too.

Obviously EBMM won't see any $ if I sell my guitar to another forumer, so having a thread set aside for that is really pretty cool IMO. (They are not for sale by the way.)

+1

 

[Astrofreq]

BP, thanks for the thread. You are the coolest and I'm sad that I can't make it to the bash. Keep up the good work and post more pirate pictures.

 

[Larry]

I think BP made some great points

 

[Big Poppa]

Here is the most obvious comment I can make. I have bit my tongue on this forever

What kind of a moron thinks that they can come to a fan oriented corporate sponsored forum and spew?

Ok now the politically correct version "Please let me know the corporate/brand specific forum where I can bash the produuct and be patted on the back" THere isnt a forum in the guitar business that accepts bashing.

Please show me Im wrong....lets see Rickenbac...no fende......no....gibson......suhr......never...............taylor......nahhh......PRS...........over my dead body.....

WTF do people expect!

But having said that I would like this to be aplace where you can express your opinion.
From now on you will get to express any opinion you like provided it isnt malicious or hurtful....you even get to defend it ONCE. then it goes away... When we let things go and moderate lightly they turn to crap and when we shut them down early we are infringing on a right of free speech......so express your self defend yourself and shut your self up!

have a pleasant saturday Off to San Diego to see the Chargers/Bears tommorow

 

[brasco68]

I keep coming back here for the simple fact is that I've never seen a forum run with so much passion, open discussion, and respect for one another as I've witnessed here. You dont see a lot of forums where the owner of the company is as much part of the forums as the regulars on a daily basis..and you can get information directly from the man himself!

BP and his team take customer service to new heights everytime, and I've never had a bad experience.

Now with the cherry on the desert sundae known the the "Bash"...how could we not keep coming back here. Regardless of who goes or not....the fact that BP appreciates what we give to EBMM enough to give us an incredible weekend like this says it all!

If I haven't said it before....thanks Big Poppa!

 

[paranoid70]

Go Chargers.

 

[Larry]

Bears suck this year... dammit I'm going off topic.


forgive me....

 

[Big Poppa]

Cedric Benson is a good friend of Brian Ball's but that is a hijack

THe Bash is going to be large marge

 

[beej]

There certainly are a lot of quick responses to posts that lean toward the negative side. One thing I always try to consider is how well the poster speaks English- there are so many people here from so many countries, many times the comments just don't translate all that well. Sometimes we look like jackasses ourselves when we jump on someone too hard. Post with respect, hopefully get respectful comments back.

And 100% that a good humorous comment is often the way to respond when you need to vent a bit

Man, it's gotten big around here! I can remember a few different waves of this forum ... people that have come and gone ... and I was late to the party too!

Y'all are a good bunch to hang out with. I have a great time at this place! (But it's a bitch on my wallet.)