Forest MySpace Account

lucky · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:02 am

As discussed at a recent (tonight's) Volunteer WGroup meeting...

Should the Forest keep a MySpace page? Some people may thing it's grand and useful, but others find it's evil and thus even uttering the word 'Forest' will go against their personal Karma.

But, who votes the most?

******

No decisions will be made from this. It is merely to gather opinion.

A*

chris · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:21 am

get facebook instead... everyones doing it..

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

So we make decisions by voting now?

Also - what's this to do with volunteering??
It's more of an issue for events I would say....

Many events bookings have been made already using it... for example the recent dance by jack webb in the gallery. If we are serious about being a bit more proactive about getting more and better acts then this should be a useful tool to contact potential acts.

And one last thing...it is worth saying it yet again. The forest and many people involved here use yahoo, google, hotmail and what not, all of which have committed proven dubious business practices. On top of this many forest people already use myspace!

To say one thing is bad while continuing to use something equally bad or worse...do i have to spell it out? Well that's just hypocrisy isn't it?

I would say it's okay (yes not amazing) but potentially very useful and worth keeping...

Now we have to have some long drawn out debate which is never useful and always distracting...but if that's what people want go ahead. It's really not worth fretting that much over.

I reckon 'digital ethics' is way overrated anyway - there are way more important issues in this world to be working towards...and I don't have to spell those out surely?

ravanwin · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:07 am

i am with g on this.

dan · **Joined:** Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:04 pm **Posts:** 1410

Fully against this. Just because you do something that's bad doesn't mean you should go further and further down the dark halls. Just becuase you smoke cigarettes doesn't mean you should become a concentration camp guard. Just becuase the forest has a consumption of oil-based products and has used motor vehicles doesn't mean we can't be trying to work past that and oppose the expansion of oil-pipelines and oil-fuelled wars. That is, well do I have to spell it out? It's just lazy thinking isn't it. Yes, perhaps this isn't the most important thing in the world but all things are inter-related. Take it down take it down take it down. Oh go on do it. Facebook would be slightly better, and it's so much more now, all the cool kids left MySpace when The great Beast Murdoch took over.

dan · **Joined:** Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:04 pm **Posts:** 1410

anyway if we don't make descisions by voting we do them by consensus, so.. is there ocnsensus we should have a myspace account? And if not then surely it should come down?

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2450

Gareth is right, in that there are certainly more important things to think about.

But what does our MySpace page do that we can't do ourselves on our own site? Apart from promoting random drivel from people who say they are our friends, I mean. I know our page says to visit the real site, which is a Rupert free zone. But it could be a bit more prominent. Something along the lines of:

Quote:

What are you doing looking for us on MySpace, loser? Don't you know that The Forest is far too kool for this korporate krap. Point your flacid browser at theforest.org.uk and do some real surfing for a change. Bitch.

Compare the MySpace blog we have to the BB here. There are 2 posts (count em), and the busiest one has 2 comments, related to telling some guy that he is too late for something that hasn't happened yet. If the argument for keeping MySpace is that it offers another avenue for publicity, then we need to make sure it is good and effective publicity.

Martin · **Joined:** Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:35 pm **Posts:** 1078

I think it's nice to keep some sort of myspace presence because of the number of bands and other artists who use it. It's cool to see all the great people who play here linked there. As stands it prominently directs people to the website, which is fine.

It takes no effort to leave it there and who knows, maybe someone surfs through their favourite band's page and finds out about forest.

On the same grounds, I think we should be on facebook too.

Martin · **Joined:** Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:35 pm **Posts:** 1078

But I should add that I agree it shouldn't become second-rate publicity. If the blog posts are crap, delete them. Keep the presence minimal, enough that people can see at a glance what forest is, how they can play here, and big fat link to real website.

lucky · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:05 am

Apologies, I meant to say it was for opinion and not action when I first wrote it. I have edited.

It is surely a more promenent issue for another WG, was brought up in Volunteering when discussing ways to make Forest know, particularly for potential volunteers.

This is the only forum i can put a poll on, and was impatient.

I have a neutral opinion as yet. I'm wondering, if people are seeing the Forest MySpace (and, yes, MySpace has a huge usership) and it's not hot, then it's a bit pooh. I like Swith's idea of being more upfront about getting onto our website.

A*

thehemulen · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:39 pm

interesting thread. we flogging this horse again?! ...we'll get it back living soon enough!

i like 'digital ethics'. millions of "real" dollars change hands daily for second life...

for me, saying myspace is evil is as over simplified as saying .orgs are good and .coms are evil

virb is another alternative to myshit. or just divert the forest myspace to the homepage...

Gandhi · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:57 pm

I think we should keep it. But delete everything on there, make a slanderous comment about Rupert Murdoch and then just have 2 links to the Forest Website and the Forest BB. After all there was a topic on the BB a few days saying they want to push the BB so its not just the same 5 people using it!!!
I know its a crap idea, but trying to think of ways of promoting the BB.

Can we have the Events book online so all artists use the BB to book gigs and events? similar to the Cave users!---anyways...maybe i should post that on the "who uses the BB" topic page instead as im getting distracted form the original post.

dan · **Joined:** Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:04 pm **Posts:** 1410

thehemulen wrote:

for me, saying myspace is evil is as over simplified as saying .orgs are good and .coms are evil

yo no-one said it was 'evil'. and anyway surely it's totally different to saying .com vs .org as no-one person/corpoation owns .com eh??

I like Garden Andy's idea. It sounds like a decent compromise...
We could fill it up with info on Rupert/News Corps nefarious dealings

lucky · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:59 pm

garden andy wrote:

I think we should keep it. But delete everything on there, make a slanderous comment about Rupert Murdoch and then just have 2 links to the Forest Website and the Forest BB.

Go!Go!Go!

A*

thehemulen · **Posted:** Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:47 pm

yeh GA's idea's top! and the second 'bout online events book

lucky · **Posted:** Thu Jun 14, 2007 5:37 pm

Who can change stuff on it?

A*

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

Okay thanks for the compromise.

How's this then:

We keep it purely as a way of communicating with potential acts and just to introduce forest to new people - yes there are some people out there have never heard of us (!)

We simplify what we've got, get rid of blog and comments etc....

Tell people to go to forest website with swithun style comment.

Add prominent links to website, bb and maybe volunteering and events info.

And perhaps we should do the same with facebook. Really.

Will make some changes this weekend but if someone want to write some natty html then they will have to help out later....

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2450

I tried to register Forest Cafe on Facebook, but they reckon that Forest Cafe isn't a real name. Mama said, stupid is what stupid does.

Martin · **Joined:** Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:35 pm **Posts:** 1078

Hmm, that's a shame. I guess on Facebook it would need to be a group rather than a user account. It could be less like an official presence maybe then, more like an "I hang out in the Forest Cafe" group.

chris · **Posted:** Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:02 am

we are not called 'forest cafe'...

we are called 'forest'... maybe facebook can manage that?

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2450

chombee · **Joined:** Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:01 pm **Posts:** 1325

bb polls and voting generally are divisive. I think we should disable the feature, in favour of rough consensus and fair compromise.

Martin · **Joined:** Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:35 pm **Posts:** 1078

do it.

Shannon · **Posted:** Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:58 pm

Was the myspace ever agreed to in a meeting? It could have been before my time, but I don't remember it. Also: who has access to it?

If we're keeping it, I very much want to see a Murdoch rant front and center.

Martin · **Joined:** Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:35 pm **Posts:** 1078

How about pasting up that tirade against MySpace from CIA Nights a while back?

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

Quote:

Was the myspace ever agreed to in a meeting? It could have been before my time, but I don't remember it. Also: who has access to it?

Yes it was agreed to in a committee meeting.

Quote:

If we're keeping it, I very much want to see a Murdoch rant front and center.

Okay. If we can compromise that is good.

Much love....
Another Simpsons fan
xxx

lucky · **Posted:** Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:05 pm

Thanks gaz!

A*

dan · **Joined:** Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:04 pm **Posts:** 1410

Hooray! It's changed a bit, but i dunno, it's not super hard hitting... can we edit it together? do we need a code to do that?

swithun · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:24 am **Posts:** 2450

I think the password is:

dMaanr1k5

You knows it.

Gaz · **Joined:** Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:24 am **Posts:** 1373

Ok. Phase 1 done. Blog disabled, cacophinous music silenced, comments complimentary or otherwise deleted and disabled, pictures gone and general tidy up done.

Phase 2 - content - wrote up something to get it started. Added plenty o' links to website. It's better now. Can still be improved though I'm sure. Add some ideas here...

It's late now...night night.

ravanwin · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:03 pm

RE: Facebook.

I sold out and am now on it. It is a good way to stay in touch and would probably be good for us to have a group for announcements and to see the scope of people who's lives we've intersected.

I can create forest as a group...
yay or nay?

ryan...

Jimmy Bastard · **Posted:** Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:09 am

I don't carry any moral/ethical objections.
On a personal level.
I find it the worse kind of school reunion I could imagine.
I'm sure it has value in keeping the multitudes aware.
Dunno does the Murdoch cast his ubiquitous shadow?
Is this legit with the hardcore?
If so.
Can it be one way?
Can we diseminate the word
and ignore the nonsense

ravanwin · **Posted:** Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:58 am

it is a pretty ridiculous thing but more people use it than the bb. some even plan their lives by it.

i hate it.
i love it.

it's a genius.
it ruins everything

lucky · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:39 am

I dunno \:-< It's all a bit weird to me.

A*

lucky · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:41 am

ravanwin wrote:

it is a pretty ridiculous thing but more people use it than the bb.

Can everyone please make an effort to hype up the BB, take people to the computers, hijack the internet off whoever is using it (for Forest business, you can do that) and sign them up.

It's really important if we want to make the BB better.

A*

danny · **Posted:** Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:14 pm

I reckon we keep the myspace and make people more aware of why we seriously considered NOT having it, Rupert Murdoch etc. No harm in having a facebook too if someone wants to do that. The more ways people feel they can be a part of the Forest the better.

Gandhi · **Posted:** Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:04 am

Danny
thats what they've done! the Myspace is just a giant advertisement for the Forest website and why Murdoch sucks goats, and they have a facebook group.
Get with the now!! fool

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