Hi Brian and everyone reading,

Just have a few minutes to say that the comments have nudged me to share how my perception of things has been altered as this thread grows.

Perhaps the lyric board could benefit from some sort of 'standard' or posting/critiquing guidelines just so we could have a sort of mirror to see how we are 'measuring' up. As it is everyone does their best to be helpful and ethical in their own eyes. This may lead to 'judging' at times. Not knowing what the 'standard' is could leave a poster (especially a new poster) feeling "damned if they do and damned if they don't" so to speak since they don't know who's making the 'rules' or what they are. (Seems I do recall they are posted somewhere on the general board though).

However, as has been discussed in the past, once someone begins posting on the lyric board they begin to sense some ethical standards being practiced (albeit sometimes conflicting and confusing ones) They no doubt read comments from time to time that might not ever have been made if there didn't seem to be a vacume in the way of forum moderation.

Maybe it would be helpful afterall, to have a few basic hints for the forum to operate by since it isn't moderated? As long as the practice of turning them into a big box of ammunition to use against people with tattling or 'policing' is discouraged. Social groups naturally develop their own social ethics and standards, as has been mentioned above. Animals do it, gangs do it and healthy families do it. The difference in the standards though, is as different as night and day.

LOL. Aren't we a bunch of kindergartners!! Sorry, I just had to say that! And if anyone knows me they've heard me refer to myself as a 'kindergartner' more than once.

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Ps. I was a member here for quite some time before I was aware that you (Brian) desired members to spread themselves over more than one board. I have to say this is a first for me. I've never been expected/invited to go to any certain place on a forum in the past. Have only frequented 3 other forums before yours since 1998 but was a faithful member to each. (Only one was a lyric forum--much smaller--and the best one was a fertility specialist forum---much larger with tons of subgroups-- http://ovusoft.com ). You could find what you were looking for and you generally reaped what you sowed.

For my lifestyle with 2 small children and chronic pain due to surgery for a fractured back 20 years ago, I'm limited as to how thin I can spread myself. One forum at a time is all I've ever been able to keep up with. Perhaps that has a bit to do with my personality as well, but if I were expected to spread myself any thinner, I'd have to stop posting altogether.

When I first joined JPF, I floated around the general board and all the other boards trying to find where I fit. Lyric board 3 is where I gravitated. Looking back, it was probably due to Skip Johnson's posts as much as anything. He's not posting any more but I've tried to leave the forum only to come back since now I realize several lyricists have become important to me like family.

If this is contributing to a larger problem, I will certainly go ahead and stop posting my lyrics if that would help. Ok, now I really am sounding like a kindergartner! LOL. But I don't mean it like that. Really. Perhaps it will force me to make the hour and half trip to the monthly NSAI meetings in Birminingham. I do tend to be a bit intemperate with posting at times which is why I limited myself to one forum years ago.




[This message has been edited by royaldghtr (edited 11-25-2006).]