I have come to the conclusion that the longer you hang around and listen to the site, the novelty and charm of it wears off quick enough...or perhaps I've spent way too much time there so the charm left quicker for me...
Older members are rare to find on the site, sure some still come around Furyen is one of the oldest members (years on the site not years hes been alive) Andres and Pete count among those numbers too...I joined in 2007 and while that is not too long ago, most of the more active members are those that have joined the past few years. Again, just a general statement as Maddy, Istagi and Lies are oldies but still frequent the site.
What is it that makes SST not so appealing anymore? I still follow the chat throughout the day...mostly...but I find I listen tot he music less and less...maybe that is because as my own collection expands I find i do not want to listen to random music that I may not like which others put into the queue. Often enough there are scores I know I do not like so I avoid them consciously, but I have found that SST just doesn't hold the awe that it did when I first joined. You now know how things work, you've been around the forums enough and you know enough people that things are just comfortable. I guess you can compare it to any other relationship, things just get complacent.
What keeps you going back? The people of course, it truly makes up the heart of SST and without it I doubt I would spend my entire day on there...new music is nice, updates are always appreciated, but again more often then not most of it I could care less to hear. Though it is nice on that rare occasion you do find something new that you really do enjoy and might not have heard otherwise. For that, SST I will still visit you and keep your page open at all times...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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2 comments:
"community is as community does"
If it wasn't for the people all this site wouldn't have such an appeal, would it? This blue "little" site is addictive, because of the internationality and the "few" options of getting in contact with a very special kind of people, and which is certain ahve at least ONE thing in common. But the music? Well, I personally would agree, that listening to sst all the time and all day without ever listening to anything else, has more of an unnatural obsession or a specific nerdyness. Nothing against nerdyness, I love nerdyness, and I would call the reason why people find the site in the first place... BUT it is like in university/college/school/nerd-club (first rule of nerd-club is don't talk about nerd-club) or any other reasonable community: as the members change, the community canges and after a while you long for "fresh blood" and some new experiences.
Maybe it's time to move on, find sth new and come back a different you, or don't come back, but go out there and find something else? or remember why you loved the site in the first place?
Gosh Jaded, this was a sad entry to read. I'm really sorry that the site is not as entertaining for you as it once was.
Novelty never lasts forever. But that doesn't mean the magic gets lost. Considering how long you've been around and how much you've contributed to the site over the years, I think it's safe to say that SST is a part of you, not just the other way around. But every part of a person needs to rest sometimes. That's why we sleep every night.
I like to think of the place as sort of a music listening party. Everyone has a say in what gets to be played. The party never ends. You can come and go as you please. It's like a 24/7 weekend. But if you party too hard, the whole thing can become a blur.
Maybe you're suffering from a little burnout and it's time to take a break. After a while, you can analyze how much you have missed being around, if at all. Return when the time feels right. If it feels like it's time to move on, go do that. Nobody should have to feel trapped anywhere. You've earned enough respect for us to understand. No matter what the situation calls for though, I hope you realize that you will be missed should a disappearance become necessary, temporary or permanent.
I joined SST in 2005 and became a regular visitor every week until 2007 when my job situation changed. I took a long break from the site for a number of reasons. The first being that I was unhappy with the drastic new set of request rules implemented around that time. Believe it or not, there was a point where we didn't have to wait over an hour to request multiple cues by the same artists. It was anything goes, so long as there were no repeats within eight days. I loved that because it made the station completely unpredictable. Everyone's tastes were divisive enough where there was still plenty of variety every day. When the system became more restricted, the fun factor decreased and it only encouraged me to stay listening to my personal library.
The other big reason was that SST would have been my only reason to keep my computer powered on for more than an hour. I developed other interests. Meanwhile, my personal score collection grew and grew. Until one day it hit me.
At least ninety percent of that collection came to exist as a result of listening to SST. Until I became a score-phile, I was convinced that I was a non-music fan. Nothing appealed to me. Every listening segment brought new or overlooked material to my attention.
I asked myself, "How could I turn my back on a place that has done this much good for me?"
After numerous random drop-ins, I returned to the regular roster of chatters in the Fall of 2009. A lot of names were new including yours Jaded. Some were familiar. I returned as a somewhat different person and as a more seasoned score-phile. I was excited to rejoin the party.
You might have different reasons for wanting to return. Or maybe you won't even need to leave and I'm just getting ahead of myself. I wanted to share that story just as my way of reminding how unpredictable life can be. I hope you end up staying with the community for a while. If not, you're fingerprints (not literally) will stay anyway. After all, I wouldn't have known about Tuck Everlasting if you hadn't requested Jail Break that one time I happened to be around to hear it.
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