I truly do. I hate it, I hate those idiots who come here and spam completely off-site crap that doesn't have anything to do with the BandAmp community at all.

But now, I'm going to do it myself...

It seems that sometimes, some of our members feel the need to discuss certain topics that deal with political, moral, philosophical or emotional issues. Such as should drugs be legalized, what is love, what is the mechanism behind music preference.. etc.

Except for the latter kindof philosophical question... We as a community agree that political, moral and philosophical debates have no place on BandAmp and should be addressed somewhere else.

And here's where my "spam" comes in... I'd like to invite any member with the urge to discuss anything in these directions to visit http://leagueofreason.forums-free.co.uk - it's a young community risen from an ongoing YouTube debate between reason/logic on one side and dogmatic religion/creationism on the other, but touches many more subjects.

Now, I'm not going to post this more than once, not going to bump it, or anything. But I know some of our members do feel the need to discuss certain issues with other people, and BandAmp is not the place. Maybe the forum mentioned is a better platform for that. So if you feel compelled, you are invited.

Anyway, if you feel that there are some other forums out there that you enjoy visiting, please mention them in a reply to this thread because I'm curious what other sites our members are part of.

Cheers..

Agreed... I apologize for behavior in the past in this regard... I hope i didn't offend anyone past the point of redemption... I hold each and every one of you with high regard and regret any ill feelings I may have created.
I'm sure the ones I refer to know I'm speaking to you... at least I hope so... some of us haven't always seen eye to eye and in the end thats what makes this world and this place specifically a better one.

Well that's not a problem, those things are all in the past.

Personally I'm mentioning that forum because that sure is the place for that kind of debates, and I'd love to meet some members there... hehehe

I love the idea of reserving such discussions for off-site venues...

ok...
I too apologize for the off-topic stuff not associated with music..

but isn't that what the pit is...

i mean its for stuff that dosnt fit anywhere else...

but again i apologize..

it twas an honest mistake..

i hope to have not seriously offended everyone...

love and regards,
the sas

But it's the debates and even the spam that make the community, the fact that we take part creates it.
If some spammer pops in out of nowhere it will bring the community out in force when needed.
If a young foolish member wants to tattoo "Mum I love you" across his forehead, the community comes together and goes...Cool! Do it !
Or if someone wants to know what is the lovelies part of love members have ever fallen in love with on a Tuesday, weeee!  It's the community that stands around amazed.
Or how do you solve a problem like one member in a country where nearly every kind of Weed is freely available but says that he wouldn't touch it nor recommend it to anyone, and another member from a country where you could get but-raped by red-necks just for saying 'Marjoram', but he would rather be shoving joints in every ones mouth, going "I got the power...!!!" ?
I suppose you cant really solve that kind of problem, but the community learned a little more about it's self and each other.

I know your right PX that this is a music based community, but a family is made up of screaming children and dribbling grannies not only young Van Halens.

Only being argumentative 

i dont really see a problem with it. i mean it is the pit. if its what keeps the community going so be it.
but as long as it doesnt get soooo far off topic that music isnt even considered on this site now.

LOL! I love you, Kings!

I'm with Px although Kings point is very valid.The only problem is that how do you determine when to stop..In order to be consistent and fair to all I think any surface topic is fine but to get really into heated debate about religion,politics and so on can be very touchy...I get enough of that everywhere I look so I want to go home and be in my safe zone and Ill be damned if the only safe zone I have is engaging on the same shit  has this world turned to shit.I think If I want to discuss those issues I would go to the appropriate place..
Let me give you an example of what happened to me in the pit to see if get my view..
Ok so a member gets into this whole discussion about god not existing and the foolishness of faith and so on,now That is fine if you believe that, but when you start telling people there wrong about there faith and what not then the problem arrises..For example I had lost my brother in law in Iraq a few months before the topic as he was shot and killed in a helicopter, the fact is that the my nephews and Lisa's sister were hanging on faith to there God so you can imagine how irritating it was for me to see someone being derogative about this faith... Same with war,if I lost my brother in law you really think I want go to the amp to talk about war..Tattoos, drugs and other topics can be irritating but politics and religion are really out of context for here...If you want to discuss politics or religion do it through the art of lyrics or music please..Thats the intention of the site anyways..
Just being argumentative too Kings..
M.

Yes that's a valid argument, but not the point of my post. My point was merely this:

The title of this post is actually an apology for the content of it; this is me promoting another forum, and I'm promoting it because I find the community interesting, and I know that some of our members would seriously enjoy being there. Because that forum is actually all about discussing topics that deal with religion, science, politics, morals etcetera.

Ok so this is the Pit. And sure if someone wants to talk about getting a tattoo on their forehead, sure come here and ask what we think about it. Sure it's ok to ask about almost anything here, but it's not OK to deliberately start a campaign to promote communism or discuss abortion or anything, that would be entirely misplaced. However, if someone's sister was going to have an abortion and it would bug that someone (if that someone is a member) then sure, no problem talking about it in the Pit. It's become a family matter then instead of a political/human rights debate which I don't think has a place on BandAMP.

So I hope that clarifies my post a bit. To summarize:

- I was actively promoting another site as an alternative for those who enjoy debating issues that have nothing to do with the BandAMP community but are not random enough for The Pit.

I do follow your point PX, a valid one it is too. I was just being argumentative !
The Pit is the Pit and it is what it's for but it's still bandAmps Pit and not the place to have religious or political discussions simply for the sake of the discussion, they should be 'fought out' in the appropriate place...where they'll be seen and mean something.
The Pit is indeed a place for this 'family' !

okay, in my opinion. there are several valid points established here...(and I'm glad to see members with contrition about past behaviors)....but here's my concern: Occasionally, a member will start some shit just to sit back and watch everyone struggle and fight. They typically initiate a one-sentence post...usually about a topic that is most controversial, or hateful,.etc....then they sit back and watch. Why do they do this? Perhaps because they're bored with their own lives...or maybe they have passive-aggressive tendencies, or maybe it's just an aspect of their immaturity.. The sad part of this is that I've seen rock-solid, cornerstone members perhaps unknowingly give party to this, lose themselves in the battle that ensues, and then the community nearly "melts down" as a result. Thus the irresponsible person who initiated the topic gets "reinforced" (which means he or she will repeat the cycle) and people who (ordinarily) have had significant friendships start to question their friendship (and the person who started the whole thing is simply watching - or occasionally he or she "stokes the fire" just to keep the shit going, and thus getting their perverse jollies). In some circles the initiator's behavior is called "trolling". The person who initiates this is a "troll" and thus has bad intent. In my view they are like the "spammers" in that they demonstrate little or no investment in the community, and their behavior is completely self-serving to the point of being destructive. My wish is that this community had some way to recognize this behavior and either forcefully intervene...or ignore this behavior, because the conflict is simply tiresome and irritating (I'm like Marino...I get that enough everywhere in life, I don't need it here, too. I am of the opinion  that the world has enough "separation"....my wish is that we focus on the similarities, not the differences). If you dig this kind of shit, then go to any one of a thousand other sites where you can get this. Bandamp is a rare kind of community where people from all around the world can find commonality...the central vehicle for this community happens to be an interest in music. Why not protect and preserve it? I see little benefit in "controversy for the sake of controversy".

dang battlecat that is an excellent point.
i really agree with you here. i never really saw it that way.
way to go