CAT5

I'm agreeing on this. Once things hit the internet, they spread like wildfire. If I'm trying to find an older release in good quality, I'm not going to want to download like 10 different copies just because someone decided it'd be a good idea to share a shitty sounding transcode. I'm 'Thirding' this sentiment. TW/MH has long been a staple of the online j-rock community and as such, we have a responsibility to do what's best for the community and try to uphold the integrity of it. The decisions we make on this forum have a much more profound effect than you would initially think. The policies we enact here effect more than just MH, the but the entire online J-rock community at large as well.

I'm not single, my GF just hasn't manifested yet XD

Well, I definitely understand where Champ is coming from. There are a lot of people that are uneducated about transcodes or simply don't care. People just want to hear music. Hell, when I first got into "j-rock", I didn't have the slightest clue about bitrates, transcodes - anything. I simply was excited to get my hands on music. I imagine it's the same for many of the members here, who are also just getting acquainted with VK or Japanese music. However, as someone that's been around the block a few times and is educated in filesharing matters, I'd like to do what I can to help provide people with quality music - regardless of if they appreciate it or not. This is one of the reasons why I do not support transcodes. I'm a firm believer in that, if you're gonna share something, share it properly!

No, that's going overboard

Except the bulk of the transcodes we see here are of releases that are popular/widely available and have an extremely high chance of being ripped legitimately and uploaded. So let's not pretend that the releases being transcoded are so "uber-rare" that we should lower the forum's standards to accommodate them. Every respectable music source I know of condemns transcodes, I don't see why we shouldn't do the same. Allowing any and all transcodes is not only an insult to the uploaders that go through the trouble to purchase and rip music in good quality, but it's also an insult to the community at large! Give this forum and it's members some credit! I can say without fail that VK fans are some of the most dedicated music fans there are. If we raise our standards, they will do what it takes to provide music in better quality.

Get rid of them. We shouldn't tolerate transcodes if we want people to actually view us a legit source of music (which we are). edit: it's an insult to those uploaders that actually try to provide music in the best quality possible.

I don't mind the retired thing, but I'm still grey! XD

not gonna lie. I like it

Champ, you still love me don't you? : (

^ I like the pink and purple ones XD

You guys suck WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MH RETIREMENT PLAN!!!????

I suggest that I be given a special color. I think I kinda deserve it. Kinda. any color is fine with me

I'd say DIR EN GREY. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a few of their songs, but the bulk of their discography does nothing for me. Regardless, I do respect them as they've been in the game for a long time and have influenced countless bands. Another is Zazen Boys. I know they're legendary in the indie scene and ppl like pretty much anything Mukai touches, but I simply don't get their music. I suppose it goes over my head or something. Who knows...

good

no

.....

lol, that was quick

They're ok

Oh hi there, you added me on last.fm earlier today! You have nice taste and I dig your open-mindedness. Welcome to MH! Also, random side note: your blonde dreads remind me of my ex-girlfriend =|

yay

Champ just likened me to a Jehova's Witness....brb suicide

Champ, Champ, Champ...I think you're misunderstanding me here. I don't want to force anyone to do anything...that's the LAST thing I'd want to do. If you take a look in my sig, you will see the words "~Subjectivity is what makes music awesome~". I'm all for people liking whatever they want. I merely want to offer more options here at MH. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yeah, in general the actual download numbers will be higher than the thread replies, but there usually isn't a very large difference between the two. Often, I find myself having to "bump" my own music posts by saying "you're welcome" and whatnot. Interestingly, when I made my music posts "MH exclusive" (post for link), that kind of forced lurkers to come out of the woodwork and reply. Those particular threads got a good amount of replies. So, I guess you're right that my threads aren't being largely overlooked. The people who are interested in the music I post are simply more prone to "lurkerdom". So my threads only appear to be overlooked. Pulling these individual out of lurkerdom and into the community would be great...but even if I could just get half of those lurkers to just reply, that would be a start - at least there would be more of a visible interest in other kinds of music. True enough indeed. This is why I used a vague term like CD-R. CD-R could refer to a demo, but it could also refer to a legitimate release. There are tons of Japanese indie acts that release CD-Rs as legitimate releases. Maybe not so much in the VK scene, though. Being able to facilitate a broader spectrum of music here on MH has long been one of my goals here on MH. From the day I set foot on this forum (which was then called Tainted World), I was constantly trying to introduce people to new music. I've since reached a bit of a stalemate on that initiative for several reasons, but If you have any ideas/suggestions, I'd be more than welcome to hear them!

I may have "community clout", but my music posts have a history of being largely overlooked - no matter how highly I recommend them. In fact, most of them get a few replies and then sink into download forum oblivion. Feel free to go back and find some of my music posts - I can't make this shit up. But hey, this time I slapped a big ol' "kawaii" pic of VK guys and I had 2 pages or replies in no time. So, did I go out of my way? Of course not...In fact, I put less effort into that Zeluva post than I do my normal music posts. VK is dominant here on MH, so I KNEW people would flock towards my zeluva post - I didn't have to do much of anything at all. Experiment...trolling...call it what you will. I had a theory, tested it, and got the results I expected. I think that's a success. Also, I'll have you know that I NEVER ONCE called the zeluva release a demo. People just assumed it was. If it was actually a demo, I'm pretty sure there would be some info about it SOMEWHERE on the net, but no one even bothered to make sure the release was legit. Hell, the fact that I was posting a release by a VK band should have been a red flag LOL! Also, I don't consider anyone who downloaded Zeluva to be a "superficial loof". I already know that the users here love VK, so I was hoping that this would encourage some of our users to expand their horizons. I just hope that people will be more open to trying new things regardless of how it's presented or packaged...you never know what you might like if you don't try it!

Firstly, this was all my idea, so if any of you have any problems with it, direct your hate/insults/butthurtness at me. Cuz I give no fucks.