This message board. Time for a change.

Post by **spzretent** » Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:45 pm

Things have got to change. Runcible has paid for this board to be hosted out of the goodness of his heart and pocket. To the tune of £600 over 5 years. Before that it was Modlab.
It has to stop. It isn't fair.
Either we fund it ourselves, meaning all of us who post here, as a collective or it stops.
I think we should also raise some funds via some limited edition something, be it a poster, shirt, record, cd, rare record to pay back the two mods who have paid for this.
If you think about it they have been paying for the only web based marketing tool Spiritualized have had in the past 10 years or so.
Except for the sporadic FB post or tweet.
Kind of sad in this day and age.

We are open to all suggestions.

mc · Post by mc » Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:57 pm

I completely agree. I'll happily pitch in for some kind of subscription fee, and also contribute to anything that helps reimburse runcible and Modlab. Huge thanks to you both for your generosity in keeping this place alive during some very tough times, both here and the real world.

It's ridiculous how this is essentially Spz's only internet presence, and bitterly ironic that people here are often the last to hear of any J. related activity. Are record companies really that starved for cash nowadays?

ro · Post by ro » Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:02 pm

Spzretent,
I thought all the mods were already aware how many of us have said we’d be glad to help?
Please count me in.

sunray · Post by **sunray** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:15 am

What ro said.

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:22 am

We need to figure out some way to move forward.
I know Jason cares.
Not sure if he actually has Management who care or are even involved.
It just seems ludicrous that a band of this stature, with this fan base, are essentially funding it's only internet presence.
Obviously we care. A lot.
I think it is insane that the only folks profiting off of Spiritualized are ebay whores bootlegging t shirts.
I have emailed Jason and he assures me things are being handled. This was over 3 years ago. Obviously nothing is being handled.
I think it is time to just take things into our own hands and figure this out.
This little corner of the internet is far too important.
Ideas??

ro · Post by ro » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:18 am

It would indeed be great if someone, anyone, in the band could actually be a part this process.
But if it’s not happening, it’s not happening.

So.
How much is the monthly maintenance?
That figure roughly divided by how many of us are willing to commit to small monthly chip-ins.
And/or commitment to give any particular amount regularly.
Those chip-ins paid into a paypal (or, what is venmo?) account only accessible by admins, henceforth known as “The Kitty”

Back-up people willing to donate when regular donors have financial difficulties.
I could do $5 a month.

wait... “600 quid over 5 years”, are you saying the whole thing costs $10 a month, or have I misunderstood?
If it’s that low, I can see a group of us maintaining with no problem!

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:29 am

£12 per month.
I still think a fundraiser to get Runcible & Modlab some money back they have forked out would be a nice gesture.
Could be anything. Artwork, photo, rare lp, Cd, poster, shirt, a gift, anything.
Please, any ideas would are welcome.

BROKENHEART · Post by **BROKENHEART** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:54 am

I'm there to whatever it takes. A huge thankyou to Runcible and Modlab for all the hard work putting it all together. Without this forum no doubt my mind would not have been expanded to so much wonderful music.
Thanks to all , have a great end of year celebration and all the very best for 2018.

purespace · Post by **purespace** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:44 pm

Though I don't post much anymore, I've enjoyed this site since the beginning. I'm a daily lurker for new music so I'm all in to help out with some $$$ . . .

purespace · Post by **purespace** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:26 pm

purespace wrote:Though I don't post much anymore, I'm a daily lurker for new music so I'm all in to help out with some $$$ . . .

In fact, I'll donate the first $100 to the cause - - what Paypal account can we drop it in?

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:29 pm

Perhaps we can to a yearly collection and pay for the hosting all at once. That is £144 or just under $200.
That is a start.

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:33 pm

purespace wrote:In fact, I'll donate the first $100 to the cause - - what Paypal account can we drop it in?

That is very kind of you. We will figure it out.

purespace · Post by **purespace** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 1:54 pm

spzretent wrote:
purespace wrote:In fact, I'll donate the first $100 to the cause - - what Paypal account can we drop it in?
That is very kind of you. We will figure it out.

I had no idea as to the cost of keeping this site up, so thanks for giving us this opportunity to help. I'm sure many others here feel the same and will take the opportunity to step up. I support what I value.

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:09 pm

I'd be happy to contribute for sure. It's the least I can do considering what I've got out of this board over the years.

How would the artwork poster etc idea work? We all chip in to make it happen and all profits go to the mods?

It's good to know that Jason is aware that the band's online presence could be better. I guess it's just getting the enthusiasm from management. And I have noticed that things only really seem to heat up on that front when a record comes out. It goes very quiet inbetween.

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 5:03 pm

I'll happily stump up for a chunk of the future costs and also would be happy to cough up towards some of the costs that have already be dealt with by Runcible and Modlab.

Hedspace · Post by **Hedspace** » Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:35 pm

I couldn't put a price on the the wealth of music knowledge that Ive gained from this site over the years. thank you Runcible and Modlab and yall who dwell within. More than happy to chip in.

I fucking love this site

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtHa4PUouCA

niamhm · Post by **niamhm** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:18 am

Whatever gets decided I`m pretty sure Ill be up for chipping in a bit, been a bit quiet recently but I still come by daily and would hate not to be able to.

Post by **MODLAB** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:23 pm

I have free server space. From a kind heart who is a Spiritualized fan himself. I know he peaks at this board but has never posted.

M

Shinesalight · Post by **Shinesalight** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:06 pm

I think, even if some of us don't post or hang out as much as we used to, that we would miss this little corner of the web if it was gone so I too would be more than happy to contribute going forward and to recover costs already incurred by the generosity of others.

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:10 am

I'd be happy to contribute as well!

Post by **runcible** » Tue Dec 26, 2017 6:54 pm

I've been pretty absent myself from this place for a bit although I've 'lurked' a little, reading topics but not contributing. General life busy-ness - kids, job, etc. - has kept me away.

I was more than happy to foot the bill for the forum as I obviously care quite a bit about it, but that isn't the most ideal scenario in the long run. I'm certainly not after any kind of payback as being part of the set up as well as helping steer it through some very tricky times has been rewarding in itself - I've been here from the start too.

If this forum were to vanish it would be a genuine tragedy as so many people have influenced my own music input and I want that to continue (just discovered the delights of Papir thanks to Olan by way of example).

Anyway, I wanted to add a comment or two here. A solution isn't too difficult it seems.

rameses · Post by **rameses** » Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:24 am

As all the others have said, I'm happy to contribute in some way.

clewsr · Post by **clewsr** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:07 pm

I'd like to see this place continue, although it is much much quieter than it once was.

I'm happy to contribute. I guess to move this forward, someone need to be willing to administer the funds and set up a paypal account? What do you think should happen Spzretent?

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:11 pm

it is a bit quieter than it used to be. I've always wondered if the board has many lurkers? they need to come out of the shadows

Shinesalight · Post by **Shinesalight** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 4:00 pm

I'd really like to release a Spiritualized record (reissue/ alternative takes / etc.) and use the proceeds to keep this site going for the foreseeable future. Chance would be a fine thing though I guess.

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:29 pm

It always goes quiet between releases. It is 6 years since SHSL and 10 years since A+E. It is difficult to maintain the momentum when the new material is so sparse. Things will pick up when the new LP/Tour are announced. It'll be good to catch up with people at Spiritualized gigs again. It seems I only ever see the folk on here at LPF or Heads gigs these days.

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:37 pm

olan wrote:It always goes quiet between releases. It is 6 years since SHSL and 10 years since A+E. It is difficult to maintain the momentum when the new material is so sparse. Things will pick up when the new LP/Tour are announced. It'll be good to catch up with people at Spiritualized gigs again. It seems I only ever see the folk on here at LPF or Heads gigs these days.

that's true. i've met some great people through this board, but very rarely have I actually met up with them at Spiritualized gigs.. because the band has been so intermittantly active recently! I have a feeling any dates this year will involve a rather good turnout from the forum.

10 years since Songs in A&E? fuck me, I'm getting old!

jack white · Post by **jack white** » Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:57 pm

I missed out on special tshirt as I had no money
I still have no money but would like to help.
Whatever happened to acoustic mainlines release? Any copyright issues??

Sorry for coming across as a selfish asshole but that’s just what you see. I try to give and share freely. I understand the resentment & apologise for my mistakes, tho there’s no undoing the mistakes. (I’ve always tried to be generous.)

I gotta hurricane inside my veins and I want to stay forever.

BABY!

Edit I know arista or whoever were paying for the site but at the time there was a great SHOP on here. There’s gotta be a way to get the merchandise out there again..?? Better than sitting in storage, no??
It mightn’t seem so, but some of us care & are unrepentant in our conversion, & are still willing to proselytise. My soul has been spiritualized. There’s an old flame still burns in my heart.

Dreamweapon · Post by **Dreamweapon** » Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:33 pm

The recent downtime and subsequent re-emergence of the board (a thousand thanks) got me thinking about this again, and how we can contribute......

Were there any more thoughts on this?

A few ideas were knocking about......

Dreamweapon · Post by **Dreamweapon** » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:49 am

Since we're all now super excited about the new album, the board is back up, and we're all posting again, was any decision made about the ideas that were being put forward to help fund the board?

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Jun 15, 2018 12:37 am

I think we have it covered. If not we will let you guys know.

BROKENHEART · Post by **BROKENHEART** » Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:58 am

Can't thank you all enough for your hard work.
You know we're there if you need us .

✌

jack white · Post by **jack white** » Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:37 pm

Ty.
Appreciated.

sunray · Post by **sunray** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 5:04 pm

Was it just me or was the board down for everyone for a few days?

We've been over this before, but if it's a question of cash to keep this place going, myself and plenty of others are more than willing to chip in.

Post by **NightWash** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:27 pm

sunray wrote: ↑
Sat Sep 21, 2019 5:04 pm
Was it just me or was the board down for everyone for a few days?

We've been over this before, but if it's a question of cash to keep this place going, myself and plenty of others are more than willing to chip in.

Nah, no worries. It was just a server crash at the provider bundled with a troubleshooting step from me that resulted in another day of downtime (actually somehow a bug in their management interface).

Such things can happen...the only solution would be to buy another server as a backup. But this would also complicate the installation and I think its not really needed.

I run this board since years (initially as a backup) on this server, was the second issue during this time. The first was caused by a planned bugfix. At the moment I think we can live with it - if it happens more often I would switch the provider.

Cheers

BROKENHEART · Post by **BROKENHEART** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:28 pm

You don't realise how much something is part of your life until it's not there. Really missed the forum those few short days it was off air.
Thanks once again to all the moderators, without whom this brilliant forum would not be . Cheers.

Post by **spzretent** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:30 am

Thank Nightwash for without him we (moderators) would be lost.
He is the true hero of keeping this message board running as smoothly as it does.

sunray · Post by **sunray** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 9:47 pm

Fair enough Nightwash, you know what you're at. Thanks for the behind the scenes stuff

I do miss this place when it's down even though sometimes I feel like it's dying on its arse. Slowly. (Inch by inch, Day by day).
I don't contribute as much because alot of the time i've nothing positive to post, so why bother? I could do gig reviews but as i'm rarely blown away or too excited i don't feel inspired to do a write up. Of course, laziness also plays a part, i won't deny that.

Anyways, The Outpatients; a great bunch of lads (and lasses and gender neutral and yadda yadda yadda....).

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:27 am

yeah it's weird, even though the board doesn't actually have that much activity, I did kinda miss it when it was down for a few days. it's strange. I do check it regularly, but I need to motivate myself more to actually post.

I know that part of the trouble is that the band itself is fairly inactive a lot of the time. But I think it's also the case that message boards in general are dying in favour of social media (believe me- not the way I'd like it, but unfortunately the way it's going)

Dreamweapon · Post by **Dreamweapon** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:02 am

Once again - still happy to contribute if the mods are still looking to do anything to keep the board going. There were various ideas knocking around.....

Dreamweapon · Post by **Dreamweapon** » Sat Feb 15, 2020 8:16 pm

Another 5 months or so on, and I thought I'd see if anyone was thinking about doing anything...? Still happy to contribute....

Post by **spzretent** » Mon Feb 17, 2020 3:03 pm

We are fine. Thanks.
Seems like the message board is at an all time low as far as posts. Not sure why.
It's got nothing to do with the running of it.
Perhaps people are just busy doing other things.

burningwheel · Post by **burningwheel** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 2:34 pm

spzretent wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 17, 2020 3:03 pm
We are fine. Thanks.
Seems like the message board is at an all time low as far as posts. Not sure why.
It's got nothing to do with the running of it.
Perhaps people are just busy doing other things.

Social media, especially fb, have killed forums. Mine are all ghost towns, granted band inactivity doesn't help matters. Reddit also has hurt them

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:01 pm

Reddit is kinda big and wild, I only hit a few subs there on the regs.

There are a few forums I like to drop into, this is one of my favorite musical boards.

Wouldn't there be more traffic when Jason and/or Pete are performing or releasing new music?

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:17 pm

just got logged back in to my account after a few weeks of unspecified gremlins causing issues in accessing it. thanks to Shinesalight, Runcible and Nightwash for getting me logged back in!
I did wonder if anyone else might also be having issues (hence low post counts) however I do think it's just the way of the world unfortunately.
I don't use Facebook for a myriad of reasons. there's just something simple and elegant about a message board. I really like this little corner of the internet and missed not being able to post.

Post by **spzretent** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:41 pm

This forum isn't going anywhere.
Even when there was a new LP and sporadic dates there wasn't that much activity.
It is what it is I guess.

Post by **runcible** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 6:47 am

angelsighs wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:17 pm

I did wonder if anyone else might also be having issues (hence low post counts) however I do think it's just the way of the world unfortunately.

It was Nightwash who found the problem which was a compatability issue with the captcha thing that prevented a log in after a few failed attempts. Welcome back!

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:20 pm

Perhaps now that all of us are forced to stay in posts will pick up? One can hope. Probably a good time to listen to loads of records I have bought and not yet played. Also I have loads of books waiting to be read.

sunray · Post by **sunray** » Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:41 pm

spzretent wrote: ↑
Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:20 pm
Probably a good time to listen to loads of records I have bought and not yet played. Also I have loads of books waiting to be read.

I imagine that's the case for everyone on this board and has been for years. I've concluded that i will never actually get to listen to all the music i've acquired physically and digitally and that it acts now more as an archive of sorts.
I do think i will get through the backlog of books though before i pop my clogs.

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:21 pm

one thing I've seen done on other message boards is a track by track run through of a bands catalogue- everyone can rate each track out of 10, and we can get some good discussion going on the catalogue as a whole. however I'm not sure there's enough regular posters on here to make it worthwhile.

looking likely that I will be working from home for the foreseeable future.
I do pretty good with keeping up with my music listening, but it's books I have a backlog of- on my shelf I can see a few books got gifted to me at least a couple of Christmasses ago!!