Opeth forum will close down?

[Nasty-Fire]

Well that's just sad I think. I understand that decision through I would have hoped for some warning instead of fatalitism, but hey, it's their business. Let's wait for MetalAges' answer and hope this was only a serious warning. And also goodbye everyone if it all really closes. I don't think I'd join other forums after... and to be honest I had a really good time here during the last years. Guess I will be able to use my time in a more useful and constructive way. Still unexpected.

Cya ffs.

EDIT : I find it intriguing how Mikael's decision to close the forum happens to be at (almost) the same moment Opeth are starting their 2-3 years break. There's plenty of constructive things here and even with the trollings, everyone appreciate this place. If the forum stays I think it would probably go better but again everyone need to be more strict with themselves MetalAges said and as Samsara explained below; we all have our part of responsibilities if it is closed and it if doesn't happen, let's hope we'll all have our lessons.

 

[Mr Samsara]

“Thinking too well of people often allows them to behave better than they otherwise would.” - Nelson Mandela.

I cannot express how sorry I am to all of you for failing as your moderator. Apparently, my attempts to moderate using the above philosophy has failed miserably, and resulted in the inevitable closing of the forum. Just so you all know….Mike basically gave me the forum to run as I please a couple of years ago. I made the rules, I set the tone… and it’s my failure to bare. When I first entered the forum, and especially when I first participated in the moderator duties with Ermz, I really exploded in a few rants due to my lack of tolerance for the type of stupid trolling that has always been a cancer in this forum. I’ve calmed down a bit since then, and I have tried to be patient, to nurture civil, intelligent discourse, to lead by example… and overall I believe most of the posters here are good people who have good intentions. Unfortunately, the Internet does provide adequate cover for those who wish to indulge the weaker sides of themselves. I attempted to sew the principal of “ignoring the trolls” to the members here as the best method of fighting the pathetic few, but I guess the temptation to react was too great for most of you… and I simply failed to react appropriately. Yesterday, I was even lecturing a member about how good I am at my job. ROFL what the fuck I was thinking.

The real shame is that this band makes fantastic music, and is populated with fantastic people. Every single person in the band is a quality human being… humble and accommodating to all of their fans under even the worst of circumstances. This forum gave a unique opportunity for fans to congregate and discuss the band’s music… and even directly interact with current and former members. Unfortunately, I didn’t weed the garden often enough. Now this opportunity will no longer exist for those who may have really benefited from such a place.

So… to those fans for whom this forum was created, and for those who used it in the spirit for which it was intended, again I apologize. Although I am sure that there are some like Wes (Arasmas) and David (Skulk) who are taking turns licking congratulatory loads off of each other’s faces in some pathetic “victory” celebration, they are not in fact responsible for this forum’s demise. I am.

 

[t0ka]

but even if MetalAges manage to keep this forum going.. the thing is..if Mike is not gonna participate anymore..then... its just not the same..

 

[houston713]

This sucks..I hardly post here, but I been viewing this forum for quite some time and only made an account here maybe around a year ago or so. I learned a lot of stuff related to Opeth in this forum..stuff I would of never found out myself anyway..I guess losing insight of what the band is up to and what they have planned will be most missed..I only hope I still find out when Opeth is coming around my town on my own, so I can see them again.

Thanks all those intelligent people who actually made this place cool and informed others well on all things opeth..this place was magical while it lasted.

 

[hexwind]

“Thinking too well of people often allows them to behave better than they otherwise would.” - Nelson Mandela.

I cannot express how sorry I am to all of you for failing as your moderator. Apparently, my attempts to moderate using the above philosophy has failed miserably, and resulted in the inevitable closing of the forum. Just so you all know….Mike basically gave me the forum to run as I please a couple of years ago. I made the rules, I set the tone… and it’s my failure to bare. When I first entered the forum, and especially when I first participated in the moderator duties with Ermz, I really exploded in a few rants due to my lack of tolerance for the type of stupid trolling that has always been a cancer in this forum. I’ve calmed down a bit since then, and I have tried to be patient, to nurture civil, intelligent discourse, to lead by example… and overall I believe most of the posters here are good people who have good intentions. Unfortunately, the Internet does provide adequate cover for those who wish to indulge the weaker sides of themselves. I attempted to sew the principal of “ignoring the trolls” to the members here as the best method of fighting the pathetic few, but I guess the temptation to react was too great for most of you… and I simply failed to react appropriately. Yesterday, I was even lecturing a member about how good I am at my job. ROFL what the fuck I was thinking.

The real shame is that this band makes fantastic music, and is populated with fantastic people. Every single person in the band is a quality human being… humble and accommodating to all of their fans under even the worst of circumstances. This forum gave a unique opportunity for fans to congregate and discuss the band’s music… and even directly interact with current and former members. Unfortunately, I didn’t weed the garden often enough. Now this opportunity will no longer exist for those who may have really benefited from such a place.

So… to those fans for whom this forum was created, and for those who used it in the spirit for which it was intended, again I apologize. Although I am sure that there are some like Wes (Arasmas) and David (Skulk) who are taking turns licking congratulatory loads off of each other’s faces in some pathetic “victory” celebration, they are not in fact responsible for this forum’s demise. I am.

Well said !
Ever since i started lurking in this forum (Sep 08) I was seeing "weird" posts, i even thought it was a sense of humor that i'm not used to cuz i have a different cultural background comparing to the western world. The last "serious" conversation we had was 4 months back or so !about religion and faith, and look how to it turned out, racism, insulting, childish responses and so on ! With that being said, the shame is that the band is making a GREAT music quality and it DOES NOT deserve such fans, oh well, they are not fans anyway...
Personally, i learned a lot of stuff during the time i was here, loads of trolls, that's true, but some few great folks nonetheless. I was spending a lot of time here too, so maybe I'm gonna miss it??
And guys, let's learn OUR lesson and let's ALL grow up a bit to not let what this thing happens again. It's the only place for me to feel the Opeth affinity (apart from when i listen to their music) so it's sorta an Opeth Club here..

 

[prowlergrig]

i think the evolution of this forum is largely a mirror of the evolution of the band's fanbase. Skulk and Arasmas caused it to close down? yeah right. Mikael's posts have been the only thing of interest on this forum for a long long time.

 

[Don Corleone]

“Thinking too well of people often allows them to behave better than they otherwise would.” - Nelson Mandela.

I cannot express how sorry I am to all of you for failing as your moderator. Apparently, my attempts to moderate using the above philosophy has failed miserably, and resulted in the inevitable closing of the forum. Just so you all know….Mike basically gave me the forum to run as I please a couple of years ago. I made the rules, I set the tone… and it’s my failure to bare. When I first entered the forum, and especially when I first participated in the moderator duties with Ermz, I really exploded in a few rants due to my lack of tolerance for the type of stupid trolling that has always been a cancer in this forum. I’ve calmed down a bit since then, and I have tried to be patient, to nurture civil, intelligent discourse, to lead by example… and overall I believe most of the posters here are good people who have good intentions. Unfortunately, the Internet does provide adequate cover for those who wish to indulge the weaker sides of themselves. I attempted to sew the principal of “ignoring the trolls” to the members here as the best method of fighting the pathetic few, but I guess the temptation to react was too great for most of you… and I simply failed to react appropriately. Yesterday, I was even lecturing a member about how good I am at my job. ROFL what the fuck I was thinking.

The real shame is that this band makes fantastic music, and is populated with fantastic people. Every single person in the band is a quality human being… humble and accommodating to all of their fans under even the worst of circumstances. This forum gave a unique opportunity for fans to congregate and discuss the band’s music… and even directly interact with current and former members. Unfortunately, I didn’t weed the garden often enough. Now this opportunity will no longer exist for those who may have really benefited from such a place.

So… to those fans for whom this forum was created, and for those who used it in the spirit for which it was intended, again I apologize. Although I am sure that there are some like Wes (Arasmas) and David (Skulk) who are taking turns licking congratulatory loads off of each other’s faces in some pathetic “victory” celebration, they are not in fact responsible for this forum’s demise. I am.

i dont think you need to take it so bad. i think you were a very good mod: not too keen on banning but not too absent either... exactly the way i would have handled it. just like you, i would have let members with sense deal with trolls themselves, but drop in a few warnings myself from time to time.

but after all, this is opeth's own forum and apparently they felt they needed stricter moderation. for me, there's nothing wrong with it, especially when im on the same side as those with positive attitude, those who get to stay and engage in intellectual conversation. therefore, i hope mikael reconsiders his decision and does not let a bunch of children ruin it all for devoted fans like me who occasionally get a chance to hear from himself in casual conversation.

i think this is the time for forum members who agree with me and want this forum to stay to voice their opinions. we all know it's mikael's call finally and we all can see why this forum deserves to be closed, but maybe we can show mikael that it means a lot to most of us, too.

i know it does to me, so there. consider this as an open letter from a devout fan to mikael kindly asking him to reconsider his decision about closing this forum.

 

[Alteredmindeath]

I agree with Mikael, the end is so very near yet life goes on.

 

[hexwind]

i dont think you need to take it so bad. i think you were a very good mod: not too keen on banning but not too absent either... exactly the way i would have handled it. just like you, i would have let members with sense deal with trolls themselves, but drop in a few warnings myself from time to time.

but after all, this is opeth's own forum and apparently they felt they needed stricter moderation. for me, there's nothing wrong with it, especially when im on the same side as those with positive attitude, those who get to stay and engage in intellectual conversation. therefore, i hope mikael reconsiders his decision and does not let a bunch of children ruin it all for devoted fans like me who occasionally get a chance to hear from himself in casual conversation.

i think this is the time for forum members who agree with me and want this forum to stay to voice their opinions. we all know it's mikael's call finally and we all can see why this forum deserves to be closed, but maybe we can show mikael that it means a lot to most of us, too.

i know it does to me, so there. consider this as an open letter from a devout fan to mikael kindly asking him to reconsider his decision about closing this forum.

This !!!!
I can't add anything to it, You just red my mind Don Corleone

 

[To rid you disease]

therefore, i hope mikael reconsiders his decision and does not let a bunch of children ruin it all for devoted fans like me who occasionally get a chance to hear from himself in casual conversation.

i think this is the time for forum members who agree with me and want this forum to stay to voice their opinions. we all know it's mikael's call finally and we all can see why this forum deserves to be closed, but maybe we can show mikael that it means a lot to most of us, too.

i know it does to me, so there. consider this as an open letter from a devout fan to mikael kindly asking him to reconsider his decision about closing this forum.

cheers to that

 

[Frosties]

Not sure why this is a surprise it was really a matter of time. Two generations of UM users (that I know of) have migrated off and started their own forums anyway, I'm sure you guys still here will do the same. There are plenty of great free forum hosting sites, it just takes the effort of one of you to start it up and believe me once its got going it works much better than this place, plus its not wasting the bands cash.

Woah - hey man, whats up?
Shame it took this to get some good people to post.

Samsara - You did a great job IMO, and there are some things you just can't control. I think you did the best you could.

It's a shame that the best source of many posters (including me) musical information is closing down.

 

[Lothlorien]

To me this is a sigh of relief. I hate to admit that I still come on this forum atleast every week hoping for an intuitive and worthwhile thread dealing with opeth. the fact is that i havent found one on this forum for months, and sad to admit that the only thing i find on here is when some opeth merch is being released that i didn't know about.

i'm also not trying to point fingers, but samsara was WAY too nice of a mod. if this forum is to survive there needs to be a "no nonsense" mod who wont think twice about banning someone for even 1 ridiculous/hurtful post. even if it means banning users on a daily basis.

thanks

 

[Alteredmindeath]

Keep in mind that the band pays money to be on here, some people are wasting the money. Mikael should just make a list of guidelines he wants instead of the latter. Either way I will still be a fan that appreciates the cool music & posts Mikael gave us.

 

[Mikael Åkerfeldt]

As I said, I don't want us to have an "official" forum as that more or less require my interference. To be honest, if it's about Opeth, my finger's in the pie. I can't help myself. If there's some unofficial forum popping up, I'm sure I might read what's going on there every now and then.

I just don't want an "official" forum, meaning, everything that's said there is "endorsed" by us since we host the whole thing. I can't have people mocking recently deceased people that meant something to a member of the band. It's just too much. I can take shit thrown at me, but I rage when somebody disrespects my friends, family or bandmembers, and I don't need that right now. I/we don't feed from being angry. World's fucked up as it is, I/we don't need forum "trolls" or whatever you call them pouring salt in our wounds on top of everything.

And finally, James....dude...in no way do I think you did a bad job. On the contrary! You rule! And I expect to see ya next time in Cali drinking a few cold beers with us.

This decision has nothing to do with us going on a break soon. It's just over.....due to the lack of respect that's been so frequent here. That's all.

As for the real fans here, on behalf of the band...."thanks"!

As I said, it's no big deal, just a forum closing down, right?

Cheers!
Mike

 

[Kamel]

Well, maybe the Possible number of threads concerning Opeth were used up! How many hundreds of threads were made concerning the band issues?

I somehow found it great when someone revived an ancient thread, cause, as someone said, It helps you to see how can appreciations drastically change as time passes by.

Then, everyone started considering everything as a shit thread, cause in some way everyone grow tired of the same questions.

fortunately, The Non-opeth chat is always lively and fresh, to some extent.

 

[hexwind]

Mike don't you think we need A Fair Judgment here? Why closing the forum because of idiots, while the true fans pay the price?

 

[ZeDzEdZeD]

Well, didn't expect this coming, but oh well... I've been reading this forum since beginning (2001 I think). Registered as user after Opeth first gig in Helsinki just to share my thought with others. I admint that forum has seen better days... actually it was very very enjoyable some years ago. I guess something happened with mods.

I really hope that Mikael won't close the forum permanently and band will find moderators who could run the place like in the old days.

My favourite thread was probably "Photoshopeth" . Thinking of that I am starting saving all those "art" before it will be closed ...


oh sadness...

 

[hexwind]

^ow yeah they were funny..

 

[Nasty-Fire]

As I said, it's no big deal, just a forum closing down, right?

It's a matter of point of view I guess. And as you said, it's just a forum, I don't think anyone believe you endorse anything from what happens here. To me and for a lot of us, it's just a place where discussions mostly turn around the band, and where we can see what are others opinion. I discovered a lot of new bands here and a lot of interesting information and ideas. I have no idea what happenned for a sudden need to delete this place and I don't understand why it is necessary.

EDIT : Maybe is it all too emotive?

 

[MetalAges]

^ The thread Mikael refers to was deleted as it was more trash than good, the one about Marcel from Talisman passing away and some subsequent scumbags commenting nastily about it.

I'm thinking there needs to be some site wide decency rules put in place... paid forums or not, there has to be limits and accountability for words that come out of people's mouths. I agree with Mikael saying, "World's fucked up as it is, I/we don't need forum "trolls" or whatever you call them pouring salt in our wounds on top of everything."