Hola Señor Farren,
I'm really getting a kick out of the whole back-and-forth happening on the ol' Doc 40 blog, but you really need to get yourself a forum set up, Mick. I have space and the script (whatever thae fuck that means) for one that came with my website, but I have no idea how to set it up. If you know a good web guy, I'd be happy to donate the space.
Jett
The above letter comes from our pal Jett. I very much like the idea of expanding Doc40 in any way that we can. I subscribe the shark metaphor of swim forward or die, but I also have to be realistic that, in terms of time, cash, and ingenuity, I can’t put too much more into the project no matter how much I value it as a means of communication and a work of art. Already I find myself failing to find the time to update Doctube, and the quest for a decoder ring is not going well. (More about this, maybe tomorrow.) On the other hand, I don’t want to include Google ads, and I even feel uncomfortable putting out a PayPal tip jar or anything like that. This I presenting this idea to our regular readers. Would you like a forum? Is their a “good web guy” out there who could set this up in five minutes.
And, having said all that, I return to watching the Dems convent.
The secret word is Growth
I'm really getting a kick out of the whole back-and-forth happening on the ol' Doc 40 blog, but you really need to get yourself a forum set up, Mick. I have space and the script (whatever thae fuck that means) for one that came with my website, but I have no idea how to set it up. If you know a good web guy, I'd be happy to donate the space.
Jett
The above letter comes from our pal Jett. I very much like the idea of expanding Doc40 in any way that we can. I subscribe the shark metaphor of swim forward or die, but I also have to be realistic that, in terms of time, cash, and ingenuity, I can’t put too much more into the project no matter how much I value it as a means of communication and a work of art. Already I find myself failing to find the time to update Doctube, and the quest for a decoder ring is not going well. (More about this, maybe tomorrow.) On the other hand, I don’t want to include Google ads, and I even feel uncomfortable putting out a PayPal tip jar or anything like that. This I presenting this idea to our regular readers. Would you like a forum? Is their a “good web guy” out there who could set this up in five minutes.
And, having said all that, I return to watching the Dems convent.
The secret word is Growth
I'm not sure how a forum works.
ReplyDeleteNeither am I. Can anyone help?
ReplyDeleteme either. but i'm all for it.
ReplyDeletetech support!!!
DaCoin did our forums & website...
ReplyDeletewww.seadrive.org
www.seadrive.org/forums
Granted we haven't updated it in way too long, though, if you think you like what he can manage I can talk to him.
I don't know about a five minute time frame or anything, though, I know that he knows how to do shit like that.
I participate in a forum at Musical Family Tree,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.musicalfamilytree.net/
That's a fairly specialized web site and a lot of the participants know each other personally outside of MFT.
There's a lot more forums that no one contributes to, just sitting around the internet gathering virtual dust.
I figure we are all here to watch and listen as Farren holds forth. Periodically we shout out encouragement, questions and catcalls. That's what the comment section is for.
I don't think we need a forum here. This is primarily Farrenspace, as it should be.
Does anyone else here participate in forums? What are they? Why do you participate?
I personally would like a Farren store. I need a "Protected By Perception Management" hoodie, a "Stop Reading Capitalist Newspapers" t shirt and a White Panther trucker's cap. Actually, I need a copy of "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette." I would buy a Perception Management hoodie though.
Will "Conflagration" be coming out in paper back? Will you sell it here? Don't be shy.
Mick, looks like the tribes are gathering and offering support. If no one else surfaces, I'll casr a few spells and raise fellow hoodlum Mike here in North Reading, who is a web guru by day and really knows his stuff. We may demand a new Doctube first, mind you.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with jon's comments. Most forums fail, and i come here to read Farren, something ive sporadically done ever since his NME days.
ReplyDeleteIts nice that someones making the offer but i wouldnt waste the time you have for the site to get a forum. but a shop would generate cash and im for a Stop Reading Capitalist Newspapers" t shirt day one!
i run a forum and blog, if you need any help, just yell :)
ReplyDeleteWell, Combom. I'm yelling. This whole response is incredibly encouraging, especially when coupled with the growing hit-count. I would love to see a shop. I be more than happy to have an annex in the form of a forum. The problem is that my task is to write, to pick topics and hunt down images. Beyond that, I'm useless. I need to write more about this in the main body of the blog. And I will.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jon....
ReplyDeleteIf it ain't broke, don't fix it. We may lose what we have. Seems to be working well enough as is.
hey, what about an online casino?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Mick Farren 'fan', per se...actually, I'm a little too old to be a 'fan' of anything anymore. I'm waaaaay too irreverent for hero worship, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think Mick's an interesting cat with some interesting ideas and viewpoints, and a talented writer who's work has blown me away on more than one occasion. In a perfect world, I'd love to smoke a J and have a few wee drops of Jameson with him while we discuss politics, the 60s, music, art, women, spirituality, film, TV and "...where'd you get that cool ring?" Unfortunately, I'm hell and gone from L.A. and Mick and I probably travel in different circles, anyway.
I'd thouroughly enjoy the prospect of a VIRTUAL bullshitting session, if nothing else. The ol' Doc40 Comments Board is a bit too clumsy to conduct any sort of give-and-take communication, so a forum sounds like a great idea.
So how's it work, a forum?
ReplyDeleteI'm not into heros and am as irreverent as the next guy, but my agreement with Jon was more about there being plenty of forums gathering dust.
I get the feeling the thing would involve coordination. Commentors here are on more than one continent and times show people weigh in when they can, often over a span of two or three days. I like that I can check it when i feel like it and comment when I feel like it. No constraints.
Sure, a yap would be great, theoretically, but I don't see that you'd get the variety of people involved that you do the way it is now, spanning time.
Again, not sure how it works, so maybe my points are moot. Please enlighten us.
I'd also like some enlightenment as to how a forum works. I'm not crazy about committing anything that functions in realtime.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I am into heroes, but I have lots of them and some of them wouldn't like the others. William Burroughs, meet Malcolm X and Dan Traecy.
ReplyDeleteI too am mostly saying that I personally don't see the need for a forum. The simplest way to experiment would be to start a Doc 40 discussion group on Yahoo. See if that stirs any interest before you go taking up bandwidth and time with a forum.
I am supposedly a member of a Burroughs discussion group at Yahoo. I never go there, and when I do hear from the group it is usually someone trying to convince me to buy their latest self released CD.
So how about imitation Zippo lighters with a picture of Mick and the words, "Chairman Mick sez burn baby burn"? Better yet, why not sell Cialis and Oxycontin at bargain prices? No, really I just want my perception management hoodie.
I am totally behind the Perception Management hoodie. To be blunt, I need someone to do the Cafe Press set-up and artwork, because I know I'll never find the time.
ReplyDeleteI hate Cafe Press' shirts. Too bad because it's not a bad idea. I don't think it's that big a deal to put together a Cafe Press store. I've known people who've done it. I really like Roky Erickson's website,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rokyerickson.net/
and store
http://www.merchdirect.net/rokyerickson/
The moving blinking eye in the pyramid is tres cool, but I don't think any of it is low budget.
Nothing against Yahoo, but all of the forums I've ever been involved in were under the auspices of smaller groups, usually targeted towards specific interests (Tattoo Enthusiasts, Volkswagen Owners, Art and Artists, etc). Sometimes they work well and have a lot of participants and interesting, lively "conversations"; sometimes they don't.
ReplyDeleteUnlike a Chatroom, a forum is usually NOT in real time. How it works is:
Someone, let's call him "Dave", writes something in the morning. Someone else tosses in their two cents on the subject. Later in the afternoon, a third person agrees with the first person, and adds their individual input on the subject. Still another person writes in and references the second person's comments, vehemently disagreeing with said comments and suggesting that perhaps the original poster might have his/her head lodged up their ass. Later in the day, "Dave" requests that everyone calm the fuck down and get back to the original topic.
Picture a bunch of folks dropping in, and out, of a neighborhood pub for a quick brew and a casual discussion/heated debate about...whatever.
Here's the web address of a forum on an art website (sorry; I'm too HTML-challenged to make a link) that I used to frequent. Unfortunately, people -people like me- with strong opinions and a gigantic, sailor-like vocabulary of cursewords, don't last long there, but it's a fine example of how a forum works.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
I must be missing something. That sounds like what goes on here.
ReplyDeleteDunno Mick... you don't seem to tolerate fools lightly, and as a former moderator of a forum, I guarantee that you'll get your share of kooks, nit wits and complete psychos.
ReplyDeleteThat said, if you DO decide to do it, just make sure you have a couple of people you trust as moderators so that when you're busy with your writing, music, etc, they'll have your back. Frankly, I thought it was a pain in the ass (hence "former" moderator). It was very time consuming, and I tired easily of the trolls.
Mick,
ReplyDeleteI have contributed to forums and they get out of control not in a good way.The only good thing is that people bring ideas and sometimes take you into areas you may not have known about,but as the poster above says we come here to read you that like him I have done since the IT/NME days.
Seems to me that the only danger of losing what we have in Doc40 is if Farren gets frustrated, depressed, or bored.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying we have to keep the bastard happy?
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the sound of that.
ReplyDeletehahaha. is this a forum or what?
ReplyDeleteI say let the sharks swim away and pour me another tall one. Next topic!!!
Moderate, schmoderate. All you, Moderator Farren, need to do is launch a topic from time to time and let you resident population of kooks, nit wits and complete psychos go to town.
ReplyDeleteYou only need moderation if you're worried about offending someone. I say, fuck that shit.
You will want someone to approve new members, though, so the board doesn't get filled with V!a-gra and R*lex spam, but you can add a shitload of administrators (ie, Doc 40 commentors) to do that. The critical mass for a forum seems to be about 250 people. Get that many and it'll thrive.
Or it dies a slow, lingering death. So what? So do we all.
Will someone please tell me why this isn't essentially a forum already. This sure sounds like a discussion to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the gain? Moderation? Doc40, to Mick's credit, doesn't moderate comments. He's always managed to deal gracefully with the occasional anonymous psycho.
"Approve new members"? Definitely doesn't sound like a Doc40 thing to me. Personally, I've never joined anything in my life, especially something requiring "approval." Why bother now?
Help..... I'm having a hard time figuring out the plus here.
Forum, snoreum... as in ZZZZ. I too will throw in my tuppence-worth and readily concur with Jon, and all those others who concurred with him first.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a shop DOES sound quite nice, though. I far prefer that word to "Merchandising".
people, people - may the sacred online oracle deliver us the true answer:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goddessmystic.com/PathActivities/Divination/oracle.shtml
So, apparently one can publish their own books through cafepress.com [atop of clothing & novelties & audio cds & all sorts of crazy shit]
ReplyDeleteCheck out the links, #1 is more about how to do it & #2 is more about price & print type of specifics.
Link 1
Link 2
Sadly, however, it seems that they don't do hard-backs...
At over 30 comments has this now evolved into a 'forum'?
ReplyDeleteThe blog rules!
Damn, I fail to check in for a coupla days and look at all I've missed!... anyway, for what it's worth, I concur with Jon and subsequent agree-ers, thinking Doc40 is the way to go for what we have here. Forums are too prone to get ridiculous in more ways than one, sad to say, as there was a time when I liked 'em. Now they seem to be just trouble in the making... see the Above Top Secret one for example. Troubling. This blog is much better for the purpose... and yes... it is a forum of sorts as it achieves the same goal of back and forth commentary.
ReplyDeleteI think a shop would be good. Mick, remember what we spoke of shortly after we met? Cafepress is interesting in that they can do books, but some say that their stuff is slightly lacking. Dunno 'bout that, as no one's ever returned anything they've gotten from my shop there, not that there's been all that many. I currently prefer my Zazzle shop as much, much more freedom is available to design your stuff. There are copyright issues that they all enforce. Either will only let you sell what they offer...
Anyway... be well everyone.