Appreciation for the Cafe

[JimKo]

Several times the past couple of weeks I have gotten about half way through the news and decided that was enough. Maybe more than enough. That is when I check out the Cafe. Just wanted to say thanks for a really well run site. It is a great public service.

[Timbofood]

I agree! Too much grumbling and "canned personality" on television and the local paper is rubbish so, the cafe is a beacon of diversion from the day to day frustrations for me too.

[ccravens]

The MC is a breath of fresh air from politics and social issues. Issues that can often emphasize what divides us, instead of what unites us as country and a species.

Full disclosure: years ago, I wished the MC would allow such discussions. I even chaffed at the restrictions on occasion. Now I see the wisdom in having an island of tranquility in the midst of a sea of madness. There are plenty of active forums to join if you want to debate political and social issues. There is only one MC.

Thanks Scott and mods.

[Caleb]

A while back I decided to take a year off from the news (I'm pretty sure a news site was my homepage back then, but I changed it to the Mandolin Café). That year has turned into ten years or so now. Turns out I haven't missed anything that matters along the way. YMMV.

[Hallmark498]

We don't watch the news!

Love the café, pick on

[Elliot Luber]

Music brings people together. Pick on a mando, not each other!

[JeffD]

There is a site I read, which uses software similar to this one. There are some different decisions as to set up and moderation however and the results are striking:

They have huge "off topic" community forums, where all kinds of silliness is given free reign. The problem is that the attitudes and ways of talking developed in these off topic forums spill into everything, so even the threads I am interested in are full of snarky comments and one liners, inside jokes and inappropriate humor.

They even have sanctioned area within which one can complain about the action of the moderators. Due to this, and the less rigorous moderating and less swift and sure consequences of infraction, the community has developed a certain whining, complaining, challenging moderator authority, school kids on detention atmosphere.

Even in the on topic areas, they have a gazillion polls, most of them totally ridiculous, and lots and lots of games that apply "basketball style" brackets to preferences within the topic.

They have a participant rating system, and rule infractions subtract from your rating. It gives folks a huge toy to play with and chatter about endlessly.

On topic threads quickly devolve into fighting matches, arguing about what I meant when you thought I said and what I said that you still haven't gotten.

Its discouraging in the extreme.

Much of the things we like about this site, and certainly the metric ton of bovine scatology we don't have to deal with, is a direct result of Scott's design and operating decisions. Decisions that I hadn't appreciated as much as I do having seen what a world without them looks like.

[Rob Meldrum]

Good thread. I have one other favorite go-to site that ended their "political posters" section a year ago. Too many people took their political differences out of there and into the site and it started to get ugly. They removed the political section and after a couple of months peace was restored. I enjoy this site because we can focus on what really matters... music, camaraderie, and whether it is worthwhile to pay more for a scroll (just joking...).

[allenhopkins]

Politics can be interesting, fascinating, frightening, fulfilling; it's no doubt of great importance. I spent my career working in local government, and realized how important the political process is in determining the course of our lives.

But it shouldn't be everywhere; there need to be places where the raised voices and utopian/doomsday rhetoric that fill so much of our media, are filtered out. There must be niches for things as beautiful -- and, we hope, non-controversial -- as music, and for devices as intricate and satisfying as the mandolin.

It's not just an escape, it's a refuge.

[Bob Clark]

I haven't owned a TV in decades, but I check in with the Cafe several times a day. I think I have my priorities right. Now I think I'll go play.

[Eric Platt]

The Café helped when I was getting back into mandolin earlier this year. Helped jump start my playing. Was also using it to help divert attention from other, personal, issues. Did (and still) does the job. Still learning things every day. And enjoying it. Still use it from time to time for pure distraction.

[Louise NM]

Yup—great site, well-moderated, differences of opinion (usually) articulated politely.

Thanks, guys. Good job.

[Frankdolin]

The most REAL site on the misinformation highway.

[JeromeLCSW]

Recently sold two instruments to possibly two of the nicest people on the planet. Gladly chipped in donations after each sale because I wouldn’t have made those connections without the Cafe. What a cool place!

[Cornfield]

I enjoy following some of the threads and have received some valuable advice from the community. I also check the Classifieds regularly. I've noticed that the Classifieds descriptions are all exceptional. Like school children in Minnesota, every one is above average.
I have yet to read a description of a mediocre, bad or average sounding instrument. Each one exceeds every other. The prices all seem to reflect the exceptionality that is prevalent. I have yet to make an offer on one of these treasures.
Prices do seem high, but having limited experience with Mandolins, the only thing I have to compare is by checking prices on the Classifieds listings for tenor guitars. They seem to all be listed at 50 -100% above what I consider to be their actual value.

[greenwdse]

I agree. I love this place.

[Caleb]

I have yet to read a description of a mediocre, bad or average sounding instrument. Each one exceeds every other.

Indeed! Sometimes the descriptions are the best part of cruising the classifieds. "Best one of the lot..." "Way better than all the others in the store..." "Even better than ones twice the price!"

[William Smith]

I've said this on other threads on the CAFE, it's the greatest, I don't have time for any other sites! sure I check out reverb, gbase, and dealer sites but nothing like this site where we all live mandolins etc...One may learn a lot, drool a lot etc....yep its the best period....

[Tom Sanderson]

Thanks for keeping Politics, Religion, etc . off the Cafe. It's so refreshing to have an escape from all that.

[Mark Gunter]

The cafe is a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. It's a place where you can drink from the shallows, or as deeply as you wish, in an oasis of peace smack dab in the middle of what can often be a tumultuous world. Bravo.

[danmills]

I'll pile on from another angle, offering some appreciation to whoever handles the technical side of things: No other site that I visit regularly performs as reliably as mandolincafe.com. It loads fast, never seems to be down, does just what you expect. When I have issues with my internet and I'm wondering whether it's my ISP, my computer, or only specific site(s), the first thing I do is do is visit mandolincafe, as kind of a "benchmark" to figure out what's working and what isn't.

[FatBear]

I'll add my +1. Best site on the Internet and I visit a lot of them. Best site management and best members. Of all the people who post here, I have yet to run across one who I really wish would go elsewhere. But as a smart-aleck young engineer (me) once told his manager during an over-long performance review, "if you've got something to say, say it with money". Don't worry, we kidded around a lot like that. But I have just done so here. If you look up above, you'll see a donate link. What a pleasant surprise it would be for Scott to login and find a nice big thank you balance in his PayPal account.

[Jim Garber]

I will add my voice to all the others. Of course, you can see from my post numbers that I have added my voice maybe a little too often. In any case, +∞ to all the others who post similarly. IMHO this is the most well-run, informative and civil site on the Internet. Keep uo the good work, Scott and the gang!

[Nathan Kellstadt]

I just double checked the bookmarks in my phone's browser, and sure enough, when I got my phone, it was the first site I bookmarked.

If this were the only site I could access on the internet, I'd be okay with it.

[Lorenzo LaRue]

Thanks for the 'donation' reminder, we all forget these things in our daily confusion. This site is a haven from bs and so deserves the support of it's users. Thanks Scott for a wonderful place to visit.