Whats new?

[Siberian Husky]

Wondering whats new around here? Its a beautiful thing to come back to this site and see that its exactly the way I left it, layout-wise.

[Bob]

It's died down here a lot lately.

A few people have left.  Pianistimo.  m1469 imploded.

Thal became swole recently.   

Nils has been quiet.

I think there's still the unfortunately now typical bickering going on in some posts.

[Siberian Husky]

This plce used to be such a buzzing hangout. Facebook and Reddit have done away with the need for these kinds of forums, but honestly what you are left with are an equivalent phenomenon similar to the dying off of mom-n-pop shops that used to give you a cozy feel. This particular subform used to cycle through threads like crazy and you would see your thread get buried into the second page within a day. Ive recently made it a point to visit all the old forums I used to frequent back in the early 2000's and find that they are either dead, or on their way. Kind of strange to have such nostalgic feelings about internet "places," but the internet has changed so much in the last decade that I force myself to remember it for the rich diversity it once had before everything turned into either a social media platform or some sort of information conglomerate like Reddit.

We had lots of fun here. I miss it, but its unfortunately gone forever.

[ranjit]

The forum has grown very uneventful nowadays. Check this thread:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=65727.0

I was mostly active around 2015. This place was still quite lively back then. Really sad to see this happening, this was an amazing forum. I really like the feel of the website. I just love the simplicity of such an unpretentious, text-based forum.

It is what I liked about the internet back in the day. It hate how it's grown to become a competition among billion dollar companies to find every possible trick in the book to grab your attention. The constant notifications, and upvote systems, along with peer pressure, engineered to keep you hooked.

[ted]

This plce used to be such a buzzing hangout. Facebook and Reddit have done away with the need for these kinds of forums, but honestly what you are left with are an equivalent phenomenon similar to the dying off of mom-n-pop shops that used to give you a cozy feel. This particular subform used to cycle through threads like crazy and you would see your thread get buried into the second page within a day. Ive recently made it a point to visit all the old forums I used to frequent back in the early 2000's and find that they are either dead, or on their way. Kind of strange to have such nostalgic feelings about internet "places," but the internet has changed so much in the last decade that I force myself to remember it for the rich diversity it once had before everything turned into either a social media platform or some sort of information conglomerate like Reddit.

We had lots of fun here. I miss it, but its unfortunately gone forever.

Interesting observations. I am nearly seventy-two now and was fifty-four when I registered. I suppose I should understand what has happened better than anyone, but I don’t. While the general discussions were certainly fun, with some of them bordering on the hilarious, for example https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=11996.0 and https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=9590.msg97616#msg97616 There were also many more serious and accomplished pianists and musicians than there are now. There seems to be an overabundance of trained pianists and teachers in the real world, at least in the classical field and where I live, so the decline must be to do with the nature of the internet itself.

Visiting this site recently has become disconcertingly like reading the death notices in the paper without the comfort of formal obituaries. I often wonder if some of the prominent posters who suddenly disappeared are actually dead, as they seem to have vanished altogether from cyberspace. I post much less often simply because I am busy creating, playing and recording my own music, maintaining my fitness and working around the house, all things I couldn’t indulge in while working.

[Siberian Husky]

It's honestly amazing that this place is still standing. So mamy other forums I used to frequent have literally keeled over and died, killing most of that archived content with it seemingly without a trace. I too wonder where everyone is at these days. Always bitter sweet coming back to this site.

[thorn]

This is the only forum I've used long term that's still going. But even so it's not as active as it was when I first joined in the mid-2000s, it's weird to think how long ago that was. I'd pick a forum over a social media platform any day.

[lostinidlewonder]

It's honestly amazing that this place is still standing. So mamy other forums I used to frequent have literally keeled over and died, killing most of that archived content with it seemingly without a trace. I too wonder where everyone is at these days. Always bitter sweet coming back to this site.

I'm still here.... always watching.. in the dark corner... lol.

[transitional]

Hey, activity is much better on Piano Street than this over here: https://www.pianosociety.com/forums/

[lelle]

I enjoy hanging out here, all we need is a couple more regulars injecting posts and replies into the forum veins!

This is the only forum I've used long term that's still going. But even so it's not as active as it was when I first joined in the mid-2000s, it's weird to think how long ago that was. I'd pick a forum over a social media platform any day.

Difference between mid-2000s and today is that the competition is now several Facebook pages, discord,  reddit, you name it. I also really like forums as a platform.

[quantum]

There was a time when one would do a web search for a particular thing, and what popped up on the first page of results was a bunch of independent forums with deep meaningful discussions by real people on that thing.  Do that same search today, and one gets blasted with advertising, "articles" of empty words, AI generated content, and so on. 

I much prefer a forum like Pianostreet, rather one of the social media giants clamouring to be the next  thing. 

[thorn]

Difference between mid-2000s and today is that the competition is now several Facebook pages, discord,  reddit, you name it. I also really like forums as a platform.

Yeah, and that's a shame cos many of those lack substance as quantum says. I also think people are so angry these days? Maybe I'm looking back through rose-tinted glasses but on Facebook, Twitter, etc the main thing that seems to get strangers talking is a shared political gripe. Sure you've always had arguments on forums too but they were never the main mode of communication. Also it's easier to avoid on forums, like if I see a thread with masks or Rowling in the title I don't click on it but it's all right in your face on the above platforms (of course you don't have to reply but it's still in your feed)