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Author Topic: Ground Rules (Please read before you post!)  (Read 16322 times)

Klaus Heyne

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Ground Rules (Please read before you post!)
« on: December 29, 2004, 04:42:22 AM »

The Purpose Of This Microphone Forum?

The Mic Lab is meant for the exchange and advancement of knowledge about high-quality microphones among audio professionals (studio owners, producers, engineers and artists.)
With everyone's good will and adherence to a few, but crucial, ground rules (below), this forum can become the prime online source and reference site for reliable, authoritative information about high-end microphones and their application.

'High End', 'high quality' and 'professionals' are of course subjective terms.
I envision an online community of the kind of microphone users whose knowledge, advice and stimulating discussion have been largely absent from existing forums.

Beginning enthusiasts, hobby recordists, or project studio equipment users:
Some of  you can benefit from what's being shared here - however, posters concerned with entry level or project studio mic issues should jog over to Harvey Gerst's fine forum.

Who I am:

Those who don't know who I am and what business I have to lead a forum on microphones: please check up on me. Google my name, or read an interview for an introduction to what I do, what I think, what I feel about  microphones:
                           http://www.prosoundweb.com/recording/bruce_borgeson/kh/heyne .shtml


The Mic Lab's Ground Rules for Success


What is required of all who wish to post:


*  Please use your real name and professional affiliation, if different from your screen name.  I think it makes for a better, more honest forum and audio community in the long run.  Anonymous posts remove responsibility from the poster. I'd rather talk to people who have the courage to take a risk and trust that their courage will not be violated by the forum's participants.  


What I encourage:


*  Inquiries about a microphone's technical and user features, its maintenance and repair

*  A generous exchange of  microphone application tips, hints and questions

*  A sharing of actual, real world experiences with specific microphone brands and models

*  Please keep your posts short and condensed, whenever possible. We need to respect audio professionals' lives and schedules. They rarely have the time or patience to sift through essays, let alone respond to them with valuable answers.

What I discourage:

* Posts containing second-hand info. ("...I was told it sounds just like the original...") (..."Famous Face tried it and really liked it!"...) Please: if you haven't used or heard or seen a mic, don't post opinions about it.  "I was told..."  Opinions by third parties which did not post don't contain the kind of information on which to build a foundation of knowledge.
Test or A-B  mics yourself, then generously and passionately share with us in explicit detail what you experienced, for the benefit of all.  

* Posts containing quotes without attribution or original source. These are just hear-say and not good enough for this forum. ("...a trusted engineer-friend thought mic x  rocks...") If the engineer thinks it rocks, then ask him to step up and share with us what he knows.

* Long-winded posts, dissertations on microphone theory,  and any other subjects that a poster cannot summarize within a paragraph, or a reader with average intelligence cannot comprehend.  If you cannot express a subject in simple language in one paragraph, the subject  may not be right for this forum.

* For sale or wanted posts; valuation estimates. The Mic Lab's credibility and access to professionals shall not be exploited for selling, buying or pricing of microphones.

* Overt or hidden promotion for products or services. Such posts, including "testimonials" by engineers, are a waste of everyone's time in a forum like this. When I spot a post which I suspect has a commercial angle, I will pull it. Exception: businesses will always find an open door for answering specific inquiries or respond to concerns brought up by a poster.

* Discourteous posts. I will remove posts using rude or disrespectful language as soon as I spot them. No warning or explanation. This may offend (!) some of you, but I figure, there is always Rec.Audio.Pro to blow steam.

* Cross posts. The 'buckshot' approach to placing identical posts of inquiry on several forums is discouraged. Professionals who take time and make efforts answering inquiries placed on my forum deserve the courtesy of undivided attention.  With few exceptions (stolen mic alerts) cross posts will be deleted.

* I may discontinue threads which I feel are off subject or morphing from one subject to the next, or posts that deteriorate to two-person chats without much in it for the rest of us.

* Non-specific questions ("What do you know about mic X?") unless a thorough web search by the inquirer in the archives of this forum, brand specific forums, and historical sites did not turn up an answer.
     I would kindly request that you seek info on a specific mic FIRST, rather than employing the time and energy of others to do preliminary work for you.
    Some sites, (Neumann's comes to mind) can be a treasure trove of detailed info, including graphs, close up photos, and exhaustive microphone archives, going back many years.

* Legal Entanglements. While it may be exciting to watch and read about train wrecks in our industry, it is beyond the scope and expertise of this forum to take positions or investigate who is right and who is wrong when manufacturers sue each other. If you find it important to inform the forum about legal decisions that could be affecting microphone users, please simply refer to a link where those who are interested can read more about it.

The Mic Lab is standing by with its dedicated enthusiasts to help you, if specific issues come up that cannot be found easily already elsewhere.
I intend to not repeat the mistake of other forums that lost their spark through losing focus. As there is always a multiple of readers vs. posters, the forum has to stay professional and on-topic so that those who have something to share about professional mics stick around, post here, and post here first.

I thank you for your attention and welcome you to the Mic Lab!
Klaus Heyne
April 20, 2004

       ------------------------------------------------------------

A word about my editing policy

Because you contribute to a larger, permanent, body of work here- quite different from a casual e-mail chat, I edit the majority of posts, on an almost daily basis. On occasion, I may even delete whole posts, and, though rarely, whole threads.

Some of the reasons why I edit your contributions: Points that are not made clearly, repetition, long-winded, super-detailed explanations, chatting off-subject, and bad spelling, grammar and syntax. PLEASE: NO IM AND TEXTING LANGUAGE HERE! Use the grammar and spelling you learned in school!

Unlike the hands-off policies seen on many blogs or forums, please do not expect that every word you write here will end up on the forum. Here it's handled more like at a newspaper of magazine: The editor is the final step before publication.

I feel responsible that the generally superb content of contributions is matched by an appropriate style, to form a credible unit. That level of writing is rarely found on any Internet user forum (check around!), and has gotten us accolades from the competition, despite the fact that the volume of posts here is comparatively small.

If you ever feel that I cut into the meat of what you were trying to express, please PM me. I will always consider your criticism, and will make it right for you, if I can.

Best regards,
Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks
www.GermanMasterworks.com

P.S.: ...and guess whose posts are the most edited and deleted of them all?

Logged
Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks
www.GermanMasterworks.com
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