Help with Keeping Threads on Topic

[Aussie Geoff]

Guys (and I use that in a non gender specific way ,

I need your contributions to some guidelines for keeping Club B&W on topic to B&W while still making sure it is a really useful resource for B&W owners and "wanabe" owners all over the world. The challenge is, we are a committed bunch (some say we should be committed ) and it is easy for us to want to post everything is this forum and ignore the others. Clearly a thread like "What's the best DVD, the Denon 2200 or 2990?" is not B&W related... There are some perfectly good other forums in the guide where you can get a good answer....

I've been chatting with Doug, the owner and key sponsor of HTGuide (i.e. he pays the bills that keeps this on the air for all of us) and we've agreed that it would be good to get your input on this. So, here's my suggested guidelines:

This forum is for threads which are to do with B&W speakers, or equipment that directly connects to those speakers in the context of how well it drives / interacts with the B&W speakers. If it is not a direct connection / interaction, then use the appropriate forum in HTGuide...

So this means that thread which are about:

• Subwoofers and B&W are OK as the subwoofer is directly interacting with the sound of the B&W speaker
• Amplifiers to drive your B&W are OK as the amplifier is directly connected to your B&W speaker.
• Cables / Bi wiring etc for your B&W is OK because - well you get the idea...

But threads like:

• Best CD player, preamp, power filter, projection screen, remote control etc are all not OK because they really are not about B&W and should be in the other forums...

If you do post in another forum and think "Gee, I'd really like to make sure that my mates in Club B&W look at this" then feel free to put a post in Club B&W that lets people know about the thread you have started so that they can go there and join in.

I'd also like to encourage you to have a look in those other forums, you might be surprised. "Audio Hideout" and "Home Theater" are two particularly useful forums. However there is fun in lots of places. For example take a look at the chatter in the latest "TTP XVIII Powered By Legs of Summer" thread in the "Not ready for Prime Time" forum.... I know many of you would have a lot to contribute (or at least some fun) there...

I think this kind of guideline is not about censorship, or control of free speegh, its just about using each forum for what it is meant for and encouraging members to be active in their areas of interest / expertise accross different forums that may be relevant...

So - what do you think... I'd like to implement something that is fair but firm and unambiguous....

Regards

Geoff

[Stevebez]

Sounds perfectly reasonable - agree with your proposed guidelines...

Rgds Steve.

[tboooe]

Geoff..I agree with the expanded definition of what pertains and is relevant to B&W speakers. Does that mean my thread about subs and B&W gets unlocked???

[Lex]

I've sent Geoff an email about cables as they relate, as well as some other input, expect revisions soon to generally what Geoff is seeking agreement on...

I'll just say, cable discussions have to meet the general HTG rules first and formost, and there are specific circumstances here that are not permissible, generally, not much changes concerning cables, but I'll leave it to Geoff to explain further.

Also Geoff, I really prefer not to think of this quite like it's just about hard connections so much as it's an integration issue. In other words, you don't just start taking about subs here, unless it's specifically related to your B & W speakers in the post. You don't just start asking about Krell amps, unless it's related to a particular line of B & Ws, how do they sound with the Krell, etc... those types of questions are what I am looking for.

If it comes to just saying, which Krell do you prefer, the model A or the model B? That's a general question, not tied to any B & W product, and would be just as before, mis-catagorized.

I hope that helps to clarify my position Geoff, coupled with the PM, if you have any questions let me know.

When you post a question about a component, the first thing you have to ask yourself is, is there a direct correlation to B & W here? If there is not, then your posting it in the wrong place.

thanks.

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi (Updated Version),

Here is an updated version based on feedback from a number of people. I hope you like it.

This forum is for threads which are to do with B&W speakers, or equipment that integrates with B&W speakers in the context of how well it drives / interacts with the B&W speakers to affect your listening experience. When you post a question about a component, the first thing you have to ask yourself is, is there a direct correlation to B & W here? If there is not, then you’re posting it in the wrong place so go check out of the other forums such as “Audio Hideout” or “Home Theater”.

To better illustrate this - threads like:

• Subwoofers and B&W are OK as the subwoofer is directly interacting with the sound of the B&W speaker you are asking about
• Amplifiers to drive your B&W are OK as the amplifier is directly connected to your B&W speaker.
• Is a Classe 2100 or 2200 best to drive by B&W 802Ds is just fine

But threads like:

• Best CD player, preamp, power filter, projection screen, remote control etc should be in another forum because they really are not about B&W and should be in the other forums...
• Which is the model Krell do you prefer should be in another forum

Of course all threads need to conform to the HTguide’s special rules about cable posts, which (with www.catcables.com as the major sponsor of the HTGuide) don’t allow posts that promote / link to web brands, or encourage general discussion along the lines of “What’s the best cable”. These threads have had a long history of getting way out of hand in both HTGuide and other forums, because of the strong opinions of people – so we just don’t allow them anymore. We do allow discussion of specific cables in the context of integration with other components. However, even these often get out of hand as people enthusiastically join in with either opinions on other brands or the view that all cables are the same, creating some heated debates that become pointless...

If you accidentally post a thread in here which is not about B&W – I’ll just move it for you to the right forum, with a redirect so that you can find it. Of course, people who deliberately flout these rules run the risk of their posts just being deleted (but this is very rare)

If you do post in another forum and think "Gee, I'd really like to make sure that my mates in Club B&W look at this" then feel free to put a post in Club B&W that lets people know about the thread you have started so that they can go there and join in.

What do you think?

Regards

Geoff