In case you haven't already been there, the new discussion forum Dissensus is here.
God, why didn't someone think of that before? Hopefully, this will be a cordial, informative place where we can all get together without the fear of personal attacks, rampant bullying or outright betrayal at the hands of our peers.
Like many bloggers, I cut my teeth on message boards, although mainly in the slightly gentler waters of the Yahoo Groups community. I later went through a phase of using the group chat boards on Soulseek, which was a whole different way of doing things - ruff, instantaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-yer-pants shit that was, for a while, a total rush. Although I often read ILM threads I've never felt compelled to delve into the cut'n'thrust dynamic of that particular scene.
It's slightly ironic that self-confessed "mean, ugly person", Matt 'Woebot' Ingram should be the architect of this new venture. Of all the blogging community, it's Matt who I most fear the wrath of. His inherent ability to sniff out the bullshit, acting as the 'thought police' of the blogosphere, keeps me on my toes. If ever I think Gutterbreakz is losing focus or one of my posts in lacking something, I think to myself 'would Matt approve'? He makes me question my reasons for blogging, keeps me on my toes, makes sure I remain true to my convictions and ideals. And here he is, extending the hand of friendship to all and sundry. I guess that's because, despite his sometimes provocative (even antagonistic) swipes at the community*, it's all done with love. Tuff Love. You see, Matt really cares.
Also it's great that Mark K-Punk is joint administrator. I was feeling almost 'left out in the cold' by K-Punk recently. It seemed like the K-Punk Kollective was developing into an hermetic sphere which, although fascinating to read, was a place that was too intellectually intimidating (and too difficult due to comments box restrictions) for me to participate in. But then suddenly he not only gives me a big shout-out, but commits himself to overseeing the long term 'health' of this community by moderating the new forum which, with him and Matt at the helm will, I'm sure, be a fruitful and positive venture.
Lastly, I'd just like to say a big 'thanks' to everyone who's said nice things about Gutterbreakz recently. Special mention to Derek Pop Life for his enthusiasm for my '80s week. Judging by the bandwidth activity, my Mantronik/Latin Rascals posts were very popular - the amount of MP3 downloads actually doubled last week! I reckon I could rinse at least another month's worth of material reveling in '80's dance/pop stuff, but I don't want to be typecast. Things really dipped to a trickle this Monday with my Cabaret Voltaire post, which maybe proves that which I've always suspected: people like the fact that the Cabs existed, but they don't really want to have to listen to the bloody stuff! I was also very chuffed and relieved that resident Grime enthusiast Simon SilverDollarCircle approved of my latest effort. No new MP3's today, 'cos I'm feeling like shit with this stinking cold, so I'm giving myself the day off.
*I should add that Matt has never actually had a go at me personally!
