Country Forum Posting Guidelines [Revised] ** Please Read **
Dec 24, 2013 3:42:44 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2013 3:42:44 GMT -5
Welcome to the Pulse Country forum! Outlined below is a set of posting guidelines for the country forum, which are here to supplement the overall board rules (which, if you are a board member, you need to be familiar with!) We have these additional guidelines for a reason--to promote and encourage good posting behavior, so that each person’s merits and contributions are respected and appreciated.
Country Forum Posting Guidelines
1) Post with Content. You don’t have to be perfect about this, and enthusiasm isn’t a crime, but we’d rather have posts driven by thoughts and ideas. If you develop a pattern of posting in the “discouraged” zone below, we’ll work with you to try to correct it, but you won’t get warned unless you’re incredibly stubborn about content-free posting. Anyway, below is the “discouraged zone”, a list of some posting examples that you should avoid:
Such 'drive-by' comments don’t really add to the discussion. When posting, it helps if you explain yourself. What specific things (vocals, lyrics, melody, production, etc) do you like or dislike about a song? We don’t need each post to be multiple paragraphs in length, nor are we looking for a thesis or a research paper. If you can explain something in 1 or 2 sentences, that’s acceptable. Just keep in mind that this is a discussion board, not a chat room.
We also ask that members do their best when it comes to grammar. We don't really have the power to make a rule requiring good grammar, but I don't think it's too much to ask that each person tries his/her best when it comes to posting and grammar. Again, this is just a recommendation, but other posters will like and respect you more if they can comprehend what you're saying.
2) Post Respectfully and with Common Sense. The atmosphere of a forum is always more encouraging when we treat one another with respect. Make sure you’re staying on topic and not repeating yourself or others; this should be common sense! If you're posting in a thread, it's encouraged that you read the last couple of pages. Also, if you are posting text from an article elsewhere on the web, you must link to your source. Finally, post about songs, not about people! Examples of inappropriate remarks:
You are free to agree or disagree with someone else's opinion, but keep in mind that personal insults or otherwise dismissive judgments of fellow posters are inappropriate. Furthermore, personal attacks and retaliation in kind are against Pulse Rules! (A final tip--when discussing something, you don't always need to have the last word!)
3) Daily Mediabase/iTunes Updates. In the past, posting such updates (in song threads) was not allowed. However, after gathering much feedback, we've come to a compromise on how to adjust this rule. We (the staff) won't be ultra-restrictive here, but we don't really want to see a bunch of numbers without any commentary or purpose, as the goal here is to facilitate discussion. Since daily updates can often be misleading, we prefer chart analysis that incorporates multi-day trends, as it is much more effective when it comes to watching/discussing charts.
Essentially, we’re willing to be more flexible and less strict here. In short, we will allow Mediabase and iTunes updates, but posting an update every single day will still be discouraged. Instead, we encourage you to incorporate multiple days of data into your post, so as to gain context about how the song is trending. The ultimate goal is to keep threads from getting bogged down from chart updates every single day (Note: if daily updates become a problem, we reserve the right to re-adjust this rule).
Also, keep in mind that there is now a daily Mediabase Update thread, and the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase charts are posted each week. The Kworb website also displays daily Mediabase updates, including spincrease, bullet, and audience numbers, for the top 50 songs. There are links to these websites further down in this thread!
4) Listening Parties. We enjoy discussing new album releases, but if you're going to create a listening party thread, make sure that there is an actual link or links to stream the full album (and put that link in the opening post). Artist websites, Mediabase, Amazon, Spotify, iTunes, and other sites are all acceptable. Please format the title of the thread as “Listening Party: Artist – “Album Name”. Otherwise, artist discussion and album threads belong in the General Artist Discussion forum and its sub-forums.
5) Starting New Threads. This is a singles-based forum, but the single release needs to be officially confirmed before a thread can be created. Additionally, please include the following in the original post of each thread:
Here is a good suggestion for how to format a thread:
Country Forum Highlights
A) Country Forum Resources. We have a lot of resourceful members and threads on the forum, and so we’ll take the time to brag about and highlight those threads here:
B) Chart Watchers! The following is a list of helpful sites for chart-watching:
** Questions, Comments, Concerns, Suggestions? Contact the Staff! We’re here to oversee the board, but we’re also here to help you out. You can send staff members a message anytime. Additionally, if you see something that you think is a violation of board rules, either send a PM to jhomes87 , drock89 , or another staff member; or use the “Report” function on that post to notify the entire staff of the issue. Finally, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let us know!
Country Forum Posting Guidelines
1) Post with Content. You don’t have to be perfect about this, and enthusiasm isn’t a crime, but we’d rather have posts driven by thoughts and ideas. If you develop a pattern of posting in the “discouraged” zone below, we’ll work with you to try to correct it, but you won’t get warned unless you’re incredibly stubborn about content-free posting. Anyway, below is the “discouraged zone”, a list of some posting examples that you should avoid:
- "I love this song!"
- "Get that smash!"
- "Heard it on the radio today!"
- "This song sucks."
- "#18 on Mediabase today!"
Such 'drive-by' comments don’t really add to the discussion. When posting, it helps if you explain yourself. What specific things (vocals, lyrics, melody, production, etc) do you like or dislike about a song? We don’t need each post to be multiple paragraphs in length, nor are we looking for a thesis or a research paper. If you can explain something in 1 or 2 sentences, that’s acceptable. Just keep in mind that this is a discussion board, not a chat room.
We also ask that members do their best when it comes to grammar. We don't really have the power to make a rule requiring good grammar, but I don't think it's too much to ask that each person tries his/her best when it comes to posting and grammar. Again, this is just a recommendation, but other posters will like and respect you more if they can comprehend what you're saying.
2) Post Respectfully and with Common Sense. The atmosphere of a forum is always more encouraging when we treat one another with respect. Make sure you’re staying on topic and not repeating yourself or others; this should be common sense! If you're posting in a thread, it's encouraged that you read the last couple of pages. Also, if you are posting text from an article elsewhere on the web, you must link to your source. Finally, post about songs, not about people! Examples of inappropriate remarks:
- "It’s about time [name of poster] got suspended. What a jerk." (posting about others is simply not allowed)
- "All you people who like this song need to have your ears checked!" (off-topic, and it insults fellow posters)
You are free to agree or disagree with someone else's opinion, but keep in mind that personal insults or otherwise dismissive judgments of fellow posters are inappropriate. Furthermore, personal attacks and retaliation in kind are against Pulse Rules! (A final tip--when discussing something, you don't always need to have the last word!)
3) Daily Mediabase/iTunes Updates. In the past, posting such updates (in song threads) was not allowed. However, after gathering much feedback, we've come to a compromise on how to adjust this rule. We (the staff) won't be ultra-restrictive here, but we don't really want to see a bunch of numbers without any commentary or purpose, as the goal here is to facilitate discussion. Since daily updates can often be misleading, we prefer chart analysis that incorporates multi-day trends, as it is much more effective when it comes to watching/discussing charts.
Essentially, we’re willing to be more flexible and less strict here. In short, we will allow Mediabase and iTunes updates, but posting an update every single day will still be discouraged. Instead, we encourage you to incorporate multiple days of data into your post, so as to gain context about how the song is trending. The ultimate goal is to keep threads from getting bogged down from chart updates every single day (Note: if daily updates become a problem, we reserve the right to re-adjust this rule).
Also, keep in mind that there is now a daily Mediabase Update thread, and the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase charts are posted each week. The Kworb website also displays daily Mediabase updates, including spincrease, bullet, and audience numbers, for the top 50 songs. There are links to these websites further down in this thread!
4) Listening Parties. We enjoy discussing new album releases, but if you're going to create a listening party thread, make sure that there is an actual link or links to stream the full album (and put that link in the opening post). Artist websites, Mediabase, Amazon, Spotify, iTunes, and other sites are all acceptable. Please format the title of the thread as “Listening Party: Artist – “Album Name”. Otherwise, artist discussion and album threads belong in the General Artist Discussion forum and its sub-forums.
5) Starting New Threads. This is a singles-based forum, but the single release needs to be officially confirmed before a thread can be created. Additionally, please include the following in the original post of each thread:
- A citation of and a link to an official source which confirms that the song will be released to country radio. Official sources include Billboard, Country Aircheck, AllAccess, a label website, an artist’s official website or his/her/their social media page, Music Row, or other industry sources. Please note: Wikipedia is not an official source. Any thread started without this information will be locked!
- A streaming link to the studio version of the song (or a live version if the studio version is not yet available)
- The song’s impact/adds date (when announced)
- The songwriters (if confirmed)
- The artwork/single cover (if applicable)
Here is a good suggestion for how to format a thread:
Country Forum Highlights
A) Country Forum Resources. We have a lot of resourceful members and threads on the forum, and so we’ll take the time to brag about and highlight those threads here:
- Country Mediabase Top 200 Chart - updated regularly by @jf816, this thread contains daily updates for the full Mediabase country chart.
- Country News & Other Non-Singles Discussion – Updated regularly, this is the thread for all country genre news and other discussion not pertaining to current country radio singles.
- Upcoming Singles – Updated regularly, this thread aggregates news of upcoming single releases and impact dates from credible sources. If you have questions about the status of upcoming singles, ask them here!
- Upcoming Albums – Updated regularly, this thread aggregates news of upcoming album releases and their release dates from credible sources, and is also the place to post officially announced album covers and track-listings for upcoming albums. If you have questions about the status of upcoming albums, ask them here!
- Weekly Album & Single Sales – Updated periodically by various members, this is the thread where you can post and find information about weekly album and digital single sales for artists in the country genre. If you have questions about sales, ask them here! (Note: ProBoards does not allow any of its sites--which includes Pulse--to post SoundScan numbers. Sales numbers can still be posted, but only if they are rounded. See this thread for further information.)
- Artists By Label – Updated regularly by jhomes87 , this thread lists all the major country music labels and their respective rosters of artists. Artist signings and record label roster changes can all be posted here.
- Concert Ticket Sales – this thread is updated periodically by leilamaurizia and others, whenever Billboard Boxscores and/or Pollstar release information about country tour ticket sales.
- Billboard Top Country Albums/Singles – this thread is updated by onebuffalo with weekly information, including commentary about the top songs and albums on the Billboard charts.
- Most #1's - this thread is updated regularly by onebuffalo . It is a list of the artists with the most Billboard #1 hits.
- Billboard Country Update Issues – this thread is updated twice weekly with links to the current issue of Billboard Country Update. The Monday Update is the Country Airplay chart, and the Thursday update is the Hot Country Songs chart.
- Country Aircheck Weekly Issues – this thread is updated weekly with links to the current issue of Country Aircheck Weekly, which features the Mediabase Country chart.
- Joel Whitburn's all-time Top Country Artists list – Updated every six months by Jonsolo , this thread tracks country’s all-time top artists (based on airplay) according to Joel Whitburn.
B) Chart Watchers! The following is a list of helpful sites for chart-watching:
- Kworb.net - this website is one of my personal favorites. It shows the top 50 songs on Mediabase, and includes columns showing both the daily spin change and the daily audience change. Simply put, this site is a 'must-bookmark' if you like following the radio charts.
- AllAccess - registering for an account here is easy and it’s free! AllAccess also displays Mediabase data, but their Cool New Music and Future Releases pages are just as interesting.
- BDS Radio - this website displays the top 60 songs according to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Nielsen BDS (and “BDS” stands for Broadcast Data Systems) is what Billboard uses to monitor airplay. This site updates each Wednesday.
- Live Pop Bars - this is a neat site that lets you sort the iTunes charts however you want. You can sort it so that it will rank the top 1500 country songs on iTunes.
** Questions, Comments, Concerns, Suggestions? Contact the Staff! We’re here to oversee the board, but we’re also here to help you out. You can send staff members a message anytime. Additionally, if you see something that you think is a violation of board rules, either send a PM to jhomes87 , drock89 , or another staff member; or use the “Report” function on that post to notify the entire staff of the issue. Finally, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let us know!
