More Interaction Options For Recurring Forum Threads

I alluded to this in the "Site Progression" thread, but I think there needs to be an easier way for people to interact with the recurring forum features we have in here. While I don't mind writing a 3 paragraph forum post about 9 albums a month, there are many people who wouldn't want to do that, so maybe pulling these recurring forum threads out of the forum and having a system more like the Hall of Judgement would be appropriate? 

List the Monthly Release, have a discussion box below much like the forum thread, but also have a distinct rating system directly on the page that's independent from the album's actual page/rating so people would have to interact and rate the monthly album whether they have it already rated or not. Maybe even show the rating numbers and averages broken down by Clan after voting. It'd be an easier way to take part in things like the Album of the Month rather than digging around in the forums for it. 

I like the concept of the monthly features being displayed on the front page with the cover images being shown with the clan symbols printed on top like we’ve been doing with our social media posts of late. Perhaps they could just be kept as the first release shown in the recent additions section i.e. they could be “sticky” but only for that month. Or alternatively/preferably, we could have a totally designated section on the front page so as to provide a constant advertisement & encouragement to contribute. If you click on the album cover it could take you to a seperate feature release page where you can contribute ratings, reviews & discussion. I’d suggest that all ratings & reviews should be replicated on the regular release page. Historical feature releases could continue to be viewed so that people can see past features & have the option to go back & contribute to previous month’s pages if they wished. These feature pages would be filterable by clan.

I agree that the monthly release feature should be more up-front as it is a good starting point for discussion and reviewing and placing it more prominently may encourage more to become involved with it.

Kind of connected, I would like to see a monthly release feature related to new releases, enabling the site to stay current and maybe attract members who are newer to metal. Sometimes us older members forever reminiscing about the "old days" might be a bit off-putting to younger potential recruits. I don't know, maybe I'm full of shit (it has been said before!)

I like the idea of including brand new releases as features however there are a number of concerns that have stopped me from doing that thus far. For starters, I think we may see less people being in a position to contribute than if we select releases that our more experienced members have likely already heard & won't need to revisit in order to comment on. Also, it's worth considering that some subgenres don't have much of a presence in the modern market i.e. NWOBHM, nu metal, speed metal, rap metal, etc. If we were to go with current releases, we'd really need most of our active members to explore nine new releases per month to see a decent amount of activity with some of them being from outside of their musical comfort zones as we don't have a large enough membership in some clans yet whereas if we include some of the more classic releases we often see older members having some experience with these records regardless of genre preference. I think that bringing important releases from all eras of metal to the attention of people that may not have been exposed to them before seems to be working thus far but that's just my opinion & we like the idea of Metal Academy being a democracy so I'm open to being guided by what the community wants. What does everyone else think on this topic? What would you prefer to see?

I wasn't suggesting replacing the monthly featured release feature at all as I think it's a damn good idea and does get members involved. I was thinking more of somehow having a new release feature up front somewhere, not  necessarily a featured release for each clan. A lot of people are interested in current releases as the endless myriad of current year lists on RYM testifies, in fact my own yearly lists are some of my most popular! I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, but I'm puzzled as to why a significant number of visitors don't return and am mulling over possible ways the site could ensnare their attention longer term. Maybe this isn't the direction to go as there are plenty of metal sites and mags that deal in new releases, but I thought I'd suggest it anyway as, personally, I get a real kick out of discovering brand new releases.

I think the reviews have to come naturally to be honest and not just be reviews for reviews sake because something is new or because something is a classic.  The great thing about here is that if a member has a particular interest in a band they can request addition of the discog to the site or search and review it if already present, this works fine from where I am sat.  If you wanna see more recent releases you can request them, if you think there's a glaring hole in a clan then request the missing band be added.

Whilst I agree it is important to bring members in I disagree that it is the responsibility of the site/members to alter their reviewing preferences just to attract a more maturing audience. Everyone's entry point into metal is different I grant you but it is in everyone's gift to dive in and explore metal in what ever genre/sub-genre they like.  I started with a Saxon record 31 years ago (that was already six years old by that point) and was onto Slayer and Obituary inside 12 months.  An internet acquaintance of mine dove in at a similar point and hasn't moved out of traditional heavy metal.  People need to choose their own path.

I lost interest in a lot of new releases after spending many years trying to maintain a blog and just reviewing like there was no tomorrow.  Not saying that is the intention here with this desire for focus on new releases but I don't think it is needed personally.

Simply put, I like the way the Monthly Release works right now in terms of choosing albums. Having an "important release" for each Clan each month is a good system, rather than trying to pander towards certain groups. But I also think that new releases should have some kind of presence in the spotlight, especially when it's obviously something that the music community as a whole is talking about. For example I don't think that anyone would have a problem with seeing Im Wald as a Monthly Release for The North after it's out since it's currently the talk of the town for Atmospheric Black Metal. 

I just think that moving forward with whatever ideas the community comes up with for Clans/Reviews/Discussion it's important to not limit them to the Forums, since I think that will garner more interest for people passing by the site. Even though it will require much more back-end work.

Great feedback here guys & I think there's a lot of merit in these ideas. I'll speak to Ben when he gets back & see if we can make it work in some capacity.