Single-Band Bulletin Boards, Mailing Lists, Forums etc. (Search/Destroy)

those are the only two i ever joined that were band specific.
m.

The Canterbury list (UK scene revolving around bands from there in the late 60s - SOft Machine, Hatfield & the North, Caravan, etc) gave a lot of good info and discussion that I never saw elsewhere. It has become very infrequent, once a month at best, but still worth reading.

Myself, I'm not only a client, I'm the president! Of the aforementioned Ida list, that is - began as a wee li'l cog, then gracefully ascended to zee throne abdicated by Senor Colin (of German ILXor fame). I used to be on one or two others (Low, Loud Family) and started another (for Sarge / Elizabeth Elmore related shenanigans - one of 2 or 3, I think - which has since been rightfully replaced by the Reputation list-serv).

Of course, I joined / began / took over these lists primarily because there wasn't much information on said bands on the web at the time - well, with Low, I joined because of the Ida connection, but one too many hypothetical stories re: tripping with Mimi & Alan (coupled with the occasional brouhaha over Mormonism / taste Nazi-ism / ingrown toenails of the soul) soured me on that pleasant li'l experience. I did "meet" the Kortbeing there, though, as well as an in-person friend-type-thing.

Once upon a time, I vaguely attempted to make the Ida list into more of a social-gathering type of place where Ida-related happenings were discussed in almost a tangential fashion - that never materialized (unlike, for instance, the Loud Family list, which I assume is thriving in spite of the band's dissolution, and centers around a firmly established nucleus of regulars, last I remember). The spirit of the armchair maverick that possessed me back in the day has been subsumed by day-to-day responsibilities and a growing apathy with The Scene - attach that vague catch-all phrase to whatever scene you'd like. Once upon a time, I brought sign-up sheets to Ida shows, passed out fliers advertising the list, contacted labels and artists to get up-to-minute info ASAP, posted endless "hey, let's chat!" e-mails to the list when traffic began to dwindle, and other pro-active things. Nowadays, instead of trying to stir up the pot and foster conversation / camraderie, I just sit back and post the occasional news-laden missive & pepper it with some other hoohah that could possibly be of interest to listmembers (and I haven't done that in eons, and that's not due to lack of news).

But enough about me. Clearly there are great things about these organizations - when they're "on", when it's a true community, where folks are nice & chatty & inviting, willing to share and discuss w/out the usual earmarks of shitty internet discourse, it's a lovely thing to witness, and even lovelier to contribute to. Those dark days, though, sometimes make one (me, really) seriously consider shitcanning all the goodness for a quick & easy exit. Y'know, like my mercurical feelings on this place (cf. jess in his less pissy moods).

maybe its bekoz i think my best on-lins stuff is on there.

everey other site i've been to sux, apart from momus

http://www.beefheart.com/fireparty/index.html

I also subscribe to Mike Watt, which is very active - discussions have been about new bands, shows, taping, politics, .... it's a bit like ILM, except a bit more homogenous - that's why I prefer ILM... MORE FITES!

Almost all lists go through life cycles, I'm very interested in mapping them: Infancy, Gold Rush, Popularity Surge, Oldsters/Newbie Wars, and finally either Implosion, Fracture, Maturity or Slow Death.

And, as a side note I again apologize for dissing Sinister. I think I confused it with the fules from the Pulp list.

Then it became the official site, resulting in an influx of, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking morons. Simpletons would be another term. And people who actually wanted to talk about the band. Because, on band mailing lists, apart from "I think the new album sucks" and "I want to fuck the bassist", there is little real discussion. So, this lead to increased bandwith. So... there was a massed purge of all users that didn't use the actual band part of the forum. Then... it became trippy.

So many tales to tell... firstly, Leigh was scarily right-wing. He was insistant that introduction of ID cards was the only way to stop immigrants entering the country (note: note illegal immigrants, not asylum seekers, immigrants). Fellow posters that shared his views were protected, particularly the legendary SweetLittlePrince, who busted out some classic opinions, such as "Anyone who reads Das Kapital should be sent to a concentration camp" and "General Pinochet was a great man". The person who opined that, post-9/11, we should "bomb those fucking towelheads" also got off scot free. The person who told him to "shut up you racist cunt" was told that we shouldn't be so offensive to other users.

And so many more... the legendary moment where two of his fiercest defenders were repeatedly insulted by his girlfriend in chat, causing them to fuck off, his habit of only giving modships to 13 year olds that couldn't actually speak English properly, the fact that mods regularly read private messages, the mod who actually published these private messages on her Livejournal... happy, happy times. In the end, everyone who had an opinion was banned. I believe the page now solely consists of people going "I think I might be bisexual, be me friend", and TyPiNg LiKe THiS!!!!

It sounds like ILE!

Recently though, I find I want to look at it less and less, not because of the fault of anyone posting, but just because it's suffering from hardly ever having any new posters and everyone therefore being overly-familiar with all the other posters and their particular opinons. As a result there are rarely any debates of interest any more, let alone about the band. The silliness is still enjoyable though.

Incredibly, Vulvaland got written up in the Wire "100 places on the internet that matter" (something like that) issue -- boy was I pumped. But it's been all downhill from there.

I'm still getting back into the swing of things. At one point in 1995 I ran ten (yes ten) such lists. I still run five -- for Oasis, Suede, Sparks, the Squirrels and T. Rex (though the latter is practically nonexistent these days).

Virtues and vices and more, they all cropped up on all of them, but most often on the Oasis and Suede ones -- younger fanbase, maybe? Who knows. I like to think I was a good enough listmaster, though I did a lot of learning on my feet, and doubtless made many mistakes. My obsessive focus after a while on keeping list discussions about the band and nothing else may have killed a sense of larger community on the one hand, but on the other there was so much bitterness and fury on the more rancourous lists when even other groups were mentioned that after a while I had had enough and laid down the law. The thing is, the lists still go on, and I've mentioned the various couples that have met and in some cases married due to the list or get-togethers growing out of list membership. For that reason alone, I like to think I've had some small part to play in the happiness of others. :-)

worst: Cat Power (oh my GOD the horror), M. Doughty's site (groupie city)

David: post Ida news. NOW! I invented two things in my life -- emo and the Ida list -- and I still have hope for one of them.