Sometimes it'd be nice to have a bit more variety in the type of folks coming to the Org, especially in the non-Prince forum and P&R.

Most people here have tastes in music along the same lines, so it's hard to get much debate going sometimes when an artist releases a new album or song and the Org opinion is one big "Hurrah!" or one big "Boo!". Also, I'm sure I'm not he only one getting a little bit tired of thread after thread revolving around the same 4 or 5 artists.

Likewise in P&R, the vast majority of Orgers are Judeo-Christian and liberal (not a huge surprise, given who the site's dedicated to and all) and Westerners. The lack of, say, Muslim perspective or conservative perspective or non-Western perspective can be mighty limiting in threads concerning world events. I feel that might be stunting myself and a lot of other people's perspectives, to not hear an opposing or differing view on topics like terrorism, war, the environment, race, etc.

So I guess my question is: Have The Powers That Be of the Org ever contemplated a way to attract different people here? There are already plenty of Orgers who aren't Prince fans, so it's not as if that's a prerequisite. Would it make a difference in the directions threads go or are handled, for good or bad?

I don't know that anything is done to attract anyone to visit the site, other than Prince fans. It is a Prince fan-site first and foremost. And while there may be members of the site that aren't die-hard fans, I frankly don't see the attraction to spend much time here, especially to seek it out in the first place, if you're not one. That said, I don't think anything is done outright or intentionally to discourage anyone either. And I would hope that everyone for the most part feels "welcome".

CarrieMpls said:

I know what you mean, but at the same time topics on X album or X current event do tend to get a bit stale around here with most people agreeing most of the time.

meow85 said:

I agree.

fathermcmeekle said:

I see your point, meow, but it's not something I've ever thought about. What do you suggest?

I can't really see this being a problem, there are plenty of sites out there where you can discuss music as well as politics/religion that ISN'T a Prince fan site. Visit them if you feel this way!

The only suggestion I can think of, is let people know about the org. If you see someone posting on another board who you think should be posting here, let 'em know! The worst that'll happen is they won't do it.

Teacher said:

While I don't generally advocate the "love it or leave it" mindset (I think this place can only get better by listening to the community's suggestions!), that's kind of my thought on this particular question. I'm just not sure how we would seek to attract a more diverse population than we already have to a Prince fan website for purpose of more diverse music and political discussion. As Teacher states, there are other forums out there dedicated to those very topics. The non-Prince topic forums evolved on this site by folks getting bored of simply discussing Prince only, and because they'd built up a bond with the people already here. So much so, they wanted to discuss other things with the community at large here.

I don't think it's exclusionary in practice, just that the focus is Prince. And as far as artist fan-sites go, I'd hazard to guess we are quite diverse in a sense. People from many different countries, economic backgrounds, relgions, political ideology, etc. Yes, it is mostly western and liberal but then that follows mostly with Prince's appeal. And considering the site is in english, language barriers exist as well.

And as for everyone agreeing all the time, that's certainly not been my experience here. Not to say it doesn't happen, but I've seen lively debate in every forum on the site as a rule, not the exception. Though I admit my participation in anything but a couple of forums has dwindled qutie a bit.

Keep in mind, I'm just a brand spanking new moderator giving my opinions. SO take them for what they're worth. And I hope they don't come off as "no, I don't think we need to do that!". Just that I'm not sure how it would all work. As I asked above, what would your (or anyone's) suggestions be?

I should add that I'm not being deragatory in any way here, I just mean that you might get a more diversified opinion on, for example, Prince, if you go to a board where people seriously discuss music but not are made up of P fans. That's all.

Me, I don't discuss P or P&R so I wouldn't know.

Teacher said:

I have actually lurked around different sites, and pretty much everywhere is more of the same. Like-minded people congregate, so there's not much variety at all on most topics.

The only exception to that rule was my city's home page, that has it's own discussion forums. But I found such a stunning number of helmet-wearers on there I couldn't bring myself to actually participate.

some orgers with a very diverse taste in music left the org

meow85 said:

I hear that... I find it strange though, I'm not at all into discussing music (or much else, lol) but shouldn't there be forums that aren't dedicated to certain artists, I don't know, like www.rollingstonemagazine.com or something? DISCLAIMER! I have no idea if that's an actual website.

i go to other sites to get different flavor.

the org has its own vibe.

I think there should be an assigned mod to recruit new members (anxiety) and he can post advertisements on other artist's sites, (like MJ, madonna) Just throw out Prince.org randomly whenever the color purple, high heels, guitar, or Versace, is mentioned.

xplnyrslf said:

Real advertisers do the same, why not?

a lot of people can't afford computers or the internet.