Is the age of the internet forum dead? Facebook RULEZ OK . . .

[David Pinnegar]

Time and time again I see cliques in groups on facebook throwing their wisdom into the etheric morass of social media.

Not indexed by search engines, what enthusiasm can facebook spread?

Is there a problem using forum sites like this on mobile devices? Or is the forum dead?

Best wishes

David P

[JBR]

I see discussion fora like this and Facebook as two distinctly different things.

I visit this forum every day on my computer; I visit Facebook most days on my mobile phone, and each for quite different reasons.  In my opinion, the internet forum is far from dead.  Perhaps this and other organ fora are relatively quiet, but that reflects the fact that the organ is a minority interest.  However, other fora I visit are far more lively yet some are equally specialist.

I must admit that it has never occurred to me to visit this site on my mobile phone.

[dragonser]

Hi,
 well I think as the two previous posters have said, there is a lot of difference between forums like this one and facebook. I tend to access web pages from my desktop computer, so I can't comment on how this site would work on a mobile phone.
I guess that for some people, the novelty of the internet may be wearing off !
regards Peter B

[Janner]

I often carry a mobile 'phone but it is a very basic device and switched on only on the rare occasions when I have to make a particularly pressing call.

I often wonder about those who seem to spend half their lives peering at the screens of their mobile devices, or have them welded to their ears, and are completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Facebook? Personally I have nothing to do with it at all.

I read this, and another organ forum, almost daily, but on a large screen and from the comfort of a decent chair in a quiet environment, where I can devote some worthwhile concentration to the topics of interest.

Best wishes,

J.

[JBR]

I often wonder about those who seem to spend half their lives peering at the screens of their mobile devices, or have them welded to their ears, and are completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Yes, it makes me laugh to see them walking down the street with their phone to their ear.  Some do this for a considerable length of time and seem to prattle on about nothing (not that I've been earwigging, of course), so I presume they are not short of money!

Needless to say, that is something I never do.  If I really need to speak to someone about something important, I make a quick call and have done with it.

[Nicolette]

Facebook? Personally I have nothing to do with it at all.J.

Oh good - a kindred spirit!
This forum covers so many areas of our specialist interest, while Facebook seems to look at anything and everything, right down to inane things like telling "friends" that you're drinking your fourth cup of coffee of the day..........Long may Organmatters survive!!
Nicolette

[David Pinnegar]

With no posts for over a week I'm just wondering if the organ and its music is a lost cause?

Best wishes

David P

[Nicolette]

I don't think so.
N.

[Gwas_Bach]

For my part, I have been snowed under with work.  I enjoy reading what others have to say, since I don't know a great deal about organs, but am keen to learn.  This year I have started taking formal lessons on the organ, having taught myself little bits and bobs.  I don't get the chance to travel much and see organs in other parts of the country, so hearing about them is interesting for me.

[pcnd5584]

I have tried starting new threads - but received no replies to either of my postings. This could of course be that the thread did not interest anyone.

Considering some of the nonsense and guesswork which is promulgated on Facebook, I am surprised that people bother with it. Whilst I have added a few thoughts to some threads of late, this is largely due to the fact that no-one seems to take up on new threads here, at present.

Not really sure what the answer is. I too check this board (and one or two others) most days.

Perhaps I shall start an outrageous thread, simply to see if I can provoke a response....

[Nicolette]

pcnd5584 - I read your posting about Buckfast Abbey's forthcoming new organ, and nearly replied but didn't. Sorry.  Anyway,  I'll reply here, although it's not the right thread - but simply to say that the current organ (the one designed by Ralph Downes) at the Royal Festival Hall divided opinion when it was new and I think this one may do the same.   
Nicolette

[David Pinnegar]

Perhaps I shall start an outrageous thread, simply to see if I can provoke a response....[/font]

Phew! Do you mean that your Buckfast thread wasn't outrageous enough?!

It was certainly fun to read but so extensive that perhaps none of us knew quite where to start in reply, or how! It was actually excellent and very much appreciated I'm sure by all and only greeted with silence by all for similar reasons. So please keep going

Best wishes

David P

[Barrie Davis]

How is your foot now Nicolette, I have 3 metal bolts in my left ankle from a nasty fall and know only too well the time needed for a full recovery.

Best wishes

Barrie

[Paul Duffy]

Yes David, the organ and its music is a lost cause, at least in church. Religion is a mugs game now. The world is evolving away from organised religion towards personal spirituality.

Best wishes,
Paul.

[David Pinnegar]

Paul - I was hoping not to be reading your conclusion . . . but we can try nevertheless.

There was a Times article this week quoting Carey saying that the CofE was just one generation away from extinction.

Young people simply do not see Christianity as relevant to their lives.

The danger with personal spirituality is that it's very undirected, can be misused, and can worship the teacher rather than understanding the teachings.

It's for this reason that I have been thinking radically trying to get to the heart of what the Creator is, the source of Creation, and therefore multiple interpretations beyond what I call derogatorily the "teddy bear" interpretation of religions in which one's personal teddy bear will look after the believer, an outlook which leads to much atheism after atrocities happen, such as the first World War, and theological justifications of relationship in answer to the question "Why did God who loves me let this happen to me?". It's for this reason that in looking beyond the personal and the anthropomorphic and envisioning the Creator of Life as a process just as life is a process, as I've written in theological areas of this forum, I can get people who have never considered God before, and atheists alike, to understand that there's relevance in our lives to our texts that reveal God.

If we are to engage the young generation, we have to show God as universal, common to us all and all there is, all powerful, invisible not mumbo jumbo but common sense visible to us all.

Indeed the process of matter coming together to cooperate to result in something more useful than the component parts is a matter of common sense when understood.

Focus upon the anthropomorphised Creator and personal spirituality leads only to differences rather than humanity working the purposes of the Creator.

Can we convey the Creator Consciousness more effectively?

Best wishes

David P

[Paul Duffy]

Hello David,

The fact remains that churches and organised religion are in decline. There is nothing that can be done to reverse it because the world is evolving away from it, as it is from monolithic centralised goverments. However, that is not to say that 'God' is not actively involved here. It is. But it needs considerable research and understanding to come to the realisation that 'God' is The Cosmic Energy which is everywhere and is not the preserve of one single religion but all of them and none. Perhaps people are becoming aware that the Cosmic Energy is around them and in them, so they do not feel the need for a 'middleman' anymore.

Your comment about consciousness is a timely one. I have been reading about the experiences of Karl Jung, and am toying with the idea of buying the complete Red Book but the expense is putting me off!  I have also noticed that 3 NDEs from other sources also mention a Temple of Wisdom and a Great Memory which records everything, perhaps via morphic resonance. I think we are coming close to the dawn of a new Golden Age, in which science will start to get to grips with these things.

Best wishes,
Paul

[Nicolette]

How is your foot now Nicolette, I have 3 metal bolts in my left ankle from a nasty fall and know only too well the time needed for a full recovery.Best wishes Barrie

Thanks very much indeed for asking, Barrie.  It's well on the mend now and I'm back playing with both feet, although occasionally I have to compromise with some movements on the pedal board that can be a bit uncomfortable.

Goodness, sorry to hear about your ankle! 

I read recently that organists' ankles have a tendency to be less strong than those of pianists - the reason is that the pedals on a piano are heavier and so demand more "push" than on the organ.   Apparently, pianists' ankles are constantly getting a work-out, while organists' less so, even though we use our feet all the time.   

[pcnd5584]

Perhaps I shall start an outrageous thread, simply to see if I can provoke a response....[/font]

Phew! Do you mean that your Buckfast thread wasn't outrageous enough?!

It was certainly fun to read but so extensive that perhaps none of us knew quite where to start in reply, or how! It was actually excellent and very much appreciated I'm sure by all and only greeted with silence by all for similar reasons. So please keep going

Best wishes

David P

Ha! Thank you, David.

In which case, I might try a different one - which will be perhaps a touch less outrageous.

Paul Duffy  - I think that it depends what type of church one is talking about. Many cathedrals currently report a fairly healthy number of congregants at the majority of services (according to a survey last year in the Church Times).

It is true that there are also a lot of other churches (of varying sizes) which are half-empty - or which generally attract the vicar, the churchwardens, two old people and a dog at some services - and, to be honest, if it is raining, the dog stays at home.

However, I do not think that all is doom and gloom, just yet. There is still a fair amount of interest here in my own church for the organ - and choral music. People still listen to the voluntaries and, most weeks, one or two people will thank those of us involved in the musical life of our church for our contribution. It may not be earth-shattering, it may not be hordes of people who are aware and appreciative of the music; however, neither do I think that your rather negative pronouncements are necessarily true in every part of the country.

[pcnd5584]

pcnd5584 - I read your posting about Buckfast Abbey's forthcoming new organ, and nearly replied but didn't. Sorry.  Anyway,  I'll reply here, although it's not the right thread - but simply to say that the current organ (the one designed by Ralph Downes) at the Royal Festival Hall divided opinion when it was new and I think this one may do the same.   
Nicolette

Nicolette - thank you for your reply.

Sadly, the current organ has not been in the abbey for months. It has been removed. The services are being accompanied by an electronic organ.

Whilst the instrument in the RFH certainly did polarise opinion (and still does, to an extent), I am not sure that the same is true of the former organ in Buckfast Abbey. For one thing, Buckfast, in 1948 (and even in 1963) was a quiet backwater of Devonshire, and neither the abbey nor the organ were particularly well-known. In addition, from its inception, this instrument was always slightly odd - from the Hele incarnation (with most of it prepared-for) to the odd collection of pipe-work up in the tower which was intended for, as Ralph Downes put it, 'a well-intentioned Echo Organ'.

There was a story that the Great and Pedal reeds of the (partly very old) instrument in Holsworthy Parish Church, North Devon (where I lived for a few years) were removed by Hele (apparently in part-payment for a rebuild or restoration), and later inserted into the organ at Buckfast Abbey. Whilst it was certainly the case that these ranks were removed, I can find no record of them ever appearing in the abbey organ - nor do these ranks accord with any version of the stop-list.

The plot thickens....[/font]

[David Pinnegar]

Is it just this forum that's dead in the water or has enthusiasm for organs and their places died for good? Are we, and organs, a dying breed?

Best wishes

David P