Dude, grover my boy, you always have to have the last word, huh? You can buy albums once you've clicked the "buy" link on a song you've liked. It's a referral link. Heck, you can even buy a book and the referral will still work as long as the link originated from this site. This should be pretty obvious.

Where did that come from?
It's a topic I find interesting, is there a post limit for me?

I was told that the referral only applied as deep as the original click. Nobody has contradicted that, so that was my supposition.

Che, it looks like you're trying to have the last word!!

Fie on both of you. I want the last word!

Off topic? You bet!

Ahem:

Zzxt

(you can look it up).

I've waiting a while to see if I could cope without the browse:newest feature. I'm not a point manic but I figured it was the easiest way to see what was new. I realize now I spent an inordinate amount of time hovering on this page and now that it's gone I'm much better off.

As a listener my more obscure picks are now getting bumps on a regular basis, which is kind of nice. I don't just receive a whole lump of points for something I bumped in the past hour. This takes away the rushy feeling and lets me just enjoy the rack and pick what I like rather than what I think might be popular. Knowing songs I've bumped will at least have a chance of getting some bumps in the future is good and allows me to worry a lot less about where I spend my points.

As a band it means I'm now getting the occasional bump after having gone without any for a long while, which again is kind of nice. I was losing interest in my band account completely.

I like the fact that it feels more like music exploration now rather than a A&R; collective. It seems like people are switching a bit from bump what they think everyone else will like to bumping what they personally enjoy.

So all in all, I think it was a good move. Keep up the good work guys.

After weeding through 12 pages of commentary on this subject, I felt it time I weighed in. I will admit that, at the start, I was annoyed by the changes - like most of the community at large. However, I have to say that I'm now coming to appreciate what's going on here. Sure, removing the browse:newest option makes it much harder to find the most recent uploads from artists. But, it's allowing other deeply hidden gems to be uncovered by those of us who may have missed them the first time around. Additionally, I'm finding myself listening to the home page and the rack more than ever - both of which are introducing me to bands I didn't even know existed here on the sixtyone.

Another thing I have noticed is that these changes seem to coorelated with the increased number of revives I have seen. I think that this is a great thing if for no other reason than there are new sixtyone listeners every day that don't have the power to bump a song when it's going to cost them 50+ points. The revives not only allow them the ability to bump a great song without falling into the dreaded point pit, but because revives are instantly awarded home page status, new listeners are introduced to artists they may otherwise never hear.

There's only one thing I would really like to see return to 'normal'; and that's the fact that 'discovered by' has now changed to 'first bumped by'. I'm all for the 'first bumped'; but given that we have to really hunt for things now, I think that 'discovered' is a much more appropriate word.

Also, I should say that I like some of the other ideas that have floated through here such as implementing a browse:last 24 hours and making folks wait to multi-bump. Good stuff!

My nickel's worth...

Discovering is easy. Search for max = 0. Plenty there that nobody bumps.

Heh. Some of them have no bumps for a reason.

In order to catch all the new posts, you're going to have to refresh max=0 once a minute. That requires a lot more dedication than perching around Browse:New did.

Yep - I've tried it for the last couple of weeks without the browse new page, and I think it's better. I listen to and enjoy more stuff on its own merits, without wanting to cut short and rush to the next track before it gets bumped into the stratosphere, and I've found more great new stuff and worried less about points. And ya know, I seem to be getting more points as well - not that this bothers me too much, as I don't have the time to game so much that I'll ever have a shot at being in the top 100 listeners even. But I do have the points to appreciate the artists I have found.

As as for new stuff being hard to find - how did Half Acre Day manage to get into the top bands in about a week due to the sheer number of bumps? They were new here, and they soon took off. And I've seen some older uploads take off weeks after they appeared, which didn't seem to happen so much before the change - that's gotta be good too, yeah?

I understand that some may think that the change holds back the gaming aspect and slows down your points surge. and maybe it does at the higher levels, but for me it's similar to the difference between being rich and being happy - I'd rather be happy listening and discovering, than obsess about points and need to top the leader board. Maybe I'm too European.....!

Hi Mike - In response to your comment about Half Acre Day, I think they were just in the right place at the right time. I found them while looking through browse:activity and clicked on them because I thought the band title was catchy. Then, when I hit their page I found I really liked their music. Combine that with rack play, tunebox messages and subsciptions and viola!

And I'll second your comment regarding rich vs happy. These changes have really allowed me to reset my attitude back to what this site is really about - giving talented artists a place to have those of us who really care about music hear what we wouldn't otherwise. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Hooray for the sixtyone!!

@mike/lmms: Half Acre Day first uploaded in the "last days" of Browse->Newest. Then the continued to upload quality track after quality track.

They are a great band...There isn't one thing they have uploaded I haven't enjoyed.

lyzie: I never said the discoverey's would be new or good, just that discovery is no effort in and of itself.

I think this sums it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciG-Xs7mBwU

It's fun to be first but it doesn't warrant a special status over subsequent bumps.

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere in the forums - but since I haven't been able to find a thread - I'm gonna ask here:

Are there any plans for any more "social" options such as direct messaging, additional information to add to profiles, multiple pictures, etc...

Also, is there a particular reason there isn't a plain jane forum where anybody can start a thread or topic?

I think that as much as we enjoy discovering great music, it would be nice to discover other people with similar tastes - and be able to connect with other users beyond just scribbling up their wall.

Just curious anyway. Thanks for the only site I use as much as I do Gmail.

@rdub: Also, is there a particular reason there isn't a plain jane forum where anybody can start a thread or topic?


I totally agree with @rdub. A general forum with multiple threads would allow listeners and bands to share constructive info. For new, up-and-coming musicians, it could be an invaluable aid in building a fan base.

As for more detailed profiles: I think most people like to say who they are and know who their interacting with.

Direct messaging: It would be great to have a way to communicate with the members I subscribe to. When I subscribe to someone it's because I like their overall musical tastes and comments. For that reason, having a way of sharing thoughts would enhance the whole 61 experience.

I'm not advocating a MySpace-like atmosphere (yikes!) : just something with a bit more depth than what is already in place.

This site is a great place for me to escape to: so thanks for the adventure.

As long as the direct messaging is nothing like MySpace bulletins which are almost useless once you get beyond a certain number of contacts.