Why be a commentator? Why write about anything on this site? It seems that very few people actually appreciate it. I wrote for the division 1 marching band circuit in season 38, nobody gave a s(ttt. In season 39, a very small handful actually gave a sch(66. What is going on with this site? I give it my all and yet, the crickets keep on chirping. No more from me. Don't expect another write up or a peep from me. I'm sick of the shadiness of this site and its members. If you have anything to ask me directly, PM me.. Otherwise, good luck! I hope you win.

Shady? How is the site shady? I appreciate all of the commentary but rarely comment in it because it doesn't directly involve my groups. Many of the write ups are well written and extremely creative, but I love reading them.

Aron, I can definitely appreciate your frustration. It is a lot of effort to keep the quality high and the creativity flowing. Especially when you factor in league responsibilities. I'm coming up with a strategic plan for myself and see how it goes.

As far as people getting involved. If anyone else is reading this, read the write-ups, articles, features when they come out. Leave a small note so we know someone was there. A simple hi, or cool commentary, or even an "I completely think your off the wall with your commentary", would do. If a commentator wants an interview, help him/her out. Help your community, FMA, out.

I know there have been threads created for show theme/repertoire announcements, but they seem to get lost in the mix. There is one thread for each circuit. Maybe as commentators, we could take on the responsibility of creating a new thread for each season, each circuit, possibly even to each division. This would keep the thread fresh every year, and might actually help to serve as a record and archive of shows. I know this again takes member participation, but I also think we can do more to make people aware. I hear so much, " I didn't know that was there".

I think people's involvement in the threads has it's ups and downs. Some times of the year are much better than other times. I would like to see us as commentators to have a few more tools available to us. One, and probably most important, the ability to add images to the write-ups. A stadium photo would be cool in articles. Links are OK, but just don't have the same feel or effect. I don't know if this is possible under the current forum system. I'm using a tablet all the time, so I don't know if FMA is a WP site or not. If so, then for commentators only, the ability to do articles in the WP editor, this would allow a lot more creativity at our fingertips. Alex??

Anyways, while it seems to go unappreciated, I will keep regular with my system this season and see how it goes. I'm basically going to do a weekly recap. Maybe one major show each week. But I think my style of writing will cover a lot of weekly shows in the recap. It gets hectic when you have one show, 20 groups, 3 divisions. Even just to write about the top 12 across all divisions every week is 36 groups.

I do hope that all pans out. I would be sweet if I actually had an working computer, multiple windows at once, ah the luxuries. Chime in if ya have time...

Aaron I'm sorry you feel that way, but your commentary is greatly appreciated, but if you really don't want to have that position anymore i would gladly fill it, i would not even get mad if people didn't idolize my writing. That is all.

you got to promote once i shared this with an admin on a fb page called obsessed meme for band kids or something like that and over night hundreds of people joined the site lol i played dumb cuz everyone was freaking out thing it was spamming bots thinking id get in trouble then told alex it was me who promoted the site once someone mentioned the fb page but yep...that was me

Thanks all for your responses. Side note: DO NOT DRINK TOO MUCH AND POST IN THE FORUM!

Overall, my biggest frustrations are the lack of enthusiasm, innovation, and unity. What I mean by shady is that since my start on here, I've felt inferior. If you're not a seasoned player in division 1 who consistently places in the top 12, you're unimportant, and these powerhouses can't be bothered. Leagues are nothing more than cliques, and even within these leagues, there are sub cliques who only converse with each other.

When I wrote my commentary for division 1 marching band a few seasons ago, Kiwidrummer and I thought it would be interesting to do like mini-interviews with the medalists and top 12. I received a grand total of 2 responses. I'm supposed to be the VP of one of the largest, most seasoned marching band leagues on the site. It doesn't seem like it. I get 0 responses from board members and the flow of ideas is just dead. One of my friends tried to create a new event for the marching band circuit. It was very creative and interesting. The lack of responses and participation is just sad.

What I do like is that new members from like season 35 onward are very close and are interested in making changes and making everyone welcomed and worthy. I understand not everyone has the time to be as active as I am. I understand that some people are just concerned with winning. I also understand that some people weren't raised to say thank you when someone gives you a compliment, or say hello when someone greets you, and I know that everyone is not as equally accepting to outsiders.

After I started Dark Knights in season 18 and fell off the grid for 18 seasons, there isn't much that has changed. It's always the same thing from season to season and many are adamant. Let's create new events, include every one in every division in every discussion, and build inter-league relationships. If you're only concerned with winning, being number one and being exclusive, it doesn't help the site progress. If you're a board member, get on board with making changes instead of just sitting there looking pretty as a BoD. It's getting to the point that I'm getting bored with the site and frustrated with the lack of involvement in discussions. As of now, there are really just a handful of people that I can talk to. Thanks to them for sticking together and trying to keep the site fresh.

I think you're right aaron, as the newest commentator I have some ideas that might help more people get to know each other.
One of my ideas is that i see how a lot of the times i see the same 13 or 14 groups in each division in all of the articles, so I want to try to write articles for other events so more people get a chance to be seen and heard about. It would great if we could all be more connected, but you also can't just decide that they are snobs, some of the seasoned players might have very little time to play the game, and only spend there time talking to people they know, but it would be nice to see them spend more time hanging out with those of us who are newer.

Aaron, im sorry about how you feel, but please know, your work is very appreciated. Ive read most of what you and Jim have written and its awesome stuff. You guys actually motivate me a lot to stay committed to this site. And im honored to commentate with you btw. With that being said, dont give up. Lets make some changes and get ppl to be more active. I say we post at least every few days on different events. And if u dont have time, u can come to me for sure. Im a 10th grader and i have the time. Kopar also seems like hes got time as well. We're ready to make changes and make this site more interesting. Aaron, if you see this, dont give up. You and kiwi and all the commentators and ppl are who make this site fun. Keep it up. You are highly appreciated.

Aaron,

I have tried mentioning your very points in numerous previous discussion threads with no meaningful change(s). That is why I ended up creating more groups to develop my main group. I mentioned specifically the lack of support by the more experienced & developed player's on FMA in regards to attending lower influence & scoring player's shows as only one example. To this I received nothing positive as far as player responses. The fact that it takes so long for true development of ensembles when little to no support is shown by higher influence & scoring ensembles is a major obstacle in gaining the participation of more player's on the message board as well as league involvement, Etc.

It might be a positive development if a coordinated process was developed for scheduling show attendance for various groups that are active but struggling to gain higher influence groups to their shows each season. This is only one possible integrated idea for FMA. Their could be many other's brought forward if only the winning at all costs mentality can be broken.

I noticed that CLASS is working on refocusing their efforts on Class only League/Individual member shows receiving priority starting in Season 41. This will again help their league maximize their growth by filling their FMA Shows & raise show revenue but not be inclusive of other ensembles. I point out the CLASS example not to pick on CLASS but to show how fragmentation of FMA based on League choices does not help grow let alone maintain the game on either a short term or long term basis.

I will say that CLASS is totally within their right to prioritize League activities over the greater FMA activities. However, It might be time to try & build the under pinning of a broader FMA Community by creating multi league coordinated events that reward a broader spectrum of FMA groups. This could include providing each FMA League overall winner the right to host a coordinated FMA show in which participating FMA High Influence groups agree to set aside specific dates on a pre-developed schedule. This is similar to the current FMA Champions shows. However, not only high scoring groups would benefit. Rather, a group from a lower scoring league could still benefit from being active/motivated. Again, the question at hand is do we as a community build positive cooperation that is not solely based on selfish motives or do we continue to make it very difficult if not impossible for new or existing groups that are not at the upper echelon of FMA.

Write up's only matter to the groups that are being mentioned just the same as awards are only truly meaningful to the recipient. I hear what you are saying about not receiving feedback for your time & effort in writing show reviews. I believe that I might have been one of the Two groups that provided a response to your previous interview request. I would also venture a guess that not many FMA participants read the Forums when it comes to non direct game related activities (I.E. Shows, League Discussions, Etc.). However, without any active count being shown on the various Forum threads it is hard to know how many player's actually read a given topic. Only the actual responses show a footprint (I.E. How many responses are actually shown in a Thread). It might be nice to have Alex update the site so that a count is shown for each thread in order to gain a better idea of the traffic that is occurring.

Good Luck in changing the FMA Paradigm ... It is what it is ... It was what it was !!!

Sorry you feel that way. I know for me there are times when I'm able to post a lot and be more active in the forums, and then there are times when I'm only able to glance through without responding. Same with my messages. I will usually read them and chances are I'm not able to respond immediately to them. Not everyone is active in the forums; there are some out there who just rehearse and see what they do.

I love reading everyone's commentary throughout the season. Usually they are very creative and entertaining.

remember...it's just a game. :)

Best of luck in this season!

aaron if you arent happy with some of your leagues ROTC and bravo would love to have you ;) there is quite a few creative people in our leagues theres definitely no lack of ideas here. we won't ignore you bud

You would def have a spot on our board ..

The recruitment is real lol