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[awardinary]

I wasn’t sure how to start this post, but I didn’t want to come across as complaintive, rather, I wanted to express a personal feeling that I believe is silently shared by many others on this forum, and is perhaps common knowledge too but I felt like it needed to be said.

The artist forums are a great way to drive traffic to the forum, and one of the main ways that fans can interact and discuss various topics related to their favourite artists. Long may they continue in whatever capacity that is chosen. However, I am one such member of this community that seldom participates in artist forum discussions because I feel like I am somewhat inadequate or not up to the level of fandom that others in that community are, and as such, there have been times before where my contributions have been overlooked or dismissed as unintelligent or unimpressive. I never make a claim to be an expert on any artist, and while I have tried before to engage in discussion, as well as start some discussions too, I feel like I am constantly being judged for not being as much of a dedicated fan as others in that community are. There are no specific artist forums that cause negative reactions, it seems to be an overall feeling, and I think one main reason is that those who post in these forums often don’t post in other parts of BuzzJack, and so I have no connection or understanding of them as individuals, and vice versa. No one individual is to blame for this situation, and as I said at the outset, it is not a complaint, but rather an observation. I tried to get involved in a minor way with the Sugababes forum yesterday, on release day, because I saw the forum was buzzing, and I could see all the enthusiasm for the artist. I made one or two posts, Silas acknowledged them and that was nice to see and made me feel welcomed, but nobody else interacted with me. Not that anyone is expected to of course, and I only shared my own comments on the album, I did not ask questions or request feedback. This is not something that bothers me on the whole, but it highlighted to me why I don’t venture into artist forums much, I just don’t feel like I belong in these communities, or that I don't have the right to speak up there. I know that I feel much happier in the other areas of BuzzJack instead (UK Charts, Dance, Buzzjack Song Contest etc) where I feel valued, and I feel part of a community of friends. I wish I could enjoy Artist Forums more, but I simply do not feel like I have a place to speak there, and so I remain silent.

Perhaps others have felt this way before, or still do and haven’t said anything, but this felt like something I needed to express today.

Thanks for your time.