Bahamut

We have more ideas up our sleeves! Help keep the likes coming!

We're currently sitting at 25560 likes! It's looking pretty good so far, could we perhaps release it by tomorrow night? Let's get it happening, we already got almost 1300 likes in the past 26 hours, what's another 1440? Let's go!

I've been listening throughout. I'm not asking for everyone to go against a particular belief to go like the page, and neither is OCR. We're letting each person make their own determination - the vehemence of some for making the opposite determination is the part that causes frustration. Nobody has said that people should go against a principled stance. The mission - I've alluded to it in my posts, but it can easily be found here: http://ocremix.org/info/Mission . We've been true to this mission and continue to work towards it. It's pretty clear at this point that there are aspects that have not been handled well - PR, execution, and timing. I don't think anyone on staff would disagree with that assessment, with at least one speaking out openly on the matter. Dave (djpretzel) has just mentioned in IRC that it was an experiment. I think it's one that probably garnered enough negative reactions that we'd tread carefully in the future when withholding content, if we ever do that at all for such a reason.

Did you even check how adversarial some of those so called opinions have been expressed in the thread? The responses shouldn't be surprising. I've remained civil throughout, but it's frustrating seeing this double standard applied, as if there should not be an expectation of civility applied to everyone equally. I want to talk about the album, the artists on it, and the music. I don't want to have to waste my time talking about what is something minor and done with good intentions towards promotion. The fact that a few aren't happy with it does not negate the value in such a drive. In actuality, that a few people posted in the OCR FB feed their gratitude over the promotion validates the existence of some merit. I can only pity the few misguided views. There is clearly a disconnect over how much OCR should care about promoting the music & artists on the site simply because it may not apply to [insert self]. If you want to withhold any donations or support because of that, I can only say that it is a petty viewpoint that is much more negative than any such promotion effort, and you should reevaluate your motivation for doing such. I have disagreed with how many things have been handled over the years - it has never stopped me from donating or contributing to the site in a positive manner to make it better. I am not saying you have to like the effort necessarily. I used to have misgivings over Facebook and 'Likes' and the such because as a mathematician, I understand exactly how such data is used. My own misgivings have softened over time since it doesn't necessarily hurt people, and it is small compared to the benefits I can offer to those I care about, the artists & their music. It's about more than one person. It's about furthering how we can best accomplish our mission.

This mix is awesome - Hugo did an amazing job going balls to the wall with this heavy take on X vs. Zero.

I believe so, although I'm not sure about length. I want to say yes though - the album clocks in at a touch more than 6 hours. The only albums that might compare are Wild ARMS and Summoning of Spirits. In terms of number of tracks, it is the largest by 4 tracks. It also features 49 artists.

That is poor logic at best - we are targeting fans that use Facebook and willing to 'like' the page, yes, but that does not extend to a lack of caring of fans who do not. I don't think it's that we're out of touch. You're being incredibly selfish with your perspective that the site should cater exclusively to *your* wishes. It shows a complete lack of knowledge over how diverse the community is and what people comprise it. Again, we are looking to the future. In addition, you have an incorrect view of what the point of the Facebook 'likes' are for. It is for promotion of future mixposts/album posts/posted artists/game related news. It is not for promoting the album. We believe the album will promote itself. It just so happens that the carrot of an album is one of the most powerful incentives we can dangle for getting people to hit 'like' (and with the advent of Timeline for pages, this is the only time we can try something like this). I completely understand the point of view that a few people seem to have with this. The problem is that those people who are taking it personally are so emotionally invested that they cannot rationally evaluate what the site is trying to do, and falsely attribute it to some negative motive. If you do not wish to participate, that is your right. But to say that we don't care or that we are only about the numbers? That's a stretch at best given our extensive history promoting the music & artists first. Just about everything we do is related to that core purpose. I've waited far longer for the release of the album than all of you, and felt badly about it not being released *while* getting jacked up near daily in Marine Corps boot camp. Others and I put in a lot of time and energy into preparing this album for release. We are confident that the final product will stand out on its own. Is the dramatic posts over a 'like' campaign worthwhile/accurate when put in this perspective, and with the upside of being able to alert some of the casual fans (which there are a lot of out there) of future stuff of interest to them? Think about it, and then sleep on it. It's challenging your perspective to think bigger.

There's a whole forum for addressing questions like this: http://ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Disagreeing with the method and calling it a dick move is opposite extremes. I think it's an even worse move if we don't at least use this opportunity to do what we can to open up opportunities to promote future mixposts/artists from the site. Again, it's the big picture and on a bigger scale. We have a diverse listener base, many who don't check the site regularly yet love what we do. It's a completely different environment than some regulars might realize. I made this point in the other thread in Community, but this complaining is negative energy when listeners can just as easily choose to expend that energy helping get the word out. It detracts from well-meaning efforts, and from the album itself. Is that worth the price of admission for some of the complaints seen? I get the impression that people want to vent over short term impatience over these larger considerations, or incorrectly attribute this to OCR caring only about popularity, which completely misses the point. I waited even longer than you all for this day. While the album project's existence has been publicly known for 2 years, it has been in the works since July/August 2009. I originally wanted the album out before I left for boot camp back in 2011 & the music was pretty much done then, but several factors conspired to confound the release, and mismanagement while I was gone caused the album to face other unique problems, which came up last month while we were preparing for release and caused yet another minor delay. These are some unfortunate events, but we are finally ready to release, and yet...people want to diminish that achievement over a fairly common social media technique that's largely about free music, and not even over a commercial product? It reeks of entitlement to be honest. I did not originally suggest this idea, but I was open to it because I understand the importance such a large album has and its potency for accomplishing OCR's larger mission. We're continually looking towards the future, and how best we can accomplish our primary goal. This is a one time event for furthering towards that end. I would love to see the album out already and see the artists get their due. I feel this is a way of allowing those artists who worked hard to get an even bigger slice of attention with a relatively minimal delay, which in the long run is more important for their future. My post is a bit long winded and repetitive, but it contains the core points I wanted to make. I'm disappointed at how shortsighted the complaints are, and that more effort seems to be expended there from a few than into productive aspects. We're at an exciting point and time, with the album's release imminent. A deluge of music is about to come pouring upon your ears of the like that hasn't been found on the site before. Minor complaints don't really belong in light of that. Go enjoy some of the already released tracks! Chuck Dietz - A Flea and His Giant (Chuck does a nice video series of him playing the song on guitar too)Cyril the Wolf - Crushing Gravity BONKERS - Into the Rebellion Brandon Strader - String Chamellotron melody - resolut-(ion) (This version is longer than the album version, it contains more than the song)

What I don't understand about some of these complaints (not to single you out Brandon - I'm glad you're more civil about this than some others) - even if you don't like the promotion & understand the point of it, complaining about it doesn't help the cause of getting the album out quicker. If anything, it just shows you don't get the point & probably don't understand how diverse our readership is, and attempt to muddy up the waters for...the stopping of a 'Like' campaign? The purpose is to help get people news of mixposts, stuff posted artists are doing, and other random news related to gaming & gamers - stuff a lot of listeners are interested in. In addition, it means more promotion to those who get posted after the fact. The energy is better spent getting others to hit 'Like' IMO. The short term impatience is well worth the tradeoff when you take this into consideration. People who think this is just for popularity completely don't get it, and instead try to infect negative energy into what is meant to be a positive - the imminent release of an album.

In other news, WillRock wants some likes: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Willrock/98839364682

The goal is to get people who already like OCR to 'Like' the page, not random people who don't care about the site or music we host. There are multiple reasons for why we're doing what we're doing here, and we view the short term irritation as well worth the upside in what we're doing, which is the bigger picture.

You don't have to participate if you don't want to - the OCR Facebook page is actually pretty nice/useful though. I don't see how it's a dick move wanting to have people like the page so they can get a stream of updates on posted mixes and some random game & game music related news. The album will be out - we're using the opportunity to do more because it's such a big release. If you cannot appreciate that, that's fine, but to complain in a public manner? Looks small minded to me, especially when the purpose is a net positive one.

That would be quite a tease - but it's all up to everyone if they want to see it!

I love the music in Tales of Eternia and Tales of Destiny. Tales of Vesperia is also nice too IMO. Lost Odyssey and some of Uematsu's more recent works are also overlooked quite a bit (like Lord of Vermillion).

https://www.facebook.com/ocremix?sk=app_10339498918 Click the link and if you haven't already, hit that 'Like' button and spread the word! You know you wanna!

https://www.facebook.com/ocremix?sk=app_10339498918

So Brandon has gotta top this:

You just made me hungry Brandon

If you tried to quote my post, you would've saw that I put a disclaimer in that post in white text . Soon my friend . The trailer has been released, so you can continue being excited!

Hmm, I'm running out of Mavericks to list on the thread title...

I gave you the shortcoming in management right in that last line. If what Brandon said earlier in #ocremix is correct regarding your interactions with him, it is even more damning in this instance, and this is coming from someone who has also personally had some difficult moments with Brandon (him and I would both agree, but we are on good grounds). If true, and prior interaction with several others here seem to indicate a pattern, your social interactions are especially poor to the point that some people choose to avoid talking to you. I have made that choice to a lesser extent due to some irrational bursts/behavior. Again, self-evaluation with how you respond with an unrequited amount of vitriol to any person who you have the slightest suspicion of trying to do something bad/negative is something you need to do, especially when you're not innocent of those very same actions. It appears you don't consider how your actions affect other people, and that's a fundamental failing which can drive people away. This is my last post on the matter (plus I have to go for drill weekend with my unit). I am only trying to be helpful in letting you know these shortcomings - I've wrestled with the same in the past. The difference is that I addressed my own issues.

I apologize to Rozo for continuing on the derailing a bit, but there is a lot of irony in your last two posts that should be addressed - there are multiple instances where your own words can be used to describe your interactions with others. If you're going to accuse so strongly, you'd best be ready to evaluate your own actions, since you have committed many of the same faults you are accusing Brandon of, except you are arrogant enough to not even try to self-evaluate & improve yourself attitude-wise. Show some humility and grow up. Venting at everyone for the slightest of faults is not going to get you anywhere but a put off response from just about everyone. It is a perfect example of poor management skills.

Nah, the album will be for pay, licensed out by Capcom - $100 will get you the Golden Platinum Premium version! Note: This is not true - the album will be completely free like every other one from OCR thus far!

That is one hot chick