So what's the problem, then? Use it, problem solved.

I am using it. No more   , #notthebeachboys, myKe luVe sucks and daft accusations of AGD being Mike's online PR manager for this guy.

Does it work if they are quoted by other people? That might be a good incentive not to quote those guys, then.

Andrew, nobody is trying to take away your freedom of speech. But it's a bit rich to bitch, is all. C'mon, just flip it around and imagine if these guys were talking about you that way. Nobody comes out of this looking very good, and if Andrew #2 figured out a way to blot out those blemishes that torment you, use it in good health!

I get it that you don't like SB and OSD, but targeting Billy and GF over it seems a bit much.

So what's the problem, then? Use it, problem solved.

I have a lot of respect for anyone who would want to take on the job of moderating a board.  As I've said before, it's not a job I would want. 

Exactly. For free? All manner of endless hell from rules lawyers and backseat drivers, blegh. For no money. Yeah, what a great deal.

On the plus side, at least we don't have eyeball-bleeding yellow backgrounds and formatting seemingly devised by Satan himself here. I can see why they'd want to shove you guys out and take over here... that freakin' yellow!

All pretty petty political sh*t and posturing, authoritarians without authority are always a bit of a headache under the best circumstances. Fanning the flames, making it worse, classic baiting... This drama is getting out of hand!

The mods here generally do a great job. And explain themselves in endless detail to people that don't respect them. Kicking them while they're down and pretending you're doing it out of some noble purpose instead of being just as vicious as the trolls you bemoan is pretty silly. Somebody properly sort out ignore filters if old-fashioned manual ignoring doesn't work. Either that or maybe we can all meet and have a knife fight or something while singing at the same time.

Unlocking this one in light of some new developments. Some feel that the advice or actions taken by the mods warranted a reaction like the one seen in the discussion you can find at this link: http://www.boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?action=read&id=1448346206.56746&user=bellagio

And in the transcript below.

This is disgusting. Is this the kind of atmosphere the consensus wants to see on this or any board community?

Is it in any way coincidental that the loudest criticisms in this discussion elsewhere the loudest voices on this board calling for the moderators to do what they would like to see done...and if not, I guess it justifies personally ripping the moderators apart as they see fit? Slander? Or just disgusting behavior from adults who should know better, especially in personal interactions?

And it says a lot about the character involved in doing this that it couldn't be done one-on-one, but had to be plastered all over other BB related message communities. Is that what the consensus wants here? Don't agree with the moderators' decisions?

Go to other forums and try to ruin their names.

That's what people want?

I'd also like to ask the other admin and mod of the other forum why this was allowed to stand on that board as people not even connected were being ripped apart, while those doing the ripping apart are calling for so much on this board at the same time.

Here it is, the posts in question and some removed that weren't a part of this mess...read the entire sad saga at the link.





Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 24, 2015 at 06:23:26 by AGD

The rumour is, it buckled under the weight of increasingly inane posts. Abnormal service will be resumed shortly. Maybe.




Re(3): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 24, 2015 at 19:11:19 by AGD

Pretty much the same name, but he was banned permanently. Then someone decided to allow him back. As they say, epic fail.


Re(4): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 25, 2015 at 22:50:18 by beachballtwo

That board should be designated as a Brian Wilson board instead of a Beach Boys board. The two main American moderators are both Brian fans with mostly negative views of the Beach Boys and especially Mike. I think even Brian's people know that, and given the fact that board gets way more traffic than the Blueboard, no wonder they had Brian do a Q and A there. I don't know why people who like the touring Beach Boys even bother posting there. It would save time and bother.


Re(5): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 27, 2015 at 04:54:51 by LeeMarshall

Smiley Smile board currently a downer...is a more appropriate 'heading'.

Hope they 'fix it' soon...'cause right now it's dang close to being an ongoing, unwavering and unceasing waste of time.

At least that's the way it is for me.


Re(6): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 27, 2015 at 09:04:09 by beachballtwo

They made a very poor choice of moderator replacement last time there was an opening. Perhaps best to leave it at that. I also don't get the whole obsession with PM's on that board. Boards should not really need a PM function, and many if not most music boards don't have them. It also encourages clique-like behavior that goes unseen. Also, when appointing a moderator, it's best to find a person who has a good nature instead of an incredibly thin skin and who takes everything personally, regardless of their point of view on the topics at hand.



Re(7): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 27, 2015 at 14:58:48 by filledeplage

beachballtwo - I happen to like and respect the mods but posters should be respectful of all The Beach Boys and fellow posters.

We can all have favorites, or not, but should respect the work of all the musicians who have blessed us with their respective contributions.

They are knowledgeable but they shouldn't have to be babysitters or hall monitors.



Re(: Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 27, 2015 at 15:17:25 by beachballtwo

Moderators are supposed to moderate. A fine job would be not allowing that stuff to spiral out of control. But maybe no one with a thick skin and time to read every thread was willing to do that unpaid job. As it is, that board not only discourages good posters from posting, but from reading. I only visit for schaudenfreude, or however you spell it. It is sort of funny.



Re(9): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 28, 2015 at 16:32:59 by Steve Murphy

I don't know enough to make an informed opinion, but I do remember thinking, on a few occasions, that one of the moderators demonstrated somewhat bizarre behaviour.



Re(10): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 28, 2015 at 18:17:36 by beachballtwo

Depends on what you mean by bizarre. But it's more the unseen moderating, or lack of, that is a problem. It is letting a couple of posters or so get away with contributing nothing but a bunch of nonsensical thread trolling. Then the larger problem of people getting too personal and insulting each other and not much getting done about it. A whole other layer of drama involving private messages. But it may be down to the posters themselves. The level of discussion has been going down to a childish level even outside of the trolling and insults. Lots of repetition of subjects and threads that go on for ten pages or more with no info added. It used to be sometimes informative, even for a subject about which pretty much everything has been said.


"Everyones afraid to post on here."
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 14:15:36 by AGD

The two dozen (give or take) responses in this thread would seem to argue strongly against your premise... and if you believe there's bullying here, I strongly suggest you avoid Smiley Smile.




Re(13): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 29, 2015 at 22:30:29 by beachballtwo

I think maybe the Beach Boys as a subject are all talked out. It's all been done. A reunion (while it lasted), Smile completed, now the officially sanctioned Brian biopic. So many books written. So many posts posted on message boards in so many iterations, back to the white board, Male Ego, the Deja news groups, PSML, etc. Enough!




Re(14): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 30, 2015 at 03:20:31 by LeeMarshall

That's it really. Except for new releases and special upcoming events it has ALL been said...dozens upon dozens of times...plus one.

Problem is...we older fans who basically 'went it' alone until we all came together to discover what a mass of humanity we are collectively on-line...don't want to go back to doing 'it' all alone again.

These boards empowered us...as a team. It's why we don't suffer trolls gladly...or do-nothing 'monitors' who won't face the issues which matter.

But ya. It's all been said. All of it.





Re(16): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 3, 2015 at 03:51:38 by LeeMarshall

True. Context is SO key. Resulting contextual ramifications too. Anyway...we all have so much in common. And we fight? About what? About minutia and b.s.

And Mods allow that to occur ad infinitum...and for the incessant baiting to continue? And for the board to collapse under it's own self-inflicted weight of the pointless confrontational loathing?

Couple that with "it's all been said before" and we'll soon be floating on a few rafts over an ever expanding sea of neglect and indifference.

It's our destiny 'filled'.

And I don't like it.



Re(17): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 3, 2015 at 14:36:17 by filledeplage

Lee - historical context is everything in music and art and always has been. The BB's are no different. We've had a lot of "practice" in defense of the music. So, bring it on.

It is important that this nonsense be challenged and that we aren't run off a forum for expressing neutrality and balance with regard the music. The BB's are each, extraordinarily gifted and brought much to that banquet table.

The mods do have a really hard job, balancing "behavior and censorship" - and that must be dealt with. There are too many knowledgeable contributors on that board to have a few, whose behavior is unacceptable to run good posters off the road.

It is our destiny only if we accept it. And I am not accepting it. I've (we've) had a lot of practice.




Re(17): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 3, 2015 at 06:19:54 by beachballtwo

Well, anyone can see for themselves the dysfunctional moderating, when there is a very recent post that runs on for paragraphs, attacking several posters over there by name. And not only does a moderator not remove it or move it, he chimes in, basically agreeing with the guy. I am really not sure why the uber Brian fans don't move over to the Blue board if they hate any type of perceived criticism of Brian and his team. The Blueboard could use the traffic, because it seems to get very few page views, last I looked. They think Brian needs to feel more love from the fans, yet they don't go to his message board instead.




Re(18): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 07:29:28 by AGD

The current problems with Smiley Smile are twofold.

1 - The trolling by Smile Brian & Old Surfer Dude. They contribute nothing and disrupt any given thread with their juvenile, incessant posting on one, threadbare topic... and yet, nothing is done. Happily, in the last 24 hours, the sainted Andrew Hickey has developed a little script you can add to Firefox and Chrome browsers that reduces their twaddle to "This poster is ignored". I made it work in under five minutes, and I'm technologically illiterate. Here 'tis:

http://andrewhickey.info/the-smiley-smile-ignore-button-sort-of/

If I had a mortal soul, it would be his in perpetuity.

2 - the appointment of guitarfool2002 as a mod has proven to be a calamitous mistake. As noted above, he's too thin skinned, not even close to impartial, pursues vendettas at brain-numbing length and is not above trying to disrupt a thread by introducing irrelevant points. Billy & Klass (both fine people and excellent mods) have been otherwise occupied of late with real life problems, and that the board has got into its present state with one active mod is surely not coincidental.




Re(19): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 17:57:43 by beachballtwo

I have not posted on that board in well over a year, but when I did participate, I recall getting a PM that indicated guitarfool had a lot of so-called friends on the board. That was before he was appointed moderator. So I do think there are hidden cliques that exist due to the PM function. I'm also not as confident of Billy as most people are. I just have memories of a stunt he pulled during the white/yellow/black board days. I know he was very young then, but it colors my perception. Oh,well, it's not that big of a deal. Most people would not want that gig.





Re(20): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 18:19:04 by filledeplage

BB2 - GF brings a lot of knowledge to the board and I would hate to see any of them go. And these are not first time offenders. GF and the other mods had to go out on a limb to lift the sanctions against the perps.

So now, the behavior has reverted to pre-banning, and unfortunately posters are leaving for no reason other than the constant untenable trolling. They could be regretting that their good faith has been breached. The mods gave reprieves that may have been proven to have been a really bad decision.

All that is needed is enforcement of the existing rules.




Re(21): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 20:05:41 by beachballtwo

There is a difference between being a poster and a moderator. GF was thin skinned and argumentative as a poster. Being informative does not change that basic quality. Not a good quality to have for a mod, which made his selection surprising. No wonder fewer people post there. He has a really low threshold of what he finds to be anti-Brian. He also seems to have been the one who invented the Mike agenda garbage. I am a Brian fan, but I don't get why anyone is required to like NPP or believe that Brian did absolutely everything including pick every guest artist. If Brian had done it all without the assistance of Mr. Joe Thomas, I suspect it would have been a better album than it is.





Re(22): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 22:49:48 by AGD

The thing is, too many posters - mods included - are taking the "look, respect each other, be reasonable and we'll all get along" route. Which is fine, if everyone was respectful and reasonable. Snag is, at least two (three guesses...) aren't. Smile Brian keeps accusing me of having an agenda, which is odd considering his/her agenda is more transparent and vitriolic than any I might have. OSD is just a troll, and for someone in his late 60s, that's (to be polite) unseemly. What many of us cannot fathom is why they seem to have the tacit "protection" of the mods. Maybe the board will have to fall apart before action is taken.





Re(23): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 00:27:46 by beachballtwo

I don't think they really are even attempting to warn people to stop, though. They're just refusing to engage while tacitly approving of the two trolls in question. Who don't really write posts, but emoticons and random short babbling. At least one of the mods, who shall remain nameless, discussed going for an after show drink with surfer man, so I think you know why that mod has not banned him.

I think the board is slightly chilled, too, by having associates of Brian and Mike post there, not to mention Brian and Mike themselves going on there for brief times. It justifies people accusing others of having an agenda, as well as the admonishment that people need to be more respectful in case sensitive Brian reads it from time to time. No one will ever say that Mike Love is particularly sensitive, so maybe they figure it's okay to say bad things about him, continuously and without end and to the point of boring-ness, until even Mike dislikers get tired of it. How many woots, ,and myke luvs and brooth posts can anyone bear to read?





Re(24): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 01:30:41 by filledeplage

BB2 - People in this BB sphere are bound to cross paths socially. There were so few "like minded" that it is such a treat to meet up and discuss the music that has occupied a corner of your life. And the risk being a huge fan, is that you could talk all night, after "last call."

What gets me is the basic disrespect that some (and everyone has his or her own preferences) have such that everything is "personal" - and they can't get beyond these differences and have a civil, adult conversation. This band came from the "same place." And you are talking about someone's family. It is classless and tasteless.

When you're a mod, there is a "line"just like the classroom, and mods are on one side and posters are on the other. And, maybe it is easier to ask a buddy to please "dial it back" because the mods get the blowback, and these guys volunteer their time and talent.

But at a certain point, even a volunteer needs to "pull the plug" on an acquaintance if that person becomes so disruptive it taints the whole board and becomes contentious. And if the poster was a true friend, he/she would just leave and not compromise the friendship to the point that it hurt the cred of the mod.

Should nothing happen, I guess the words of my mother echo, if band members are reading the board, and they should just "consider the source." Just write them off.




Re(25): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 5, 2015 at 23:26:45 by beachballtwo

Old surfer dude changed his screen name recently to override the ignore hack. I don't think the mods would ban him no matter what he does.





Re(15): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on November 30, 2015 at 11:30:48 by jh1522

Sadly I Have to agree with you, it has all been said over and over again.

But my point was and still is?, if people were allowed to make some harmless comment's, or try and get a discussion going about some BBs album, concert, songs, or god forbid just make an honest opinion about the band we love, I really do think we would have a lot more people posting on here.

After all we are all on here for the same reason.
Because were all very passionate about the BBs.




Re(12): Smley Smile board currently down
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 09:43:48 by Val

Fair comment, John, but I thin the couple of aforementioned folk on the SS Board go way beyond having a "fun discussion" and turn everything into, well...have a look for yourself.

These days, I never post on the SS Board and don't look at it very much at all, either. The reason? Basically, the two Andrews as stated above have said it all.

God Bless Billy and Klass, though. Good Guys.

What I clearly meant, is that the marketed VIP "sound check" and what the musicians do as a "sound check rehearsal" - a VIP Soundcheck is an "event" where 4 or 5 songs are selected to showcase, usually connected with a VIP experience.  Generally, prior to this event is a full or expanded rehearsal.  That is the sound check.  

For example - the Brian - Jeff Beck Tour, I was in the lobby waiting for the "VIP experience" Sound Check" - during that time, while in the lobby, we could hear Blondie rehearsing at sound check (who was not billed to appear but was there) doing Sail on Sailor.  There was a sound check before the "VIP Sound check event."  

This is consistent with many acts who offer a "VIP experience" including a "sound check" but the reality is that the band does their own rehearsal.  I live very close to a major outdoor high profile venue, where one can drive by and listen to any number of "sound checks" done prior to the actual VIP sound check "experience" occurs that appears to the be industry practice.  

You're overthinking it. The whole thing is a soundcheck/rehearsal and they just allow VIPs in for some of it, and Really-VIPs for all of it. It's ALL rehearsal and all useful for the band, especially after a long break. It's not some dog and pony show.

Well, hopefully he won't ever attempt Hank Williams again.

Liquidated your Rolf Harris collection, then? Yeah, this thread is pretty embarrassing. Geez, the people back in 2015 were so ignorant and backwards.

When Mike Love gives this signal while wearing his scrambled egg hat, watch out!



Confused during a recent encore, Mike Love launches into an excerpt from "The Vagina Monologues"



Mike Love proudly casts his ballot for The Beach Boys over The Beatles. Uh, it was a write-in.

That is kind of terrifying, actually. Why?! Who? Whaaa?!!?

Fantastic news, hope this snowballs into a nice shelf full of awards over the next few months!

Wow, almost as long as "Sister Ray."

Which is well worth reading if you haven't, folks: http://www.lewisshiner.com/liberation/glimpses.pdf

Also, I would've turned up at the BRI meeting for the licensing agreement and screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooo!

"So you're saying I won this woman in a raffle? She's old enough to be my grandm- ok, she's old enough to be my sister. But be fair, older sister."

Sequels need to amp up everything. Love & Mercy 2: The Reckoning would need explosions, a car chase possibly re-enacting the 70s Apple Juice Jug Incident, and John Cusack saying he's "too old for this sh*t." Also they should expand their demographic appeal by throwing in a wisecrackin' kid and some giant robots that punch each other really, really hard.

OK, that's enough. I'm being accused of being in the pay of Mike Love. Prove it, or shut the f*** up. Mods, that's libel. You going to ignore this too ?

Where is anyone saying you're being paid? I'm losing track of insinuations here or perhaps reading this charming thread wrong.

Well, its the same reason they were all pissy about the cantina version of Heroes & Villains and so loathe to include Our Prayer or Summer's Gone... So what, tough sh*t learn it indeed! Honor the guy's accomplishment and those other guys for playing it and learn some more parts!

But in retrospect aren't we glad they threw in Our Prayer and Summer's Gone a few times... sure made sense in that context and I hope one day we see/hear the London recordings undoctored and don't let Joe Thomas OR Mike Love's autotuner near 'em.  

Sorry BUT that is probably the most miss-informed load of utter bollocks I have ever read on ANY forum

Fair enough, but the word you're looking for is misinformed. Stop being so misinformed about being misinformed!

You found someone on the internet with a different opinion than yours, congrats. What exactly are you disagreeing with? That I think they probably won't revisit the licensing agreement until the principals are dead? That BW doesn't make much off of Mike Love's touring? Mike won. I don't know what the problem is. He gets to call the shots and got a helluva good deal out of the other guys.

It comes with a certain amount of scorn from folks online, any look at the comments section of any article about the Beach Boys post-C50 would tell you that! All in all, still not a bad deal. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN.

Yeah, how ridiculous when they try to boil it down to "but Al and Brian really want that HUGE FAT CHECK for sitting on their ASSES DOING NOTHING." Yeah except letting Mike profit on a lifetime of their work and brand name, minimizing their importance whilst still mixing in maudlin video montages and "tributes,"  in exchange for what, a few crumbs? That sh*t wouldn't cover BW's pet food bills for the year.

It's more inertia, legal muscle, endless agony and bitterness such a move would cause. In their 50s? It'd happen. Early 70s? No way. Life's too short. Mike won and has excellent lawyers, he got a sweetheart deal that lets him live out his sunset years avoiding his family and playing casinos. He beat two dead cousins, his beloved "Cousin Brian," and Al Jardine. Yay Mike! The leader! Mr Positivity! Callin' the shots, picking the venues, ruling the setlist, pointing at people. No messy huge band to cut into his profit. No whiny Jardines wanting to throw in a folk song, no having to accomodate the composer of most of the music having his own needs. Not even having to put up with his son looking bored. Doin' it for the people. For the fans. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts! Er, wait not that bit.

 I don't think there will be a shakeup until the principals are dead and the estates are fighting over licensing the Jeff Foskett Boys.

Hahahah different Paul Williams. It's a shame Paul had that accident, I would've loved to have read his thoughts on everything that happened in Beach Boys/BWorld in the 00s and 10s. Paul was a FAN who wouldn't even have known the meaning of "ruining the music," it was cruel and downright vicious of this universe to curse that brain with dementia.

Because he was a helluva guy and an enthusiastic writer who is sorely missed. Hell, he put up with my teenage letters nagging him about Philip K Dick for YEARS and would send me xeroxes of unpublished work... anybody talks sh*t about Paul Williams, i'm gonna scream like a stuck pig! He was a lovely man and the planet isn't as fun without him on it.

What's to be objective about? He was doing reviews and a bit gonzo so obviously his opions are subjective, but his enthusiasm for topics he loved was infectious. Not the writer to read for dry facts and figures, he loved sharing his passions with the world. It radiated from everything he wrote, and I wish I was into BW's music as much back when we corresponded... what a missed opportunity! I could've mixed in rhapsodizing about Wild Honey with theorizing about Phil's bonkers Exegesis. RIP, Paul Williams!

Great review, we're really spoiled by this band. I hope before the Pet Sounds madness next year they manage to get this lineup in the studio and get Blondie in there on guitar with the band playing "live" before endless vocal work. Needed for a "rock n roll album."

Dual Jardines really lift BW's music. A show with both Our Prayer AND Drive-In? SPOILED.

Next time BW accepts an award, he should suddenly challenge Mike Love to get on stage and jam.

Wow, you're so gracious to allow him an opinion. Maybe you can be even nicer and take him seriously and address his points instead of dodging so as not to let blemish Mike Love's mighty name.

With a bit of luck, he'll stay there! Poached, scrambled, fried, f***ed-over, whatever the story and however it changes over the years as memories and bitterness marinate: Matt Jardine suits the BW band far more, way better vocal mix than with Foskett. You know I'm a huge booster of that band, but man my tolerance for JF was always pretty low. He's too shrill, strikes me as insincere and a tad creepy: a perfect fit for the Mike Love Show.  

I like BW doing more in the shows and not leaning on Curly Joe Faux Wilson quite so much. Both Jardines in the band are much better value. It's a more charming stage presentation now instead of Nurse Foskett's weird caretaker vibe.

Cut to Cam Mott in a small room with TALK and DISCUSS scribbled thousands of times all over the walls, frantically trying to crack the semantic code of Mike saying "they wanted to go on with the tour" but still being able to blame Brian Wilson for it.

Probably arguing.