My Reply to Michael

[mazz]

Well I was the one the Michael quoted in his reply to the now closed "Rally Suggestions" thread.I will send him an e-mail directly but just wanted to say publicly that it's pretty clear that what I meant didn't come out in what I wrote.When I said I didn't attend any classes I should have said "Driver's Ed" classes (the schedule ended up not working out for me). I attended quite a few panels and I wouldn't have missed the panel with my friends Dave and Matt for anything! It was quite revealing and informative.When I said "a peek behind the scenes might be valuable" what I meant was a panel like the listening panel kind of like a live "day in the life of a TAXI screener" thing. I read every word that Dave and Jessie wrote and absorbed it as much as I could. I was thinking about everyone that put their music in the wrong boxes at the Rally and who didn't take the time to read Dave and Jessie's posts.I'm not feeling defensive, I'm just sad that my words didn't convey what I was feeling which was much enthusiasm from what I learned at the Rally and brainstorming on how to make it even better, if that's even possible.Michael, I didn't mean to offend you and I hope you know I'm a big TAXI fan and hopefully will have more success via TAXI as time goes on. I'll be much more careful in the future on what I write so as to be as clear as possible.Peace and Love!Mazz

[aubreyz]

Quote:Well I was the one the Michael quoted in his reply to the now closed "Rally Suggestions" thread.I will send him an e-mail directly but just wanted to say publicly that it's pretty clear that what I meant didn't come out in what I wrote.When I said I didn't attend any classes I should have said "Driver's Ed" classes (the schedule ended up not working out for me). I attended quite a few panels and I wouldn't have missed the panel with my friends Dave and Matt for anything! It was quite revealing and informative.When I said "a peek behind the scenes might be valuable" what I meant was a panel like the listening panel kind of like a live "day in the life of a TAXI screener" thing. I read every word that Dave and Jessie wrote and absorbed it as much as I could. I was thinking about everyone that put their music in the wrong boxes at the Rally and didn't take the time to read Dave and Jessie's posts.I'm not defensive, I'm just sad that my words didn't convey what I was feeling which was much enthusiasm from what I learned at the Rally and brainstorming on how to make it even better, if that's even possible.Michael, I didn't mean to offend you and I hope you know I'm a big TAXI fan and hopefully will have more success via TAXI as time goes on. I'll be much more careful in the future on what I write so as to be as clear as possible.Peace and Love!MazzHey Mazz my friend, a couple of quick notes. First, after reading ML's email, it was my suggestion to lock and sticky the thread... not trying to take blame or credit for that, just wanted to make clear that it wasn't some Taxi plot to shut us all up I honestly don't think Michael's intentions were to single you out as if your comments were off base. One thing that we all picked up on at the Rally is that not everyone has the common sense to see the big picture. His concern, which now I understand and can appreciate, is that those who browse these boards who have little or no rally or Taxi experience will only see the questions raised unless somebody perpetually gets on here and says, "we tried that in 2001, didn't work... here's why, etc... or we can't logistically do that because, blah blah blah."Those of us "dots" who had the privilege of meeting with him at the rally know without a doubt he and Taxi as a whole appreciates and listens to the input of members. I've never seen Taxi delete anything on here, and there has been plenty of anti-everything. As a Rally newbie, I respect the fact that ML has been around this tree a few times and though he cares about what we think, he would rather have those questions and suggestions through personal emails. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind, but then again I haven't been answering accusatory questions and putting out PR fires for the past 11 years either. Aub--- and btw it is so cool to be able to hear your voice in my head while reading your posts

[matto]

Quote:One thing that we all picked up on at the Rally is that not everyone has the common sense to see the big picture. His concern, which now I understand and can appreciate, is that those who browse these boards who have little or no rally or Taxi experience will only see the questions raised unless somebody perpetually gets on here and says, "we tried that in 2001, didn't work... here's why, etc... or we can't logistically do that because, blah blah blah."Hehee...you may have noticed that I didn't jump right into the "Rally suggestions" thread...as one of what I imagine can't be much more than a handful of people who have attended all 11 Road Rallies I can indeed attest to the fact that most "doable" suggestions I've seen have been tried before.There are undoubtedly things that could be done that would "improve" the Rally if it only had to cater to the hardest working, most driven and proactive members...but it has to cater to the membership in general...and one of the best things that happen at the Rally is that it often motivates attendees to become harder working, more driven and more proactive.The Rally is already perhaps the most focused, educational and even life changing music convention out there, but at the same time it has to remain accessible and attractive to those who really need it the most (often without realizing it )That being said, I think it's obvious to anybody who's met Michael and/or the rest of the staff that they always listen to members' suggestions, it's just that this public forum isn't the best place to voice them...matto

[crs7string]

Matto,Have they tried an "Open Bar" for people with dots on their name tag? Chuck

[mazz]

Yes Matt, I agree with everything you've said. I think I let my enthusiasm and my evangelical side get the better of me. Chuck, great idea! I dare you to send Michael that suggestion! Mazz

[nomiyah]

I should have picked a better subject title than Rally Suggestions, Rallly brainstorming or something, because I wanted to bounce my ideas around with the dots rather than bothering Taxi with it. I thought it'd be a way to work on the ideas before making actual suggestions. I personally have some experience with producing events that makes me appreciate the magnitude of the Rally, not to mention the longevity. All in all it was an outstanding conference, far beyond what I expected. I've been to many conferences and I can definitely say Michael and the Taxi staff pulled off a stellar event. I understand Michael's point about how it might be construed so webmaster feel free to delete the whole thread. I wouldn't do anything to cause a ripple of disturbance on a much needed day off for "the Boss".To Michael and the entire Taxi staff, thanks for an awesome weekend.Nomi

[stick]

Yeah, Matt, I bet you've seen some great "crash and burn" moments in the Rally history. I can just hear the entire TAXI staff says "well, I guess THAT idea didn't work"! As one of the rabble-rousers in the open mic thread, I really understand what and why Michael said what he did, and hopefully he keeps that post on hand so he can cut and paste it again next year, (Or else he already pasted it from last year...) as I'm sure the same questions and comments will pop up again. He's right. The Rally is a lot of things to a lot of people. And it does so many things ridiculously well. The 10 years of hard work/trying new things/finding better ways is VERY apparent.