Post by deforestatedjerry on Jun 28, 2022 3:10:04 GMT
I'm noticing way too much naivety when it comes to what goes into searching for a lot of lost media, mostly inspired by someone's recent thread on the Lost media subforum. Rather than make a huge rant there, I thought making this topic might be more interesting and give some insight into the mindset of a lot of users here.
When someone refers to a "search" for lost media, or when you yourself decide you want to "search" for lost media, how do you think that is done? What do you do specifically?
Post by stintergalactic on Jun 28, 2022 14:08:24 GMT
So, it can vary a bit depending on what kind of media is being searched for. But I think there are some features you'll find in most "searches".
I think the biggest that a proper Lost Media Searchâ„¢ needs is multiple people. You can certainly look for things that interest you on your own. But a full and proper Searchâ„¢, I think, needs to be a somewhat coordinated effort inside of a group of people all with the same intent, finding the piece of media.
As for what the actions a search will usually take, again this will vary a little depending on what is being looked for, but there are commonalities. Seeking out and making contacts is one that gets focused on a lot. Just figuring out who was involved in the making or distributing of media, and finding a way to contact them. Another common tactic is just searching the internet, which is more complicated that putting "smashfest" (for example) into a search engine. Depending on the media being looked for, it's sometimes smart just find online communities that would know something about the media being looked for. With any luck, they'll either have the media, or or least hopefully offer some insight.
I think the most important aspect of a search, the one that I think usually leads to stuff getting found, is just the online discussion of it. As popular as making contacts and reaching out to people is, it just doesn't seem like a lot of media is found that way. It seems usually, that the best thing about contacting people, is that they can confirm whether something exists or not. It can be helpful to know something doesn't exist, so that people can stop looking for it (like ADWSS or YYBI). But the thing that actually gets stuff found is either someone who has the media comes across an online discussion of it and decides to share, or someone else happens to come across both the lost media and the discussion looking for it, and links the two. I think that's one reason we need to make sure there's always a lot of discussion here on the forums, and not focus on discord so much. We want these discussions to show up in search engines. If some guy finds the slamfest video on an old hard drive, and he googles it to figure out what it is, we definitely want him to come across LMW thread about it.
As for what an individual should do, I think it's just the discussion. Just talking about something spreads the awareness, and makes it more likely that someone who has the media will find the search. If there are already people doing the active "searching", like contacting people, and scouring the world wide web, then the best thing you can do is just keep posting to threads about it. Brainstorming new avenues, trying to come up with new leads, thinking outside of the box. It almost doesn't matter as long as the conversation is ongoing.
As for what an individual should do, I think it's just the discussion.
Strange wording there. It sounds like you're reducing individual responsibility to simply discussion, but I don't think that's what you mean. At the very least, not unless there are other people actively searching.
I've seen people come on these boards and post about something they want to find, and not make any indication that they've put much effort towards it themselves. It kind of comes off like they want other people to do the searching for them. If you say all an individual should do is discuss, then it's like we're telling them, "Ok, you've started a discussion, you've done your part."
I also feel like we should emphasize discussion and publicity that's actually productive. Speculating about possible new leads could be useful, but just posting that you wish somebody would find the thing you're looking for probably wouldn't be. It might keep the thread visible, but then other users might start ignoring it, which would actually be counterproductive. Likewise, if you post about a particular search in a lot of threads, even if some of them are relevant, it would become annoying to the other users.
As for what an individual should do, I think it's just the discussion.
Strange wording there. It sounds like you're reducing individual responsibility to simply discussion, but I don't think that's what you mean. At the very least, not unless there are other people actively searching.
I've seen people come on these boards and post about something they want to find, and not make any indication that they've put much effort towards it themselves. It kind of comes off like they want other people to do the searching for them. If you say all an individual should do is discuss, then it's like we're telling them, "Ok, you've started a discussion, you've done your part."
I also feel like we should emphasize discussion and publicity that's actually productive. Speculating about possible new leads could be useful, but just posting that you wish somebody would find the thing you're looking for probably wouldn't be. It might keep the thread visible, but then other users might start ignoring it, which would actually be counterproductive. Likewise, if you post about a particular search in a lot of threads, even if some of them are relevant, it would become annoying to the other users.
You are right in that I was being overly simplistic. I was speaking more in the cases where there are a lot of other people doing active searching. Sometimes if you're late to the party, the best thing you can do is keep the conversation alive. But yes, it's a lot more helpful if you can contribute something at least partially productive. Theory crafting and speculation can be helpful. Sometimes just saying the right thing at the right time can send someone else down the right track, and just happen to catch the right person at the right time. It's just a matter of seeing the difference between keeping the conversation going, and spamming.