Use of the boards

[Novim]

Dear everyone,
I’ve been saddened that so few people now are looking at the boards since the advent of Facebook and Twitter as many of us have made a lot of friends here.
I need to remind you all and emphasise, however, that these boards exist solely for the discussion of Cat Stevens' music and Yusuf's music. We will not be discussing religion here. There are other boards, I’m sure, where that can be done but please do not do so here. Any such posts will be deleted.
The boards are indeed on their last legs. As many of you know, I have been wondering if it is worth maintaining them at all. I retain them only because they act as an incredibly useful resource for Cat Stevens fans. I will not become embroiled in any controversies which can be very difficult to handle, as I’m sure you can understand. Such things would ensure the rapid closure of the boards.I hope you understand my position. Let’s jjust continue to enjoy Cat's music!
Very best wishes to you all,
Chris

[tiffany]

Hello from Tiffany,
Many thanks for your post, but Majicat has been an interesting Cat Stevens website, and I have met so many people here, who have been very big fans of our Cat Stevens, whose music has continued to inspire our generations of our lifetimes.I do remember in December 1972, I got the album "Teaser and the Firecat" as a Christmas present from my brother, and when I played it, I became a huge fan of him. Even with many of the other LP's he released in the mid 70's, like Tea For the Tillerman and Catch Bull At Four, Foreigner, and Back To Earth, were very critically eclectic albums, with spiritual songs like Moonshadow, The Wind, How Can I Tell You and Peace Train were very meaningful songs. So please keep the Majicat website going.as this is a hobby and a part of my life
Sweet peace
Tiffany.

[Novim]

Thanks, Tiffany. I plan to keep these boards as long as they prove useful but it’s nice to know there us someone out there looking at them.
Moving on, I’ve recently noticed a few adverts on this forum for other performers. These boards are for discussions of Cat Stevens' and Yusuf's music only so any other adverts will be deleted.
Best to all,
Chris

[tiffany]

Dear Chris
Thanks for your message, and as always, the pleasure is all mine. I'm glad that you're keeping this Majicat website up to date, but literally, I really do miss the Members Page, which was a Godsend to us all. Everyone I sent PMs there, were very friendly people, whom I trusted with a tender heart. They all appreciated hearing the music of Cat Stevens, whose music stood the Testimony of Time. With songs like " Lady D'Arbanville, Trouble, Fill My Eyes, and many more including the Tea for the Tillerman album, with spiritual songs, such as "Where Do The Children Play, Hard-Headed Woman, Wild World, and many others to come. The thing I liked most about the Cat, were his good looks that beguiled us all, and still does in our memories today.

Sweet peace
Tiffany

[Deleted]

This site is a valuable resource for fans current and future!

[Novim]

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to answer a few questions which have just been raised about the boards and their future. The boards were redesigned because the chat had moved far too far away from Cat Stevens and became extremely difficult to moderate. several people got really upset with each other and sorting out inappropriate postings isn't something I had or have time to do. There are still areas of the boards on which guests and Majicat members can chat under the Introduce Yourself and Birthdays pages for example. I have just excluded those from Recent Posts. Should I reinstate them there?
With regard to the main Majicat site, I feel I have let Christine, the original owner and developer, down. The reason for this is that I found the site needed entirely replacing which would take hundreds of hours of work, time I don't have so it remains online as a tribute site to Cat Stevens, particularly with regard to his earlier work.
Re the boards, here is what Christine wrote when she handed the site over:

I feel I have let Majicat down in the past few years, by neglecting it and letting the message board take over and it is my time to step down. As with many websites, when a messageboard is introduced, it seems to take on a life of its own and the original website ends up being over shadowed and depreciated. And, this is true with Majicat.

Sad words but the site is now so old that trying to update it is very difficult so there will be very little change, I'm afraid. Thus the boards have become another really valuable archive for those wishing to learn more about Cat's work. Peace Quilts and the like from the original site, I'm afraid, no longer exist.
Hope this helps. Any suggestions/help welcomed!
Best to all,
Chris

[Deleted]

I don't know how many visitors you get each day, but it seems there's very little activity here.

[Novim]

Yes, that’s why I was thinking of closing it down!

[Leonard]

Well, we have all been with Majicat for a long time now, and I am deeply grateful. I use the Majicat site as a Cat Stevens resource (mostly for guitar tabs) even to-date. The work DJ and others had done back then is astonishing and useful to this date.

The messageboard of the site is the real crutch. It has become so fragmented, plastered with ads, and awkward to use that there is little incentive for me to post, even though it is, to this date, the only actual Cat Stevens message board open to everyone to use and with a great history.

Perhaps it's best to start with a clean slate messageboard-wise and with new technology (looking at you, Glen Campbell Forums)? I tend to agree but I'm not sure.

[Novim]

I’m glad you still find the boards useful. Getting rid of ads sadly involves costs I’m not prepared to pay particularly when use of the boards us so slight. Setting a new message board immediately deletes all the things you mention which are useful such as DJ's tabs and all the articles which have been found by fans. So we are between a rock and a hard place!
Thanks for persevering!
Best wishes,
Chris

[Leonard]

Well, DJ's guitar tabs are part of the Majicat site, not the message board. And I'm sure that upon migrating onto a new board with new underlying technology that migration will come with the option of archiving old threads. I don't think there's any other option at this point to rescue what's left of the community and site.

[glaucus]

I for one still read these boards with interest. I'm not a big fan of Facebook. I would much rather share my Cat Stevens related articles and other memorabilia here than anywhere else.

In any case, I am back, with my old nickname and I hope others will consider coming back.

Glaucus

[Novim]

Hi Glaucus,
Wonderful to hear from you again after so long. These boards used to be such fun but everyone seemed to move away as social media gained favour. Let’s hope more people return and help to get the boards active once again!
Good to see you again, old friend!
Best wishes,
Chris

[glaucus]

Hello Chris, hope you are well.
Thank you for your kind words and welcome.
I'm quite busy with summer chores these days, but I plan to contribute more as soon as I have more free time.
Thanks again,
Glaucus (Cee)