In the spirit on inclusivity, it was great to see the ABF renamed to the Learners Lounge. But how about taking it one step further and fusing it with the Pianist Zone forum? Whereas it's arguable that we may not all be beginners, I think it makes sense to say that we are all learners.
Another advantage is that there would be fewer forums here, as I think we may be approaching the point of having too many forums, especially if we add yet another forum for the recitals.
Anyway, I am not really pushing for this. Just an idea. It's not something I feel very strongly about. Maybe there's a ton of disadvantages with this. Let's discuss.

    Rubens I would prefer to have them apart, as they currently are. I think Learners is focused on learning topics and questions. Pianist Zone is anything pianist related, e.g. discussing favorite pianists or whatever competition is happening or advanced level piano discussions.

        twocats So you believe it's better to keep the advanced level piano discussions separate from the learner discussions? (I'm asking this in a non-confrontational way!😀).

            Rubens depends on what the subject is! Like, if it's an advanced technique where most intermediate players couldn't relate, then I think it should go in PZ. I also think the way this forum is structured, you kinda see more across all the subforums anyway, unless you choose only to look in one.

              Rubens oh in case you didn't notice, Learners Lounge specifies "beginner to intermediate" in the description. I think there will be some people who are interested in both but some who are only interested in discussion for their playing level.

                  Rubens haha are you referring to the comment I think you're referring to?? 😹

                  Someone did have to have the last word!

                      twocats Yes, and I think it means we've been on the internet way too long! Piano forums are addictive!

                        I could be entirely wrong (I most frequently am), but I have a feeling that with the current sections, people might be more inclined to mingle rather than feel confined to a certain forum. I have a feeling that this may turn out to be a good thing.

                        We're all learners, and in a way, we're all pianists too. I mean we all place our hands on the keys, which is why we are here in the first place 😆

                        Again I could be wrong and I don't have a crystal ball, but I think that the renamed forum sections will allow for a lot more blending. In time I reckon we don't even need to think in terms of "beginners turn left, advanced turn right."

                        An advanced pianist may very well start a discussion on the best way to learn a very complicated piece and we whippersnappers will read what's involved in breathless awe in the Learners Lounge.

                        And someone who started playing today might want to discuss their favourite composer and share that in the Pianist Zone. I would imagine that the advanced pianists might enjoy the enthusiasm and share their own passion.

                        This is a new forum and I think it will take some time to get into that mindset, but that would be my ideal world. Learners of all levels and pianists of all levels, no class distinction.

                        Or maybe that's not what will happen at all, and I'm just a hopelessly optimistic idealist 😁

                          Sophia hmmmmm I'm coming around to Learners Lounge being "anything about learning" and Pianist Zone about non-learning pianist things. But I think it'll all figure itself out!

                            I would not call myself a pianist, after less than 6 months of self learning. TBH I don’t even know when I would in the future.

                            Learners Lounge makes me feel I can ask my question there.

                              Rubens We are indeed. We are all students of piano playing and music!

                              iternabe You're definitely a piano player ... just as we are piano players. Piano players unite!

                                  I don’t have a strong opinion (feel like I’ve used this phrase a lot here lately… 😅

                                  But I do like the LL and the PZ being separate, for all of the reasons mentioned in this thread. Too other reasons: experienced players and long term members will feel comfortable posting in either forum, but newer members and very new beginners might feel intimidated posting in a combined forum. So I think it’s a good idea to be a little more accommodating to those types of posters.

                                  Which brings me to the other question. If we combined LL and PZ, what would we call it? If we called it LL, experienced players might be disinclined to post, but if we called it PZ, learners and beginners might feel intimidated. So imo I think having these two is the perfect combination.

                                  Ok, I changed my mind. I do have a strong opinion. 😁

                                  And this site is so easy to navigate, I feel like having a few more sub forums is not a drawback — a feature, not a bug.

                                  ETA plus I like the duos: acoustic piano forum and digital piano forum, learners lounge and pianist zone. Nice parallel structure!

                                  I prefer the All Discussions view to easily find the threads I'm interested in. I don't pay much attention to the tags assigned to the threads. If I come across a thread I don't think I'll ever contribute to, I add it to my ignore list—not because it's a bad thread, but simply because it doesn't apply to me

                                    bSharp
                                    +1 here. at that point I seldomly think about the semantics and which forum it’s posted, I merely have birds eye view of everything. I really like that feature, so I don’t inadvertently miss out on any would-be valuable readings.

                                      I think the new name for the ABF is excellent. Just one thing. "Learners" in this instance is the possessive case of a plural noun, so it needs an apostrophe:

                                      Learners' Lounge

                                      🙂

                                        iternabe I would not call myself a pianist, after less than 6 months of self learning. TBH I don’t even know when I would in the future.

                                        See, that's a mindset that I don't think it's needed 🤭 I mean when is a person a pianist? After they have performed at Carnegie Hall? With that definition, no one in this forum is a pianist. I personally think that as soon as a person is capable of participating in the recitals, they play the piano. Which means they have graduated to pianist 😄

                                        But seriously though, I'm very happy with the two sections. I think it will help this forum to develop a slightly different culture as to who should post where than an older, established forum. In the end though these things tend to sort themselves one way or another so it's all good really 🙂

                                            Sophia I mean when is a person a pianist

                                            Ask ten people and you’ll likely get ten different answers! 🙂

                                              Should we change the PZ name to the Players' Zone, or Players' Lounge? Sounds a bit sleazy to me🤣.

                                              Oh, actually, Piano Street has a "Performance" forum. Are we all performers? (Regardless of the level of performance?)