WELL!
I must say, I actually completely on eheath's side here, and I think that he has an extremely good vision for the future.
The issue of who can and can't post in ski gabber, or what should and shouldn't be posted there is totally irrelevant though. The key is the system that we have created, and how it is the future we should all strive towards.
The video section represents the foundation of the digital revolution in ski media. As with most other media, the price and availability of high quality equipment has enabled an entirely new group of people to make extremely professional content. Never before in history has there been such an opportunity for up-and-coming talent to express themselves.
With the final piece of the
NSTV puzzle in place (the guide) we have created a place where you can sit back on the couch and consume never-before imagined amounts of ski video in a completely familiar TV-on-demand environment. It certainly took too long to make, and I understand why so many people turned to other places while this was being finished.
However... newschoolers and newschool skiing was part of a revolution. We are the foundation of a revolution in this sport like has never happened before, but for some reason some of us have forgotten this. We've allowed ourselves to become fragmented and closed minded... turning against each other and becoming aloof and rule-based... just like the structured organizations that the founders of this sport fought to free themselves from.
If you believe in NSTV, you believe in the revolution. If you are part of NSTV, you are part of the revolution. If you watch NSTV, you are supporting something that is supporting the revolution.
The video section is the foundation of NSTV. It is an extremely carefully laid out system, which offers high quality video hosting, and a structure that helps the best ski content flow to the top. If we all use the system, it will improve for all of us, and it will improve for all of skiing.
Right now we're looking at a fragmented, disorganized mis-mash of people trying to cry for attention on their edits hosted bloody well everywhere on the internet. YouTube and Vimeo don't give a flying fuck about skiing... those fucking guys fly private jets. They are taking your money, taking your content, and fuelling the corporate engine with it. When you upload to YouTube and post it to ski gabber, you've just scored one more hit against the revolution in skiing... ensuring that we will never change the way things are done.
I do admit that we need to do a better job of giving prominent views to the good videos. I promise you - we will do this. If you guys can help us by starting to use the system, then we can help you by improving it in the ways that you suggest. I'm really sorry for going so quiet for so long, but we had to build the infrastructure and we're only a couple of guys. We will do what it takes to make this the perfect system for skiing. You have my word, and I will sign that in blood if need be.
So before we start enacting gestapo rules around not posting edits in ski gabber... think about being part of the revolution. If we're going to work together to topple the traditional model, then we need to work together and not against each other. Show someone NSTV. Tell a budding ski production company that they should host their shit here. Encourage everyone to use the system, because at the end of the day we're all skiers and we're all trying to do the same thing.
We absolutely have the power to change this industry forever. The newschoolers community is who guides the beast that is Newschoolers.com, and I would bet everything that I have in this world that as a team we can accomplish damned near anything.
/rant
