talkmagic.co.uk

yes and me too
i need the stimulation.
please please please let me in or i will cry and cry untill I'm sick

Dear Mods,

Having reached 79 posts plus now bearing the title of Honorary Old Fart - may I join the Restricted Area please? Pretty Please?

Luv & kisses

Mandrake

The posts here lead me understand that 'begging' does not work effectively!

I was lucky enough to be granted full access within the first couple of days of postings - and it was via private message (I think, or was it an email????)

If you are new to this forum and your only aim for making pointless and countless posts is to gain 'automated' access, I'd think again.

Access to the restricted area is NOT something which will be granted automatically. You are judged by the Moderators on your knowledge and credability.

Be good, post good quality items, and be patient.
This is a community effort.

In all fairness, there's stuff in the restricted are which could ruin the business of people like our host here (Laurence from eMagictricks), and also there's secrets shared between magicians - which we've studied long and hard to master.

Access to the area is a priviledge - not a right.

Seige - all is not necessarily as it seems so have PM'd you!

Cheers,

Yep... seen it and replied.

It was certainly a comment not aimed at yourself, and the first line re: begging was half joking!

BUT...
the serious upshot of my post was that the Restricted Access area is a priviledge, rather than a sort of 'final destination'.

It is not inevitable that you will get access just because you reach "X" number of posts, nor if you nag the Moderator. You will be granted access at the discretion of the Moderator, when they feel that you're ready.

Please, please, don't take offence at the posting. It is merely a deterrant to all those people who were trying to bump up their posting score by writing meaningless reviews/replies/responses - but luckily, they've been 'cleansed' by the Great Crash on '03!!!

I'm very serious about magic (although that's practically all I'm serious about!) and I've invested a lot of time and energy into learning the secrets.
I've spent years holding back those secrets from laymen. I've been true to the rules, even though it's tough.

And I feel, that like Mandrake, MagicDiscoMan and the other true magicians out there should be welcomed with open arms into the Restricted Area... but because there are so many shysters out there, the access is quite difficult.

Be patient... justice has it's rewards...

And once again, no offence was meant.

Mornin’ again!

Firstly, no worries – I haven’t taken offence (or the gate either!) and I 100% agree and support you in the need for restrictions.

Quantity of posts could be indicative of commitment and interest in the magical arts but could equally indicate someone with not much else to do! I seem to recall an earlier posting where someone actually said they were trying to reach the high numbers just to get the discount which Laurence has kindly offered (memo to self: Must ask Laurence about discount on next order!).

The actual quality of content is very subjective and has to be decided by the Moderators – not an easy task because someone who is passionate about, say, coin magic to the exclusion of anything else is as much a Magician as one who can perform with ropes, cards, bunny rabbits etc as well. However, the first guy’s input will naturally be more restricted than the general practitioner. I’d hate to be the one to decide re suitability!

As I mentioned in my PM there were other reasons involved but no probs.

Cheers!

Glad to see I'm not going to wake up with a horses head in my bed tomorrow (the missus is bad enough!!! )

I felt very honoured to be allowed access to the restricted area - not only because it gave me a feeling of achievement, but I felt I had been judged and granted a priviledge.

You may be looking and thinking "how's he got time to make so many posts?", "he must just sit there all day reading this, how's he got time to do magic???"

Well, I'm a designer - and I've got 3 computers around me 14 hours a day, 2 of which are constantly on the internet. I'm also very passionate about magic, and it has been my goal to gain as much knowledge and skill at this beautiful and mystifying art as possible.

I find it a good break from my work to drop into the forum every hour or so (I gave up smoking, which used to provide me with a break - but this is PERFECT therapy!!! Every time I would usually have a smoke, I just type a message).
PLUS... for some reason, my fingers are able to make words appear on the screen almost as fast as I can think them, I don't know how many words-per minute I can type, but as you've probably noticed from the usual lengthy narratives I produce, I just get carried away!!!

This 'finger' speed probably explains my deftness at coin and card magic, too. (No sordid comments please...)

I've posted reviews, help, techniques, comments, tips, and generally been good humoured and constructive. The number of posts attributed to me are merely a reflection of my passion for magic, coupled with my accessability to an 'always-on' internet connection and the ability to type like a secretary on amphetamines.

I'm not out for glory, for discounts (I was REMINDED to use my discount when I got to 100 posts), or for praise... I just simply enjoy being able to help fellow magicians.

Laurence is a very busy guy. In order for him to trawl through the posts to make decisions he's got to set time aside. And time is money when you're in business...

Which reminds me... better do some work and stop rabbiting...

I can empathise (big word for a Wednesday!) with all that - I gave up smoking on Feb 28th and Magic is a darn good therapy as well as being a re-awakened passion. Sorry of this is all sounding a bit 'Californian', by the way.

Until you mentioned it, I hadn't actually noticed your quantity of posts but I can see where you're coming from (apart from Shopshire, that is) - this Forum is far better than others I visit from time to time and I'm chuffed to see it alive & kicking so well. If I may swipe the title from an (as yet) unmade film - Carry On Posting!

The site is growing constantly, and if we all keep posting good quality reviews/tips/articles/comments, the forum will attract more 'serious' performers, who will hopefully contribute as well.

The benefits of a site like this are obvious... it's more than just a resource and a chat-room. It's a community.

As Mandrake says - Carry on Posting

Carry on Posting is not a reference or parody of those bawdy & saucy Brit comedy films, it is merely a phrase. No horses were beheaded in the writing of this disclaimer

i agree, 50 votes-and your a magician?

Far too simple, there should be some sort of test and more details required, but i think it should work ok.

Hehe I thought as it was the anniversary of the last post in this thread I'd revive it. Do I get access for my observational skills Actually I can imagine how difficult it is for the mods to decide who and when to give access. Sure in theory most of us are likely to be magicians or at least have a healthy interest in the subject as our interest led us to discover this site in the first place. However most magical societies require members perform an audition before being allowed to participate in their secrets and mysteries, a necessary precaution to protect and further our art. The poor mods don't get to see us perform and so have only our words to judge us by. Mind you I was only saying to Michael Ammar the other day that name dropping could be real usefull in these situations, he thought it was a good idea but Jay Sankey said that he didn't think the mods here would fall for such a cheap stunt

Mark

name dropping won't help you one bit, what you realy need to do is get on the right side of that man who holds all the keys to the basement archives and get him to put a good word in for you...........now i wonder were he could be right now......
mind you hes no pushover as a certain member found out and you would have to get up pretty late to pull the wool over his eyes for to long.
a good start would be to add your age and staus in your profile and do an introduction if you havant done one already.

a certain member? We wouldn't be talking about who i think we're talking about would we? Hmmm....

Just as a side note, to try and keep this post somehow in line with the topic, I'm also looking forward to access but I'm happy to wait until I've proven my worth in the eyes of those in the know.