"I must admit: I have a feeling Homeuser finds it hard to believe we do it just for fun and to improve ourselves. What the heck, let's get personal: Homeuser, do you find it hard to believe that?"
Obviously at first I did. I'm still kind of surprised by how many are just doing this for fun, but that's cool! What I STILL find confusing is the attitude of "I don't care if anyone likes it or not." Well, unless you're working on a mix, why even upload it then?
"Sometimes I get the feeling you're not here to find something beautiful in the music people post or to motivate people. Your comments can be pretty harsh."
You're basically correct. I want the musician/composer of the tune I'm listening to, to know EXACTLY how it made me feel or react. I'm not here to search for something positive or negative to say. But if I'm going to take the time to listen to their tune, it's only fair that they get my honest open feelings. There are many advantages to posting music to a bunch of "strangers" to listen to. Since they are not friends or family, you EXPECT to get REAL comments, good or bad. This I think is one of the most powerfull aspects of this forum.
Now, I do realize there is a core group of regulars here that have become very close, and you guys always seem to find something positive about each other's music most of the time. Nothing wrong with that, but at some point you lose your ability to "tell it like it is", because as well all know too well, it's HARD to tell a close friend something negative.
When I start posting music, I will ask those that listen to it to be brutally open and honest. You see, if you guys think it sucks, it won't hurt my feelings because you're just ascii text on the screen.

Now if I could put a face and a beer with that bad review, it might be a tad more personal.

Everyone around me in my everyday life always says something positive and motivational about my music. BS, I want real comments. And hopefully this is the place to get it.
"Plus, I never heard your music. Could you be so kind to tell us why you are here? "
To enjoy the fact that I can participate in forum disscussions about topics that interest me. I'm also here because I am in the process of creating the best self produced home indie CD that I can and it's good to hear other musicians music to see how it compares to mine, in both song and recording quality.