Well, that is a matter of some controversy. In fact, in the last host survey (a vote of all the hosts to see what to do next with the site) we had some heated discussion about this topic.

We decided that hosts shouldn't be 'gotten rid of' but that they should take a back seat, and be 'retired'. A retired host can still vote on the doings of Guitar Tricks and affect the site, and a retired host can come out of retirement (like some aging rock stars, I suppose) by posting a new trick.

I may retire for a while in the near future. I don't want to post dull tired tricks just to keep on the board. And I am not sure we want to encourage that from hosts. One question we need to answer now that Guitar Tricks is definitely a long-term project is this: is a new trick better than an old trick (do tricks 'expire?')?

Anyway, we haven't had any new rock hosts for a while, and that has been painful because we get a lot of applications and we have had to say no to some good players.

On the other hand, forcing the issue of style diversification did bring us our great country hosts, Wayne, Terry and Tommie. Their sections have been a great addition. And, we got Ryan Hood and Scott Evans, just a bare beginning in classical and jazz coverage. So, it was effective to stop the rock majority long enough to let these other styles get a foothold.

In a little while, after the bugs are worked out of this new site, we will vote again on the "no rock hosts" stance and whether it is still appropriate in the new age of 'host retirement.'

Marako, Erik Hagen and Shay Foley have all posted within the last two months. Troy has been updating his section just this week. But you are mostly right about the others.

Anyway, we would love to see more feedback about this, since it is really the life of the site.

Jon