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[Professor Snuggles]

I check the photo thread for pretty girls, the fashion thread because sometimes people actually have things to say that I'm interested in, and the Tattoo thread for pictures. Sometimes I check the pointless thread, but not often, because I'd say 95% of it is retarded

I guess I am making this thread because it feels like we have sectionalized boarding so much that it's impossible to actually do anything interesting/start new threads. All the subforums move much more slowly than they would if they were to some degree combined back into the off topic board, especially the movies board. Add to that the fact that we have these giant single purpose threads and so little open space for anything else, and it explains why the front page hasn't changed in like, 3 months.

So, thoughts? Is this good or bad? Am I the only one with this problem? If not, what are the threads you actually check, and why.

[nobo]

i occasionally venture into the comic discussion sections of this message board just to see watch the weirdos argue over which qc character they would sleep with

[Blue Kitty]

Every forum except WCT and General


Added on after Imapirate posted: Though I find I post in fewer and fewer threads outside of the Newbie ones and the Pointless one.

[imapiratearg]

What BK said and sort of what Jens said.  I do it compulsively.

[KvP]

I read the computer / tech forum, slow as it is, the film forum, General Discussion and DISCUSS. In none of those forums do I read every thread, just the ones that seem interesting to me, or the ones in which I know I'll probably have something to say. I don't see any inherent problem in this. For most people it seems to maximize their enjoyment of the forums as a whole.

[spoon_of_grimbo]

i generally stick to the music board.  my levels of boredom dictate how far into the rest of the forums i'll venture.  for example, i'm bored as all holy fuck now, so i clicked the "show unread posts since last visit" thing.

[squawk]

yes i have a problem with this

[valley_parade]

The guitar thread is my favorite.

[RedLion]

I tend to read most threads in I Like HURRR, but only ones that interest me in the Music, Movies, Video Games forums. I guess I also read most threads on DISCUSS.

[Spluff]

I read what looks interesting.

[David_Dovey]

So, thoughts? Is this good or bad? Am I the only one with this problem? If not, what are the threads you actually check, and why.

You're making it worse

[est]

Most of the sub-forums were created an aeon ago when the forum itself was created.  The "Discuss!" forum was a recent experimental addition and we kept it separate partially to try to set a more serious tone in there but also for simplicity's sake in case we changed our minds and wanted to close it off.

Part of me sometimes looks at all the different underused sub-forums and wonders if they shouldn't be folded into some kind of combined meta-forum, but at the moment there are some parts of the forums I just don't care about so it's great to not have to look at those threads ever.

The forums could look like this, though:

- QCFan Talk
- Music Talk
- "Shit est doesn't care about" Talk
- General Talk

and I wouldn't mind so much.

[est]

ps: I know people don't know what I don't care about so I guess I would have to be understanding and just move shit in there the first time I see it.

[Professor Snuggles]

Honestly, I agree. It's not to say I don't care about them, but they just sorta take up space? I really just think we should fold the movies/TV shows/Books back into this forum. If our board was moving a little more quickly I don't really think it would be a bad thing, and that seems like a pretty easy way to do it. A lot of people see movies, watch TV, and read books, and having that stuff mixed in here would only allow more people to talk about it!

Thoughts!

I read what looks interesting.

Exactly!

[JD]

Arts & crafts and Comics & Drawings should combine forces and become the Artsy thread.

Also, i only visit the music thread every month or so.
Damn music snobs

[Inlander]

I, for one, like having movies, t.v. shows and books in a separate sub-forum. I don't really see how the current set-up prevents people from participating in that or any other sub-forum. I'm interested in discussing movies, t.v. shows, and books, so I always check out what's going on in that sub-forum. Sure, I wish it moved a bit quicker, but I don't think visibility or accessibility are the problems. It's not like the sub-forum's hidden away from people - it's right there! I think, if anything, the success of "DISCUSS!" is evidence that if people want to talk about something, they'll go to where the conversation is. If movies, etc. goes at a snail's pace - maybe it's just because people aren't all that interested in participating in those discussions?

[Lunchbox]

I've only been to DISCUSS once or twice because debating issues and getting cranky over things are not really things I am interested in! Same with most of the other forums - I will only read them if I'm very, very bored. I do check the music board occasionally to see if there is anything neat in the Mediaf!re thread but only like, once a fortnight. In here I only check the blog thread, photo thread, hair and fashion threads and anything else that looks like it is moving fast or has an intriguing title.
I still sit and refresh for hours on end, though.

[michaelicious]

I wish people still posted in the music forum. Now it just seems like the only time there is any interesting activity outside the mf thread (and even that's getting kinda tired) is when people wanna talk about how they hate Deerhoof.

[Christophe]

Sorry, dude.

[valley_parade]

It's a society, man.

[jmrz]

Yeah, I'm with Lunchbox. I check the photo thread, fashion/hair threads and the ausconn meetup thread. I wander into Computers/Games and post in there occasionally. Somedays I only just check the photo thread.

I do agree there is a huge problem with creating new threads because 'list' threads instantly get shot down because they don't promote conversation. I've seen threads like "Good Things" and "Bad Things" work really well on some forums where discussion actually happens. But I guess on here they are combined in the Blog thread. I dunno, I really just cannot be bothered with half the threads around nowadays and the only thread that has pretty much always been there since I first signed up is the Photo thread.

[Drill King]

I pretty much only read Pictures thread, Tattoo, hair, and fashion. Then I read the art threads(seriously, comics and drawing and arts and crafts should be combined, I never know where to post) pretty religiously but very rarely venture anywhere else

I preetty much like pictures.

[Dazed]

Discuss seems to currently be about 25-35% discussion, 65-75% ad hominem attacks. I'm still keeping up on them in the hope that I can learn something interesting, though. Other than that, I read most of the stuff in HURR, Movies/Books, and occasionally drop into music.

[Mr. Skawronska]

I check the photo thread for pretty girls, the fashion thread because sometimes people actually have things to say that I'm interested in, and the Tattoo thread for pictures. Sometimes I check the pointless thread, but not often, because I'd say 95% of it is retarded

Feeling generous to day, I see.

I guess I am making this thread because it feels like we have sectionalized boarding so much that it's impossible to actually do anything interesting/start new threads. All the subforums move much more slowly than they would if they were to some degree combined back into the off topic board, especially the movies board. Add to that the fact that we have these giant single purpose threads and so little open space for anything else, and it explains why the front page hasn't changed in like, 3 months.

So, thoughts? Is this good or bad? Am I the only one with this problem? If not, what are the threads you actually check, and why.

I look for blatant stupidity and then post in kind.

S

[est]

I really don't know why people who have only just joined the forums bother to post in threads like this.

[fatty]

If this forum had a  'show latest posts' button, I would basically use that all the time.

I see arguments both in favour and against consolidating forums in the "Other Fun Things' group. I think some consolidation is definitely needed.

Consolidating:
- It's good to be able to see all active topics at once, rather than spread across many forums. It gives more exposure to threads which would otherwise move slowly when hidden in a sub-forum.
- Easier to have discussions about a variety of things instead of being sent off to a sub-forum.
- In a faster moving forum, list threads and boring threads have less hold and fall off the page more quickly, maintaining the quality of the front page threads.

Against consolidating:
- There are specific attitudes/posting styles in specific forums which are provide variety, but are also limiting. The music forum and the discussion forum obviously have quite distinct characteristics. The newb forum must obviously be kept separate from cluttering other fora.
- Slow threads in sub-fora may be flooded by more quick moving threads, special interest threads sustained by only a few interested parties may lose hold.

My proposal:
- Music
- movies/books/art/crafts
- offtopic
- news/discussion
- newb

[David_Dovey]

If this forum had a  'show latest posts' button, I would basically use that all the time.

It does, at the bottom of the main page

- Music
- movies/books/art/crafts
- offtopic
- news/discussion
- newb

I think this a wonderful idea, particularly the part where there is no Comic discussion

[Jace]

I will read nearly all of the threads in HURR, I go into discuss occassionally, but rarely post. And usually I look at a topic, start to read it, and realize I do not care. I rarely check the music or movies forum at all. But I will check the arts and crafts, comics/drawing occasionally. I go into General Discussion when I want to shit up a thread. I go into the WCT when I want to realize that I actually have a life and it's fucking awesome.

[Cartilage Head]

 No videogames section? Fatty hates nerds.

[Patrick]

Honestly, I maybe read like 4 or 5 threads on here as well. I bitch about life in the blog thread, I grab shit from the MF thread for like a week and then forget it exists, I go in the guitar thread, and then maybe a couple of threads in General that strike my eye.

(dude Ali, in addition to what Dovey said, there is also a button like that at the top of the page, it's by your avatar. There's also one right below it that shows you all the threads that have been posted in since the last time you posted in them.)

[mooface]

i kind of agree with fatty's list except i would change it to:

- Music
- movies/books/videogames
- art/drawings/crafts
- offtopic
- news/discussion
- newb

although in the end it really would not change that much for me.  i pretty much only post/read the ILH part of the forums because the rest just doesn't interest me.  like other people, when i am super bored i will venture into the art or discussion sections and skim through them.  if i was really interested in what was in the other subforums i would read them regularly, but the topics there are the same ones i would skip over if they were in ILH. 

like everyone else i just read what interests me.  i don't see how it's really a problem.  i feel like this kind of discussion constantly starts up every few months and i don't really understand why.  if there are not enough threads that interest you then you are always free to start your own topic.

[Sox]

I wish people still posted in the music forum. Now it just seems like the only time there is any interesting activity outside the mf thread (and even that's getting kinda tired) is when people wanna talk about how they hate Deerhoof.

Let's you and me do something about it. I'll get on it right away. First order of business is to shit-talk the mediafire thread. It's like a bunch of kids copying off of each other in math instead of working it out themselves. They'll never get good at it that way.

In Math: You start with an example. The answer is provided for you. Then, you work out the rest yourself.
In the Mediafire Thread: Here is everything you could ever possibly want. Get fat off of it, fatty.

[Sox]

Interesting idea, needs a twist. Or a really pretty interface. If you're careful not to repeat the mistakes of the other forums, I'd totally use it over them.

[sean]

What if we put the mediafire thread to rest for a while? It's really so fucking cluttered and maybe a break is what it needs. I liked it a lot better when I was first lurking. It was way less busy. I also concur the music forum needs improving in general. It kind of is not that great nowadays.

Also this:

- Music
- movies/books/videogames
- art/drawings/crafts
- offtopic
- news/discussion
- newb

is a good setup.

[RallyMonkey]

My only problem is with the Movies and Games forums. How threads get started in those fora does not lead to discussion. When you go into the Movies forum, all you see is a large list of movies, you click on one you're interested in, and all of the replies are people saying they want to see it, or people saying it's really good. It just feels like that forum could really improve if there were some topics of real, in-depth discussion, but right now it doesn't seem like the right place for it. The Game forum seems to have the same problem, but I don't visit there often.

[Sox]

that has more to do with the people posting than anything else, I feel. a lot of folks post in those places for the sake of posting, while a lot of people who only post when they have something to say tend to skip over those subforums. whenever an interesting character from the other subforums ventures in there to say something, it's a worthwhile read. it just doesn't happen very often.

[RallyMonkey]

The only reason I mention it really is for the fact that if it was conjoined with this or other forums, then there wouldn't be room for a topic for every individual movie, and thus, it would result in a few good discussions on film, instead of a lot of boring discussions about one film.

[RedLion]

Discuss seems to currently be about 25-35% discussion, 65-75% ad hominem attacks.

Not really. Things get "heated" sometimes and once in awhile people just outright insult someone, but the vast majority of posts are reasoned, fairly well thought out and calm.

Also

I keep sort of thinking about starting a new forum but there are so many issues with this potentially not working and being a completely embarrassing nightmare that I haven't done it and most likely won't.

I'm not really online often enough to justify it as of late but it does cross my mind. I am on a lot of forums and it's hard to stay in touch with everyone.

For what purpose, and for whom?

I will say, though, that things aren't quite as lively around here as were when I first started posting. My favorite thread that's been active since I started a little over a year ago was the Bitstrips thread. We don't really get things like that anymore, except occasionally something humorous in the Pointless thread.

[Sox]

I skip over threads where the title doesn't summarise the topic for me. I also skip over stupid thread titles stating "This is a thread for..." in them. I also stop reading threads when people aren't allowed to stray off-topic, because it's suffocating. If the topic was really that great, it would stray back on-topic without intervention when somebody has something to say. Threads are far too heavily moderated in many cases, with friendly reminders to stay ontopic and unneccessary locks. If it's boring, it'll sink into the archive. All locking a boring or pointless thread does is stop it from ever becoming interesting, because you nuked it before it even started. A thread has never started until the first good post.

The forums are spread too thin.

For what purpose, and for whom?

To stroke his ego and keep track of his girls in port.

[Alex C]

I think Computers and Video Games should be kept seperate but renamed NEEEEEERDS! or General Geekery. As it is now, we don't really have anything clearly designating where you're supposed to post if you feel like babbling about about D&D or your shiny new smartphone. And frankly, I feel that the fact that there are people on the forums who could not care any less about those topics only strengthens my case.

[Melodic]

KNEE-RRRRDS

[pwhodges]

As it is now, we don't really have anything clearly designating where you're supposed to post if you feel like babbling about about D&D or your shiny new smartphone.

No forum caters for all possible interests; I wouldn't dream of yattering about the minutiae of recording surround sound here, much less the editing of baroque music (you'll be pleased to know) - there are other places I can do that, and they're not all on the Internet, even.

[Sox]

Actually Paul, I'd kinda love it if you did. Just saying. Infact, I'd say that the former would be an incredibly worthwhile and informative thread for the music forum that is currently lacking.

[Alex C]

Yeah, but unlike your recording studio analogy, things like RPGs and PC component wankery already DO get discussed here every once in a while. The problem is that in the case of RPGs, at least, they get scattered around and thrown in the faces of people who have absolutely no interest in the subject whatsoever. For example, I believe we've had two or three topics with titles that amounted to "D&D 4th Editon," and they all hit at least two pages despite the multiple threads in different subforums. As it stands now, you occasionally get someone putting a tabletop rpg post in the books subforum, since they're you know, played with books, or in HURRR because they're games but not video games. In practice, however, you're a lot better off putting it in the Video Games forum since that's where us nerdy bastards who play too many silly games hang out.


Anyway, I'm hardly attached to the idea and I think Maiada's suggestion would work very smoothly, particularly since it consolidates Arts & Crafts with the Drawing subforums.

[Patrick]

Threads are far too heavily moderated in many cases, with friendly reminders to stay ontopic and unneccessary locks. If it's boring, it'll sink into the archive. All locking a boring or pointless thread does is stop it from ever becoming interesting, because you nuked it before it even started. A thread has never started until the first good post.

I agree entirely with the above. As long as people aren't being complete fuckbags to each other, I'd say let it be. If a thread sucks, people will threadshit and/or just not give a shit about the original topic, talking about something completely unrelated.

Exception: "PITCHFORK SUCKS OMG" threads. God, so annoying. This is common knowledge. It's practically painted in day-glo orange everywhere hipsters tread.

[ViolentDove]

I also agree with Sox, but I've never said so because well, it's not really my place to comment or criticise how people want to run their own forum. It's just my personal opinion that off-topic posts can easily engender more interesting discussion than the on-topic ones, and the flow of discussion is more natural if off-topic tangents are allowed. I also think bad threads generally sort themselves out, if there's no interest in the thread or nothing to say beyond "Hey guys, shit thread here" then it'll disappear.

[fatty]

In my opinion, a forum with very few discussion threads can be reduced to a few stickied threads. Instead of making new threads about every movie that recently came out, have one large thread so there is more overlap and more posts. A D&D thread or WOW thread can cover most of the things in this subject, instead of it being spread over 10 threads.
I will admit I don't read the tech forum, so I can't say exactly how it would pan out. But basing my ideas on the Art/Craft threads, most of them don't fill one page of discussion. Instead of everyone starting a new thread when they have an idea, if there is a thread "post your own work here" and "post ideas and art news here" it would be much more condensed and interesting.

I also am not that satisfied with the idea of certain genres being in sub-fora and the rest being designated in 'off-topic'. After all, the main threads in off-topic could cover a range of things that could fit in other fora. News could be in discussion, fashion could be in art/craft, internet things could be in the tech forum.
Basically, I am saying there are limitless numbers of sub-fora we could divide our threads into. One of the main reasons for posting here would be to get more posts and more traffic. In light of this, why not bring more of the topics into the 'off-topic' area, instead of shunting everything off to dusty sub-fora.

[RallyMonkey]

I disagree with the notion that locking crappy threads is bad because it just stops the topic from ever becoming interesting. When there is an obviously ridiculous thread, it needs to be closed as soon as possible, we know we all get off on telling people how stupid they are, or how they should lurk more, and if a thread doesn't get locked, it will just keep getting bumped up to the top with people explaining to the topic creator how wrong they are.

[fatty]

I agree with locking crappy threads as go downhill, I don't see a problem with it. I see a problem with being nazi about locking threads when there aren't a great many 'good' threads for newbs to take as examples.

[Inlander]

I don't know how fair the criticisms in this thread of mod action are, to be honest. Certainly, when I first joined the forum all those years ago off-topic threads were locked pretty much straight away, but I don't think the mods or admins are particularly lock-happy these days. Certainly I know I try to use locking as a last-resort, and have on more than one occasion encouraged people to just ignore a thread if they want it to die.

A quick glance at the two most recent pages of "I Like HURRRR" shows 7 locked threads (not counting ones that appear locked because the thread was moved to a more appropriate sub-forum). That's 7 threads locked out of 100 threads total. That's not excessive, is it? And I think if you look you'll find that none of them was locked frivolously.

With regards to threads going "off-topic", I'm not inclined to let people pour shit all over a thread if they don't like it (which is the most common means by which threads go off-topic in this forum) because it usually amounts to a group of old hands bullying a new kid who made a bad thread 'cause he or she didn't know any better, and to be perfectly honest that's not the kind of forum I want this to be. It wasn't mean and cliquey when I joined, and damned if I'm going to stand by and let it become that now. For a recent example, take a look at this thread. It was dead for ages, then someone fairly new to the forum revived it, and people got pissy at him. I was faced with three choices: ignore it, lock it, or nudge people back on-topic. The first wasn't an option for the reason I've just outlined above, the second was a dead-end, so I opted for the third, and now the thread's back up and running and on-topic. The off-topic in this instance, and, I think, in most instances, wasn't amusing banter or interesting debate. It was people hurling insults at each other and jumping on the "make fun of the new kid" bandwagon.