THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: Professor Snuggles on 18 Jan 2009, 17:08
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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.
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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
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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.
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What BK said and sort of what Jens said. I do it compulsively.
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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.
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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.
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yes i have a problem with this
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The guitar thread is my favorite.
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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.
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I read what looks interesting.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Sorry, dude.
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It's a society, man.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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I really don't know why people who have only just joined the forums bother to post in threads like this.
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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
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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
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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.
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No videogames section? Fatty hates nerds.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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KNEE-RRRRDS
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,20177.0.html) 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.
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I imagine this has come up somewhere else, but the forums are no longer even recognized on the QC homepage. Or have I missed something?
I take that as a bad sign.
Comics and Drawing should just die. Movies/TV/Books could handle the influx of discussion that goes on there about (web)comics and graphic novels. If there were some dark hole we could dig to put the "plug yr comic" thread... none of us would have to look at it - like the newb forum.
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The Forums are still listed. It's under Extra Credit on the right hand side of the comic page.
Anyway, I have to agree with Inlander here. For example, I like the "Weirdest Ending to a Relationship?" thread, and that one was nearly stillborn due to the fact that some people didn't like the OP's earlier topics. And that's a really mild example, honestly, since it's not like anyone went out of their to be rude or anything. Sometimes we're just a rather cantankerous lot.
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sometimes that entire "extra credit" section doesn't appear though. i've had that happen to me a couple of times.
so if that's the problem, try refreshing the page or something.
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Heavily moderated?
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sometimes that entire "extra credit" section doesn't appear though. i've had that happen to me a couple of times.
so if that's the problem, try refreshing the page or something.
there's some weird pages that just don't have it. i find clicking home works pretty well too.
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It's on the home page but not the comic archive pages, is all, I think.
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Heavily moderated?
No shit. We can basically say whatever we want, as profanely as we want or post pictures of dicks in this forum. Do you know how precious that is? I personally do not think that it is too draconian to have a mod intervene (i.e; doing their job) when a thread descends into insults or outright stupidity.
EDIT: Incidentally: Hey people on this forum! Sad that there are not enough good, interesting, fun threads on here? Make some! Honestly I do not understand people complaining about the content on a place where the members generate all of the content.
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Well, you can't really post realistic pics of dicks (no porn rule), but other than that that is essentially what I was getting at. Especially seeing as I will readily admit to being an absolute tyrant on this forum in the past when it was first going from a small forum mostly consisting of friends from another forum to a larger one.
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My dick is not porn, it is art.
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I am pretty much the opposite in terms of my reading habits of many others.
I already know, way better than I'd honestly like, what you all look like, what you all bitch about on a routine basis and could give two shits less what most of you are wearing at any given point. This means I pretty much never read the blog and fashion threads and only read the photo thread out of force of habit. My opinion on the matter has been elaborated greatly in Meebo/Gabbly, but if I had my way, I'd lock every thread more than fifteen pages long and see if people could MAYBE get back to starting interesting threads without them.
I really and honestly think that our insular circle jerk threads like those are why there hasn't been a lot of interesting things in here lately. Since I joined the forum, there was a seemingly unspoken rule about threads being locked after a certain point to avoid getting redundant and that seems to have been completely abandoned. I genuinely believe that threads that go on too long become kind of a crutch where people kind of check them out of force of habit as opposed to coming up with new and interesting threads.
Beyond that, I don't see a real problem with the separation of subforums. I do think the comics and craft forums could stand to be combined as the two go nowhere, really, but there are too many people who occasionally check them to justify eliminating any given subforum.
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When I say "too heavily moderated" I don't mean that the mods are like an oppressive police force. Quite the opposite. They're more like your obsessive compulsive aunt that winces a little bit whenever you bite your nails. Relax, they're just nails, it's not that gross.
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My dick is not porn, it is art.
Now that's an art show I wouldn't mind seeing.
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:-D
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Oh Liz!
[canned laughter]
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hm, now I am curious if the liveliness of the forum affects the frequency of my posts. Have I been posting less lately? I am a really bad judge of how much I've been posting, because I simply don't pay any attention.
ADDITION: Also, for what it's worth note that I've been away on a ski trip for the last four days and now there are 24 threads with new posts. That's relatively slow I suppose, but still more activity than you are maybe assuming.
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I will admit I don't read the tech forum, so I can't say exactly how it would pan out.
One thread for MacOS, one thread for Windows, a thread for Linux, a thread for Other, and a thread where they all fight over which is better.
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My dick is not porn, it is art.
Now that's an art show I wouldn't mind seeing.
/
:-D
Baby when I whip it out urns and cherubs and shit appear everywhere.
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we used to have a five-page rule for everything except the picture thread. the idea was that after five pages, a thread is locked, which encourages new threads. people complained about their conversations being interrupted and I can understand that but I'm still a fan of the sentiment.
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maybe not 5 pages, but after a thread reaches 100, or maybe even 50, we should lock it and restart it. Same principle that used to be applied to the photothread.
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I don't think the mediaf!re thread should go away.
It's sort of drained the life from that sub-forum but it's a legitimate enough thread, even if I don't use it. Others do and that is up to them.
maybe if there's an additional discussion thread to discuss albums that've been uploaded? i often check out some of the albums on there and really enjoy them, but i'll rarely post any feedback unless i'm making an upload post anyway, as i feel it'd be clogging the thread otherwise.
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There have been some good points suggested in here. I agree with combining arts and crafts with comics and drawing. I look at almost all the subfora (apart from the WCTs and New ones) and the two arty ones are a bit confusing, and also pretty slow, so putting them together may help them move a bit quicker? I don't think Movies and Books should be put into here, but more general threads, like genres discussions may encourage more conversations in there.
I think the page locking number was 15 pages? I remember it being something like that and people used to always complain that the threads would be closed in the middle of discussions. The Blog thread is really huge, though, and I think people will post in there or the pointless thread instead of starting new threads. And when people do they are told they should go there instead. So people just stick to those threads and we end up talking about stuff in there and if people don't go into those threads then they miss out (I don't think that's quite the term I want, but I can't think of what I mean)
There does seem to be a general aversion to starting new threads around here because they are shat on pretty quickly, unless you have been here for over a year and have a few hundred posts. Even when people new post in already established threads there is an sort of standoffish feel to responses, which results in the same people talking about the same stuff and hitting on each other in all the threads. Maybe if the forum in general were more relaxed when someone starts a potentially shit thread then it would encourage others to participate. Sure if it is just "Man, I just farted. Lol" then people shouldn't try and make it better, but you don't need everyone in there telling the person how stupid and annoying they are. If it's just left alone then a mod will probably see it and lock/delete it and life can go on.
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Man, having a general upload thread is not bad, but to bring up the example that we don't like, look at hipinion. They have a leak thread, for new albums as they come out, but other than that it's just general genre based threads for types of music people might be into. I'm sure there is a ton of stuff I would like to hear in the mediafire thread, but I'm not gonna see it because I don't want to slog through page after page of megaposts to find an occasional album I like. Dividing it up into non stickied genre threads would be a much better way to go, that way people can post what they like, flow on the forum increases as new threads are made specifically to talk about certain bands/genres, and we don't have that cumbersome, useless giant taking up space.
Also, I should be a mod again.
Also, all the hitting on each other stuff has got to stop, I agree with Eris. I don't even have fun doing it anymore, and hitting on girls on the internet used to be like, my favorite thing! This sucks, guys! You are taking away my joy!
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I mean, I don't post much any more, but sitting here all day just reading the same stuff gets a bit boring and repetitive and makes me think that maybe we are going in different directions and should try taking a break.
I'm sorry forum; it's not you, it's me. Ok, maybe you're a bit to blame as well. Shit, don't cry. I'm sorry, really, look let's just talk and try and work out what we're doing wrong and maybe give it a second chance? I don't want to keep visiting your mother every second weekend, though. She hates me, I swear.
edit Yeah, the problem I have with the mediafire thread is that there is so much stuff that I always seem to just see it all as stoner rock or similar, so I just skim over it all. If it was separated into genres it would be easier to navigate, I think.
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Forcing myself to listen to their album multiple times is how I realised The Modern Lovers are actually one of the best bands ever created. Straight talkin'.
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That's probably one of the smartest decisions you've ever made.
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I think the page locking number was 15 pages? I remember it being something like that and people used to always complain that the threads would be closed in the middle of discussions. The Blog thread is really huge, though, and I think people will post in there or the pointless thread instead of starting new threads. And when people do they are told they should go there instead. So people just stick to those threads and we end up talking about stuff in there and if people don't go into those threads then they miss out (I don't think that's quite the term I want, but I can't think of what I mean
This right here is exactly my stance on those threads and I have been saying it for months in Gabbly to much disagreement. People don't post anything new or interesting in new threads anymore. If something interesting happens, it goes in the Pointless Thread or the Blog Thread and as someone who, no offense, could give two shits about the personal lives of most people who post here, reading through the entire three or four pages of blog thread movement in any given weekend is just too much of a chore to be bothered with for me and many others. I constantly get sick of the back and forth commiserating that happens in there most of the time, but skipping it entirely results in a lot of missed info. I honestly think we'd be better off if we just took a month off from blogging, accepted the fact that there are maybe going to be two or three people at any given time that give a flying fuck what's going on with the majority of people posting in there and got on with our lives. I get the impression that the majority of people here will only actually venture into that pit when they have something to personally blog about and will maybe check the post or two above them before doing so.
Being less pissy about new threads would help this. While I'm all for bitching about shitty execution of new threads, we've had some real winners in concept (I'm looking at you Weird Relationship Thread, although you've long since run your course) and some things that have been brought up in the Pointless Thread that have gone unnoticed.
Personally, I think the fifteen page rule should be brought back and noted in the rules. It's hard to bitch rationally about your conversation being interrupted mid-flow when you know when it's going have to end.
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But the problem is that people will automatically just tell people who start a new thread that they should go to the Blog Thread. Sure there are stuff in there that should be there, and there is also stuff in the blog thread that would make good threads. If Elizzybeth started a thread about her grandmother and wanted to talk about the grieving process then it would be an interesting thread and people could give their own experiences, but it was posted in the blog thread and any real potential discussion was reduced to simple condolences or offers to PM conversations, because her original post got lost in the masses of posts in there and people missed it.
I am not saying it should be gotten rid of, I just think that because people post things in there it means the potential new threads are being lumped in there and not explored that well.
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I hate tomatoes but I'm capable of not eating them. I don't need all tomatoes everywhere destroyed.
How would you feel if in order to get a quality steak you had to eat a barrel full of tomatoes first? That's kind of what the blog thread feels like.
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Being less pissy about new threads would help this. While I'm all for bitching about shitty execution of new threads, we've had some real winners in concept (I'm looking at you Weird Relationship Thread
This is the main issue as I see it. In my mind, all the other stuff about consolidating forums and instituting page limits is secondary to the simple fact that people around here have gotten too habitually cliquey and insular. Go back to the beginning of "I Like HURRR" and you'll see all kinds of threads started on a whim and tossed aside just as lightly.
Also, the couple threads from back then that I looked in had posts by duchess tapioca. I have to assume that any decline in the forums is related to her departure. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm sure of it. Just forget the beginning of this post.
(jesus christ this took me forever to write. writing this post was a lot like trying to read all the way through a wikipedia article; every other word was a merry jaunt across the internet)
jon, I was totally going to comment that you yourself are sometimes pissy about new threads, but I checked in the Weird Relationship thread and you were the first person suggesting that people lighten up and let the thread be. I don't know if my thinking that you are among the naysayers is a figment of my imagination because I can't be bothered to look further than that one thread, but clearly I was mistaken in that one instance at least.
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You were mostly right. For the first maybe year to year and a half of my time here, I was a big naysayer of new threads from new forumites.
Then I realized the pointedly obvious fact that being pissy over every new thread based purely off of the users post count and/or grammar is why we can't have nice things. The best course of action in these instances is to point out how much we hate poor grammar and then go about our business by trying to salvage the thread. I think the Weird Relationship thread might actually be where I really realized it. That was a thread with a lot of potential that people judged extremely harshly because MidnightUmbreon had started his first few posts off rather inauspiciously. Fortunately, people backed the fuck up and actually participated and it had a good run. I'd say it's pretty shit now, but that's to be expected of most threads that last as long as it has.
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I just locked the blog thread. Thing was over 120 pages long. Some of the things being said in here helped the decision, but I never really liked the idea behind the thread in the first place and I honestly think it stifles new threads because given the choice between the possibility of posting a new thread that might be replied to with "lol, get a blawg" and choosing the safety of the blog thread people will post all sorts of shit in there that could just as easily be made into a new conversation.
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This has little to do with me, but I'm going to consider it a personal victory anyway.
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CHANGE! OBAMA FOR BLOG THREAD LOCKS!
YES WE DID!
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I don't know, how did we get by before we had the blog thread?
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That is pretty much how it happened, yeah. If people had something interesting to mention they would start a thread, with the crucial twist that customarily people would at least make a nod toward follow up discussion in the first post (eg. "do you think the way I reacted was stupid?")
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Or maybe tell people in meebly or something instead.
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I also just unstuck the photo thread and will probably lock it a bit later so we can have a break from it. This is basically an experiment in temporarily shutting down some of the bucket threads to see what new things crop up. Both the photo and blog thread will probably come back at some later stage.
edit: do you mean a separate forum for personal blogs like Dan has over at Aurostion, or a wholly separate set of forums? I do kind of like the blog forum Dan has, but I am not sure it is a good idea for here because it'd basically mean giving every member of the forum access to an open mic.
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Still going through the first threads in this forum, can you imagine the reception to this thread in today's climate?
http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,7980.0.html
@jens: do not worry, nobody thinks you are a dick. Ideally just we all collectively stop judging new threads harshly. On three...
one
two
three
NOW
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Guys lets just try no blog thread and see if its better. For all we know, it could be!
Also mind if i bring up the mediafire thing again? I am kind of concerned with that
The mediafire thread feel like a giant garbage dump. In there is something that somebody will find cool every once in a while but the rest of the stuff is just trash. And it sucks and is horrible wading through it. Kiff's suggestion is a pretty good one, if we are to continue it. However I just think it needs to be put down. As Darryl has been saying, it makes us fat and lazy. Finding new music from it nowadays is so boring. We can start making finding music more exciting again by not uploading it and making the kids use google blog search or some other tool to find it. At least then your digging a little bit, instead of just picking it up off the ground. And the megaposts are just horrendous. They never have any sort of description ever and it is just boring. As it is right now, I really dislike the mediafire thread. Perhaps another incarnation of it in the future could be better, but now it is just kind of shit.
(beause i am concerned with these kinds of things)
Also kids stop posting so fast.
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I don't really like the monolithic dump thread the mediaf!re thread has become. I am currently thinking about the "new releases plus genre-based threads" idea in the music section, but I am not sure it's right for here. What are other people's thoughts?
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That would be a huge improvement on whats there, but like the blog thread a temporary break at least would probably be pretty healthy.
@Jho: That thread is oddly liberating. We should try doing that.
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Yeah, that, or stuff like "we should have a blog thread". Maybe I remember incorrectly, but I think that was a fairly popular request too.
As the initial "naysayer" in the relationships thread, I feel like I have to defend myself explain a little here - we keep hearing about how people judged it harshly and stuff, which wasn't really what happened at all. You can all go read it right now, if you want! It's right here. (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,21734.0.html)
I said what I said based on earlier experiences with this forum. I mean, hell, look at the discussion pharmmajor started today in the Discuss! subforum - judging a new thread based on the previous behaviour of the original poster is not exactly an uncommon thing here. What I did was intended as an entirely good-willed attempt at helping MU post better according to the norms of the forum. I was barely even commenting on the thread itself, it was more general advice - like how when you have ten posts and you just got beat down for making a thread about your own relationships, maybe you shouldn't start a new one five days later about other relationships. I made a bad call, the thread turned out to be a lot more fun than anticipated, but I still stand by that if you were acting poorly in a self-made thread five days prior you probably shouldn't start anything similar in the near future. Maybe that makes me a dick, but frankly, as long as we are still complaining about people using coloured fonts I don't think giving advice to newbies on forum politics is something you should be painted as a bad guy for.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Seanbateman/5plr0y.jpg)
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I don't really like the monolithic dump thread the mediaf!re thread has become. I am currently thinking about the "new releases plus genre-based threads" idea in the music section, but I am not sure it's right for here. What are other people's thoughts?
I think the mediafire thread can use some more restraint. But that genre based threads are a bad idea, one of the best things about the mediafire thread is that it takes you out of your comfort zone. You can have a musique concrete record sitting next to a stoner rock comp and it is awesome. separating them would be of no use, i thnk.
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Yeah, and if there were multiple unstickied genre-based threads some genres would have less interest than others and as such would fall off the main page onto the second page AKA oblivion.
E, you and Johnny are probably the best judge(s) of what would be best for that thread/forum. Is there a good way to encourage that thread to be less of a huge, intimidating dump / encourage more restraint in there?
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Let's talk about it in out super secret forums.
After a nap
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Jens, I am really sorry for making you feel like I think you're a dick. You're not a dick, and I can easily understood how my post can be interpreted that way; in retrospect, I should have posted in far more general terms, but sometimes I'm kind of dumb. My bad. If it makes you feel any better, half the reason I mentioned that thread in particular is because it was such a mild example. There's other far worse threads I could have cited, but frankly, those are all threads that never really recovered at all, and frankly, I'd rather pretend they never existed than openly acknowledge them. Basically, Joe put what I was trying to say far more diplomatically than I did: the best thing would simply be for us all to try judging threads based on content rather than on the OP's rep.
But again, apologies regardless.
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Huh. I actually liked the blog thread. I'm still kind of hesitant about making new threads on this forum, given some of the responses I've seen in the past. I guess I'll get over that, though. And there are some things that I would post about in the blog thread to maybe get advice or opinions about, but wouldn't feel like it merited a whole thread. Also, I quite liked the conversational tone it developed. It was pretty much off-topic chatting at some points, without having to go into a chat program and the added benefit of being able to read what was said while you were gone.
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I'm still kind of hesitant about making new threads on this forum, given some of the responses I've seen in the past.
That is one reasons why I thought maybe it was time for the blog thread to take a nap for a bit. I want to push people out of the safety of the blog thread and see if any interesting threads pop up as a result. If so these might expand on what people tend to think are "acceptable" threads or whatever you want to call it.
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Tech forums are too slow, and don't have enough ATidiots and nVIDIots fighting over superiority (nVIDIA).
Music forums, I lurk, not many threads to get excited over (I don't know that much music).
GD, I lurk.
Yeah, so I do a lot of lurking. I stopped looking at the comic discussion threads, because the people there creep me out. C'mon guys, they're fictional chatacters... :|
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Yeah, so I do a lot of lurking. I stopped looking at the comic discussion threads, because the people there creep me out. C'mon guys, they're fictional chatacters... :|
Given the diversity of people on this forum, being alarmed by the WCT is probably the main thing we have in common actually.
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Do you like Vodka, my good man?
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Tech forums are too slow, and don't have enough ATidiots and nVIDIots fighting over superiority (nVIDIA).
Yeah, see, unfortunately, most of us south of the comics board are actually somewhat sane. For example, I have an ATI board right now, but were you to mock me for it, I would shrug and mumble something about the $40 rebate that was available at the time.
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Feh, I'm cheap and broke. So I want a 4850.
...
*Leaves for PC forums*
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I'm feeling you. I was still in college when I put together my current rig, so it wasn't exactly time to spring for the 8800 GTX, ya know? The previously mentioned $40 rebate was basically used to purchase my weight in bulk ramen.
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Back to the topic...
More on the MF thread. Although I love the fact that I can get all those Joni Mitchell albums for free, I've noticed in the past that getting an entire discography at once - bugger any moral concerns - simply is not good listening practice. Along with the moral qualms I do feel at not having to invest at all in a particular artist to hear all of their music, I'm a bit leery at the current practices evident in the thread, though I support the existence of the thread as a concept as well as the mixing of genres in it.
I might suggest the following rule: one album per post, or one album per artist per poster per page. That is to say, one person can post one album by a particular artist per page. This cuts down on the "dump" aspect of the thread, as well as encourages posters to say more about what they are contributing. Forbidding the use of allmusic reviews might be going too far, but I feel like when someone talks about an album in their own words, it encourages more discussion than when they don't.
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I'm feeling you. I was still in college when I put together my current rig, so it wasn't exactly time to spring for the 8800 GTX, ya know? The previously mentioned $40 rebate was basically used to purchase my weight in bulk ramen.
Man, that's one reason I'm going to Culinary school. I hope to avoid having to stock on ramen.
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Oh come on guys I've been waiting to post that image forever and no comments? Shit you.
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I did not mind the blog thread. It is good to have a place to dump such discussions. But I did feel it was a bit singular. It was the be all and end all of bloggy threads. I've seen forums with such threads as 'bad day thread', 'things that made you smile today', which provides more variety of threads to be maintained.
I would propose a 'bad day thread' as one way for people to be a bit bloggy and a bit sympathetic of each other - for example.
I also retract my previous comment that news should be part of the discussion thread. This forum could easily be populated with threads about current affairs, interesting news and such. I see no reason for this forum to be a lot more engaging if some good thread making was encouraged.
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Oh come on guys I've been waiting to post that image forever and no comments? Shit you.
I'm still trying to figure out if the pot is meant to be you or Jens.
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I might suggest the following rule: one album per post, or one album per artist per poster per page. That is to say, one person can post one album by a particular artist per page. This cuts down on the "dump" aspect of the thread, as well as encourages posters to say more about what they are contributing. Forbidding the use of allmusic reviews might be going too far, but I feel like when someone talks about an album in their own words, it encourages more discussion than when they don't.
That is brilliant.
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For the record, I think a blog subforum, at least as I understand the concept, would be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. The whole point of the blog thread was that it was singular. I posted in it because it wasn't the "KvP's thoughts and feelings" thread. If I had to choose between making a thread about shit that happened to me and not posting it at all I'd choose not posting it at all, every time. And not just because of the new thread stigma (although that is a large thing that was easily avoided by posting in the monolithic thread I don't think forcing people into such an either/or position to beat that apprehension out of the forums will work at all.) but because, unlike an actual blog / journal / whatever, the blog thread didn't serve a simple declarative function.
The last posts I made in the blog thread before it was locked outlined a situation that I was in that I was not taking well, but I didn't post it just so that people would read it. I got several thoughtful responses and opinions, in the thread and in PM, that made me look at the situation in an entirely different light, and saved me a whole lot of anguish and energy. I don't doubt that there are people who would post just to post, and I'm guilty of throwing noise out just as much as anyone, but the thread provided useful engagement many, many times for many, many people. That the blog thread was singular meant that you were less self-conscious going into it, which, along with the bad things that entailed, made it easier for people to be honest, and made it easier for them to benefit from sharing.
I suspect most people are like me, and are averse to making small threads in which their concerns dominate the discussion. So people's concerns will go undisclosed. And for the stoics of the board that's fantastic, but for some people you either post on the internet or you internalize your shit, which is very bad for you, and those people ought to be allowed to decompress. I think whatever frustration that might cause is worth it. You know what you get when you enter the thread.
The splintering idea, of making a blog thread for your good days and your bad days, could turn out well, I've seen it work before, but you run the same risk you do splitting up the mediaf!re thread - the saddoes all get funneled into one thread, and the happy people congregate in another thread, and the benefits of both threads are diminished.
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Oh come on guys I've been waiting to post that image forever and no comments? Shit you.
I am proud of this forum for having internalized this image:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/DoNotFeedTroll.svg/200px-DoNotFeedTroll.svg.png)
back off-topic:
Tech forums are too slow, and don't have enough ATidiots and nVIDIots fighting over superiority (nVIDIA).
I just learned that there is a big difference between the Geforce 9400M and the 9600M GT. damn nvidia and their conniving naming
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I have one more question/request...
Can we have a birthday thread???? One where we wish people happy birthday and discuss such things as birthday parties, presents and such related topics. Would that be so bad? I mean, it is better than the days where we had new threads for everyone's birthday. (This is not related to the fact that it is my birthday tomorrow - but it was benito's birthday yesterday!)
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Go ahead and start a birthday thread. We are all ready to flame your ass.
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=== THE HIJACKING ===
Int.
An internet forum.
A thread of irrelevant content is being discussed.
Enter FATTY.
FATTY: "want moar birfday freds"
Enter EVERNEW.
EVERNEW: "That's actually not a bad idea as a birthday poses very peculiar challenges and opportunities, namely The Drunken Hook-Up At Your Own Party, What To Get My Best Friend and Oh Shit I'm 30.
On that topic, it's my best friend's birthday tomorrow and she doesn't drink alcohol and I don't want to give her music or movies and what could I get her?
Fade to credits.
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Birthday wishes and all of that are kind of what Facebook is there for, no?
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"I'm gonna start a new social networking site. Arsebook!"
/
(http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=5308;type=avatar)
Oh wait sorry wrong thread.
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Arsebook!
I would see this band sign up for this site
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Man, I already have my profile picture. Sign me up!
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I would be interested to see some of these new ideas in place for a week or two, just to try shit out. If we don't like it, we can revert back, it'd just be a matter of unlocking threads.
There should be a locked news sticky to let people know exactly what changes have been made, assuming you mod/admin people go forward with this.
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For the record, I think a blog subforum, at least as I understand the concept, would be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.
Hmmm...you know what? Our stance on blog posts is really shit. I give a shit, I want to know how shitty or how brilliant somebody's day has been. If they're any good at writing, it doesn't even matter if I know them. I have a couple of friends here, and a lot of acquaintances I'd like to keep up to date with. I don't have time to ask 50 plus people "How has your day been?". I reserve that for a handful of people, but it doesn't mean I don't want to hear about the rest.
Yes, the blog thread became a dump. But all the good threads that last more than 4 or 5 pages do. Didn't we used to lock threads after the fourth page? I think a revision on the rules concerning 'blog posts' would be a good idea, but that an entire subforum devoted to the matter is just silly.
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Yeah, I kept up with the blog thread because I got to know people better, and kept up to date with people's lives.
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I liked the one giant blog post, because, honestly, you never really have to read
the first pages more than the last couple pages of something like that, it's all old news. Maybe instead of a page limit, blog threads would be locked after a certain time frame, but still have one giant blog thread. With the number of people that use this subforum, I'd hate to see a new thread for each person's blog, it would clutter things, although having BLOG THREAD: THE SEQUEL wouldn't be so bad, I don't think.
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A weekly blog thread in the style of the WCT threads in the comic forum.
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I wonder if it'd be possible to write a script for the server to run where it automatically locked it at a certain time every Sunday, let's say, and auto-opened a new one under the admin's name. I am not capable of writing such scripts, but this is the internet, I'm sure one of us knows how. That'd save some effort.
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In the style of the WCT threads? So we'd have to all drink heavily then beat ourselves over the head with heavy items before posting?
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In the style of the WCT threads? So we'd have to all drink heavily then beat ourselves over the head with heavy items before posting?
Oh man I am in favor of this.
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how does it feel to backtalk your children, ben
Oh man, I have seen the future:
"Who doesn't know shit like this? Are you some kind of idiot?"
"This isn't helping me with my homework, dad"
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What in the hell would be the point of even locking the blog thread if it just gets reopened that same day?
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What in the hell would be the point of even locking the blog thread if it just gets reopened that same day?
I think it's similar reasoning to capping threads at fifteen pages or something, so it never gets ridiculously long.
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I'm with Jon on this, worrying about the length of the thread is kind of missing the wood for the trees. It's not like once a thread tops 15 pages people suddenly start going "Oh awesome I can start shitting this up now!" Just making new threads and closing the the old isn't going to stop threads being shit. Instead it's up to us to prove that we deserve nice things by not being fucking inane and actually doing good things.
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Uuubbuullub. Deleted my other post, since it was horribly whiny. But what bugs me more than just about anything is arbitrary decisions, whether in meat life or internets.
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I never really liked the blog thread either. I mean people going on and on about themselves or what they did recently is just not always fun to read.
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what bugs me more than just about anything is arbitrary decisions, whether in meat life or internets.
Well which decision do you feel is arbitrary? I mean, I'm assuming you were making a statement that is relevant to this thread.
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I never really liked the blog thread either. I mean people going on and on about themselves or what they did recently is just not always fun to read.
if you don't like a thread, don't read it. it's not like you need to have it removed to not see it. i've never once even looked in the blog thread (and a great many other threads tbh) because the idea behind them hasn't interested me. there's still a crapload of other threads to get involved in.
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the way i see it is that people are going to want to vent to the internet about the problems in their life whether there is a blog thread or not. i mean, the "what i've learned today" thread is basically a semi-blog thread now for a reason. we're a pretty close knit community and so it's not surprising or strange that when people have an especially bad or good day they are going to want to share it here.
the whole idea behind the blog thread was to give people a place to share what's going on in their daily lives and i think it actually worked out pretty well. like others have said before me, if the thread doesn't interest you then don't read it. i wouldn't think to have the "You'd better not be sober!" thread shut down just because i don't drink and don't care about everyone's incoherent ramblings. if you think that the blog thread is boring, you're free to ignore it along with any of the other threads that don't interest you.
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The difference is, the drunk thread doesn't devour potentially interesting threads. The drunk thread merely shields us all from drunk posting, to an extent.
The blog thread had gotten to the point where people really weren't posting interesting things in general anymore because they were just posting it in the blog thread. "Don't read the blog thread" doesn't solve the fact that those of us who don't care about the minutiae of most of the blog thread posters have to either trudge through page after page of whiny, self absorbed bullshit mixed with inane and inconsequential personal anecdotes if we actually want to see any of the cool bits.
Seriously, I rarely ever read the blog thread, but I tended to keep up to date on the people I actively give a shit about through Meebo and Facebook. The same goes for most of us who skip the inane BS that that thread became.
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The blog thread was still posting interesting things. They apparently just weren't interesting to you. Why is that a reason to kill it?
Can you please provide examples of the potentially interesting threads that the blog thread devoured. Also why if you read something you thought would make an interesting topic didn't you start a thread about the topic yourself?
But the problem is that people will automatically just tell people who start a new thread that they should go to the Blog Thread. Sure there are stuff in there that should be there, and there is also stuff in the blog thread that would make good threads. If Elizzybeth started a thread about her grandmother and wanted to talk about the grieving process then it would be an interesting thread and people could give their own experiences, but it was posted in the blog thread and any real potential discussion was reduced to simple condolences or offers to PM conversations, because her original post got lost in the masses of posts in there and people missed it.
I don't know Elizzybeth but perhaps she didn't want to start a thread about the grieving process. Perhaps the blog thread was exactly what she wanted. It certainly seems to be the case with other posters that the blog thread was exactly what they wanted. Why take it away on the off chance that some theoretical interesting thread is never started.
What I don't understand is what horrible power that the blog thread had that prevented someone from starting a thread about the grieving process after reading Elizzybeth's post.
The lack of new threads I think has far more to do with the rough treatment that they're given when someone is brave/foolish enough to start one.
I think it's just odd that the blog thread was started IIRC because of all the new threads that popped up with comments about someone's personal life. These threads were inevitably swamped by old timers yelling GET A BLOG. There was even a nifty graphic that was used and in at least one case a game of hangman was used to get the point across. So the blog thread was created and became very popular. Now the blog thread is locked can we look forward to cries of "GET A BLOG" again?
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Well I've already said it once but I'd like to point it out again in order to maybe stop this argument about the blog thread:
The lack of new threads I think has far more to do with the rough treatment that they're given when someone is brave/foolish enough to start one.
I very much agree with this. It also seems that both jon, eris also agree with this. Regardless of how everyone feels about the blog thread specifically, it seems that we're all in agreement that we need to stop harshing on new threads. So how about we just focus on the part we all agree on?
In my own case, I am quite used to people starting threads that nobody finds interesting so they fade away without any responses (myself included; hell I may have just done it today.) I see nothing wrong with this; how about from now on, instead of shouting GET A BLOG or whatever, we simply ignore uninteresting threads so that they'll just kind of fade away?
ADDITION: Does anyone else find it ironic that this thread is getting a bit long in the tooth?
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This forum is all talk.
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Except the pictures.
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Which are worth roughly 1000 words each.
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Touché
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Sorry, but I still don't see how the arbitrary locking of the blog thread was justified except that some people were never cool with it. It wasn't eating up potentially cool threads, it was just people venting. It was nice to be able to hear about people's day-to-day lives sometimes. People shouldn't just start threads about "man my day sucked," because if everyone did that, that would be all this forum is. The blog thread served a useful purpose in giving people a place to do that.
I really don't think there was any good reason for it. Except that some people have a problem with threads that are popular enough to continue living more than a month.
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If we cast our minds back you'll remember that the Blog Thread was created because people were bitching about the direction the forum was going in, much like this thread.
ITT people are never happy with anything ever
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I was as annoyed by the shuttering of the blog thread as anybody, especially given that there are long threads with consistently worse content (the fashion thread) but I accept that it's gone and that it's not going to be restored. It's been my experience that when changes are made in a forum they're always permanent (unless the change is persistently and obviously disruptive to the rest of the forum) I don't doubt that the decision to lock the thread was largely arbitrary - if the problem was length there would've been a new thread started in the wake of the locking, ala the mediaf!re thread. But est doesn't really have to explain himself, he doesn't serve us. It's his decision as to what constitutes an appropriate thread for the forum, and the blog thread for whatever reason was deemed inappropriate. The reason doesn't matter. If you really want to, start another iteration of the thread. I don't imagine it'll get locked, at least not right away. The last one did go on for quite awhile. Don't bother trying to convince people who never saw the utility of the thread to agree with you. They feel as strongly about whatever it is they think as you do. Just don't keep going on about it here.
To reiterate, if you feel that strongly about it, just start the thread again. It's that easy. Are you afraid people are going to bitch? People are bitching plenty already. People are still bitching about a thread that they successfully shut down almost a week ago. You might as well start it just so that, if nothing else, this thread will start making sense.
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Ironically, since this thread, and everyone starting to just make new threads, I've pretty much stopped reading the board entirely.
I suck, guys.
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Might as well trust your gut. You shouldn't have to read something you have no investment in.
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I think the thing about the blog thread was that it might not have turned out the way some people had hoped, but it also proved to be a popular and, in a sense, valuable thread to those who liked it, and those who didn't could just ignore it. It was a way to get to know other people on the forum better, a place for people to be happy, sad, angry or whatever about things that wouldn't have made sense as its own thread, and people could give and receive advice on day-to-day happenings. In my opinion, not a lot of what was posted in the blog thread would've made for a good thread on its own anyways, but I may be alone in that view. Now that it is closed, a few new threads have appeared, but I don't really see how or why those threads couldn't appear while the blog thread could live on either.
That being said, I guess closing it for a while to see what happens isn't necessarily bad.
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some crazy ass backward thinking nonsense
*files away another great expression*
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I accept that it's gone and that it's not going to be restored.
I am not sure where this is coming from. I said earlier that I was locking the blog thread mainly as an experiment to see if some new threads pop up and if we can kind of reboot what is seen as worthy of a new thread.
if you feel that strongly about it, just start the thread again
Yes, exactly. I only meant to lock it up for a little while, someone should start it up again if they have something to blog about that doesn't necessarily merit its own thread.
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Might as well trust your gut. You shouldn't have to read something you have no investment in.
Naw, y'all are under my skin like a tick. I wish I could quit you.
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Just lettin' you know Kiefer, I ain't queer.
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You sure are pretty for a straight dude.