posted
I've noticed that over the last few days there's been quite a bit of house cleaning in the forum. While on one hand I think this is an improvement, it kinda worries me. I'm glad I'm not saddled with 4 different guys of LotR threads, or 8 different games anymore. But if we cut out all of our community stuff, are we going to drive out posters?
A serious discussion is wonderful to have, but I'm worried about my fav. forum becoming like Star Trek where days can go by without anyone posting anything. Because honestly the topics are few and far between sometimes. I mean we've got MJ's 'liberal LotR thread' which has been MJ, Mandard, and CaptianBleh saying the same things over and over and TTT DVD news which'll die off in a couple of days.
I'm not trying say "you're ruining our forum" or anything, I'm just kinda worried. As of now LotR is on the knife edge of community forum and LotR discussion, and we're one of the most popular Nightly forums. But will all these changes drive all but the hardcores away?
-------------------- Jedi Cool: SpiderDave is a great guy, lots to talk about and buys little kids pie. Posts: 4779 | From: Weatherford | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
no, it's not a big deal. we have forum cuts all the time. it's not big deal. sure, some important topics are lost, but the LOTR forum isnt the only one. a lot of forums got hit hard with this prune.
-------------------- You underestimate the power of the nation's penis. ~Mara Jade Skywalker~
Passive Aggressive Bullsh*t Posts: 10145 | From: Camdenton, MO | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Well you've been here a whole lot longer then I DMC. I'll take your word for it
You can close this thread now
-------------------- Jedi Cool: SpiderDave is a great guy, lots to talk about and buys little kids pie. Posts: 4779 | From: Weatherford | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Actually SpiderDave, I share your concerns. A housecleaning every now and then is a good thing. There is some redundancy in our forum. But I too was worried about the elimination of a thread or two. Particularly the “randomness” thread.
That was an odd thread to say the least, yet I think it served a good purpose. Unlike the OT thread (which should aim to build a sense of community) the randomness thread seemed very different. I liked it for that reason. It related to absolutely nothing. It was extremely spontaneous and could be fun to read. At times it almost seemed like I was drunk while reading it.
By being in the LOTR forum, it attracted those that regularly posted there, yet didn’t clutter up the OT thread. I liked that. Somehow, it too built that sense of community.
Now, I’m the first to admit that it seems like the LOTR forum gets its fair share of frivolous threads, but that one did seem different. I was a bit disappointed to see it go and I hope it doesn't reflect a large change in the direction of our forum.
I understand if the Mods want to create a more “serious” atmosphere, yet Nightly is a very friendly place. One of the things I enjoy about the LOTR forum here is that we get both very serious discussion and off beat threads. While I rarely post in the other forums, I read many of them (yes, sometimes as a lurker) and each one seems to have it’s own “feel” to it. The Rings forum has a nice, friendly feel where both those who are new to Tolkien’s work and those who have loved it for years have felt comfortable to post. It's a good PG rated forum and generally stays on topic. The level of discussion can be very impressive, and I think that reflects well on those of us who are Tolkien fans.
Yes, I liked the “randomness” thread. I didn’t really even mind the “hot” guys/gals threads as long as they were consolidated into one thread. They were clearly labeled and I could easily avoid them. But they served an important purpose too. Now that the films are out, they provided a place for discussion (or pics) of those who brought the trilogy to life. That’s not a bad thing for the forum to have. Afterall, we don’t distinguish between the books or the films in the forum, we are inclusive.
Anyway, I have no problem with the house cleaning, but I hope the Mods/Admins aren’t trying to change the overall feel of the forum here at Nightly. Personally, I think the LOTR forum fits in very well with all the other Nightly forums. I think we get a nice diverse community of posters, and I think it’s because we offer a lot of diverse threads. Some serious, and some not so much.
Let's not drive anyone way by becoming too serious. LOTR should always be a place to have fun.
-------------------- The road goes ever on and on.... Posts: 942 | From: West Farthing - Phoenix | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
We have a big pruning once per year (well, this is only the second time we've done it). I'm pretty sure O_S put up a thread letting everyone know about it, and you were allowed to bump or request threads that you thought were important to be saved. If O_S did all of this, then you guys have no one but yourselves to blame if something got pruned.
(Note: don't worry, the PA didn't get pruned... I'll be doing that manually in a few weeks to threads that don't have any working links or were absolutely ridiculous in the first place.)
Forever Apprentice (and I mean that literally) to Jedi Masters Sigh Snootles and Ven Halcyon Posts: 7086 | From: surrounded by old people | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
I guess I'd be more sympathetic if there weren't so many other "fun" threads. There's plenty to choose from, certainly more so than most other non-community boards. So we chose a couple that had the least justification of being there and took them out. But we're not trying to eliminate them altogether or anything.
The way I see it, if nuking a thread of random posts drives any members away from the board, I'd have to question why they were there in the first place. Of course we want all our forums to be fun, but first and foremost this is a Lord of the Rings board and if somebody has nothing to contribute to LOTR except random posts, then I honestly would rather they take it to a community board. It's not like a thread of random posts is necessary for people to have fun there. Taking it out isn't a fundamental change in the LOTR forum. The board has existed very successfully for nearly 3 years by being centered around quality LOTR discussion as well as fun threads and everyone can rest assured that we fully intend to keep it that way.
Edit: To clarify for others, this was not an old thread that got pruned. It was an active thread that we decided to kill.
-------------------- Ummm....I don't know what this means....but a giant iceberg just winked at me. Posts: 20122 | From: Terminal Dogma | Registered: Oct 1999
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-------------------- Sometimes I've sat and thought, "So does all this internal dialogue type of **** mean I'm ****ing crazy, like there are almost different personalities inside me?" And then I thought, "Wait a second, who am I asking that question to!? And why?" Posts: 17546 | From: Mission, TX | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Thanks for the concern guys but I never intended to change the feel of the forum in any way. Like MD said, we've managed to create a really active forum over the past few years and I believe that it works well. Frankly i'm surprised about this feedback because all we've done is shut one game thread that was redundant and close the randomness thread. The other games and fun threads have just dropped naturally.
Anyway, i've always continued the welcoming attitude to new posters that I received, and there has definitely always been a humorous angle to the board that's lacking in many other Tolkien message boards. Don't worry Doogie: we have our own semi-serious style and that's going to stay.
However, i think there has been a gradual slide in terms of the proportion of quality discussion threads to the fun threads that has gone pretty unnoticed and i just feel that it is time to remind everyone of the true purpose of the forum. I dont mind there being game threads and 'hot guys/gals' threads - actually, as you say this helps our sense of 'fellowship' -as long as there is also a healthy turnover in real discussion too.
And yeah, this wasn't to do with threads being pruned. I posted a notice informing everyone but there were no takers.
quote:Originally posted by Organic_Spudwalker: [QB] ...However, i think there has been a gradual slide in terms of the proportion of quality discussion threads to the fun threads that has gone pretty unnoticed and i just feel that it is time to remind everyone of the true purpose of the forum.../QB]
j
I've noticed that too Spud. As I pointed out above, I didn't have a problem with some of the fun threads, but yes, there seems to have been a lot of "off topic" or "near off topic" threads lately.
Really, I have no problem with us being more LOTR focused. That's what the forum is there for and why I joined Nightly. And the "Random" thread certainly didn't relate to Rings.
*Whispers: although I might suggest that it could have been moved to a communty forum rather than deleted.*
Well, what's done is done. Enough said. I'm back to the LOTR forum.
quote:Originally posted by Doogie Baggins: Well, what's done is done. Enough said. I'm back to the LOTR forum.
do you go anywhere else?
-------------------- "They say there are only a few soldiers left in this world. You, soldier, are about to find out why." -Halo Ad "Yub Yub, Commander." -Lt. Wes Janson My Websites Quarantined Posts: 7707 | From: L.I. N.Y. | Registered: Apr 2002
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-as long as there is also a healthy turnover in real discussion too.
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