Adapting the boards for a broader audience Options

[Spectatrix]

I have a few friends/acquaintances/whatever on here that I semi-frequently talk to outside of the boards (online, on AIM), but none that I hang out with in real life.

[jonathan83]

i dont hang out with anyone on techsans. i know a couple in real life but thats it.

and as a mod...i also think it's overkill with how many we have.
2 or 3 isn't enough though, because people are on at different times, and sometimes you need different opinions on things, like jared said.

i think 1-2 admins with about 5 mods is good. and all should be global mods. we don't need a mod for each forum.

[Spectatrix]

i think 1-2 admins with about 5 mods is good. and all should be global mods. we don't need a mod for each forum.

Agreed. BUT... I think maybe we should hold off and see if we get a big influx of people with the Facebook advertisement. If we do, the # of mods we have might be right (though should probably be switched to global). Probably some fewer even then, though.

[jonathan83]

true

[JStrider]

I'm glad to see that theres some drive to improve techsans.
I havn't been here for quite a while, If it got better I'd spend more time here.

I'm pretty busy with my job now, but I'd be willing to help however I could.

[FORSAKENR320]

I'm glad to see that theres some drive to improve techsans.
I havn't been here for quite a while, If it got better I'd spend more time here.

I'm pretty busy with my job now, but I'd be willing to help however I could.

let me borrow your girlfriend

[Erik B.]

let me borrow your girlfriend

No offense here, but I think it's partially things like this that people are complaining about - not what you said, per se, but the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation and only serves to derail it.

Of course, now I'm guilty of it, too.

I'm just now starting to get back to the boards after a hiatus. I like all these proposed changes. I've tried to come back occasionally, but have generally been driven away again by the lack of much real content. Conversations that look good generally would stray so far off-topic that by the time I sorted through everything it would be pointless for me to chime in on the original topic because nobody could really remember what it was in the first place.

Honestly, I don't know what the squabbling is with the mods. I've been lucky enough to miss out on (or not care about) all the drama.

I do think that this site was great, even back in the days of the great schism (good times).

I'm starting to wonder, though, if we've dug ourselves into a rut that we can't get out of. Even if we attract new members, will they come rushing in in such large numbers that they can overwhelm the inside jokes, and overall clique that this board has set up and create a new atmosphere welcoming of new blood? The only way out of this, I think, would be, as was suggested, to wipe everything clean at the same time as a new member drive in order for there to be the chance of a creation of a new community that new folks don't have to try to find their niche in, but rather can help create from a ground level.

[kcroxyoursox]

No offense here, but I think it's partially things like this that people are complaining about - not what you said, per se, but the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation and only serves to derail it.

Of course, now I'm guilty of it, too.

I'm just now starting to get back to the boards after a hiatus. I like all these proposed changes. I've tried to come back occasionally, but have generally been driven away again by the lack of much real content. Conversations that look good generally would stray so far off-topic that by the time I sorted through everything it would be pointless for me to chime in on the original topic because nobody could really remember what it was in the first place.

Honestly, I don't know what the squabbling is with the mods. I've been lucky enough to miss out on (or not care about) all the drama.

I do think that this site was great, even back in the days of the great schism (good times).

I'm starting to wonder, though, if we've dug ourselves into a rut that we can't get out of. Even if we attract new members, will they come rushing in in such large numbers that they can overwhelm the inside jokes, and overall clique that this board has set up and create a new atmosphere welcoming of new blood? The only way out of this, I think, would be, as was suggested, to wipe everything clean at the same time as a new member drive in order for there to be the chance of a creation of a new community that new folks don't have to try to find their niche in, but rather can help create from a ground level.

I you!

[FORSAKENR320]

No offense here, but I think it's partially things like this that people are complaining about - not what you said, per se, but the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation and only serves to derail it.

it was a reference to the 3-some he had in another thread

[Erik B.]

it was a reference to the 3-some he had in another thread

Exactly... another thread that has absolutely nothing to do with this one.

[FORSAKENR320]

Exactly... another thread that has absolutely nothing to do with this one.

so, what is your solution to this? we only talk about whats in each thread and only whats in each thread.... who do you expect this to be a working practice for a forum this small? it won't work. if we didn't know each other, and had more people so that the threads actually remained active, sure. but we DON"T. all we'll end up with is a bunch of trolls who have nothing new to troll. and then what? they'll leave. we have to have content before we can organizse that content. and we need more people to have more content. catch 22

[pebkac]

I don't see the problem with off topic posts as long as it's just one or two posts. HOWEVER, if a thread gets so derailed from its original topic, I think it's time for a mod to split the topic IF it's a valid topic. If it's just a bunch of back and forth with back and forth between a couple of people who are totally derailing the thread, then the posts need to either be deleted or merged with asdf.

[Divergent Realit...]

split threads if its a valid split, close topic if its shit flinging.

you can always ban repeat offenders.

[pebkac]

Well... Lance can ban repeat offenders, yes. Mods and Global Mods can't.

[kcroxyoursox]

What if everyone got the option to close the threads that they've started? That way, if they had a question and got an answer, they could close the thread to new responses. This would help avoid lots of derailing.

And if there's concern that people would close threads just because they didn't like the answers they were getting, maybe we could require the OP to give a 24 hour warning, like "We're starting to get off topic; this thread will be closed in 24 hours so if you have something constructive to say, you have until this time tomorrow to chime in." Then, the thread could be split into whatever the new topic has become and go back to being within guidelines...