Why "Official Thread" fad has been ruining this board

[PatsWickedPissah]

Exactly, I don't remember me or the other mods merging in a Patfanken/Zeus/Robo observation thread before (and BoxoRocks before that). We fully agree that there are some posters here who are better than the pro writers.

* I can't think of any examples where a worthwhile thread has been merged and lost. When someone creates a post game thread with several unique observations I don't recall it being merged. I'm fine with my posts being in with the others. I'll join in different creative threads started by lesser known posters than the big names shmessy lists.

* Cute, non-descriptive, or misleading thread titles to suck in viewers to "Look at me" are the kinds that get merged into aggregate threads. Post a descriptive topic with several cogent original thoughts and it will attract viewers and comments. It won't get merged.

* Proliferation of threads get fun threads pushed off the main page

* Separate forum for game thread may be fine for some. Me I'll stick to the main thread. Don't have time during a game to jump between a dozen separate threads to keep up.

* I blow thru the pissing contests. I'm sure I miss some thoughtful points but the effort is not worth it. If you haven't made your point in 3 iterations guys, it's OK to stop. We won't think that means you "Lost the Internet" by not having a redundant Last Word. Really.

 

[Galeb]

I know what you're saying. So you think the pissing matches will subside if there are a lot more threads? Threads get derailed by them because of the content of the posts not the length of the thread. I usually just skim by the crap that I don't care about.

Regardless, Ian said there'll be changes coming, though I don't know what they are. It's simply my preference to have a cleaned up forum and long threads versus clutter and jumping from one thread to another.

I think pissing contests will always happen. Smaller, more focused threads will result in more pissing matches, but a smaller pissing match/thread ratio.

 

[Brady6]

I think PonyExpress has a point, though, when it comes to the game threads.

I repeat my idea I threw out there. How about separate forums for each game, where threads are simply not merged?

Sometimes there will be an event that multiple people will open a thread for at once, like Mankins trade for example, it makes sense to merge them. I have had threads I have open in the past few years where I have reached out to a MOD to ask them to merge it, sometimes it is just needed, both for the sake of keep the board clean and also for maximizing the discussion on specific topics.

At the end of the day there are always going to be complaints, it will be Pony saying things are merged too much, or it will be someone else saying things are merged too little. I personally, think the board is managed very well, and if I did have a suggestion or an issue I would go into PM and write a message to Ian, you, and the other moderators to address it, I would not open up a thread disparaging the site and the management of it.

 

[borg]

I think pissing contests will always happen. Smaller, more focused threads will result in more pissing matches, but a smaller pissing match/thread ratio.

Perhaps an icon we can attach to "pissing match" threads to inform others of the direction the thread has taken....a semi flaccid #@*$ emitting a full stream ?
I fear Deux and Andy Johnson would drown though.....

 

[Brady6]

* Separate forum for game thread may be fine for some. Me I'll stick to the main thread. Don't have time during a game to jump between a dozen separate threads to keep up.

What posters write detailed read worthy posts in the game thread anyway, most posts are in response to the football game at the time? The post-game threads never seem to be merged, Rob, Ken, and others they all have thoughts that are never merged into the post-game thread. I guess I do not see what the OP is talking about, maybe @PonyExpress can give some specific examples of threads that were merged.

 

[Deus Irae]

There would only be 16 subforums created each year. It could result in queries (searches) being much more focused and not pounding the main database.

History doesn't need 8 "Player 'A' sucks!"/"Player 'A' is awesome" threads from the same game lying around in subforums. The whole idea is a bad one to start with, and adding a layer of the mods having to decide which threads belong on the main board, and which belong on the sub forum, is just another needless level of work for them. Mods keeping significantly different threads (or 'full sized' post-game breakdown threads of the sort that Zeus and others post) separate is more than enough to do the job. People complain when threads get merged. People complain when threads don't get merged. People complain when threads get sent to other forums.

This is a can't win situation for Ian and the mods, and it gets debated/discussed/argued about on every sports board I read.

 

[dales804]

Perhaps an icon we can attach to "pissing match" threads to inform others of the direction the thread has taken....a semi flaccid #@*$ emitting a full stream ?
I fear Deux and Andy Johnson would drown though.....

Or:

 

[Brady6]

I can only speak for myself. The reason that I have remained as a moderator is to be a tyrant, abuse the power given to me, and to aggrevate as many people as I can. This makes life worth living.

Maybe tonight we can go without the "official game thread" for the last pre-season game. We can have many threads commenting on the game, knee jerk reactions threads, and those who have insightful observations during the game can also have their own threads. We can just delete any thread started that is a game thread. Worth a try?

The first sentence was hilarious.

I think you should open the official thread. The OP has 1 green checkmark so the opinion of most appears to be that the current approach works.

 

[chasa]

Why have multiple threads on the same exact topic? Because you want to exclude what others say and focus on what a select few do? I'd much rather skim through a single thread than jump from one to the other searching for where someone posted. If people are that interested in what some posters have to say, just follow them from their profile page. You'll get notified when they do post.

Because once you have the "official whatever" thread, and you have everyone posting in it, you either need to read through 10+ pages of stuff to see if what you have to say is relevant, in most cases casual users are just not going to post, and not going to read either. 10 pages of "i'm right, you're wrong" from some of the ehhh.... "professional posters" pretty much kills a lot of the threads at are already here.

Eventually you are going to have only a couple of threads made a week and the lines get blurred between what should and shouldn't be part of an official thread.. those lines eventually blur to the point where "dude why did you make a new thread about patriots stuff, we already have an official patriot thread."

Somethings are good to have all in one place, season ending injuries, a running tally of how crappy the jets are, notable cuts around the league. but that doesnt mean that those things can have their own posts as well when something major happens, and could be a talking point all by itself.

 

[borg]

Or:

Perfect.....get tech on this ASAP

 

[Galeb]

History doesn't need 8 "Player 'A' sucks!"/"Player 'A' is awesome" threads from the same game lying around in subforums. The whole idea is a bad one to start with, and adding a layer of the mods having to decide which threads belong on the main board, and which belong on the sub forum, is just another needless level of work for them. Mods keeping significantly different threads (or 'full sized' post-game breakdown threads of the sort that Zeus and others post) separate is more than enough to do the job. People complain when threads get merged. People complain when threads don't get merged. People complain when threads get sent to other forums.

This is a can't win situation for Ian and the mods, and it gets debated/discussed/argued about on every sports board I read.

If you look at my original post on the matter, I suggested a means to automate and let the posters decide what threads get promoted. I even provided an alternative in case there is not mechanism to rate threads. There might be a bit of work to get it set up, but it should be automated afterwards.

The bottom line is that gigantic threads suck and the vast majority of posters drop out of them long before they are done. All to often it stifles and buries fresh ideas. Good moderators should be able to control clutter without the need for so many megathreads.

I am not suggesting that fluff shouldn't get merged.

 

[Deus Irae]

If you look at my original post on the matter, I suggested a means to automate and let the posters decide what threads get promoted. I even provided an alternative in case there is not mechanism to rate threads. There might be a bit of work to get it set up, but it should be automated afterwards.

The bottom line is that gigantic threads suck and the vast majority of posters drop out of them long before they are done. All to often it stifles and buries fresh ideas. Good moderators should be able to control clutter without the need for so many megathreads.

To my point:

* I can't think of any examples where a worthwhile thread has been merged and lost. When someone creates a post game thread with several unique observations I don't recall it being merged. I'm fine with my posts being in with the others. I'll join in different creative threads started by lesser known posters than the big names shmessy lists.

* Cute, non-descriptive, or misleading thread titles to suck in viewers to "Look at me" are the kinds that get merged into aggregate threads. Post a descriptive topic with several cogent original thoughts and it will attract viewers and comments. It won't get merged.

* Proliferation of threads get fun threads pushed off the main page

* Separate forum for game thread may be fine for some. Me I'll stick to the main thread. Don't have time during a game to jump between a dozen separate threads to keep up.

* I blow thru the pissing contests. I'm sure I miss some thoughtful points but the effort is not worth it. If you haven't made your point in 3 iterations guys, it's OK to stop. We won't think that means you "Lost the Internet" by not having a redundant Last Word. Really.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Because once you have the "official whatever" thread, and you have everyone posting in it, you either need to read through 10+ pages of stuff to see if what you have to say is relevant, in most cases casual users are just not going to post, and not going to read either. 10 pages of "i'm right, you're wrong" from some of the ehhh.... "professional posters" pretty much kills a lot of the threads at are already here.

How does searching through a dozen different threads with redundant comments because viewers of THAT thread didn't read 3 other threads that said the same thing make things easier? Thread titles, even the rare well titled ones, do not and cannot accurately describe what's found within.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Usually, when people call something "tyranny", they're overstating it. This is one of the better examples of that I've ever seen.

 

[Galeb]

How does searching through a dozen different threads with redundant comments because viewers of THAT thread didn't read 3 other threads that said the same thing make things easier? Thread titles, even the rare well titled ones, do not and cannot accurately describe what's found within.

There is definitely a balance. Dozens of threads about a topic is obviously far too many. I guess I just lean to the side that results in stifling less ideas at the expense of a modest increase in repetition and the number of threads.

 

[Ian]

There would only be 16 subforums created each year. It could result in queries (searches) being much more focused and not pounding the main database.

It's all one database, but this one is so much more efficient than the one in vBulletin it's not even funny. We haven't even had a hiccup during any of the games or any of the major transactions, so I think it's going to be a much better year from that standpoint.

 

[Galeb]

It's all one database, but this one is so much more efficient than the one in vBulletin it's not even funny. We haven't even had a hiccup during any of the games or any of the major transactions, so I think it's going to be a much better year from that standpoint.

I hope that continues as the amount of content grows every year.

 

[Ian]

I don't see why you should make more work for yourself. Just delaying most (not even all) of the post-game thread mergers would accomplish essentially the same thing, and it wouldn't require new forums being made all the time.

It's stuff that needs to be done, I'm just in the middle of some family stuff that has me massively bogged down and that's why I've been kind of erratic here recently. A couple more weeks and my life will settle down a bit, but I'm going to try and push through and start wrapping up some things. I'll be also posting a list of things for the upcoming season that are in the works next week that hopefully will make this year a little better. So you'll see that soon.

 

[Ian]

I hope that continues as the amount of content grows every year.

It'll be OK. We have a dual server setup so space isn't an issue and this software is so much lighter and quicker, which was the main motivation behind it since trying to give everyone the best experience was my top priority. Plus it accommodates tablets and mobile better, but overall it's just smoother than before. I know a few people have had a hard time getting used to it, but it's amazing how much faster it is compared to previously.

 

[chasa]

How does searching through a dozen different threads with redundant comments because viewers of THAT thread didn't read 3 other threads that said the same thing make things easier? Thread titles, even the rare well titled ones, do not and cannot accurately describe what's found within.

Because you can see who started the thread and based on experience know if their post is actually going to be worthwhile and result in a good discussion, or if they are one of those "BB sucks, i hate him, i cant believe he didn't do anything to make the #3 offense in the league last year better" people.

Instead one thread 50 some pages long, no thanks ill read the first post and the ignore the rest because around page 6 the **** measuring starts.