How about an "Off Topic" drop-down section?

Karl Hungus

This has been something I've been thinking about recently, as we've got quite a lot of general/off topic forums, and I'd think they could easily be moved into their own section.

Just to give you an idea:

Off Topic
- After Hours
- Beer Guts & Receding Hairlines
- Cool Vids, Links & Pics
- The Cuckoo's Nest
- The Ladies Lounge
- The Nocturnal Forum
- The Thunderdome
- Zombie Survival

As it is, those forums are dotted between Rec and Sys, and I don't think they have too much in common with the others in those sections. There's also other forums that have been proposed, such as the Angry Bastards or Time Machine forums, that would fit perfectly under an Off Topic section if they got created. I think it might make things easier to browse and less confusing for newcomers if said forums were grouped together in their own off-topic section.

Thoughts?

javaboy

Zombie Survival is off-topic? :eek: Did you not see the marches after the budget? It's about as topical as you can get.

Karl Hungus

javaboy wrote: »

Zombie Survival is off-topic? :eek: Did you not see the marches after the budget? It's about as topical as you can get.

Sorry, what an absolute blunder on my part! It should be moved to the 'Soc' section.

Daithi McGee

Funny you should mention such a thing AW, Sure I was thinking about it yesterevening. Quite a few forums could do with OTB stickies.

Off Topic Banter.

Say the shooting forum. One may not want to start a thread on a kill or weird story but a post in the OTB would be ok. Much like tha BBV in the poker forum. A Sort of chat thread for the forum memebers. What if a shooter wanted to say lol_obama, where could he or she say that in, and wait for it, their own little community?

The poker BBV thread is a good example of what I mean. Some poker and bad beats but a lot of other uselees info that could never be posted in the poker forum.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=318578&page=2432

For example....

:eek:

Rabies

I'd take The Ladies Lounge out of that list.
The wimmins often have proper discussions and only a couple of random threads. On the other and, Beer Guts and Baldy Men has more random fun, just for laughs threads. The more serious mens health issue threads are now part of the Mens health forum.

Fad

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Sorry, what an absolute blunder on my part! It should be moved to the 'Soc' section.

Tbh I thought the "Sci" section would be more appropriate.

kaimera

Karl Hungus wrote: »

This has been something I've been thinking about recently, as we've got quite a lot of general/off topic forums, and I'd think they could easily be moved into their own section.

Just to give you an idea:

Off Topic
- After Hours
- Beer Guts & Receding Hairlines
- Cool Vids, Links & Pics
- The Cuckoo's Nest
- The Ladies Lounge
- The Nocturnal Forum
- The Thunderdome
- Zombie Survival

As it is, those forums are dotted between Rec and Sys, and I don't think they have too much in common with the others in those sections. There's also other forums that have been proposed, such as the Angry Bastards or Time Machine forums, that would fit perfectly under an Off Topic section if they got created. I think it might make things easier to browse and less confusing for newcomers if said forums were grouped together in their own off-topic section.

Thoughts?

remove post count too :pac:

Overheal

kaimera wrote: »

remove post count too :pac:

I'd be a nub all over again.

Nerin

kaimera wrote: »

remove post count too :pac:

actually, i wouldnt mind seeing the post count being removed from the noc forum. although chatboxs head would explode
dunno what the others think

watna

Nerin wrote: »

actually, i wouldnt mind seeing the post count being removed from the noc forum. although chatboxs head would explode
dunno what the others think

I'd like it too. I think it's a great idea. I've seen a couple of conversations where people have boasted about having the highest post count in the lair and wanting to keep it up and being proud of it etc. It seems bigger there than any other forum I've come across recently. I didn't like the attitude that went with the conversation much but meh... what can you do?

I suppose it would be hard to justify doing that for the nocturnal forum and not anywhere else. I think it would be good for the forum though.

Zaph

Rabies wrote: »

I'd take The Ladies Lounge out of that list.
The wimmins often have proper discussions and only a couple of random threads. On the other and, Beer Guts and Baldy Men has more random fun, just for laughs threads. The more serious mens health issue threads are now part of the Mens health forum.

Karl didn't mention anything about whether or not a forum is serious, merely that the range of topics in the forum is so broad that the forum as a whole doesn't come under a single heading. Even AH has the odd serious discussion so should it be left out too? In theory I'd have no particular objection to a new category, but I would be a little concerned that it would be seen as a place for peurile humour and little else, which may serve to dilute some of the more serious aspects of tLL.

watna wrote: »

I suppose it would be hard to justify doing that for the nocturnal forum and not anywhere else. I think it would be good for the forum though.

It's already done in TCN and the Thunderdome, no reason why it couldn't be introduced to the Noc Forum if it was felt that people are simply posting there to up their post count.

Steve

Nerin wrote: »

although chatboxs head would explode

LOL
You couldn't do that to him, he's contributed a hell of a lot to the forum and tbh, I first heard about the lair from RC over on .tv or somewhere during a backup. Credit where it's due, leave his head intact - for now...:D

randylonghorn

Karl Hungus wrote: »

I think it might make things easier to browse and less confusing for newcomers if said forums were grouped together in their own off-topic section.

You make a good point, Karl ... in addition, the nature of such fora is that they need a lighter (?) ... different, anyway ... approach to modding, and grouping such fora together might make sense from that point of view.

Nerin wrote: »

actually, i wouldnt mind seeing the post count being removed from the noc forum. although chatboxs head would explode
dunno what the others think

Wouldn't have a problem with it, tbh ... and I actually doubt Chatbox's head would explode (any more than it already does on a regular basis anyway! :pac:).

I have a feeling he's about as obsessed with his e-penis as I am ... i.e. not in the slightest!

When the real thing is up to scratch ... ¬_¬

watna wrote: »

I've seen a couple of conversations where people have boasted about having the highest post count in the lair and wanting to keep it up and being proud of it etc. It seems bigger there than any other forum I've come across recently. I didn't like the attitude that went with the conversation much but meh... what can you do?

Tbh, watna, I think any such convos were probably very light-hearted / tongue-in-cheek. I've seen damn all I could interpret as deliberate postcount-whorism there ... perhaps surprisingly considering the looser parameters of the forum.

However, it makes an argument for abolishing the postcount there (and perhaps in other similar fora) all right ... to eliminate the potential external perception that this is the reason why people post there.

Zaph wrote: »

It's already done in TCN and the Thunderdome, no reason why it couldn't be introduced to the Noc Forum if it was felt that people are simply posting there to up their post count.

See above.

watna

randylonghorn wrote: »

Tbh, watna, I think any such convos were probably very light-hearted / tongue-in-cheek. I've seen damn all I could interpret as deliberate postcount-whorism there ... perhaps surprisingly considering the looser parameters of the forum.

Well, the particular poster and conversation I'm thinking about I'm pretty sure it was not meant toungue in cheek. It was serious but portrayed as a joke. I'm sure a lot of references to it are tongue in cheek though - given the nature of the forum. I just feel there's an undertone of it with some posters in the lair.

CuLT

Just so you know, boards.ie still goes by dmoz categorisation ( allegedly ), this is one of those things Cloud is pretty picky about.

AlmightyCushion

CuLT wrote: »

Just so you know, boards.ie still goes by dmoz categorisation ( allegedly ), this is one of those things Cloud is pretty picky about.

I don't see any education category over there.

Overheal

Its under society. Cool site.

Zaph

CuLT wrote: »

Just so you know, boards.ie still goes by dmoz categorisation ( allegedly ), this is one of those things Cloud is pretty picky about.

Well just as long as he isn't planning a Kids and Teens category I'll be happy.

ScumLord

I haven't read this tread but still I don't understand it.

Happily I'm listening to classical music done in a country way. Wait. it just turned into dance music. where did this music come from? I don't remember the pirates giving me this.

randylonghorn

CuLT wrote: »

Just so you know, boards.ie still goes by dmoz categorisation ( allegedly ), this is one of those things Cloud is pretty picky about.

I think "allegedly" is the right word, I can spot a fair few deviations without looking too hard!

(I also remember DeV muttering grumpily about hierarchies in this forum a fair few times! :pac:)

watna wrote: »

Well, the particular poster and conversation I'm thinking about I'm pretty sure it was not meant toungue in cheek. It was serious but portrayed as a joke.

Oh maybe, I don't recall, but I don't read (quite!) everything!

I honestly do believe NF escapes quite well in that respect though, considering.

But, as I said, I would have no problem at all if it and similar fora were designated exempt from postcount ... it would kill that perception (insofar as it exists) for once and for all, and ensure that all those who used such fora did so because they enjoyed them, and not to see the numbers clocking up.

AlmightyCushion

randylonghorn wrote: »

But, as I said, I would have no problem at all if it and similar fora were designated exempt from postcount ... it would kill that perception (insofar as it exists) for once and for all, and ensure that all those who used such fora did so because they enjoyed them, and not to see the numbers clocking up.

It would nearly be worth doing just to see the feedback thread(s).

randylonghorn

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

It would nearly be worth doing just to see the feedback thread(s).

Lol, true ... those with a need to compensate for RL deficiencies would soon become very obvious! :pac:

orestes

I dunno about the off topic label. Sure, the forums aren't dedicated to a specific subject, but I think that labeling BGRH/TLL/Noc in the same vein as the Thunderdome and TCN is a bit much. I tend to think of the former as social forums, in that they aren't dedicated to a specific subject but to people of a certain attitude/mindset/whatever you call it. There isn't really a specific topic, but there is certainly a theme.

I'm in two minds about seeing the post-count disabled on the noc forum, it's a double edged sword imo. I've noticed the same thing as Watna with people being a little too proud of their posts in the lair, and people thinking that it gives them some kind of prestige, but at the same time making the posts not contribute to a post count kinda makes it seem like your saying that the posts they have made in the forum don't matter, and by extension that the forum doesn't really count (might be reading a bit too much into that though since I clearly have a bias on the matter).

I'd be in favour of disabling the post-count on the Lair (is that possible for a thread instead of a forum?), would be a pretty good middle ground imo. Contributing to the rest of the forum would count to your post count, but post-whoring in the Lair would be pointless.

randylonghorn

orestes wrote: »

I dunno about the off topic label.

Maybe not the best choice of words all right.

orestes wrote: »

Sure, the forums aren't dedicated to a specific subject, but I think that labeling BGRH/TLL/Noc in the same vein as the Thunderdome and TCN is a bit much.

I have more problem speaking of Thunderdome and tCN in the same breath, tbh, to me they are exact opposites, in alternate universes even.

orestes wrote: »

I tend to think of the former as social forums, in that they aren't dedicated to a specific subject but to people of a certain attitude/mindset/whatever you call it. There isn't really a specific topic, but there is certainly a theme.

I agree with the term "social forums" actually, I think it's quite accurate. Though in fact the definition you have given applies equally well to tCN (and hell, even to the 'Dome I guess!)

In fact, the "3 a.m. thread" in the Nest tended to fulfill the function of The Lair in its day, albeit to a smaller extent, in that it was a locus for those who were up during the night to bump into one another and indulge in a bit of banter / gossip.

In fact, I was initially a bit reticent about the NF in that I foresaw it rendering tCN more peripheral / dormant ... and I don't think I was wrong, tbh.

Then I kind of thought "Feck it! It isn't 'which forum' that's important"

orestes wrote: »

... but at the same time making the posts not contribute to a post count kinda makes it seem like your saying that the posts they have made in the forum don't matter, and by extension that the forum doesn't really count (might be reading a bit too much into that though since I clearly have a bias on the matter).

Only if you accept the underpinning logic that post count matters in any way, though, dude.

orestes wrote: »

I'd be in favour of disabling the post-count on the Lair (is that possible for a thread instead of a forum?), would be a pretty good middle ground imo.

Wouldn't have a problem with that either.

But I don't think this discussion, or this idea, was meant to centre on just that one forum anyway.

Personally, I have gradually come to the belief that AH would be far better off without postcount, and that the mods' lifes would be a lot easier, tbh.

Rabies

Zaph wrote: »

Karl didn't mention anything about whether or not a forum is serious, merely that the range of topics in the forum is so broad that the forum as a whole doesn't come under a single heading. Even AH has the odd serious discussion so should it be left out too? In theory I'd have no particular objection to a new category, but I would be a little concerned that it would be seen as a place for peurile humour and little else, which may serve to dilute some of the more serious aspects of tLL.

I know, but I think he was point towards the new social forum direction Boards has got.
Some posters are hard core regulars. Rarely venture past the garden fence.

I don't see tLL as one of the new social forums. It has its own community, but they do like intelligent conversations, not like the typical AH head.

There can be some great threads in AH, some excellent discussions have gone down in the past. They are becoming rarer though. The ones that do pop up get spoiled by people rushing to say 'yore ma', 'pics or gtfo', 'snyper would rape that' and what ever the latest over used AH phrase.

After saying all that, I think pulling the social forums together under one category would proably grow a beast of post count ++
I could see newbies flocking to it and not moving from the category.

cHaTbOx

Nerin wrote: »

actually, i wouldnt mind seeing the post count being removed from the noc forum. although chatboxs head would explode
dunno what the others think

:DI would like it removed tbh I would rather the posts that I do have are worth something. Should be done for all chat-based threads,if it can be done.

watna wrote: »

I'd like it too. I think it's a great idea. I've seen a couple of conversations where people have boasted about having the highest post count in the lair and wanting to keep it up and being proud of it etc. It seems bigger there than any other forum I've come across recently. I didn't like the attitude that went with the conversation much but meh... what can you do?

I suppose it would be hard to justify doing that for the nocturnal forum and not anywhere else. I think it would be good for the forum though.

Yeah I remember a convo I had with another poster who commented on it. I think it was just banter , If anyone really cares about it I'd be suprised .

watna wrote:

Well, the particular poster and conversation I'm thinking about I'm pretty sure it was not meant toungue in cheek. It was serious but portrayed as a joke. I'm sure a lot of references to it are tongue in cheek though - given the nature of the forum. I just feel there's an undertone of it with some posters in the lair.

If you want pm me who the convos were by and when and I will get links to them.I don't like some of the things as well ,but to me it doesn't seem like posters(on the whole) care about it.

randylonghorn wrote: »

You make a good point, Karl ... in addition, the nature of such fora is that they need a lighter (?) ... different, anyway ... approach to modding, and grouping such fora together might make sense from that point of view.

Wouldn't have a problem with it, tbh ... and I actually doubt Chatbox's head would explode (any more than it already does on a regular basis anyway! :pac:).

I have a feeling he's about as obsessed with his e-penis as I am ... i.e. not in the slightest!

When the real thing is up to scratch ... ¬_¬

I agree with all except the bold print
My E-penis is
===========================================================\
===========================================================/
way bigger than that :P
Don't you be circumcising me

orestes wrote: »

I'm in two minds about seeing the post-count disabled on the noc forum, it's a double edged sword imo. I've noticed the same thing as Watna with people being a little too proud of their posts in the lair, and people thinking that it gives them some kind of prestige, but at the same time making the posts not contribute to a post count kinda makes it seem like your saying that the posts they have made in the forum don't matter, and by extension that the forum doesn't really count (might be reading a bit too much into that though since I clearly have a bias on the matter).

I'd be in favour of disabling the post-count on the Lair (is that possible for a thread instead of a forum?), would be a pretty good middle ground imo. Contributing to the rest of the forum would count to your post count, but post-whoring in the Lair would be pointless.

I don't agree with bold print.I love posting in tCN and I don't care that it adds to my post count
Who cares about their post count ?Seriously ,If you do ,then you are seriously misguided.
AS Xavi6 says "A poster is not their post count"(Someone else probably said it and he probably robbed it :P)
Also if anyone thinks another posters post count does matter,do you ignore newbs posts?

SteveC wrote: »

LOL
You couldn't do that to him, he's contributed a hell of a lot to the forum and tbh, I first heard about the lair from RC over on .tv or somewhere during a backup. Credit where it's due, leave his head intact - for now...:D

Sssssh Steve ,they might think we had a thing
Talk to you later babez:D

Rabies wrote: »

I know, but I think he was point towards the new social forum direction Boards has got.
Some posters are hard core regulars. Rarely venture past the garden fence.

I don't see tLL as one of the new social forums. It has its own community, but they do like intelligent conversations, not like the typical AH head.

There can be some great threads in AH, some excellent discussions have gone down in the past. They are becoming rarer though. The ones that do pop up get spoiled by people rushing to say 'yore ma', 'pics or gtfo', 'snyper would rape that' and what ever the latest over used AH phrase.

After saying all that, I think pulling the social forums together under one category would proably grow a beast of post count ++
I could see newbies flocking to it and not moving from the category.

I think you are right about tLL,but there is also the social aspect of the forum that would have to be taken into account .What I am worried about that all these forums will turn into various versions of AH we have today.

I also agree with some posters in these forum are hard core regulars and some are.But some people aren't interested in other aspects of the site . Also, is it a bad thing for boards if newbies flock to the category.
If some people are stuck in there ways ,leave them there .
But it will do good for boards in terms of advertising ,subscription etc
and eventually people will venture beyond this drop down menu.

Karl Hungus

Does anyone else get the sense that the people who complain about post count are the ones who give it the most attention?

Nerin

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Does anyone else get the sense that the people who complain about post count are the ones who give it the most attention?

Buh?

Nerin

actually reading everything now.
a few issues-
keep thunderdome the hell away from us. its like the older cousin thats a bad influence on AH :pac:
AH, Noc,TLL,BGRH, Zombie, Mustard, Cuckoos and maybe more could fit into a Social category, but the way people are looking at it, its just like a load of clubs that dont discuss anything.
As long as the traffic that went through them realised each forum had a specific purpose (AH for topical, BGRH for manifying metros, TLL for lady topics, zombies for the apocalypse, Noc to keep the night crazies at bay, etc etc)

post count is not a big issue, cuckoos nest being a prime example.
seriously, keep thunderdome over with the adminy category.

Xavi6

Daithi McGee wrote: »

Off Topic Banter.

I highly object to the use of that word. It should be met with an instant siteban :mad:

Shiminay

pfffff! Everyone knows your post count means nothing.

Your JOIN DATE though...