Misc section re-vamp?

[ciderdrinker]

I have noticed over the last couple of weeks, that there has been a lot of posts in the Misc section that have gone into some serious discussion - you know political, ethical and the like, and it seems a shame to me that the posters (not me generally!) are not getting rewarded for all their efforts in regards to post counts.

So I wondered whether it could be a good idea to seperate those kinda threads and place them in a section that was rewarded with post counts. I seem to remember a section like that on the old forum.

There has been a lot of thought put into some of the replies, and surely that is worth "rewarding"?

[galathea]

We used to have a section called 'Boiler Room' on Buffyworld, that was reserved for serious political, religious, social etc discussions. It wasn't very active the last couple of months on BW as far as I remember, but maybe we could restore that?

[Nikki]

Well I honestly think that this is a show forum, which is why everything that is posted that relates to a show gets post count. This isn't a political/debate forum therefore we don't reward those topics with post count. It's nice to have them for those who are interested but I'm not going to assign it post count. Firstly because I'd then have to make a separate category, and a separate sub section and honestly it doesn't get much interest.

We deleted the Boiler after it went 3 months without a post. It's not really something that is huge on BW for a long time, it goes through phases of being popular so I won't be changing the way it works now. I think if people are only posting here for post count it's not the right reason for being here, and if you really want post count for political debates, go to a political forum. Here we are all about the shows!

[Wolfie Gilmore]

I think the boiler room discouraged people to be honest...it seemed like you had to say something important all the time! I'm happy for that kind of thread to be in misc, where you can ramble a bit and be silly in places and serious in others. Though people can always reward good points with rep points even though there's no post countage

[Nikki]

Thanks Lou, you just summed it up well. It's a much nicer environment to post your views in there. The Boiler room had to have a list of rules so long it was intimidating!

This way seems to work the best right now but I'm open to changes like this when there is more call for it

[Wolfie Gilmore]

Thanks Lou, you just summed it up well. It's a much nicer environment to post your views in there. The Boiler room had to have a list of rules so long it was intimidating!

This way seems to work the best right now but I'm open to changes like this when there is more call for it

It seems everyone on Buffyforums is good at playing nice over things like politics...I seem to remember things got more heated and personal, with people who aren't around any more, so that's why we needed a special place there. Anyway, as you say, works now!

[Veverka]

It seems everyone on Buffyforums is good at playing nice over things like politics...I seem to remember things got more heated and personal, with people who aren't around any more, so that's why we needed a special place there. Anyway, as you say, works now!

Damn, Lou, touch wood...! Sorry, couldn't help but interject!
Hope we all stay nice

I think a 'boiler room' as such is intimidating, but I guess there's always a chance of breaking things down if it seems like it's needed. I like that it's all mixed up, but I wonder about some 'news' stuff- this came up a while ago- the thread we used to have as a kind of BW newsletter... things like the superlatives didn't work and part of the organization might be a bit easier if 'advertising' was easier- and things like the fanart and fanfic challenges, rather than being in their own sections exclusively?

[Nikki]

The news letter we did on BW was a great idea but it was a lot of work doing it every week and remembering.

I think if people want to find topics that interest them it's not too hard here, the forum is laid out clearly, big sections like the fanart and fic have guidelines on what to find where in the sections.

Also the new posts link showing all new threads/posts is a great way to find new interesting topics.

The misc section is just for everything that doesn't fit in elsewhere and as this is a show forum that's everything else to go in the misc. We don't need sections on everything else here really and it would just make the place more crowded and harder to navigate.

[KingofCretins]

As a frequent poster on political/philosophical subjects here, I agree that these should *not* get the benefit of post-count. I think of those threads as something the forum should merely tolerate, not directly encourage. I wince at myself for even taking part, most of the time