+- MacResource (https://forums.macresource.com)
+-- Forum: My Category (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Tips and Deals (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Thread: Adding more subforums - UPDATE - NOT CHANGING (/showthread.php?tid=152077)
Re: Adding more subforums - Black - 05-03-2013
cbelt3 wrote:
Hmm. I'm personally very active on the political side and this. And a regular OWC customer. I agree with the idea of keeping the politics over there. Is the resource issue one of mods, bandwidth , or hosting cost? Keep in mind that this side often ends up on google search top ranking , which drives traffic to OWC as well. I wonder what your stats are on clickthroughs from the Phorum ?
I don't know that I necessarily have a right to these answers, as we're effectively asking a business to let us look through the ledgers-- but I am also not getting very far in understanding what resources we're talking about here, or what is meant by "sponsors," or why the sudden need for changes. You guys all chose to move to a commercially sponsored site, and the owner of that site has the exclusive right to decide what lives and what dies. Would be nice though, if the situation is simply that the owner wants to can the "ranting" side because he doesn't like it, that that could just be communicated in simple terms.
Re: Adding more subforums - dmann - 05-03-2013
Pam wrote:
I'm another who wants it left the same. If I could change anything I'd want threads started by ignored users to not show up in the thread listing.
This. Yes.
DM
Re: Adding more subforums - Black - 05-03-2013
dmann wrote:
[quote=Pam]
I'm another who wants it left the same. If I could change anything I'd want threads started by ignored users to not show up in the thread listing.
This. Yes.
DM
Things currently work reasonably well because sound decisions have been made.
Take away the "ranting" forum and you have political fights erupting in the 'tips' forum.
Have threads from ignored users hidden*, and people start posting duplicate threads, and then arguing about whether it should be pointed out that a thread is a duplicate, and then it becomes about who has who on ignore, etc.
I would hope the forum management cares enough, and understands these things well enough to not go down that road.
*I don't think this is possible in phorum, and I doubt anyone's going to devote any resources to tweaking the MR/F forum software from here on out.
Re: Adding more subforums - M A V I C - 05-03-2013
Black wrote: I am also not getting very far in understanding what resources we're talking about here, or what is meant by "sponsors," or why the sudden need for changes.
I think a few things Larry has said might help answer your questions:
OWC Larry wrote: That said - the 'political' forum side currently has no sponsor, use is limited to a single digit percentage... [...] it also has a very disproportionate percentage of Mod time spent on it. With lots of other forums more appropriate for that kind of discourse, going to see a poll on it's future. Certainly it's going to need a sponsor for it to continue imho.
OWC Larry wrote:
it's not monetary... That being said, we're supporting the 'main forum' as a sponsor, but the politcal side drains resources from our support that could go to the main forum.
Sounds like mod resources is a big issue. As far as "sponsor", I noticed this board has a "sponsored by OWC" at the top right, whereas the political side does not.
Not sure if the need for change is "sudden" or not.
Re: Adding more subforums - tuqqer - 05-03-2013
M A V I C wrote:
My opinion on this:
1. We don't have the amount of traffic where splitting boards is needed
Agreed.
Re: Adding more subforums - dmann - 05-03-2013
OWC Larry,
I like this place and want to see it continue. That said, I feel strongly that it should NOT be a drain on your business.
The "other" side holds absolutely no appeal for me, but I would be happy to pay an annual membership fee that covers MRF as a whole. You can direct the resources as you see fit.
Of course, I am speaking only for myself.
DM
Re: Adding more subforums - Harbourmaster - 05-03-2013
WHAT!? You mean there is another forum besides this one???? I never noticed...
Aloha my Mac brothers and sisters...
Re: Adding more subforums - davester - 05-03-2013
I probably spend more time on the political side than on the tips and deals side, and I find it stimulating and valuable because I learn a lot of things about what other people are thinking across the country (and in other countries). I have never seen another forum as good as this one when it comes to discussions of political topics. I would probably end up drifting away from the forum in general if the political forum was axed.
Larry mentioned that there were other more appropriate political forums but I sure haven't ever seen any. The news site forums are populated by completely belligerent crazies. The political forum here has some very engaging and mature discussions mixed with the crazy stuff...something I haven't seen elsewhere.
That said, there are some posters on the political side who are completely nutso and whose obvious sole purpose is to try to tick people off (i.e. they are "trolls"), and I just know that they cause problems for the moderators. I would guess that those posters are a very small fraction of the posting population and I would be happy to see them axed if they are the cause of excessive effort by the moderators. Why not do that? Three strikes and you're out!
Also, as I recall, the genesis of the original political forum at DM was to create an outlet for more heated discussion that many on the main site didn't want. That arrangement morphed into the identical arrangement here. If you axe the political side then is this side going to be ruled with an iron fist to squash discussions that get heated? I frankly don't think that is going to work.
Re: Adding more subforums - Black - 05-03-2013
M A V I C wrote:
[quote=Black]I am also not getting very far in understanding what resources we're talking about here, or what is meant by "sponsors," or why the sudden need for changes.
I think a few things Larry has said might help answer your questions:
OWC Larry wrote: That said - the 'political' forum side currently has no sponsor, use is limited to a single digit percentage... [...] it also has a very disproportionate percentage of Mod time spent on it. With lots of other forums more appropriate for that kind of discourse, going to see a poll on it's future. Certainly it's going to need a sponsor for it to continue imho.
OWC Larry wrote:
it's not monetary... That being said, we're supporting the 'main forum' as a sponsor, but the politcal side drains resources from our support that could go to the main forum.
Sounds like mod resources is a big issue. As far as "sponsor", I noticed this board has a "sponsored by OWC" at the top right, whereas the political side does not.
Not sure if the need for change is "sudden" or not.
MAVIC, either I'm not communicating well, or you don't quite understand anything I type. Not sure why you think I haven't read those things.
The ranting side is a part of this forum. Threads get moved from here to there. There's one registration process for both. If the forum were broken out a-la dealmac, would new sponsors need to be found for each subforum?
Threads are auto-hidden with a certain number of user reports. Why does the ranting side need to be moderated at all? Just make a decision not to devote resources, and let the users effectively 'flag' offensive posts down, like on craigslist. The system is already in place, nothing to do.
Re: Adding more subforums - Drew - 05-03-2013
I agree with the vast majority and love the forum the way it is. It takes about a day for a post to travel from top to bottom, so I see no need for multiplying. As for the political side, I wouldn't care if it disappeared, but also see it's value as a pressure relief valve from the front side. What if you warned them that if they don't clean up and keep to the TOS then they'll lose it? Maybe they could do some self-policing. Are the TOS clearly understood?