Would DU be better if GD were broken up into about twenty different subforums?

[Boojatta]

Threads in GD are exposed to a large audience, but they also move quickly into the archives. If a message is important enough to merit consideration by a large audience, then why isn't it important enough to remain active for a long time?

This proposal would probably create some work for the Moderators. Initially, they would probably have to move threads between the different new forums until DU members learn where a given thread belongs. Also, some work would be required simply to describe and name the new forums that would replace GD. However, I think that it would be worth the effort.

[DS1]

1. We need a "GD: Sanctimonious Douches who are invariably better than you"

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. That kinda covers the whole store

:hide:

[DarkTirade]

8. No, the OP is talking about making multiple forums, not just renaming it.

[redqueen]

11. Yeah, and one of the forums could be for the sanctimonious douchebags.

So if they took over a thread, then no matter the subject, it would be moved there. And then only those interested in being lectured to as if they were the unforunate children of overbearing parents would bother to go there and read the crap.

Sounds good to me.

[DarkTirade]

13. ... you have seen GD and GD-P, right?

That wouldn't be a new forum, just an new name for the old forum. :P

[old mark]

3. B, I don't know - look at some of the other groups and forums -

some get 12 posts a year. Kind of a waste, no?

mark

[Boojatta]

7. Right now, all threads in page 19 of GD are dated Sat Nov-22-08.

You could divide GD into 20 smaller subforums and still have a lot more than 12 posts per year in the least active of those 20 subforums.

[Bake]

4. Not really.

The only thing that's left is to nuke 'em.

Bake

[DarkTirade]

9. Cockroaches survive nuclear fallout.

They'd just scatter into all the other forums.

[Midlodemocrat]

5. Shouldn't this be a poll?

:shrug:

[Boojatta]

6. You could create a poll to see whether or not people think that

there should be a poll.

[RoyGBiv]

10. Ummm ... uh ....

Ya know they did that already? They're called Topic Forums?

But I suppose you mean doing away with GD entirely and going with topic forums?

I personally like that idea. I dislike "General Discussion" on discussion forums except of the Lounge variety.

However, we had this argument, and as I recall the notion of actually getting rid of GD in favor of Topic forums was soundly shouted into the nether regions.

[Boojatta]

12. There are lots of threads in GD that don't belong in any of the existing topic forums.

[RoyGBiv]

14. Which would mean expanding them ...

There are also groups.

It's the same concept.

What I'm saying is that when the expansion of forums occurred, this very discussion took place, the point of which was your point in the OP.

[Boojatta]

15. Groups are quite different.

You need to be a donor to post in a DU Group.

[RoyGBiv]

16. And?

Not sure what the problem here is.

I agree with your premise. You've got a lot more people to convince though as the GD concept seems to be a staple.

[Boojatta]

18. If you agree, then why not suggest a new topic forum?

That would be helpful.

[RoyGBiv]

19. Because people don't use them.

As long as GD remains in any form, it will be the default.

OnEdit: People "use" them but not in the way that would solve the problem you mention originally.

[Boojatta]

20. I post in topic forums.

If you suggest a good topic forum, then we might get enough support for it to be created. Its existence would then help in the gradual process of making GD unnecessary.

[RoyGBiv]

22. You do ...

I do. A lot of people do.

What you, I, or the others who like organization do really has little impact on those who just look for the Post link and barely pay attention to where they are posting.

Seriously ... look at the problems the mods have whenever they do the GD / GDP split during the primaries. The problem exists in part because GD remains.

It's not limited to this forum. This isn't new. We had discussions like this on Usenet about creating new groups for subjects that didn't belong in the group to which they were tangentially related. And the new groups were created, and for the most part, the most traffic remained with the default group because it was still there.

[Zuni]

17. I am all about the GD: Douchebags forum

of course, that would leave GD pretty empty

[XemaSab]

21. Not 20, but maybe 5

I also think there should be more discretion between teh longue and teh GD.