Humble Proposal

[Peri]

OT is a broad church where all topics are welcome ranging from the serious religion threads to the spamtastic 'how tall are you' type threads. However XIII is exploring the possibility of separating the two kinds and this is greatly to his credit.
Unfortunately this proposal is not receiving much support. I fear this is because the spammers would lose their cover if the serious threads were elsewhere.

This is my humble proposal. Since the History forum is the place for the serious and the sensible, the reasonable and the rational, why not allow and encourge heavyweight discussion threads on subjects other than history. This will encourage and stimulate good debate which would be welcomed by all.

 

[Hitro]

Why do we need another thread on this?

But to make this a little more productive, here's my argumentation against it, which is by the way a majority opinion even in XIII's stupid poll.

From that thread:

Alot has already been said here, but I want to adress a view points nevertheless:

1) Making a poll about this is useless as nothing else, especially with certain people being able to change the outcome but more specifically with every registered person able to vote, including those who never post/hate OT/are a Dl and others XIII recruits elsewhere.

2) Why does there have to be another poll about this until XIII gets the outcome he wants? Then just do it but leave this childish nonsense outside.

3) If people leave because of politics, that's their problem. If someone is not able to avoid clicking on a thread that might contain things that enrage his poor little soul he better avoids the internet as a whole. If someone just loses interest because everything has been discussed several times that is no reason to change the forum. There are loads of others where you can spam, this was (and is) special.

4) The amount of threads posted in per day is not higher than anytime before, there is from that part no reason to change anything.

5) The split-off topics have suffered alot, because there are basically secluded communities in the other forums, such as history or sports. People like me who post in all of the Colloseum are the minority. In other words, it destroys the community.

6) The reason why kids are big here now is basically the lenient policy on spam. People should be sanctioned for one-smiley posts as it used to be.

7) I'd also be interested in the other mods' views, but just out of curiosity.

8) As I said when this came up first, if something has to be split off then it is the spam (pointless polls, quizzes, etc.) to a forum where there's no postcount so that noone uses that to get to 300, just to stop posting afterwards.

9) OT was and is great because of the way it is. The mixture between serious and light-hearted stuff is what makes it interesting.

10) Now if you, K-DSKM13, don't like OT at all then I honestly don't understand why you mod it. I mean, there are valid reasons for not liking it from certain perspectives, but I as someone who hates spam also wouldn't want to mod a spammy forum like there are so many on the net.
So if there should be a split, which I don't see any reason for, even with this poll, it would make alot of sense if you would not mod the serious discussion forum then, but leave that to those who don't hate it as much.

 

[Peri]

If this thread is unwelcome then it can be deleted. I am just posting on behalf of the people who would like a serious debate forum. If we can make use of the History forum then there is no need for outcry about splitting OT. Those who enjoy posting in favourite letter of the alphabet threads can spam for evermore in contentment.
All I am asking is that the managment consider allowing serious debate threads which are not history related into the History forum.

 

[Hitro]

What are you talking about?

Serious debate threads always have been in OT. It's just that recently there has been more spam in them, which usually was rightfully killed by the mods.
I really can't understand what is hard about avoiding threads you don't like.

Those who favour the split are mainly the spammers who are annoyed to see some threads where they can't spam besides their spam threads. But that variety is in fact what makes CFC OT great.

And with no big majority (in fact no majority at all) supporting the destruction of the working system I don't think it is a good idea.

Of course it is TF's decision in the end but if he listens to the posters, and that can be the only sense of threads like this, he won't change anything.

Taking sports out was already a big mistake.

 

[Peri]

As I said already I believe that a change would stimulate debate and encourage more serious subjects. That is the reason for the post. If the idea is absurd then no harm done. I am not advocating the break up of OT. I just said and it looks like I need to say it a third time that it might be interesting to consider allowing serious subjects into the History forum to encourage more heavyweight discussions. I am not seeking to debate the structure of OT, just to ask for a concession for the History forum.

 

[Hitro]

What kind of serious debates do you have in mind then?

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

Originally posted by Peri
I am just posting on behalf of the people who would like a serious debate forum.

This community does not have enough serious debater to make it worthwhile for politics or current events. Half those we did have have left. Such a forum would simple be a echo chamber for ranting idealogues.

 

[Peri]

Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
This community does not have enough serious debater to make it worthwhile for politics or current events. Half those we did have have left. Such a forum would simple be a echo chamber for ranting idealogues.

I agree that is why I am not suggesting that but I am floating the idea of allowing such debates in the History forum. It is fair to say that the majority of those who would be interested in this post there anyway. Also it may even attract some 'serious debaters' to the forums. It is only a casual but genuine idea and I hope people won't get agitated because I raised it.

 

[Hitro]

Still I don't really get what you mean by "serious debates". If you mean political and social debates then how would that be different from splitting OT?

 

[Peri]

Well many people dont want to split OT up. Therefore rather than doing something which is clearly against the will of a large proportion of posters, I was just suggesting giving those who like to post such 'serious issue' threads the option of putting them in an environment which will encourage good debate. As you said earlier serious subjects tend to get dragged down in OT. The History forum is more conducive to such debates than OT. It is like the silence rule in a university library. The silence encourages study whereas noise would make it more dificult.

 

[Hitro]

You mean you could post a thread like "Socialism vs. Capitalism" both in history or in OT?

 

[col]

I think we should be encourging more diversity in OT not less. In my view if we split OT it will make it more homogeneous and less interesting.

 

[Peri]

Originally posted by Hitro
You mean you could post a thread like "Socialism vs. Capitalism" both in history or in OT?

Well it might appeal to a less spam prone audience in History for example. The History forum is certainly not the place for the superficial so it might encourage a better quality response. I am not saying that this will definitely be the result, just that it might be.

 

[Peri]

Originally posted by col
I think we should be encourging more diversity in OT not less. In my view if we split OT it will make it more homogeneous and less interesting.

I am not saying we split OT. This is a compromise suggestion which allows serious subjects to be posted in a forum where serious responses might be better encouraged and so improve the quality of debate.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

The History is fine as it is - we have our own regulars there, who avoid the OT.

 

[ainwood]

I think people should count themselves damn lucky that XIII is bothering with posting a poll. This place has never been a democracy before.


Unless it is a case of make the people feel that they are involved instead of involve the people.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Yeah, I shld have gone the old route, and just dumped the whole thing on them...

Seems like people are abusing my niceness and pouring crap on me...

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dark Age of XIII hath begun.

 

[Zarn]

Originally posted by XIII
Yeah, I shld have gone the old route, and just dumped the whole thing on them...

Seems like people are abusing my niceness and pouring crap on me...

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dark Age of XIII hath begun.

I can always burn a few heretics at the stake for you.

 

[Octavian X]

Originally posted by Zarn


I can always burn a few heretics at the stake for you.

For future record, I am not a heretic, no matter what the little voices in my head say.

Still, we should stick with democracy and not split OT. That, or we should split them and not make the posts count in either the forums, just to discourage useless spam.

 

[Archer 007]

Originally posted by XIII
Yeah, I shld have gone the old route, and just dumped the whole thing on them...

Seems like people are abusing my niceness and pouring crap on me...

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dark Age of XIII hath begun.

Personally, I think posting a poll about the issue what quite nice of you.