View Single Post
Old 2012-01-29, 16:36   Link #20
relentlessflame
 
*Administrator
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 41
I think the general direction of the forum is and will continue to go in the opposite direction of what is being requested here, for better or worse.

Keep in mind that the principle of this forum is: one topic, one thread. In general terms, most anime series only have one thread for all related discussion. Some franchises are so popular and/or their discussion possibilities so diverse that these are granted sub-forums to divide the single thread into multiple threads. We have a patterned way of doing this, with an allowance for unique threads by request. This generally works well while the series is airing and traffic is high. After a certain time after the show airs, interest in the show dwindles down to maybe a core group of regulars who keep checking in from time-to-time. And then, eventually, a sub-forum reaches "end of life" when it is retired, and almost all threads are locked leaving only a few key threads open, basically bringing us back to the "one topic, one thread" origin.

The situation being alluded to here is one that is rare but does happen occasionally: an older series sub-forum that still has a rather strong core following that wants to keep the sub-forum alive and sees the freer creation of threads as a way of "breathing new life" into the dying forum. Here's the bad news: we will likely not adequately fulfill the desires of the show's remaining fans in this situation. In the coming weeks, you will see some sub-forums be retired that still have some of this regular traffic in certain threads, and the remaining active threads may, in some cases, actually be moved back to the regular parts of the forum and out of the sub-forum, which will be retired and preserved as more of an archive.

We see our general "life cycle" for a sub-forum revolving around a show's TV airing, and the move to simulcasts has accelerated the cycle (that was previously prolonged by licensing and waiting for the official English DVD/BD release; even the cycle for this has accelerated considerably). While we do want to continue to provide a place where all anime can be discussed, we don't believe we can do what needs to be done to keep older sub-forums alive and thriving after the primary wave of interest has died down, and have decided that we will not make it part of our primary mission to solve that problem.

So what of the needs of these lingering hardcore fans who would like to keep their community alive? We would like to position Social Groups as one opportunity for this. As you may have seen, we recently made some additions to the functionality available in social groups that should hopefully make it more useful. We recognize that Social Groups aren't perfect, and they aren't the same as the Forums proper, but we think they can still provide a good place for fans of the show to gather and more-freely discuss a show even after primary interest has died down. But of course, making this work depends entirely on the effort of the fans involved.

As for stray topics that don't fit into one of the existing categories but aren't worth a thread on their own, we do indeed want people to use the General Discussion thread if one exists. Granted, this shouldn't be a repository for off-topic chatter, but is suitable for on-topic conversations that don't properly fit in one of the other threads. I suppose it's possible a General Discussion thread doesn't exist for some shows, and if that's the case I guess let us know and we can try to create one.

I realize that this position isn't going to match everyone's ideals about how they'd like to see the Forum run. But, by the same token, we don't believe that we can be all things to all people. I hope that this post helps explain the way we view sub-forums and the role we're trying to play in this (and those roles we admit, by design, we will not be able to fulfill as well).


Quote:
Originally Posted by Sackett View Post
On requesting new threads. I might point out that I requested a thread in the Penguindrum forum dedicated to discussing the symbolism. Hardly an unreasonable request I'd think. I never got a response.

If you can't get a symbolism thread for a show like Penguindrum then I think the restrictions on new threads is far too high.
Sometimes not getting a response doesn't necessarily mean it was rejected. It may very well mean that it was just missed. If a request goes without a response for a long period of time (a few days? a week?) feel free to contact a member of the staff to bring it to their attention. It may also help to provide a potential opening post for the thread so that the topic is clearly-defined and understood to the staff reviewing the request (who may not all be intimately familiar with the show in every case). In cases where specialist knowledge is needed, we do try to work as a team to make sure the people most knowledgeable about a subject are able to provide their input. But if the topic request is vague or not clear, it may cause one person reviewing the request to be unsure of the right answer and hope that someone else will have a better idea about whether the request makes sense.

So all that to say... make sure the request is very clearly-defined, and do remind us if you think we missed your request. A lack of response doesn't necessarily mean no.
__________________
[...]
relentlessflame is offline   Reply With Quote