[NightWish]

I'm not going to say "no" outright, but you've yet to convince me

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

The thing is to have forum visible only to members of those selected groups. And threads only visible to the selected group, like graphic designers will only be able to post/see graphic designer thread (and the same for others).

To date the forum has run a policy where all members have equal access and facility. All of the forums can be viewed by all people, even without having an account. All members can post in areas that any member is permitted to post. There are a couple of exceptions to this for operational purposes, but that is the principle.

Restricting sections of the forum in a way that divides up the community is something we have consciously resisted because it reinforces partisan behaviour. Increased cohesion for small groups is at the expense of fragmenting the community. You can sort of see the effect already in the way some people gravitate to their preferred areas of the forum. This is fine, but artificially extending it is something we don't want to do.

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

I know there is a fansub forum, but other groups don't have that, that's why this would be good in my opinion

Does the "Fan Creation" forum not perform that functionality for "Artists" and "Graphic Designers"? Or the "Tech Support" forum for the "IT Support" group? Indeed the request for the groups (which are just elective badges really) came from members who frequented the existing sections.

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

I just don't know if it's possible to make threads visible only to selected members.

The forum doesn't provide a per-thread access model, only a per-forum. So the precise model you suggest isn't feasible. Each group would have to have its own sub-forum.

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

Most social groups are hard to find (for one specific subject) and they are mostly 'dead' and some are forgotten.

Can you expend on why you think they are hard to find? As a member of staff I'm so used to the forum's structure that it isn't always easy to understand the difficulties of new members. That aside I still don't think you've provided a strong enough argument about why the existing social group model is not sufficient. Most of the "dead" groups are like that because people don't contribute to them. Some people have a group idea, create it, and then give up on it; while others are quite lively. If you want them to be more active, promote them. Encourage those who have their own thread in the Fan Creation forum to join the group by sending them an invite (the system provides this feature for that reason). If the desire is actually there, people will make it work. If it isn't...

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

The reason why I ask to have forum/threads only visible to certain members is because I know many members who don't have any idea about those subjects will post just have their post their or just to annoy some members. This way some of them will not even know about this, so it would help with trolling.

What you propose is in opposition to the practice I outlined at the start. It comes from a position that someone is a troll until they demonstrate otherwise. We do apply some moderation rules that fit that opinion, but generally they are to combat spam. We generally assume everyone will contribute constructivly unless they demonstrate otherwise.

The other concerns you outline are convered by social groups, if not being readily visible to the masses is your intention. Indeed, by your own argument the social groups arn't easily found.

Originally Posted by milan kyuubi

• Much more organized place, also it will help in getting new and some of the old members interested.
• A place where members can feel safe/comfortable about discussing one subject.
• Members of selected groups like graphic designers and others can express their opinion, new ideas etc

All of which should apply generally to the forum and should fit within the social group model; if anything the ability to have more than one "discussion" makes a social group more flexible than a single thread (though as I've said a single thread isn't actually feasible).