# Creation of an "Other Games" Forum?



## Rasyr (Aug 24, 2004)

Over in the ENnies V and beyond thread, maddman75 posted about how he would like to see a new forum for discussing "Other Games" and Crothian suggested starting a new thread so folks could discuss it. 

Thus, here I am starting a new thread, hopefully to gather enough support that Morrus might add such a forum.

Personally, I think that this is a good idea, especially since there ARE a lot of other games out there that are not d20 games, and there are many people on these forums who play them in addition to d20 games.

C'mon! Chime in!


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## Nisarg (Aug 24, 2004)

Maybe I'm being a bit thick here, but isn't that what "general RPG discussion" is about?

I mean we have a forum for d20 and OGL games, a few for D&D rules, and this one.. why is there a need for an "other games" section that would be redundant with the General RPG discussion?

Nisarg


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## Crothian (Aug 24, 2004)

Usually, when people start threads about other systems they, well you know, actually talk about one of the other systems


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## Rasyr (Aug 24, 2004)

Nisarg - Like Crothian said, to actually talk about and discuss other systems specifically, and hopefully not have to worry too much about somebody coming along to bash anything that happens to not be d20. Whether we like it or not, it usually happens to one degree or another in the General forum. 

By having such discussions confined to a single forum, it will prevent (or at least lessen) the amount of bashers popping in to do a thread crap. Something which, unfortunately, happens all too often here in the General forum.

The topics would be much different than you recent White Wolf rant, or the posts you made on the HARP threads (which eventually led to one of them getting locked).


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## Crothian (Aug 24, 2004)

The bottom line a new forum is formed when it is needed.  Until there is a lot of non d20 discussion going on here we won't get a forum for no matter how many people claim they want it.  The only real way to prove one wants it is to show that we need one.


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## Campbell (Aug 25, 2004)

Looks like I might just have to get to work...


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## buzz (Aug 25, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> By having such discussions confined to a single forum, it will prevent (or at least lessen) the amount of bashers popping in to do a thread crap. Something which, unfortunately, happens all too often here in the General forum.



RPG.net is one big "other systems" forum, and it hasn't stopped the threadcrapping (which is actually far worse there).

I think General is the prefect place for discussion of any system. I can see the point of segregating reviews, but not segregating discussion.


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## 2WS-Steve (Aug 25, 2004)

Given the move for the ENnies to include other games I wouldn't mind seeing a forum specifically for that either. It might make people feel more comfortable about comnig here to discuss non-d20 stuff, and provide a better informed voting base for non-d20 games come next year.

Also, while RPG.net is a great resource, I do appreciate the slightly more active moderation here at ENWorld that keeps the forums more family friendly and prevents threads from devolving into too much flamage.


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## Clint (Aug 25, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> The bottom line a new forum is formed when it is needed.  Until there is a lot of non d20 discussion going on here we won't get a forum for no matter how many people claim they want it.  The only real way to prove one wants it is to show that we need one.



Other boards also talk about d20, including most of the games in the "d20 Modern, d20 System & OGL Games". Are they redundant, or is this one? Heck, there's a D&D rules forum here which is redundant compared to the one on the WotC site, right?

2WS-Steve is right in that if ENWorld is going to give out awards to non-d20 products, shouldn't there be a little non-d20 conversation here? If people come here and see nothing but d20 talk, then all people will talk about here is d20, right? I mean, it's right in the name of the site.  If you're asking people to start threads on non-d20 systems in the General forum, then maybe there should be an announcement saying that such threads are welcome.

Just my thoughts.

-Clint


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## VirgilCaine (Aug 25, 2004)

I wouldn't mind that. I am much more interested in GURPS for Modern era games than D20 Modern, though I still like D&D for fantasy games.


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## ayrwind (Aug 25, 2004)

I agree, we should have a safer place where we can talk about other game systems without people jumping in to bash something.  Being in a separate forum helps.  I agree that there are many people here on ENWorld that play non-d20 games along with d20 games, and hopefully this thread can garner enough support to justify a new forum.


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## Rasyr (Aug 25, 2004)

buzz said:
			
		

> RPG.net is one big "other systems" forum, and it hasn't stopped the threadcrapping (which is actually far worse there).



Actually, rpg.net is not a big "other systems" forum, it is a big "all systems" forum. There is a slight difference.


			
				buzz said:
			
		

> I think General is the prefect place for discussion of any system. I can see the point of segregating reviews, but not segregating discussion.



So, then are you advocating the removal of the D&D and the D20 forums and having them all combined into General?

If not, then guess what? You already ARE segregating discussions based upon system (D&D versus d20 {Modern, OGL, Future, etc.}).

I also had not thought of the point that 2WS-Steve made, but it is a VERY good one. Since the ENnies are expanding to have "other games" categories, it only makes sense to have a forum to support the discussion of that as well.


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## Crothian (Aug 25, 2004)

First the discussion and then the forum.  Forums are not created here to get discussions going, they are only used when discussion grow to need a forum.  I have no problem with non d20 threads, I happen to like them.  But people need to create them and they need activity before any one of the mods will see a reason to create a forum.  Just because the ENnies happen to include non d20 material is not enough.


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## Turanil (Aug 25, 2004)

I am for it. This forum is totally overcrowded, so adding a forum for other game systems (I mean not for various d20, but for Gurps, Harp, etc.) would be fine IMO.

I vote yes.


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## Rasyr (Aug 25, 2004)

Turanil said:
			
		

> I am for it. This forum is totally overcrowded, so adding a forum for other game systems (I mean not for various d20, but for Gurps, Harp, etc.) would be fine IMO.
> 
> I vote yes.




Another excellent point. The General forum IS crowded, which means that there are lots of posts here (a good thing, I might add), however, it also means that threads tend to disappear off the front page extremely quickly which makes them more difficult to find sometimes (a not so good thing). 

And while I am sure that there are likely to be a good sized number of  folks here who like other systems, in addition to d20. I am also sure that not everybody checks the forums every day. This means that these folks who might participate in thread about other systems might not because they don't see or find them because they slipped off the front page (which CAN happen very very quickly).


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## Mustrum_Ridcully (Aug 25, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> First the discussion and then the forum.  Forums are not created here to get discussions going, they are only used when discussion grow to need a forum.  I have no problem with non d20 threads, I happen to like them.  But people need to create them and they need activity before any one of the mods will see a reason to create a forum.  Just because the ENnies happen to include non d20 material is not enough.



How about adding a "Non D&D/D20 RPG" Icon for Threads then? (Or do we already have them?) 
This would make it easier to identify these threads, and it will show if we really need an extra forum. (And maybe it also helps reducing the "not-d20-bashing" - only people who have the urgent need to bash a "not-d20"-game then will enter it then to bash it...  )


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## Henry (Aug 25, 2004)

This is more of a "Metaforum" discussion, so I'll bump it once, and move it there.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The same discussion has come up in our staff forums, and the general consensus (not complete agreement, mind you) is that we'd love to have more "all game systems" traffic in the General RPG Forum. If there COMES a sufficient amount of traffic to warrant a forum of its own, then that's a different issue.

As to the issue of "bashing", that's an issue that is handled easily enough by reporting a basher to us mods; The 'report a post' feature does work now (though you need to post a link in your report to the thread; that does not function yet - until the server upgrade, I presume), but system-bashing does not have a place here. Mind you, someone saying, _"why not use X system to accomplish a task instead?" _ or _"there are some advantages to using system X over system Y" _ is not bashing; *"WHY WOULD YOU PLAY THAT LOAD OF CRAP"* is bashing. 



			
				Mustrum Ridcully said:
			
		

> How about adding a "Non D&D/D20 RPG" Icon for Threads then?




Now that's certainly logical; I need to check and see if it hasn't already been done!  At the least, it would allow people interested in other topics to be able to sort by them. If the traffic gets to the point where sorting gets too long, then that's when we need to start talking forum changes.


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## BiggusGeekus (Aug 25, 2004)

I've said it before, I'll say it again:

I would prefer that non-d20/D&D reviews were labeled as such in the reviews section.  My eyes won't burn out if I read a White Wolf review, but after having dumped $200 in World of Darkness products I can safely say that I'm more interested in d20 and I'd rather not have to weed through to find what I'm looking for.

What exactly distinguishes us from RPG.net if we open ENWorld up to other games?  A stronger swear filter?  Big f***ing deal.

I like ENWorld, but a move to a generic site means that we loose distinctiveness and we try to do what gamingreport.com, rpg.net, and the WotC forums are already doing a pretty good job of doing.


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## Henry (Aug 25, 2004)

I took a look at the Icon topic list, and came to the conclusion that I don't pay Michael Morris NEARLY enough attention.  There is a HUGE list of icons there for topics that we don't take enough advantage of. However, no "non-d20" style icon - I suppose it never came up before.

I'll make the suggestion, assuming Russ isn't looking at this already.


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## DaveMage (Aug 25, 2004)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> I've said it before, I'll say it again:
> 
> I would prefer that non-d20/D&D reviews were labeled as such in the reviews section.  My eyes won't burn out if I read a White Wolf review, but after having dumped $200 in World of Darkness products I can safely say that I'm more interested in d20 and I'd rather not have to weed through to find what I'm looking for.
> 
> ...




Amen.


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## Psion (Aug 25, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> Actually, rpg.net is not a big "other systems" forum, it is a big "all systems" forum. There is a slight difference.




In theory. In practice, I think Shiva's game designer poll gives the lie to that notion.


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## buzz (Aug 25, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> Actually, rpg.net is not a big "other systems" forum, it is a big "all systems" forum. There is a slight difference.



Given the mass hatred of d20 over there, I tend to consider it such.  And FWIW, they lump all RPG systems known to humanity in a snigle forum.



			
				Rasyr said:
			
		

> So, then are you advocating the removal of the D&D and the D20 forums and having them all combined into General?



You're misrepresenting these forums a bit. The D&D forum is not a general discussion forum; it's specifically a D&D rules Q&A forum. General discussion of D&D happens in General. The d20/OGL forum started life as a d20 Mdoern forum, beause there was demand for such a thing. When demand (i.e., traffic) died down, it transformed into a comprehensive d20/OGL forum.

As Henry and others have already stated, a new forum will be created *in reaction to demand for one*. That's the point of online communities: they adapt instead of manage themselves top-down. I don't think it's the admins job to try and entice discussion of other systems by creating a forum for which there is yet no great demand. I think simply being open to discussion of any RPG in General and doing their usual awesome job of moderating is enough for now.

Also, maknig a section in the reviews area for non-d20 product and highlighting these reviews on the news page will itself send a signal to visitors that, yes, ENworld is place to discuss all games, even if it's primary focus is d20.

Heck, Rasyr. Encourage people to submit HARP reviews!


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## Conaill (Aug 25, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> First the discussion and then the forum.



No, _first_ the awards, then the discussion, and _then_ the forum.

Doesn't that seem just a little... wrong?


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## Crothian (Aug 25, 2004)

Conaill said:
			
		

> No, _first_ the awards, then the discussion, and _then_ the forum.
> 
> Doesn't that seem just a little... wrong?




Because it is.  The awards have nothing to do with this.  There has been non d20 discussion on this boards well before the awards went with non d20.  I've talked Buffy, Gurps, WoD, and Palladium here.  I've seen Shadowrun and TORG discussions and there has been other I've missed.  

I don't see why people keep dragging and reacting to the ENnies like this.


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## Umbran (Aug 25, 2004)

buzz said:
			
		

> As Henry and others have already stated, a new forum will be created *in reaction to demand for one*.




Actually, I think it is more *in reaction to _need_ for one*.   A demand - a want - is not sufficient.  When the mods start seeing so many "other system" threads that they alone start making the General forum untenable, then you'll see a new forum created for it.


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## buzz (Aug 25, 2004)

Umbran said:
			
		

> Actually, I think it is more *in reaction to _need_ for one*.   A demand - a want - is not sufficient.  When the mods start seeing so many "other system" threads that they alone start making the General forum untenable, then you'll see a new forum created for it.



Yes, this is basically what I meant to say. In my mind, "demand" was equivalent to "the huge amount of posts is demanding we add a new forum."


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## Nisarg (Aug 25, 2004)

Psion said:
			
		

> In theory. In practice, I think Shiva's game designer poll gives the lie to that notion.




I would say that the "lie" to that notion is evident merely in seeing the overabundance of D20 bashing, and the double standard that is present in RPG.net.. namely that if you bash d20 and the people who like it you get a free pass for months or years, if you bash those who attack D20 or attack systems other than D20 you're out fast.

Not to mention the collective "head in the sand" (or up something less flattering than sand) syndrome; where you see people seriously talking about Ron Edwards as an "influential figure" in gaming, or of Tribe 8 or My Life with Master as "the best games", collectively pretending that these indie games and designers are known by anyone, and collectively ignoring the pre-eminence of D20 (when they aren't hatefully attacking it, that is).

Nisarg


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## diaglo (Aug 25, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> The bottom line a new forum is formed when it is needed.  Until there is a lot of non d20 discussion going on here we won't get a forum for no matter how many people claim they want it.  The only real way to prove one wants it is to show that we need one.




i've got like 6000 or so posts talking about non d02 games.

OD&D being the main one.


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## Crothian (Aug 25, 2004)

well, d02 knows no limit.....


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## Rasyr (Aug 26, 2004)

buzz said:
			
		

> Given the mass hatred of d20 over there, I tend to consider it such.  And FWIW, they lump all RPG systems known to humanity in a snigle forum.



Actually, I don't see much real d20 hatred as I see hatred of system zealots over on rpg.net. People who relentlessly bash other systems or other people who say something slightly less than pleasing (to the zealot) about their system, or to sing the praises of their flawless system. I think this is a case of a few bad apples ruining the whole bunch for a lot of people, and most of what vitriol there is usually comes from a very small group. And yes, each system has their haters and zealots, so you end up with a zealot going and bashing another zealots favorite system because they perceived an insult on another thread, and sometimes the hate circle kinda hetrodynes out of control...

Heh. No system is perfect, not even HARP, and I wrote it! But I do think that HARP comes pretty close though.... heheh 


			
				buzz said:
			
		

> You're misrepresenting these forums a bit. The D&D forum is not a general discussion forum; it's specifically a D&D rules Q&A forum. General discussion of D&D happens in General. The d20/OGL forum started life as a d20 Mdoern forum, beause there was demand for such a thing. When demand (i.e., traffic) died down, it transformed into a comprehensive d20/OGL forum.



That's right, it is a rules forum. I had forgotten. But there is still system segregation, in that you have the d20/OGL games in one forum (their own), and all other games go into the General forum, along with every other topic under the sun. 


			
				buzz said:
			
		

> As Henry and others have already stated, a new forum will be created *in reaction to demand for one*. That's the point of online communities: they adapt instead of manage themselves top-down. I don't think it's the admins job to try and entice discussion of other systems by creating a forum for which there is yet no great demand. I think simply being open to discussion of any RPG in General and doing their usual awesome job of moderating is enough for now.



If EN World is going to start doing reviews of other games and systems, then perhaps this is another reason why there should be a forum for Other Games. Thus it is in keeping with the idea of Other Reviews, and gives folks a place to talk about those reviews. By my way of thinking, not having a forum for Other Games, while having reviews of Other Games is kinda lopsided. Somebody may come to read the review, and then check the forums, and not see a place (clearly marked) in which to dicuss those reviews or those other games it might make them shy away from joining in on discussions. Having such a forum can help the EN World community grow as a whole.

No, it is not the admins job to entice anybody to talk about anything, just to make sure folks don't get out of hand.


			
				buzz said:
			
		

> Also, maknig a section in the reviews area for non-d20 product and highlighting these reviews on the news page will itself send a signal to visitors that, yes, ENworld is place to discuss all games, even if it's primary focus is d20.



 Yes, but the signals are mixed signals. To me, they are saying, we will review other games, but they are not important enough to warrant a forum to discuss them in. 


			
				buzz said:
			
		

> Heck, Rasyr. Encourage people to submit HARP reviews!



Hey! Joe Kushner has promised me another review of HARP now that the ENnies are over! He did a review back when it first came out, but since then HARP was revised (and we added 32 pages while keeping the price the same, AND offered folks who bought the first printing a $15 discount on ANY product from ICE to make up for the inconvenience of revising the game 6 weeks after it was released). So now all I have to do is to remind him of that promise hehe...


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## Vanuslux (Aug 26, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> If EN World is going to start doing reviews of other games and systems, then perhaps this is another reason why there should be a forum for Other Games. Thus it is in keeping with the idea of Other Reviews, and gives folks a place to talk about those reviews. By my way of thinking, not having a forum for Other Games, while having reviews of Other Games is kinda lopsided. Somebody may come to read the review, and then check the forums, and not see a place (clearly marked) in which to dicuss those reviews or those other games it might make them shy away from joining in on discussions. Having such a forum can help the EN World community grow as a whole.




Give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile.  I'm going to go give myself a cookie for predicting this.


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## Umbran (Aug 26, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> Yes, but the signals are mixed signals. To me, they are saying, we will review other games, but they are not important enough to warrant a forum to discuss them in.




Perhaps, but you must start somewhere, Rasyr.  And starting a new forum before the traffic to support it exists tends to quell discussion, rather than enhance it.  Putting the cart before the horse, and all that.

Allow them to start doing reviews.  Then see if that enhances demand for discussion.  If it does, then give it a new forum.  Everything in it's proper time.


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## Crothian (Aug 26, 2004)

As it is people have now been reuesting the forum for almost 30 hours yet we've not seen a single thread created discussing non d20.......


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## Nisarg (Aug 26, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> Actually, I don't see much real d20 hatred as I see hatred of system zealots over on rpg.net. People who relentlessly bash other systems or other people who say something slightly less than pleasing (to the zealot) about their system, or to sing the praises of their flawless system. I think this is a case of a few bad apples ruining the whole bunch for a lot of people, and most of what vitriol there is usually comes from a very small group. And yes, each system has their haters and zealots, so you end up with a zealot going and bashing another zealots favorite system because they perceived an insult on another thread, and sometimes the hate circle kinda hetrodynes out of control...




No, while RPG.net does have that, it also has some clearly delineated "pet systems" that get both more coverage then others (which is merely a function of the demands of the crowd at rpg.net), and more leeway than others.. primary among these is Exalted, but Nobilis and Unknown Armies get a big plus too.
Contrary to this are the "whipping-boys", the systems where its the unspoken rule on rpg.net that you can get away with attacking way further than someone can if they attack Exalted or Nobilis. Criticize these two and you'll get attacked back and scolded by mods.  But attacks on D20, Hero, or especially Palladium are tolerated to a far deeper level of permisiveness.
Part of the reason for this is that the mods dole out discipline based almost exclusively on the volume of complaints they receive. Since Exalted fans are in the majority, they swamp the mods with complaints against someone who is anti-exalted. The result is that there will be swifter discipline against people who criticize certain systems over those who criticize other systems. 

Enworld has the advantage that its mods seem to be pretty fair about the moderation and don't seem to rely on the same methods of determining disciplinary need, there doesn't seem to be the same biases. 
However, given Enworlds origins, I think it will be pretty inevitable that no matter what you do, D20 will continue to be the default-favoured system.  At least this will result in something more demographically realistic than what you see at Rpg.net, given that in the real world D20 is also the default-favoured system of the majority of the planet's role players.

Nisarg


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## hong (Aug 26, 2004)

TBH, I haven't actually seen a lot of active d20 bashing on RPGnet.


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## diaglo (Aug 26, 2004)

hong said:
			
		

> TBH, I haven't actually seen a lot of active d20 bashing on RPGnet.





nor i.


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## Rasyr (Aug 26, 2004)

hong - correct, like I said, I perceive it as more little flame wars between individuals and clashes of personality rather than actual system bashing.

Nisarg - I am not even going to get into this discussion with you. If I actually see a post where you have something constructive to say about another system, rather than just another bash fest against rpg.net or other system, then I might change my mind. Until then, no. 

Crothian - One HARP thread coming right up.


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## Piratecat (Aug 26, 2004)

Frankly, I think creating a non-d20 games forum would make the place seem a lot less homey. I like being exposed to new things in General; relegating those threads to another forum would make the site less interesting. Worse, few people would read them because the forum would be relatively slow-moving.


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## Rasyr (Aug 26, 2004)

Piratecat - There is also the issue that threads disappear off the front page too quickly in the General forum. Perhaps this might not be so bad, but there is no way to find a thread except going through page after page after page and looking at the thread titles.

Yes, I realize that the search features are turned off for a reason, but by doing so it really makes it hard sometimes to find the thread you are looking for. 

And if a thread drops off the front page, it is less likely to be seen by folks. There is such a thing as too busy... 

Now perhaps, if the PtB do not wish to make a "Other Games" forum, they should perhaps look closely at the General forum to see if another forum for another topic (such as settings maybe) might be called for.


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## Henry (Aug 26, 2004)

Mind you, it's just my estimation on the issue, but if we were to create a forum specifically for non-d20 game discussion right now, I earnestly believe it might get 10 responses in a week. We've had similar situations for "hot topics" in the past, and release schedules drive people's mindshare.

We had a similar situation in early 2003 with d20 modern. At first, we had (as we do now) a d20 systems forum. Then, in late 2002 d20 Modern was released, and a HUGE buzz was generated - so much so that it seemed every topic on the first page was d20 modern. There was a clamor for a separate forum, and so one was made after a few weeks of deliberation. At that point, the topics immediately began to slack off (around april or may of 2003, I believe). The point at which we folded d20 modern back into d20 systems was when we saw single posts where people were saying " hey! Where are the d20 Modern players?!?!" It was kind of the finishing flag being dropped in the race. 

And though it's not the mods'/admins' jobs to generate discussion, I personally (along with several others) WANT to, because we like a lot of people here DO play different systems - not a week goes by that I don't make a reference to Feng Shui, or Battletech, or Shadowrun in context of one fo their rules systems. d20 is not meant to be a static system, recycling only a few designers' rules; if a rule works better for a purpose, pull it in! CoC's sanity rules were done this way, and it is one of those "overly simple but effective" systems that makes for good game rules (kind of like the situation with the hit points system).


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## Rasyr (Aug 26, 2004)

Henry, I cannot dispute your points, which is why, in the post directly above yours, I suggested the possibility of  reviewing the General forum to see if perhaps there might be enough cause to create another forum for another topic other than "Other Games" (although I would prefer the Other Games forum myself).

One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that *perhaps* the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).

If some portion (any portion) of the General forum were split off to become its own forum, or even a sub-forum, this will slow down the process that drops threads off the front page, and thus make things easier to find.

EN World is an extremely popular site, which means that sometimes it is slow to load, and that makes having to search through several pages very tedious indeed.


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## Vanuslux (Aug 26, 2004)

All the more reason to pony up the dough to be a community supporter.


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## diaglo (Aug 26, 2004)

Henry said:
			
		

> Mind you, it's just my estimation on the issue, but if we were to create a forum specifically for non-d20 game discussion right now, I earnestly believe it might get 10 responses in a week. We've had similar situations for "hot topics" in the past, and release schedules drive people's mindshare.




there is hardly... just ask any of my fanboys  ... a post that goes by that i don't mention non-d02 games.

OD&D in particular


i can guarantee you there will be at least 1 if not 10 posts by me per day on avg.


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## Umbran (Aug 26, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that *perhaps* the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).




Having thought about this, I'm not sure it is a very strong point.

Let us assume that the number of threads and posts made per day remains the same.  Splitting off a new forum then means that in order to give everything a once-over, you still have to view multiple pages.  Shifting things off to a new forum changes the heading under which you look, but not the maximum number of pages you need to look over to see everything.  

Your position holds if the person only wants to find one thread, or is only interested in one narrow window of topics.  If they don't want to see everything that is in General, then a separate forum speeds up their lives.

However, under a certain critical mass of posting on the topic, having a separate forum cuts down the number of posts a topic recieves.  So, while it might be easier to find the thread you want, there will be less discussion in it.

So, it comes down to a choice: which do you prefer - having to do an extra click and page load or two, or have less to read when you find your topic?


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## Nisarg (Aug 26, 2004)

Rasyr said:
			
		

> One of the biggest problem with the General forum is that things disappear off the front page too fast (which cheerily indicates that it is a popular forum). However, without search capabilities, this means that threads that might be good discussions get overlooked as they disappear too quickly unless you want to have to scan several pages worth of threads (a sign that *perhaps* the forum is too popular or that it is too broad).
> 
> If some portion (any portion) of the General forum were split off to become its own forum, or even a sub-forum, this will slow down the process that drops threads off the front page, and thus make things easier to find.




Well, see, there are three responses to this:
1. I believe (not sure because I've never tried it myself, but i see the option there) that you can subscribe to threads so as not to lose them?

2. Creating a whole seperate forum creates more hassle, not less, for people who want to find a specific thread. Because now you actually have to browse through one or more pages in two or more forums instead of just one.

3. Any thread that is sufficiently popular will keep rising to the top.  If, unfortunately, certain non-d20 systems just aren't making the "front page news" its because not enough people care.  Anything people do care about will stay up there. Survival of the fittest, baby.

Nisarg


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## Morrus (Aug 26, 2004)

I think that the important thing to realise here is that the boards aren't here to persuade or encourage people to have conversations that they aren't already having - they are here to facilitate the conversations that they are having.  So, we have no interest in trying to get people to talk about something just because they're not currently talking about it; conversely, if people are talking about something a lot, then we'll probably look into making that easier.


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