The MEMEMEMEME approach to the question, because of course you're all dying for that:

I'll be disappointed if our bullshit consensus falls on "don't change anything," because it basically means that as of this fall, I'm out of the board except for the fic, music and movie threads (all of which I read more than post about) and whatever random posts there are on Angel and Buffy. I know this job won't give me time to even skim Natter and Bitches, and I'll miss talking to y'all. Show threads tend to be a little easier to keep up with.

But the board is not all about my whims. So.

it has been my experience that if you want to talk about something you'll probably find someone around here that will join you, eventually.

I agree with this msbelle but I think the call for some sort of TV thread may come from people who can't keep up with natter (and are not obsessive threadsucking completists like myself) and so miss out on much of the show-specific discussion because the thread has already moved on to duct tape or pandas.

Not sure whether I'd support any new thread(s) but I do understand why people would want one. I feel like I can participate in "Movies" but almost always miss TV discussions (today excepted) because my on-line time is so limited.

eta: or what Lyra Jane said

I'm honestly confused how a TV thread will help people better keep up with discussion of a TV show. Generally we talk about a show the day after it airs-- presumably that wouldn't change (and it's pretty easy to find in natter, too). And the discussion will be overtaken by discussion of more recent television airings-- that won't change, either.

I guess I'm saying, if you can't be in a fast-moving thread the day after it airs, why would the TV thread make it any easier than the discussion that occurs in Natter?

I would think the TV thread would make discussion of any particular show more spread out chronologically than the confined discussion in natter, which makes it even harder to track.

Are folks bored? Lost? Ignored? Short-shrifted?

I think it's more a sense of, "What's the mission now?" We started out as a Buffy board. And when that went off the air, we still had Buffyverse with Angel.

Now that Angel has been canceled, our mission seems gone. So what's our new mission?

I think the answer is to be ourselves -- an intelligent, snarky board with an emphasis on pop culture. A mission will come along. Or maybe we're already too unwieldy a board for any single mission.

I guess as a board member who hasn't gone into ME verse show threads actively for a few years this never crossed my mind.

That said, your "be ourselves" idea seems the best approach. People should be able to do that without the confines of ME shows, right?

Short-shrifted?

Hey. No poking at shrift please.

In an ideal technical world where we weren't footing the bill, I'd be happy to see a thread for The OC, a thread for Alias, a thread for Tru Calling (which I don't watch), a thread for Everwood, etc.

But we are paying the rent and I'm willing to go without.

I also am good with how we are, even if it isn't perfect.

Isn't "mission" a bit strong of a term? We were drawn here for 3000 reasons, stay for 3000 more -- and so it will continue.

I'm honestly confused how a TV thread will help people better keep up with discussion of a TV show. Generally we talk about a show the day after it airs-- presumably that wouldn't change (and it's pretty easy to find in natter, too). And the discussion will be overtaken by discussion of more recent television airings-- that won't change, either.

I guess I'm saying, if you can't be in a fast-moving thread the day after it airs, why would the TV thread make it any easier than the discussion that occurs in Natter?

What a focused thread provides is continuity of discussion. Natter sweeps along at natterspeed, and if you're not there, you can't participate. Whereas a focused discussion board will move more slowly, and - in the instance of the music board at least - you can still participate even if you come upon a topic a day or so later.

Also - I'm presuming - that if certain subgroups were interested in particular shows, then they could watch-and-post or discuss that show when it aired. Not every show has enough of a quorum to generate that in Natter - but there are people who do watch the Gilmore Girls and if they had a focused place to discuss it then it would generate more and more interesting talk.

Why should we have a talk about board direction? I'd like to have a better sense of how we see our mandate now. We have in other discussions circled around the idea of keeping a focus on pop culture discussion and analysis with the usual natter.

Without some kind of focus (as we've had with ME shows), I'm afraid that every thread will devolve into separate Natter communities - as has already started to happen with Natter / Bitches / Minearverse. I don't think that's a positive trend. I do prefer keeping some tighter subjects at our core, and I think the recent movement to have the comics discussion full on in Jossiverse has been a positive and a focal point for interesting dialogue.

So I do think it would be valuable to discuss how we see ourselves, because I think it would be more divisive to have multiple separate natter communities, rather than topic discussion areas which draw people in from across other groups.

But Hec, music isn't like TV.

If I watch Arrested Development on Sundays, Everwood on Mondays, Gilmore Girls on Tuesdays and who knows what else, and, as will happen once I'm back in school, I can mostly only post at night, I can never use the thread for the intended purpose because of (1) spoilers and (2) being three hours behind a large group of people already discussing the episodes.

I'm also not bummed about separate natter communities. There have ALWAYS been seperate communities and we don't and shouldn't be all things to everyone.

Hell, even within a thread there are seperate natter communities, from the AM crowd to the PM crowd.

Why do you think that separate Natter communities are a bad thing, Hec? Do you think all the Natter should be in one place? There should be less of it?