There are even still those who don't want to see us going to general tv. It seemed like that used to be a value of ours.

What you mean "ours" kemo sabe? I never considered that a community value but a stance by people against thread proliferation.

What brenda says is why I'd like to see us try the buckets (either SA or bon bon's ideas sound find to me for a trial run) through the end of May.

May is usually full of good tv. It should provide us with enough fodder to give us a good idea of our needs (and to discern between perceived and actual needs); which shows we find worth discussing; how those discussions will play out; if white font is needed; which shows (if any) merit dedicated show threads; and which shows don't need a dedicated thread, but might fit well in a bucket thread.

And? If we're actually better off with the way things are right now, we would likely have evidence of that.

There are even still those who don't want to see us going to general tv. It seemed like that used to be a value of ours.

I don't think that has ever been a community value of ours. It was the value of some, perhaps, but we've always (for a value of always that means since WX) discussed television generally. The format in which we've done it has changed. And it seems like there's enough support for discussing television with a more definitive structure that perhaps that value, if it existed, has changed as well.

And? If we're actually better off with the way things are right now, we would likely have evidence of that.

Indeed. And we wouldn't find ourselves coming back here again and again to hash this out.

So how does one do this proposal thingie? David, did you still want to do it? If I were to do it, which I don't have a problem with, I would wait to see if there were more responses to what I've outlined above, whether there's enough general support to take it in to lightbulbs where it could be refined, and with the limitation that this is a trial run until the end of May, at which point we would have a second poll to determine whether the community thought such threads worked.

Yeah, what Brenda said. I think we are talking about what kind of proposal would make sense to the most people, not an intent to vote against any proposal.

If we're thinking an experimental thread, I'd suggest waiting to create the categories until we see what happens with the thread, what draws discussion, whether there's too much whitefont, etc., etc. For example I know a lot of shows can be termed procedural, but most of those shows don't draw a tremendous amount of discussion (how much Law & Order is there to talk about, really). I'd say leave Premium as it is, create *one* thread for thirty days in the hated drama category, see what shakes out. This is just a suggestion. Three or four experimental threads might be too much data to deal with.

Procedurals Thread - House, The Unit, Without a Trace, CSI(s), Numb3rs, jericho (?), Bones, The Closer, Cold Case, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law and Order(s)

Dramedies - Ugly Betty, The Office, Studio 60, Monk, Psych, Grey's, Gilmore Girls, The Boondocks, others(?)

Serious Drama - 24, Friday Night Lights, Prison Break, others(?)

UK TV - Spooks, Hustle, Robin Hood, maybe Doctor Who as it airs in the UK, and keep Doctor Who as it airs in the US in Boxed Set?

This is the sort of direction I was thinking. "Procedurals" as more episodic and "Serious Drama" as longer arc stories? (If so, I'd move Jericho). (I'd also add Brothers & Sisters to "Serious"). The season-length descriptor certainly helps in defining an expanded Premium.

I never considered that a community value

Well, I guess (perhaps unsurprisingly?) we see things differently then.

I perceive the general tv issue and thread proliferation as two separate issues. In fact, one of the iterations of this idea involves consolidation rather than expansion. It's not a numbers game.

To me, general tv is a cultural issue and thread proliferation is primarily a technical one, although of course it does have community ramifications.

I'd say leave Premium as it is, create *one* thread for thirty days in the hated drama category, see what shakes out. This is just a suggestion. Three or four experimental threads might be too much data to deal with.

What do people think? An F/X thread? A general drama thread? A procedurals thread?

If we're creating only one thread for the purpose of the experiment, I'd say general drama.

If we're going to go white font anyhow, I wouldn't specify any genre. I suspect people will mostly talk about drama, but since we'd be experimenting to see what people want to talk about -- let's just let the people talk, and see what comes out.