Not to mention that, Natter being Natter, other discussions would be happening in between whatever television shows were being discussed; so a "skip to end" would mean you are effectively missing other discussion as well.

I think the issue is people who have seen this week's Show A, but are two weeks behind on Show B, and have no way of knowing what kind of discussion of Show B has gone on.

Exactly, plus maybe show C and D as well.

That's what I meant. For example, ND and I are almost always current with BSG, but we just haven't had time to be current with Stargate, Heroes, SPN, Eureka, etc. (Yes, I know that some of those shows have their own threads now, but I'm using them as an example from when they were all in a bucket thread--please bear with me.) This year I really wanted to squee about BSG, but I couldn't without being spoiled for the others. Even once I'd managed to catch up with Stargate, I still couldn't go in since I knew we wanted to buy Heroes et. al. as soon as they came out on DVD and catch up when we had a work lull. Essentially, bucket threads about multiple shows with arcs are unworkable for anyone who can't keep up with every show in the thread but doesn't want to be spoiled.

I really love talking about shows with you all, too, but the whole cross-pollination idea doesn't work for me. Being able to go into a Buffy thread to talk Buffy and a Firefly thread to talk Firefly and an Angel thread to talk Angel...that did work for me. Even when I was behind, I could go in that thread and find the part of the discussion relevant to whatever episode I was on and just read it without worrying about the others.

I'm not suggesting that every single show out there should get its own thread, but I am suggesting that bucket threads be reserved for shows without story arcs. If shows that have major story arcs and generate discussion have their own threads, non-arc-y shows have buckets, I think that we might all find that a workable compromise. People who don't want to take tv out of Natter could still whitefont discussion there, too.

Not making a proposal yet--I know we need to debate and vote on SA's proposal right now. Just wanted to throw this out there as a possible future compromise.

I'm not suggesting that every single show out there should get its own thread, but I am suggesting that bucket threads be reserved for shows without story arcs.

This seems like a very wise compromise to me. Even those of us that have issues with the bucket threads don't seem to have them for the reality show bucket, or at least not as strongly, and many of the people who like the bucket threads seem to feel especially fond of this one.

It's also the only bucket thread that is likely to be active for a couple of months. Maybe we can try it for a while, and then see how we feel about the other shows later.

It's also the only bucket thread that is likely to be active for a couple of months. Maybe we can try it for a while, and then see how we feel about the other shows later.

I think that's a good idea -- deal with the current proposal, but not be frantic to Figure It All Out while most fiction shows are just in reruns.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't set up the poll I mentioned earlier? It would really help me to get a big-picture idea of where people are, which I find hard to do in the context of discussions, but it wouldn't be binding like a vote is.

What about arcy shows that some people want to discuss but probably don't generate enough discussion to warrant their own thread? I could see discussing Criminal Minds or Rescue Me but I don't think there's enough discussion for each to have it's own thread. I'm not sure Bones could sustain it's own thread.

There should be some kind of compromise between having whitefont for 24 hours and for 1 week.

If we're going to take a poll to see how many people liked using the bucket threads because they don't read Natter and how many people perfer Natter maybe we should do a poll to see how Buffistas watch tv.

How many people watch within 72 hours of it being aired and how many people does it take a week or more to watch a show. If more people watch within a few days it makes more sense to have threads based on that standard.

I like the idea of a poll or two. I like the bucket threads, but not as much as I like knowing what works best for the majority of Buffistas and going that way.

There should be some kind of compromise between having whitefont for 24 hours and for 1 week.

But that pre-supposes that we can catch up with every show in a bucket within a week. If that works for the majority, fine, but it wouldn't work for me personally. YMMV.

In terms of Bones/Rescue/Law&Order, etc., I don't think of them as arc-y shows, particularily. While there are some arcs, each show can also be viewed as a stand-alone. I'd be fine with them in a bucket thread.

I like the idea of polls too. I'd like to get a solid idea of what we all need and want.

I don't think there's any way we're going to be able to make everyone happy, though.

I would argue that Rescue Me is very arc-y. At least it used to be when I was able to keep up with it. Now it's in my netflix queue somewhere around #250. But I am posting to agree with Kristin. I think separating between arc and no-arc is an elegant solution. Now we just have to argue on what arcs and what doesn't. But also my opinion shouldn't carry too much weight as I never got a chance to check out the TV threads while they were open.

I don't think there's any way we're going to be able to make everyone happy, though.

also this