Anytime a new thread is to be added after the thread limit is reached, it must be decided what old thread is to die to make room. If nothing dies, nothing is added.

That's sort of the way TT handled it. Every so often they would close the slow movers. OTOH, they were running about a hundred threads per forum, so the top 80 or so got to stay. I'm not worried about new threads taking up bandwidth, because if someone starts posting in a new thread, it means they'll probably be posting less in another thread. I think the only real bandwidth worries come from the total number of users who are actually posting, regardless of how many threads they're posting in.

if someone starts posting in a new thread, it means they'll probably be posting less in another thread.

But is this true? Because it doesn't seem like there has been less posting in Natter since the birth of the TTT thread or the music thread.

I totally understand what you mean, Hil. It should be a balance between those who want the new thread as a new place for them and those who want the discussion to just shut the hell up and move on. But in a nice way.

My sense is PMM, who initially asked for the Alias thread, isn't an Alias watcher. Is that true, Plei?

Except more threads attract more users. An Alias thread may attract an alias fan who is not a fan of any other show we discuss.

And there is a problem completely seperate from bandwidth. 80 threads are too many. I know that intuitively. How many few than this is too much - that I don't know. Which is where the old hands come in. People who have run fan boards or moderated fan boards or just hung out a long on fan boards. We do need a procedure for new threads. But we also need to set a maximum number of threads. Unless, we don't for some reason I'm not getting.

Mean3400.38 Maximum10024 Minimum53 Standard Deviation3775.954178 Mode10003

Because it doesn't seem like there has been less posting in Natter since the birth of the TTT thread or the music thread.

I post in TTT, I don't post in Natter. TTT has my great interest; Natter, I can't keep up enough to be involved. My point, and I might not have one, is that .. Yeah, I don't have one. But new threads might not mean less posting in Natter. In fact, it might mean more. People who don't usually post there might venture forth if a massive subject (like TTT) was taken out and there was more room for other things that interested them.

I think new threads will definitely have a net increase effect. Both from people who'd not have posted otherwise, and from people who now post in the perceived space left over. We've never really had an indication that ANYTHING slows natter.

We've never really had an indication that ANYTHING slows natter.

HA! And oh so true.

Followed by a pondering of what would slow Natter? Perhaps the Bubonic Plague?

No, people would be comparing pustule size and home remedies.

Postulating on Pustules could be the first title!

My sense is PMM, who initially asked for the Alias thread, isn't an Alias watcher. Is that true, Plei?

That'd be the case. But I want to start watching it, and I'm having a hard time avoiding the white font. So, I'm hella spoiled.

Followed by a pondering of what would slow Natter? Perhaps the Bubonic Plague?

I was thinking about this in the car on the way home. I need a life. Anyhow, WX was essential like the old typewriter QWERTY. It forced a certain speed limitation through its own ferwonkiness. Here, it's all Dvorak, built for speed. It's been faster in terms of postcount since day one.

Here, you post, and thank the lord, go back to the post you last read, where at WX, you had to actually go back yourself. Posting took longer. There were fewer crossposts.

I think the flavour of Natter has changed in large part because there's so much cross talk that it becomes easier to just chatter than to make a long, thought out post, which is more likely to get lost than before.

So, unless you want to introduce artificial post slowing means (which I FUCKING HATE, FTR), ain't no way of slowing that puppy down.

I think.

I'm just pulling this out of my ass, but I think I'm right. So there.