Inara: So, explain to me again why Zoe wasn't in the dress? Mal: Tactics, woman. Needed her in the back. 'Sides, those soft cotton dresses feel kinda nice. It's the whole... air-flow.

'Our Mrs. Reynolds'


Bureaucracy 4: Like Job. No, really, just like Job

A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.

Current Stompy Feet: Jon B, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych, msbelle, shrift, Dana, Laura

Stompy Emerita: ita, DXMachina


Vortex - May 10, 2008 10:15:29 am PDT #2773 of 6786
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

I seem to recall that the day thread idea has come up before. Am I wrong?


Jessica - May 10, 2008 10:24:45 am PDT #2774 of 6786
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

The main problem I see with a day-of-the-week TV thread is that those of us with DVRs often have no idea what day of the week our shows actually air on. (I dimly remember a network-based-TV-threads idea from a ways back that bumped up against the same problem.)

It seems to me a perfectly reasonable proposition, though, to ask that certain discussion take place in specified times and places.

It seems to me to be unreasonable to shut down a relevant (and, in my opinion, valuable) aspect of the thread-creation discussion simply because some people disagree with it or are tired of hearing it.


P.M. Marc - May 10, 2008 10:31:08 am PDT #2775 of 6786
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear

I am curious what percentage of voters actually bother to read lightbulbs at all. If I could be high overlord, I would make reading the whole thread of arguments and submitting a thumbnail summary a prereq for being able to vote at all. But that is just me.


brenda m - May 10, 2008 10:38:58 am PDT #2776 of 6786
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

I seem to recall that the day thread idea has come up before. Am I wrong?

It has. Objections as I recall included the Tivo issue, lack of commonality between shows, and holy crap seven new threads. Also, it doesn't really help the spoiler issues that much. At the time, we weren't discussing these as substitutes but rather additions to existing threads, and ended up going the thematic/network buckets instead. IIRC. Which I'm pretty sure I do since the idea of closing the existing tv threads all together would probably have left deep emotional scar all over the place.

I'm not saying don't discuss it or that it doesn't have merit at all, just trying to remember how we turned away from that idea before.


omnis_audis - May 10, 2008 10:43:26 am PDT #2777 of 6786
omnis, pursue. That's an order from a shy woman who can use M-16. - Shir

The main problem I see with a day-of-the-week TV thread is that those of us with DVRs often have no idea what day of the week our shows actually air on
Both of my DVR's list which day they were recorded. But, maybe this could be alleviated with in the thread description "Discussion of Thursday TV shows. This includes CSI, Survivor, Smallville, Office, My Name Is Earl, ER, Supernatural, and others". I think once you get in the habit, you'll remember which show is on which day.

Would network instead of day of week be better? Seems there are far too many of those with cable channels and all.

Again, just brainstorming here. Trying to find a middle ground. I am *not* dug in on this idea. Happy to jump on bandwagon for other ideas. Just thought if we have smaller buckets, there is less likely for solo show threads being proposed. Then a higher bar to add solo show threads. For non-show threads (like Gaming) same old standard would be in effect.


Jesse - May 10, 2008 10:43:27 am PDT #2778 of 6786
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

The delayed viewing issue is compounded not only by people watching on DVR-delay, but waiting for shows to come out on DVD (right?). So there's essentially no way to guarantee that a thread that includes more than one show will make every single person happy.

Of course, I don't believe there is a solution at all that will make every single person happy. In truth, I think that, even though it's even less likely to happen than reducing discussion, the thing that would help is not taking these discussions personally. Not to diminish the importance of this board, or the community, but come ON, people. I genuinely don't understand why people can't disagree without hurt feelings.


Glamcookie - May 10, 2008 10:48:17 am PDT #2779 of 6786
I know my own heart and understand my fellow man. But I am made unlike anyone I have ever met. I dare to say I am like no one in the whole world. - Anne Lister

No idea how this would work, but just an idea. What if we did that thing like they do prior to real voting in which an issue is presented neutrally and then there is a single pro and a single con argument for it? If there were some way to distill each side (including content and prolif stances) so that just one statement for each side appeared rather than a back and forth for days on end. Again, no idea how or if this would work, but throwing it out there.


brenda m - May 10, 2008 10:57:06 am PDT #2780 of 6786
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

Glam, we used to do it more like that, and I do think it's a better way, but it does require someone (the proposer, or, at the time, a saint like Sophia) to put a lot of time and effort into synthesizing the various arguments and vetting them in the thread over and over.


meara - May 10, 2008 11:05:12 am PDT #2781 of 6786

Er....Plei, I have to admit, there are something like 3,000 unread messages in my Lightbulbs sub right now. And that may just be because someone linked to somewhere in the middle, and i hadn't read the 3,000 before that, either. It was too exhausting.

But then, I often end up voting no preference. I'm mildly antipro, but I don't want to make people who want to talk about stuff sad, so I'm always torn. ;)

And heck, didn't caucus in the real-world primary because I knew I'd vote for whoever won, and didn't really care.

So I may not be the best example.


Pix - May 10, 2008 11:07:27 am PDT #2782 of 6786
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie

The day of the week buckets wouldn't help me at all, and I'm one of the spoiler-phobes who wishes she could be in Boxed Set but can't. As was said above, a lot of the problem is not being able to keep up with all the shows I want to watch as they are airing. I would rather not create more bucket threads. Basically, I've accepted that I can only be an active poster about shows that have their own threads, and that's okay. I don't want to disrupt the TV threads that are working for those who actively use them.