do we have a thread of 4 shows that ND watches as they air and another of shows that I watch as they air and another for shows that Vortex watches on delay, etc.

Okay, for me it's not really about which four shows are lumped together it's about keeping the number of shows low. It's not even about it being 4 shows I watch. If there is one show in there that I watch then this works. The trick is with four shows in a thread, if there are two of the four that I watch and I'm behind on one of them and I really want to discuss the other one, that's only one show I have to catch up on to head into that thread. Even if I watch all four shows in the thread it's much easier for me to catch up and be able to post. With larger threads it becomes more and more untenable. With larger bucket threads it becomes an issue of catching up on half a dozen shows before I can enter the thread and post and not be spoiled. If I'm more than a week behind I might as well just give up and not post.

Catching up on one or two episodes of an hour long show is something I can do in an evening. Catching up on 10 episodes of varied shows is a project that has to wait until a large break for me, and by then it feels like my opportunity to post has passed.

Am I making any sense?

The show discussions make me crazy and I will only care about any thread formation IF it slows down the board or starts bringing in a ton of new folk who find their way into Natter

Two questions: 1) slows down the board as a whole or specific threads? I suspect that if we have more threads, the discussion board-wide will actually increase.

2) What's wrong with new people in Natter?

Yes, ND.

I thought we weren't talking about single-show threads because that was too much thread proliferation for the Board to support. But if that's not the case, then I'm with ita: why aren't we talking about single-show threads?

One thing that I saw mentioned was a desire to re-create the intensity of conversation that existed with BtVS. That isn't likely to happen in Natter or a big-bucket thread.

I don't remember why. Perhaps it's a throwback from when we folded threads together to save bandwith?

That's how we got Boxed Set. It was part of the big thread consolidation. It was on an 11 part ballot if my memory is correct. We even discussed folding movies and music back into natter.

We even discussed folding movies and music back into natter.

Not seriously enough!

My memory is that Boxed Set happened when we moved to the Phoenix -- the consolidation for technical worries was when our first host screwed us.

No, we had Due South and Smallville at the Phoenix as well as Farscape.

I was dismembering, in that case. Thank you.

Question: do people think anything was learned from the Experimental Threads?

I learned that I really enjoyed Network Drama, which surprised me to no end. And I learned that I liked Natter a lot better without the TV stuff. Although, it was bizarre, and kind of sad, to go into Natter and be caught up, with no one posting.

sort of feel that if I'm watching on Tivo delay, that's my problem, and I have to deal with watching late. If I have two shows on at the same time (Wednesday night, I'm looking at you!), then it's not my fault that I'm watching one of them late and could be spoiled by a W&P or Wednesday thread.

But as Kristin pointed out, the people who are always 3 hours behind and don't want to be spoiled are screwed, because us west coast people are always trying to catch up.

Which is why, for me, single show threads are a better solution. I do think they have a negative effect on the community; I just don't think for some people that it matters that much. Or it matters less than having the exact thread they are hoping to have.

I am with amych. I think I proposed the consolidation in a roundup of cleaning as a result of a host rocket crashing.

In general, it seems naive to chase some sort of holy grail of a show that we talk about with the same intensity as we talked Buffy. Too many shows and not everyone watches the same show. Instead, I think we need to figure out what we are willing to tolerate. Does X show generate enough and the right type of intense discussion to justify a new thread? And what does that mean for the community at large?

I mean, I'm looking forward to Gossip Girl because Josh Schwartz can do at least ONE season of soapy goodness. But do I personally need a thread to discuss it in? Probably not. And if we moved all soap discussion out of minearverse and into its own thread, would I follow it? I highly doubt it. But that is strictly a my idiosyncratic use of the board. I don't expect this place to be my one true place to discuss soapy goodness.