See, the other side of that is that there are threads I've withdrawn from because of their structure. I used to post in the threads before the Boxed Set bucket thread, but now I don't post in that thread. Most smaller focus threads would probably mean more posting and board participation from me. If there are a reasonable number of folks like me then the addition of smaller focus threads could be good for the community.

What if we started with bucket threads, with the understanding that we could spin them of if people felt that it was warranted?

What if we started with bucket threads, with the understanding that we could spin them of if people felt that it was warranted?

I guess I don't see how this helps folks for whom the larger bucket threads don't really work. Do we just wait until a show hopefully gets spun off?

ND, do you perceive that there's any kind of relationship between the quality of discussion in the broad community threads and the creation of many smaller focus threads?

I ask that without agenda but just curiosity.

I'm curious to see whether that would affect the way you look at show threads.

Do you see something like a finite resource of talk (relative to group size) which costs the broad focus threads? Or do you see it that the tighter the focus of the thread, then the more robust the discussion and greater participation?

I guess I don't see how this helps folks for whom the larger bucket threads don't really work. Do we just wait until a show hopefully gets spun off?

you can always make the suggestion, and if the board supports it, then it will spin off.

ND, do you perceive that there's any kind of relationship between the quality of discussion in the broad community threads and the creation of many smaller focus threads?

I know for me it was easier to be in more of the threads on a more regular basis when I was posting in Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Due South (For SG1). I felt more a part of the community. On busy days I might not go into Bitches or Natter if there are too many messages to catch up on, but I would go into one of the other threads to see what's happening and post with folks who would then occasionally point me towards something I should follow in a thread like Natter.

Now that I'm involved in far fewer threads, when I have a quick moment and I pop onto b.org and I realize I'm 200+ posts behind in Bitches or Natter I tend to just move on and not post that day and also not read anything on the board. I do a quick check of LJ and come back to b.org on a day when I have more time.

did someone examine if natter and bitches posting rates were affected when the experimental threads were up?

if so can someone Nilly that for me?

Thanks for the link to that Shirky article, bon bon. Extremely interesting. There are a couple of points that I honestly don't know how to apply to us and I think it's a good thing that I now know enough to think about them.

Ice gave me courage to say something. Well, that and the assurance that lurkers’ opinions were recently solicited and encouraged. I posted one time in 2004 during Wonderfalls, and then after lurking a few months, drifted away. At that time my userid made more sense, so I want to be clear that the name is not an intentional insult to the current discussion.

After that time, I haven’t checked the board regularly until a couple weeks ago when a friend mentioned it on Livejournal and I remembered the witty conversation of the regulars that I loved about Buffistas. Despite that fact, if Supernatural wasn’t its own thread, I still would be lurking or not here at all.

Some days I have the time to read and keep up in busier threads. Most days, I don’t. Because of that and because of the intense investment of most of the regular posters, I wouldn’t normally say something in this thread. I suspect, most people in mainly lurker mode wouldn’t presume to come in here and help to shape the board either. So I don’t think that lack of conversation in Bureaucracy from lurkers (or even infrequent posters) is an indication of not caring about the board. It could possibly be a function of intimidation. At least it is for me, in case you wanted another lurker perspective.

Thank you, both Ice and lurker, for being brave enough to delurk and voice your opinions. I'm a very regular poster, and B'crxy intimidates the hell out of me most of the time.