Maybe I'm way off base here, but I never got the impression that this wonderful board was designed to be all things for all people. I thought it was designed to be most things to most people.

Exactly this.

Personally, I'm against a compromise that ghettoizes each spoiler or unspoiler group into their own thread. I'm for accomodating the middle as much as possible and using the vote to find out what the middle is.

Concur with David.

I thought it was designed to be most things to most people.

I agree, justkim. (Can I call you Kim?) One of the reasons I'm eager for a vote is to find out where "most" lies. (I mean, I have my suspicions, but nobody will abide by my suspicions!

If this discussion keeps up much longer, there won't be many people left on the board for this to be a issue.

Personally, I'm against a compromise that ghettoizes each spoiler or unspoiler group into their own thread. I'm for accomodating the middle as much as possible and using the vote to find out what the middle is.

It'll dilute the discussion quite a bit and confuse the boards and create new threads to slice everything so fine. That's my issue.

This is my problem, too. Spoilers and spoilage lite are for discussion of spoilers, pretty much. The Virgin Thread would be a *show* thread, and I think that would dilute discussion.

Also, if we create threads for other shows in the future, would we have to have spoiler-free versions of each of them? The proliferation and ghettoization issues implied by that bother even me.

There isn't a middle if you want to watch the show without having any clue of what is going to happen.

There's never been a thread for people in this situation. We've always discussed previews, which tell waaay more about the plot than knowing David Boreanaz will be back as Angel does.

I know there are people who don't even watch previews; I don't know how they read the board.

However, if the Virgins can make their case and muster the votes then we'll add a virgin board. I wouldn't prefer that and would expect that to be a very tiny tea party indeed. But if it gets voted in, so be it.

This is where I am, too.

(And I apologize for saying "take it to lightbulbs" and then disappearing. Meetings wait for no woman.)

What Lyra Jane, David, Kim, Nutty, PMM, etc. have said. The more threads to discuss the show the less real discussion.

The question in my mind for this vote is whether or not summer casting announcements by TPTB are spoilers for this board.

I'd like to see any ballot create a thread for whichever community looses out.

Quite frankly, I'd rather see this voted on as a separate issue. I am not alone on this issue.

No, you're not alone. Clarifying the definition of spoilers is not the same as creating a thread. It should be 2 separate issues. Also, maybe there are people who would vote yes to one and no to the other. If you add a rider, that makes it impossible to have 2 different opinions.

There isn't a middle if you want to watch the show without having any clue of what is going to happen.

I think the point is, if you want to watch the show without having ANY clue of what is going to happen, you AREN'T in the "middle."

The social effects of thread proliferation are much greater than the bandwidth cost. I hate to see this turn into one of those boards where there are a million separate threads and no good discussion.

I've been thinking over this issue too -- not in show context, although that's sort of implied by the current discussion. I don't want there to be whoe subcultures of Buffistas I've never met, just because I don't subscribe to X thread. That scares me, a little.

Although, probably this post belongs in Bureaucracy, because it's more of a general talk-about-it thing, the implications of too many threads per show is something to think about.

Nutty (and anyone else), please feel free to call me "Kim". Just don't call me "Kimberly"! :)

I don't want there to be whoe subcultures of Buffistas I've never met, just because I don't subscribe to X thread. That scares me, a little.

I agree. Though for me, this has already happened with Music, Firefly, and the various writing/fic threads.

(And yes, this probably belongs in B'cy, since it's not strictly relevant to the current proposal.)

Is it still too soon to use the Previously thread for the most recently passed NAFDA seasons? (i.e. BtVS 7, A:ts 5)

If not...

But I do agree that if Jim so prefers, it can be added to the proposal, "If the Casting Change is added, so is added a Virgins thread." 'Course, the anti-thread proliferation party may take issue. But where we are closing some threads during the Great Housecleaning of The Fall 2003 TeeVee Season, perhaps we'll end up even stevens.

It should be a separate item, so that allowing the pre-season cast list to be public knowledge doesn't hinge on it.

e.g.:

Item 1: Whatever Jim's proposal fleshes out to be.

Item 2: If item 1 passes, do you approve creating a thread for people who consider pre-season cast lists to be spoilers. (Only way better worded.)

If we're going to have THREE ways for people of varying degrees of spoilage to discuss we should have ONE for the people who like to -- radical though it may be-- turn on a television show and see what happens.

Here's the thing, we don't even know if most people here consider the cast list to be spoilers. We know you and Elena do. We know Plei, me, Jim and handful don't. We don't know what most Buffistas think it is. So although you consider talk about the contracted regular cast to be a spoiler, we know some people don't - and what we need to find out for the board's sake is how many people do.

edited for clarity