Cindy wins the Spicy Brains Award for today.

Any decision can be revisited after six months, including threads. We don't need to add a special thing for this thread, we just need to remember to think about it in six months.

What could be inserted (and I am just throwing the idea out there -- I have no strong opinion one way or another) is that the thread would automatically be closed unless it were reapproved with a vote of confidence after 6 months or a year.

I wanted to clarify something that I didn't put in the proposal. The book club thread idea was originated by Heather, here, just so credit is given where due.

mini-meara:

My initial thought is that this could be done in the current Literary thread. It's not high-volume most of the time, or at least not regularly, so I don't see why, say, the first week of a month couldn't include a focused discussion on a particular text.

flea said something similar when she seconded in B-cy. But if we get some serious participation that could get very annoying and distracting for the current occupants of Literary. Also, this thread idea was born in Literary but is not exclusive to people who post in Literary. I think there's a lot of folks out there who would embrace a thread like this who have never been comfortable in Literary.

insert standard infrastructure-based anti-proliferation argument here

snerk

I have no strenuous arguments to make wrt board load at the moment, because we currently have reduced traffic. I just want to make sure it's not disregarded entirely.

Some folks were asking about board load, and this seems to answer that question. The board can handle it - for now. Will this lead to problems in the future? I don't think so, but we tightened our belts once, and if necessary we can do it again.

Also, how would books be chosen? Calli had some great ideas in the Literary thread on this point.

I liked Calli's ideas too, but I don't think we need to worry about the how until we've settled the what. Book clubs exist, even online, so we'll find a way to make it work if the people agree to give it a shot.

A better question might be, how many people are actually going to participate?

A lot of people in literary were enthusiastic about it. That's all I have to go on.

Good proposal, Wolfram. This site might prove a good resource, if the thread passes, and we need guidance on how to structure it.

Cindy is da bomb.

I don't usually post in Literary, but I love to read and I think I would really enjoy a thread like this. One question - how far in advance would the books to be discussed be listed? I'm thinking that, at least for me, it would be very helpful to know several weeks or even a few months in advance so I'd have time to read.

Also, I like Jon's (I think) idea of having the thread automatically close if there's not support to keep it open.

Sure. Since we are so good at closing threads that have small yet vocal groups that hold them near and dear.

I don't suppose folks would hold the thread near and dear if it wasn't working. And if it is working then its doing its job. I think folks are pretty willing to do this on a "let's see" basis.

I don't suppose folks would hold the thread near and dear if it wasn't working

The idea of five people holding it near and dear and everyone else thinking it's not working isn't outrageous.

Threads build sub-communities. That makes them sticky.

One question - how far in advance would the books to be discussed be listed? I'm thinking that, at least for me, it would be very helpful to know several weeks or even a few months in advance so I'd have time to read.

I'm right there with you in needing plenty of lead time. I'd expect that we'll try and accomodate as many people as possible.

The idea of five people holding it near and dear and everyone else thinking it's not working isn't outrageous.

I'd even say it's likely.

My sense has been that with each new thread, we further fragment the discussion. I don't like that.

My sense has been that with each new thread, we further fragment the discussion. I don't like that.

But we're also being told that existing threads no longer serve the needs of some people. So how do we fix that?

What could be inserted (and I am just throwing the idea out there -- I have no strong opinion one way or another) is that the thread would automatically be closed unless it were reapproved with a vote of confidence after 6 months or a year.

If it would help allay concerns of this thread becoming a drain on resources, or a fragmented subcommunity, or any other kind of community albatross, I'm willing to include this exact provision in the ballot, provided there be another limited discussion period before the vote of confidence. I feel that basically this thread will either work or it won't, and in 6 months it will be clear whether we have liftoff or not.