Okay, but Tim Minear just created the Insider, Rebecca Kirschner is on Gilmore, DeKnight and Greenberg are on Smallville, Jane is doing something interesting, Goddard and Bell on Alias, Marti on Point Pleasant, Shawn Ryan, Liz Craft and Sarah Fein are on the Shield, Rob DesHotel is on That 70s Show, mere is working on something...

If we're going to make a thread based on everything a Mutant Enemy writer creates or works on, we're gonna need a bigger boat.

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I was just adding the fact that it's not entirely out of scope. It's wildly popular with some our members, and it has at least one ME alum on board.

It just seems like some the arguments against a lost thread would also apply to closing Boxed Set, maybe others.

I guess I don't see it as such a major sea change in the board, as we have made allowances for other outside programs. And even then I'm well on the record for sticking Lost discussion in Boxed Set, which keeps threads from proliferating, and gives the impression we are trying to keep the central focus of the board.

But it's 1:45 am, and I need more sleep, so I'm probably babbling.

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I also have nothing to add on the current proposal. I'm ready to vote. On the peripheral/tangential issues that have been brought up I do have some thoughts.

I honestly watch so little tv right now that tv is not what brings me by anymore.

I watch tv but like Burrell, tv isn't why I keep coming here. I don't know how serious some people are about creating specific threads to take certain discussions out of natter (aside from the proposed show threads - that's not what I'm talking about) but I for one like the variety of natter. Not every topic that is discussed there interests me and some topics which I never would've thought of have turned out to be really intriguing. I don't always have time to keep up so I skip/skim and maybe I miss some things I would've been interested in. That's okay. There will be more.

And now my brain has shut down and I find myself unable to sum up the point I was trying to make. Sorry. I hope that makes some sort of sense.

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I'd want to start them because people have more to stay than can work in Natter.

This is what I feel is going on where Lost is concerned.

But I don't want to need a current show thread, and I don't want to make our focus that perceived need.

I am not voting for it because of any perception that we'll stagnate. I'm voting for it because...

I'm in favor of Lost thread, not because I want us to have the kick-assiest and the most comprehensive of the Lost boards on the net, but because I want to discuss the show with Buffistas.

This. This is what I want. We can hide it, for all I care. That's not an actual suggestion, but I don't want a Lost thread, in order to attract new Buffistas. I want a Lost thread because 54 out of 99 Buffistas picked it off a poll that offered a total of 12 shows (plus three spaces for write-ins) from which to choose.

Lyra, at some point, are you planning to post a draft of your ballot? I think we need to see it, even just for format questions (regardless of whether you have the content finalized in your brain). You don't have to take make any changes to it, based on any comments we might make, but I think there was some confusion re the poll, that could have been avoided, if people had a chance to ask questions, before.

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I'm not enamored of the Watch-and-Post thread idea, because I think it would be confusing to follow--more so than Natter, actually, as I see it, because it seems like the idea would be to take general discussion of the shows back to Natter anyway, and then we'd be left with a thread consisting mostly of "Holy shit!" and "Hey, it's what's-his-face" and very little actual content.

This is where I am, too. I see where the watch and post thread would serve to make Natter slightly more user-friendly when some people are W&P-ing and others just want to talk about cats, but I don't think the thread would add anything to the board beyond that -- as Katie says, the next-day utility would be pretty limited. I'm not adding it to the ballot, though I'd be happy to discuss it further if Gus and Brenda want to hammer out the details and come up with a proposal later.

I have a suspicion that, should the Lost thread come to pass, Alias would become an unofficial part of the mission of the thread, esp if they both end up on the same night.

I suspect as much, too. We'll revisit that in January, or whenever the Alias premiere is.

Lyra, at some point, are you planning to post a draft of your ballot?

Actually, I signed on meaning to do that. So the answer is yes. See my next post.

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***DRAFT BALLOT***

There has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of adding additional show-specific threads. After last week's poll and discussion, these are the thread ideas that seem worth voting on. Any threads started through this vote will be closed and archived if the show is cancelled, unless there is a specific reason to keep the thread.

1. Should we add a Lost thread?
_ Yes
_ No
_ Abstain

2. Should we add a The O.C. thread?
_ Yes
_ No
_ Abstain

3. Should we add a general reality TV thread?
_ Yes
_ No
_ Abstain

To keep our post tabel and number of threads managable, one option is closing and archiving threads that are no longer in use. In the case of Angel Spoilers, the suggestion has been made to repurpose the thread as a general spoilers thread, instead of closing it outright. Voting to close it now, does not mean we won't be able to launch new spoilers threads later; it simply means that specific thread will be archived.

4. Should we close and archive Previously on Angel?
_ Yes
_ No
_ Abstain

5. Should we close and archive Angel Quotables, after the deathmatches finish?
_ Yes
_ No
_ Abstain

6. Finally, what do you think should be the fate of Angel Spoilers?
_ Close and archive it.
_ Keep it open as a general spoilers thread.
_ Keep it as is.
_ Abstain.

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(And -- to just keep Serialing away -- for the record, my votes will most likely be yes, yes, abstain, yes, yes, and still-making-up-my-mind-but-leaning-toward-repurposing.)

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While I think the option, as written, is fine, as a technical thing, I think we should open a different thread for general spoilers, rather than simply re-titling the esisting one, should that measure pass.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't repurposing the Angel Spoilers thread end up using more resources than closing it and opening a new thread?

A closed thread can be archived, and its posts removed from the posts table. Threadsucking (say, to look for old Angel spoiler posts) stresses the system more than downloading a zipped thread, because it's querying the database for a huge amount of posts.

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So, a vote to close and archive Angel Spoilers (because, if there were to be a general spoiler thread, I'd think opening a brand spanking new one would be the way to go) is not necessarily a vote against having a spoiler thread at all, right (ETA: this is what I get from your thread closing lead-in; I'm just confirming)? I happen to think Angel Spoilers should be closed an archived rather than repurposed. But I still think the idea of a general spoiler thread is worth discussing (ETA: if it comes up as a proposal).

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