Random thought:

One would assume that there will be new genre TV in the fall, that may also go in BS? Is there anything coming that people are super-excited about that would fall into that thread?

(Not sure that it's important, other than it has to do with what's going on in Boxed Set and what will be left if we take out SPN.)

I mean, if the original concept of the thread has fallen so far off the board consciousness

This is the part I'm not getting. Boxed Set's original concept was what was specified in the vote that created it:

We should consolidate Due South, Smallville and Farscape into a single thread, called something like Due South/Smallville/Farscape (exact thread name will be determined in the Bureaucracy thread).

Due South and Smallville may have been media-fannish threads, but Farscape wasn't particularly one. Boxed Set has never been solely a media-fannish thread.

In a sense, what we're talking about here is the recreation of the Smallville thread as a separate thread called SPN. And given that it seems like the assumptions about board performance that prompted us to combine the threads in the first place were likely incorrect (i.e., it wasn't the number of threads that was the problem), why not?

I'm not in the least worried about Boxed Set losing, well, anything besides SPN if SPN goes. (I thought I had a grip on what media fannishness meant to people, but now I'm not so sure, so I'm leaving that aspect out if for now).

Off the top of my brain, here are the non-white-font shows we'd still be discussing (at the very least): SGA, SG-1 TV movies, BSG, Eureka, Dresden Files (what??? I can live in hope), U.S.-aired Dr. Who, Wacky Sc-fi Movies of the Week.

Here are the shows we might be discussing there, if they take off, or catch our fancy: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Vampire/Detective show I can't remember the name of, Bionic Woman, hell, I think there's even some new B5 thing coming out, right?

And, of course, the white-fonted shows: UK-aired Dr. Who, Torchwood, Canada-aired SGA early, or the next LoM-type show (perhaps even the spinoff from that very show).

And then there are the fabulous Links by Sumi (an other people, of course) about this or that random fannish topic, show, actor, etc. and the discussion those inspire. Not to mention, the random discussion of how awesome DS9 was, or how DJC and Andi are re-watching Due South (or how I finally will some day), or how willing people were to discuss Farscape with me when I was catching up via DVD.

I am not worried in the slightest about the fate of Boxed Set should SPN depart. (I may, in fact, be feeling slightly defensive of Boxed Set, because I love it to bits. Yeah, there's probably no "may" about it. I'm sorry that it doesn't work for everyone, but, selfishly speaking, it's my Preciousss, and I loves it.)

Are there any shows in BS other than SPN that get currently get regular discussion in the thread that aren't, well, cable or ahemmed shows right now?

Is it possible that the slightly broader audience afforded by the fact that it's broadcast TV has something to do with the amount of chatter about it? (And perhaps even Heroes before it.)

I haven't had cable for three years. I'm not in a position to ahem everything, and catching up on DVD is hit or miss for me in terms of discussion, mostly miss. I, personally, am more likely to talk about something I can pull in from the air, but I don't know if that's just me.

I can't think of any, Plei. Of the upcoming ones, I think at least Sarah Connor Chronicles will be on network TV. Be interesting to see if that makes a difference in volume compared to other shows just starting out. Though, of course, many variables, blah, blah, blah.

Well, Smallville is hardly discussed. . . but come fall we might want to talk about Moonlight.

Would Pushing Daisies go in Boxed Set? Or would it only go in Boxed Set if we don't get a regular Network Drama/comedy thread?

I'm guessing that Bionic Woman and/or Journeyman would go in Boxed Set.

I can't think of any, Plei. Of the upcoming ones, I think at least Sarah Connor Chronicles will be on network TV. Be interesting to see if that makes a difference in volume compared to other shows just starting out. Though, of course, many variables, blah, blah, blah.

It will, it will.

I mean, I feel almost, I don't know, guilty? Because I know that when I love something, I talk, and I talk a lot. And I encourage other people to talk. Generally, I get very X Likes Carrots. And right now, well, there's only the one show I watch, and I'm not caught up in my comics, so all that chattery stuff's bound up in said show.

I do, actually, often take things to email or LJ instead, so as not to try to overwhelm, but I guess not often enough.

often take things to email or LJ instead, so as not to try to overwhelm, but I guess not often enough

Well, I catch them in both places (ETA: here and LJ; I don't intercept e-mails...), so I don't lose out, but I dislike the trend (that's maybe too strong a word) that people feel like they can't talk at length about shows they love here. I mean, I know not everyone can because of bucket v. dedicated thread, but... there is a place you go to talk about SPN where it's perfectly appropriate, so... everyone should feel free to talk there! Is my opinion. And I love to read your SPN musings, continuing today's trend of me being selfish.

Whoa. A girl goes away for a weekend and....

I like the idea of a separate SPN thread. I enjoy the show quite a bit, but in a much more low-key fashion than the folks who adore the show passionately, and my personal impression is that the discussion and squee about SPN does overwhelm the thread. And unlike Doctor Who or Stargates or Eureka, which have bursts of posts about them during the new episode runs with subsequent petering out, I don't see the posting volume of SPN dying down any time soon because the enthusiasm level for the show is so high. I mean, I get that SPN is well suited to the environment of Box Set, but the like David said, the joyful reinforcement of shared squee can be pretty alienating to those outside the sphere, especially with the sheer volume of the squee and flail-age SPN gets. And I definitely think SPN is a show that can sustain a dedicated thread even during off-season, what with the mediafannishness and W&P and fanfic and vids, etc.

I also get that SPN folks are feeling defensive and hurt at what looks like an effort to drum them out of their established enclave. But I suspect this topic will probably show up on a regular basis if the current posting volume keeps up, and may end up making the environment of Box Set fractious, which is why I hope there is a resolution one way or the other.

ETA: Off Plei's post, I also don't want people to feel guilty about discussing and squeeing at length about things they love, which may argue *for* a dedicated thread.

I'm gonna have to run off to actually, you know, work (siiiigh) for the rest of the afternoon, but I look forward to catching up with the discussion afterward.

I am not worried in the slightest about the fate of Boxed Set should SPN depart.

This.

Off Plei's post, I also don't want people to feel guilty about discussing and squeeing at length about things they love, which may argue *for* a dedicated thread.

And this.

I'd vote for a SPN thread if it came to it, because I do feel that it overwhelms Boxed Set and the real numbers seem to support that. I would also participate more in an SPN thread if there was one--obviously not the W&Ps, for the time difference, but I would find it easier to participate in SPN discussion if it were in a separate thread. This is true only for SPN, mind--all the things Jon said about the other shows we talk about work so very well for me in Boxed Set, and it is also My Precious.

The thing is, there are two sets of needs here--the needs of the people who are posting about SPN, and the needs of the people who are not posting, or are posting less, about SPN. In my opinion, the needs of both will be served best by a new thread. I honestly don't think that a SPN thread would somehow transform into another Boxed Set.

Also, as a side note, I totally think Pushing Daisies should go into Boxed Set. Can't wait for that show.