And forcing everyone else to use only general, non-narrow topic threads is just as fragmenting and unhealthy to the community.
as making creation of threads somewhat tiresome and difficult is fragmenting and unhealthy, you mean? Again, no provocation intended. I'm honestly trying to understand your position.
Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt above, by the way. I asked clumsily, but my question was sincere. I'll try to restate it. As I understand you, you believe thread creation (in general. I expect you recognize the application of what you're asking *for the gaming thread* would be made to all threads proposed in the future) should be a simpler process. You disagreed when I guessed you were suggesting that any member should be able to create a thread on any topic at any time, whether there was other interest or traffic in that topic or not. But you haven't outlined what you do believe would be a fair and simple process, one that would work for this board and its members.
Would you have any controls on what threads are created? If so, who could create threads, and on what topics? Would every board member be given a number of thread creation opportunities, possibly in exchange for paying annual dues to keep the board running, or would there be no such limit? Would we want anyone to oversee the creation process, if we don't allow at-will creation? By oversee I mean deny creation of a thread for which a similar one already exists, suggest in what folder a thread should go so it can more easily be found, and monitor threads that have had no activity for a certain period and might be ready for closure. Would we expect volunteers to staff that position, or would we want to hire someone in that capacity, given that the thread load will increase by a lot?
What would happen if obstructionists like me back off and simply stop arguing and objecting? What sort of narrow-focus threads do you expect to be created, and how many of them? Are you saying this is what you'd like to see? And do you believe this system would be more pleasant and better than what we have now? Honest questions, I'm not arguing, I want to understand your position, to think it through and decide where it has merit and how we might implement it, if enough people agree that the process needs to change.
From my perspective, I do expect discussion and justification for thread creation, even if I don't *enjoy* the discussion. I believe the process should take effort and commitment, and creation of a new thread should be won. It has more value, I think, if it's won. But I could be wrong. I'm often wrong. This wouldn't be the first time.
I really hope I've asked my questions in a non-provocative, non-inflammatory way. I sincerely want to hear what you envision as the right way for the board to create, maintain, and run threads. I want to study your ideas and see if there are some points of compromise, where we can both have a board that works for us. I think we may need a compromise.