X-posted from Lightbulbs.

I have a correction to offer in the vote.....

There are 14 Firefly eps, 3 which have not aired in the US. A 15th was not filmed.

3. We should close and archive the Firefly quotable thread as soon as technically possible.

Pro: There are only 12 episodes out there so this can easily be folded into the regular Firefly thread.

Con: 3 of those 12 episodes have not yet aired in the US. We should wait until sometime after the complete series is released on DVD in December before closing this thread.

Essentially:

Serenity (2 hours)
The Train Job
Bushwhacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs. Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Dead or Alive (not filmed)
Ariel
War Stories
Trash (not US)
The Message (not US)
Heart of Gold (not US)
Objects in Space (restored)

I think something along the lines of Jess's post in Press would be good, as there are probably other well-meaning but code-clueless Buffistae out there.

Just chiming in to say that this is a good idea (duh). I don't post much really, but I have finely developed (and wide ranging) lurking skills, and I didn't realise the extent of the technical problems until my essay-procrastination got the better of me and the hundreds of unread Bureaucracy posts started looking very enticing. Thankfully, I was *cough* completely oblivious to the existence/purpose of the message centre, so I didn't have a chance to abuse the refresh rate (score one for Team Ignorance, I suppose).

I'd like the southscape thread to be called Ikea, personally. Maybe like:

Ikea 1: Alien Mountie Superheros, Ahoy!

or something.

FTR, my original suggested Press post, cleaned up a bit:

As you may or may not be aware, we have been informed by our webhosts that this lovely but talkative board is putting serious strain on their servers. We are working on a code-based solution, but until then, here are a few simple things you can do to help:

1 - Post only when you have something to say! This means, keep numbersluts and "timelies!" to a minimum, or include them in longer, more content-based posts. Wish people happy birthday or offer them bracket-hugs via email.

2 - Set your posts-per-page to something high. The more page views it takes you to catch up in a thread, the more taxing it is to the server.

Corollary to 2 - Use "read new" to catch up instead of clicking back to the front page or Message Center when you've come to the end of a thread. Again, fewer page views means less work for the server.

3 - Got your Message Center on auto-refresh even when you're away from your computer? Tsk tsk -- every one of those refreshes is a hit to the database. Set your auto-refresh to "0" (no refresh) when you're not actively reading or posting.

"If We All Pitch In, We Can Make A Difference."

Still have my own issues with #1, Jess. Sometimes Happy Birthdays by others are the only way people know birthdays are happening.

Plus? Part of the flavor of the board is the odd posting and the silly postings and the glitter fights, which tend to happen when it's quiet.

Perhaps a compromise of "post one liners and have the glitter fights when the board is quiet" or something of the like?

I also wonder if we should create a dispensation for numberslutting at the beginning and end of threads. Maybe the first/last 25 posts could be a slutting permitted zone, like Nevada is for prostitution.

Sometimes Happy Birthdays by others are the only way people know birthdays are happening.

If people have included themselves on the Buffista Calendar, then Nilly will announce their birthday when it's time.

As far as your other objections, well, it's a list of "how to conserve server resources," not "how to preserve the flavour of the board by having glitter fights."

If you have "issues" with #1, then don't follow it. They're suggestions, not orders.

Yeah, and I don't think we need to give special slutting dispensations, either -- it's not about "NEVER NUMBERSLUT AGAIN EVER!!!" it's about trying to be conscious of how we use our resources, and not using five posts to get to your number just because no one else is around. The electricity metaphor is the best, I think: you don't have to sit in the dark, and we're not all putting motion-detectors on our lightswitches, but try to turn off the lights you don't need.

I think Jess's language is fine - she says "keep them to a minimum" not stop it or else. We'll be fine with that, I think.

One thing that just occurred to me though is the flurry of contentless new thread posts. I wouldn't mind seeing a mention of those. I ususally skip the first fifty to a hundred posts in a thread already. Try to get in on the first ten, twenty, one hundred, absolutely, but say something while you do it.

about trying to be conscious of how we use our resources, and not using five posts to get to your number just because no one else is around.

The good thing about posting in Press is that everyone will get the message, so people won't be looked down on for numberslutting when they didn't know things changed.

When we get the issues worked out and have plenty of resources again, can we have another Press post saying "Open season on hippo birdies"?