Killing the 'What have you...' threads?

I've really enjoyed the past 7-8 years here at the Fort, but it feels like attendance and conversation has dropped a bit over the past several months.

I recall Ubarose mentioning, some months ago, about how the 'What have you...' threads sort of being a deterrent to new participants as those page counts are high, and you really don't know what games/movies/etc are being discussed in and out of those inter-weaved posts.

Last week, I did a little test with my 'I played a Game' thread. It managed to get about a page and a half. I wonder if crayon rail talk would have been lost in the 'What boardgame...' thread as another game (Greenland?) was being chatted up there. Felt like a little success.

That and a lot of folks write up quite a bit. Maybe that should be featured out on the front page or at least in a new thread instead of buried in the 'what have you's.

And ultimately, we'd have more active threads going on instead of just a handful.

Naturally, y'all can post where you'd like, but just a thought.

What I like about the "What have you" threads is that they're easy to find and easy to comment to.

Otherwise it is either starting a new thread which means existing ones are further buried and those conversations lost or spend time trying to find and old thread (which might not even exist if it wasn't a game previously discussed) and resurrecting it.

I do like game specific threads because you can review past discussion and even see if your thoughts/opinions have changed if you've previously commented on it. They just need to be easy to find.

It's hard. I like them but I think they should probably go for the reasons you said. Especially the board game one, the point of this site. Maybe keep the other ones?

The biggest downside to them that I see is that I can post something relevant and then the topic changes quickly and my post gets burried. I'm sure it's not just me. So I guess do whatever feels right. We'll all figure it out quickly enough.

1.5 pages of replies about a game so utterly niche that it's easier to join a masonic lodge than find a copy seems like a pretty decent conversation to me.

I'm mostly a lurker these days, but I never read or participated in those threads. Too big and sprawling. I'd support a "What boardgames have you played, December 2014 edition" type of thread. Seems more manageable and less intimidating.

I understand how these type of threads can be bad for overall conversation here, but the boardgame one is a convenient way to comment on a recent boardgame experience because people often play several games in a single day. I can see how other What Have You threads might be better as specific topics in order to quarantine potential spoiler comments, like that True Detective thread a while back.

Maybe for board game discussion, we could keep the main thread for talking about an overall set of games played, but then have posters talk about specific games in game-specific discussion threads, at least if the games are currently popular or else all-time favorites here. Then maybe there could be another discussion for recent plays of more obscure games, including both Kickstarter games and OOP games.

My original purpose of the boardgame thread was because the forum wasnt very active and it made it easy for people to make a quick lazy post, which I think helped give people a reason to come back every day since there was always something to read there at least.

If you want separate threads my suggestion is to lead by example. Start making those threads more and if people like them they will too. Just closing the what are you threads would be a bad idea if you aren't sure folks will create new ones, imo. When nobody posts there is nothing to read. When there is nothing to read people will stop visiting regularly no matter how much they might like the site.

If you have something decent to contribute, start a "Let's Talk" thread and copy your post there. Don't hesitate to adopt a game if you have a level of interest or expertise in it.

S.

My $0.02 - I like the "What Have You..." threads. Sometimes they get threadjacked, but they usually get back on course pretty fast.

I like the threads for the reasons mentioned, but also really appreciate it when someone (often you) goes out of their way to start a side conversation about a specific game or topic.

I think people that don't like them should be motivated enough to start new threads about something they want to discuss more in length.

Those threads are perfect for getting a quick sense at what is going on in people's minds or lives these days. Nice and quick, starts fun conversations, some of which evolve into their own threads.

I obviously don't mind the highjacks, I like it when it feels like a conversation in a pub and just tangents all over the places.

I'm a fan, that's why I started them in the first place

It's perfect for stuff like movies and video games where the conversation is usually light and shallow.

I like them because they are easy to find and easy (for me) to participate in.

But I remember Uba saying that we should remember to start a new thread about a game if we had a little more to say than just a quick comment. I think trying to remember that would be good for the conversation.

I try to follow the ubarose direction but I have a hard time making and resurrecting threads and getting people to discuss in them. I find the discussion about a game hums along in the boardgame thread and then dies in whatever thread it tries to move into.

Just my experience.

Monthly gaming threads could be a good idea: shorter and easier to go through for casual readers, yet still easy to find because they'd get constant input; they'd also be easier to browse through.