Time for a discussion.

[Chris]

I thought with Minx having to withdraw from AO for the foreseeable future, I figured we were at a sort of 'crossroads' and it might be a good time to ask ourselves exactly where do we want to go with the forum?

I posted it as for open discussion because, truth be told, there are so few of us left in here who are actively posting or contributing to threads that you have to wonder what the future holds for the place.

Over the last year or two we had huge fights and arguments about who could or couldn't post... and of course what could or couldn't be posted etc!!! In the end whilst we *did* stop the bickering, the result has been that we have arrived at exactly the point I warned against all the way through! Yes the site is 'quiet'... but the quiet has come at the cost of nobody posting *anything*... controversial or not!

So... the question is... "What do we do?"

I'm the last remaining Admin so I suppose most of the final decisions would be down to me, but I need input!!

Because the spam protection has been so successful I'm considering for a start reopening "The Lounge" (this board) for 'guest' posts and seeing what happens. I've also been considering doing a temporary (pro tem) rewrite of "The Rules" such that they revert to the original dictum that members should simply 'play nice'. With this in mind, I'm also considering removing the 'ban list' and inviting everyone on it to rejoin... with the obvious caveat they don't intentionally disrupt the forums.

Maybe it's all too late and the consensus might be that the site should close... but I sincerely hope not! Kyte said several *years* ago that she thought forums of this type were an idea that had passed it's sell-by date, but I find it hard to believe that with so many people out there that there are so few willing to discuss current affairs, or to just chat about their lives!

So, on with the motley. Who wants to respond to the ideas... or some up with alternatives to make the place come back to life??

Edit: Adjusted the 'permissions' (for this board only) to let Guests post in this debate to allow the possibility of a wider range of views!

[George82]

Sounds like a good idea to me (guests posting), i think you can set them up so they cant post links etc so is reasonable controllable.

i do also think one needs to have people of differing views and political persuasion even though they will challenge your views and annoy the  *censored* out of you at times.

I could expand a lot on this but may be pushing my luck as a member

[Patricia]

TBH....I think with regards managing/modding a forum...maybe less is best.....and by this I am referring to rules and modding.....definitely worth trying the guests posting application.

[Adrian]

If someone wants to post a comment, wouldn't they join/register?

[Willy]

Maybe guests just don't want to register.

[tilly]

I liked the old days when it was basically you Chris and just a teeny bit of moderation.......we don't need all these rules and regulations....

I have been on another forum of late and it is successful with very little moderation and a diverse group of people (you may know some of them)....
lets put it this way we need more memebers front of house (out here) then in the mods lounge

[Caroline]

I tried to join this forum several months ago, but never heard anymore about it, so gave up trying?

Why not merge with the other forum hopefully there will be more members to get discussions going?

[Chris]

I tried to join this forum several months ago, but never heard anymore about it, so gave up trying?

Why not merge with the other forum hopefully there will be more members to get discussions going?

The history of the two sites might make that difficult, not least when you consider that most of the members were banned from *this* site for a variety of reasons... usually to do with disruptive behaviour.

Still, amongst other initiatives, I'm in the process of removing the 'ban' list to give ex-members another chance to rejoin and take part in the discussions. If you think merging the sites would be advantageous... feel free to float the idea over there and see where it goes!

[Caroline]

Doing that as we speak Chris 

[John Doe]

The history of the two sites might make that difficult, not least when you consider that most of the members were banned from *this* site for a variety of reasons... usually to do with disruptive behaviour.

Thats not strictly an accurate assessment of what went on!

[Adrian]

Maybe guests just don't want to register.

I may be missing something - why not register? You can be just as anonymous as a registered member as a guest is.

[Chris]

Maybe guests just don't want to register.

I may be missing something - why not register? You can be just as anonymous as a registered member as a guest is.

I can answer that easily enough myself. I'm forever wandering thru forums where I see an opinion I'd like to respond to but often can't be bothered registering! It's not just because that would mean yet another place that has a lot of details about me, but because it can take time... especially if it's not a site I'm likely to frequent on any long term basis.

[bambu]

Inviting guests to post comments on topics sounds like a good idea to me.

Just like at the club...members and guests, all having dinner together in the bistro.

[Chris]

Inviting guests to post comments on topics sounds like a good idea to me.

Just like at the club...members and guests, all having dinner together in the bistro.

So far so good. I extended the 'guest' option to all boards except the private ones.

[jen]

OK I have had a think about it. I understand Chris, that you feel the need for the place to grow. I differ from that opinion, the folk we have here now are civil, and I feel that if we opened some more emotional topics, that we could have a civil, grownup chat about them, it's just that 'we' don't want to go to those topics because we still clearly remember what happened last time, and we don't want to rechat things too quickly, that would be boring. We are getting a few new members through the doors, and you yourself said that it is normally quiet this time of year. We don't have much variety of topic ATM (I accept that I am not posting too much just lately).

As I have said before, I don't mind it being quiet, and waiting for newbies to come - but I don't pay the bills, and that may change my opinion.

I just don't want to go back to where we were, and there is no gaurantee that won't happen, if we stay on our present course - but to invite old troublemakers back? That surely, backs a gaurantee? We know their history, and they had several opportunities to stick to the rules before and chose not to. Some would be easier to accept back than others, so do we choose who we reinvite? (Although we haven't had the opportunity to do that). Again, I will say, I don't mean the people with a different opinion to us - I don't think we banned anyone for that - I mean people that consistently broke the rules. I don't care if someone has a different opinion to me - as long as they can have an adult conversation about it. (At another forum I used to visit, I had a discussion on whether God exists, over about 3 weeks, we differed violently, but spoke maturely, kept the topic from becoming personal, others joined and left, and we are still friends - it's doable). One member in particular worries me, in that he will come back in here and smugly talk about how we 'needed' him back because things were so quiet. I am dreading him already, and he isn't even here yet!

Allowing guests to comment isn't a big deal to me, other than, if they can post without being a member, why would they join? Does that matter, if we are getting posts?

Not sure I am with you on this one... but will always present a united front as a mod, and on that note, I will reiterate that I am willing to stand down as mod to benefit the forum, no tears, no angst.