DISCUSSION: Forum Consolidation

[SOLDIER #819]

Also, S, are you suggesting that we do a "General Media" and a "Member-Created Media" forum split instead? This is also worth looking at.

Elaborate, haha. We may not be on the same page.

I just don't want it to become a place where people aren't free to give their own opinions. It shouldn't have to be a sheltered away part of the forums, simply there for the amusement and frustration of a few members. Perhaps a name change will help. Only time will tell with that. But I'll always post in there because it engages me, challenges me to think and it's a good way to unwind. I like the disagreements. I like the arguments. I like that I learn from there. Perhaps the cloud of intellectual superiority will disappear once these changes are put in place. I sincerely hope so.

There won't be any lasting changes, man. No mods nor members have made any long-term commitments, nor should they have to. Engaging topics can be had in GC. ID isn't special. It's very easy to have a nice, deep discussion outside of it. Keeping ID up is effectively barring the majority of TFFers from posting on a wide variety of topics since they're all moved to and kept in ID, where most find it uncomfortable to post in, or just can't be bothered to check.

[LocoColt04]

Elaborate, haha. We may not be on the same page.

What I interpret from your comments and how I apply that to my idea is this:

You don't like Visual/Audio/Written breakdown. You DO like the idea of having somewhere for people to discuss media.

We have a "General Media" section where content not produced by our users, i.e. Popular Media, can be discussed and/or showcased. (At one time, I remember the Literature forum itself was actually broken up this way. If we merge medias, it might actually make sense.)

We then have a "User Media" section where content created or developed or otherwise contributed to by our users can be showcased. This could be anything from music to podcasts to artwork to indie movies and everything in between. I'm even open to the idea of sharing visual mods, so long as it's within Creative Commons licensing and nothing that would violate any copyright laws (like Jecht's reskinning stuff).


Are we on the same page?

[SOLDIER #819]

We were basically talking about the same thing while putting an emphasis on different aspects...I think, haha. I viewed the Art and Literature forums as place where people post there own art/fanfics (the two most popular user-created media here) AND discuss art and literature in general. But people seldom talk about popular art and literature, so it effectively becomes a place to post user-created content, which is what you'd want your "User Media" to be. I would just call it the Art & Literature forum, though, so that people can post about a book or deviantart they came across.

The problem with your "General Media" idea is that music, movies, anime, books, art... everything, falls under it, going by the name alone. But with the existence Visual Media and Audio Media forums, General Media just becomes an inactive Art & Lit forum (as all user-created content has been moved to "User Media"), with the addition of a very confusing name. It'd be a waste of space.