[Mudcat]

Just wondering if you have ever revisited the idea of having a "General Discussion" forum (rather than having OFF-TOPIC stuff in this forum).

Here is some old discussion and a poll on the topic

Just wondering. My vote is still yes to a GD forum. I'm pretty sure I would post quite a bit more there. I know, I know - who cares if I post more?

Anyway, just thought I'd lob it out there again.

[SBR_John]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[MBENZ]

Mudcat,it kind of looks like this time of year every thread is off topic.Maybe now is the time to give your idea a try.

[Dark Horse]

The main forum is to keep up to date with the latest news for me, like a bulletin board. That includes sportsbook info, world news, and off topic discussions. I don't think I would check two separate places for that. After this general hangout it's on to the different sports.

[jjgold]

I only look at the main forum

This palce would be too boring with all gambling threads

[pico]

i like to make a site suggestion. why don't you create a spot for withdraw delay threads? or just a spot for sportsbook.com delay threads. it has been over months and that thread always pop up to the top. we all know sb.com sucks donkey balls, but watching it everyday just bring back bad memories. i would rather just read about jj's weird stories and batsman's nice posts of hotgirls.

john, you guys should create catagory in your live lines page showing the current post/view count for thread on sb.com, bodog etc.

[bigboydan]

You already know I feel about this subject Mudcat. However, it's not my decision to make at all.

[Mudcat]

The main forum is to keep up to date with the latest news for me, like a bulletin board. That includes sportsbook info, world news, and off topic discussions. I don't think I would check two separate places for that. After this general hangout it's on to the different sports.

Yeah it looks like we have the same thinking but it leads us to opposite conclusions.

I also come to the Players Talk forum to keep up to date with the latest news, like a bulletin board. It's right at the start of my daily routine. But to me that means (or I would like it to mean) keeping up to date on news directly related to being a player, (preferably in as efficient a way as possible.)

And then sometimes I come to the forum just to take a break from work. That's when I would like the latest news too - but on anything but player issues. I just want clear my mind and post my dopey questions/comments about movies/dating/current events/whatever without feeling like I'm gumming things up for players.

It's far from a life-or-death issue. I just thought of it today because I had a bunch of things cross my mind that I thought could have been good for a laugh or some thoughtful discussion - but the idea of starting five O/T threads didn't feel right. So I didn't start any.

[tacomax]

I agree with you, Mudcat. I come here to read/discuss about sportsbooks and sports, not about Christina Ricci, Marilyn Manson and having sex in a swimming pool. Some off-topics posts in here are worth reading such as the Gary Coleman one today but the rest of them really shouldn't be in here. And it does tend to be the same group of people filling the forum with the same old crap.

[Dark Horse]

Mudcat, I like the same division. Maybe I'm missing something, but I thought the private zone was for those other threads, which is where they tend to get transferred to.

[louis]

x

[Willie Bee]

And it does tend to be the same group of people filling the forum with the same old crap.

So true, taco. And if we had a separate forum those same people would still feel that it didn't apply to them and they could still post their stuff in this forum so everyone would see what was on their wittle bitty minds.

[Mudcat]

I thought the private zone was for those other threads, which is where they tend to get transferred to.

That was one of the possibilities that was mentioned in the poll in that thread I linked in the opening post here. It got 2 of the 31 votes that have been cast so, other than just not having OFF TOPIC discussion at all, it was the least popular option.

My reasoning is it gets uncivilized in there. The OFF-TOPIC threads I'm referring to are not the kind of stuff that gets moved like porno pics and personal attack threads. I'm just talking about regular topics that have nothing to do with being a player. Looking down the first page of the Players Talk forum right now, I'm seeing movies, music, home ownership, economics. Those are the kinds of thing I mean.

[Mudcat]

So true, taco. And if we had a separate forum those same people would still feel that it didn't apply to them and they could still post their stuff in this forum so everyone would see what was on their wittle bitty minds.

[Mudcat]

What about this idea. I see there is a Politics sub-forum. It's dead; there are still posts from last year on the front page. Expand that to be General Discussion.

I'm not even sure what thinking went into starting that Politics forum but I would think the same thinking would apply to GD (of which Politics is a sub-set.)

I'm telling you, you would get more overall posting with a GD forum. Regular players don't want to start an O/T thread about "What is your favorite chocolate bar?" or, "Is the band Muse merely awesome, or REALLY awesome?" in the main forum. It just gums things up. It's a courtesy issue as much as anything.

But in a GD forum, that stuff is right at home. I'm assuming more overall posting is considered a good thing. And of course you could simply try it and, if you didn't like the results, switch back.



Any thoughts from SBR people (beyond: thanks for the suggestion). Is this being considered? Am I wasting my time/effort with my little campaign?