New forum/sub-forum ideas.

[Master]

OK, so places like cheapassgamer.com have forums that are absolutely blowing up, and people are going there not only to get the deals but to hear about what great deals others got. For anybody that likes reading the discount thread and the haul threads, its a dream come true. WHat I suggest is a sub-forum off of gaming discussion called "Buying Games" or something like that where peolpe post deals, each in its own thread so people don't have to deal with the cumbersome discount thread. I honestly have stopped reading it for deals for the most part, and I love me some deals. People could also post their hauls in their own threads so people can talk about what they got. Or we could move the "haul" thread there so the haul can stay in a monthly (or weekly) thread and the deals can get their own threads below. This is an idea whose time has come and I wouldn't mind moderating it and making sure everything runs smoothly. I'll even make a bunch of threads with some great deals everybody needs to know about.

The second idea is a sub-forum of Sound Off, a politics discussion board. That way when any conversation that starts off as a light-hearted thread turns into a heated political debate there can be somewhere to split threads to or move threads to without having to resort to fight club. As a reader of TNL it would greatly improve the readability of Sound Off if I didn't have to deal with the political threads that weren't started as such. This will be especially important as the upcoming presidential race heats up and the "political ferver" captures the more opinionated members of our board. Just a thought.

Also, it would be great if other members could chime in with some opinions on these ideas. After all, if the TNL readers don't want these things, there isn't a point.

Bribe: Dear TNL readers. If you agree that you want the "Buying Games" sub-forum I will save you money by posting deals there. All you have to do is post that you hate having to traverse the massive Discount thread that ALSO doesn't tell you when deals are dead. Thanks

[Korian]

I'm all for a byuing Gaming form if it can be organized in an effective manner, such as one thread being Sunday deals, another
specific stores. Not sure exactly what you had in mind but it
might make a good idea.

[burgundy]

I've actually thought about both of these...my only concern is whether a "deals" forum and/or a "war room" forum (for heated but intelligent conversation of controversial topics like religion, politics and sex) would get enough traffic to warrant splitting them off. If I see enough support for either, I'll be happy to set it up.

[Diff-chan]

Didnt someone else propose a politics board recently but it was rejected?

I think a game buying forum is a good idea, actually.

[cka]

TNL has those already, they're called Trade Depot and Fight Club... The politics forum was talked about but ultimately rejected, because it would in all likeliness not be used as intended.

[Master]

TNL has those already, they're called Trade Depot and Fight Club... The politics forum was talked about but ultimately rejected, because it would in all likeliness not be used as intended.

Trade depot is for selling games, a "game buying forum" would be for posting game deals and haul threads.

While the calls for a politics board have before been rejected, the game buying forum is something that everyone I have talked to has been receptive to. It is not Trade Depot, and I would be happy to help make it happen.

[Nick]

I don't see a need to split political discussion and general discussion. I did kick around the idea for a "veteran's board" that would allow more freedom than the PG-13 main boards, but I think that the best solution would be to make sure we have enough competent moderators and gradually test the waters for more mature discussion in Sound Off. There's no reason we can't have people debate heavy issues, and there's no reason we can't keep non-political discussions from going off-track. With the proper moderation and with the realization that there are wildly divergent opinions in any large group of international posters, we can host talk of politics, sex, religion, and philosophy - and maybe we can all be better off for it. The more we treat these topics as headaches or things to snicker about, the less likely we are to improve our collective understanding of them.

If there are periods where political discussion is unusually heavy, as with 2004's election or 2003's war, we will see a cluster of political topics, but that is the nature of a general discussion board.

As for the deals board, we can simply redefine Trade Depot. I'll change the forum description to something more suitable. People are going there looking for games to buy anyway. If you want to grab the bargain hunters' attention by starting your topic title with "Deal:" or something similar, the way reviews are prefaced "Review:" on the news board, you can do that.

[Melf]

Why not just put the deals sub forum in Trade Depot, where ebay.com and feedback are?

[Master]

OK, I just didn't want people who are trying to get a good price for their stuff and make some money being bombarded by deals threads and underbidding in the same forum. I'll start to populate the Trade Depot with deals and we'll test the waters. If there are so many deals that the sellers complain, a sub group of Trade Depot may be neccessary.

[bahn]

As for the deals board, we can simply redefine Trade Depot. I'll change the forum description to something more suitable. People are going there looking for games to buy anyway. If you want to grab the bargain hunters' attention by starting your topic title with "Deal:" or something similar, the way reviews are prefaced "Review:" on the news board, you can do that.

Hit it right on the head and I definitely support that decision!