Lack Of Responses To Some Threads

A lot of threads are started that should never have been threads to begin with. Speaking with no one specific in mind, if you are simply going to tell a joke or post a cartoon or meme, that should be done within an existing thread rather than started a new thread for it. Threads should be started when you anticipate your opening post resulting in a conversation or more of the same.

For example, a post about a news item or some issue that is on your mind is probably intended to encourage a discussion around that topic, and is an appropriate opening post for a thread. However, if all you anticipate is maybe a couple of people acknowledging the funniness of your cartoon or meme, then it should be posted in an existing cartoon or meme thread.

Scattered about the forum, we have threads for things like memes, comics, jokes, photos, video, and so on, and those are the best places for anything that isn't likely to result in a discussion. If you want to post something that you can't find a thread for, and you think that others might want to post similar things, then start a thread for it. I started a thread for Comics the other day because every now and then, I read them, and might scan one, adding it to that thread at a later date. Plus, there are comics online that someone might want to add, and a comic isn't really a meme or a picture.

However, hundreds of threads with no replies, or with only one or two acknowledgements, make it harder for people find discussions that they might want to join in on, and might discourage new people who click into them.

 

Both Ken and I try to go through and organize the threads, but we don’t always find everything. I have been looking for threads that have only a few responses and then trying to find an acceptable thread to merge them with , using whichever title seems to describe the thread the best. Some thread titles are pretty vague, so then we might even re-title the thread so that readers can know what it is about.
If a thread is nothing more than a link, and no actual content, and no replies, I usually just delete the whole thread if there is not a good place to merge it. If it needs moved, then we move it where it looks like it fits best, although a perfect solution is not always possible .

Anytime you see a thread that needs to be corrected or merged, please message me, or report the thread, which will bring it to our attention .

 

Not that I know of. I considered vBulletin when I started the forum but then I found that it is about to go out of business. They are still selling it but they have announced that there will no new development in the vBulletin software, and that's some awfully expensive software for something that is in its last days.

We are going to have threads from time to time that don't go anywhere, and I don't suppose there is much that can be done about that. Largely, it's up to the OP to try to turn his opening post into a thread, but that starts with considering whether it is intended to be a thread or just a joke or off-hand comment.

I am not discouraging jokes, or memes, or anything of the sort. I enjoy them. I just want people to be able to find actual discussions when that is what they are looking for. I post memes often but, you may not know this, but about half of the ones that I post are my own. But, they are usually political, and I post them in the political memes thread, that is, unless it fits a current discussion in another political thread.

I don't want to get too anal about this. Just to ask that we all consider whether something should be a thread of its own or a post in an existing thread.

 

It's easier to post a meme, repeat a joke, or agree with something that someone has said, and sometimes people just want to do the quick and easy thing. There are times when I want to contribute to the forum but don't have time for a thoughtful reply, so I don't expect everything to be comprehensive, but I do want to encourage thoughtful replies and opening posts that go somewhere.