General Off Topic Forum

[ianmc38]

I know the bbv is pretty much an off topic thread, but I find that I have to trawl through hundreds of posts to find what I'm looking for. Like if I ask how to fix a computer problem or hotel recommendations in London or where to buy cheap flights etc, I often lose track of where the post is or end up reading through 300 posts to find the answers to mine!

[Guest]

Should you not have called this the travel thread then? Imo ALL off-topic stuff should be in the bbv. You don't want it to end up like the gambling section (A thread for every sport under the sun). If we start doing that then it's more or less a new boards.ie we are creating and you might aswell have sub-sections and all that for all topics.

[ianmc38]

Why would I post a computer problem in a travel forum?

Having a catch all off topic forum isn't turning the site into a wider discussion forum group. It's simply giving a degree of stickiness to certain issues. The BBV is a time whore for me and I simply don't have the time to wade through it every day to find an answer as it's basically a glorified chat room that can be jumped into and out of at any time. While there may or not be good discussion on whatever topics that are discussed, it's still a sea of cluttered and somewhat random thoughts. Maybe for yourself going through 200 posts to find the few people who replied to you appeals, but for me that's an hour of my day gone that could have been spent doing something more productive where as if I had a thread in an off topic forum I could see and get the answer to my question in an instant.

Simply because an off topic forum exists doesn't mean that it needs to be further subdivided into sections for each off topic area. There are literally tens of thousands of dedicated forums out there for doctors or artists or skydivers or whatever other niche who succesfully use a catch all off topic forum. I'm not sure why you feel it would work any differently here.

[6starpool]

Maybe a general queries thing might work. I like the bbv thing the way it is though and don't want to dilute it, but for something like this there might be a consensus on a specific query forum.

BBV might still be the best place to get answers though, and it might be a bit silly if people start a thread and post in bbv about the same thing.

Another possibility is to just let the main forum be more general. There are already queries about laptops and stuff in their own threads in the main forum.

I'd be unterested to hear what everyone thinks of this.

[Guest]

There are literally tens of thousands of dedicated forums out there for doctors or artists or skydivers or whatever other niche who succesfully use a catch all off topic forum. I'm not sure why you feel it would work any differently here.

Well if it's a poker forum then it should be all about or in some way related to poker/gambling, bar maybe one thread (bbv). For example if you started thread asking for advice on hotels in some random place, someone might do the same later on and what section would you put it in? Then a section is created for that and steadily more sections get asked for which would slowly kill the bbv thread (imo of course).

However if you asked it in bbv id guarantee you that you would get an awnser within a few posts of your post. If you don't have time to sit and wait then just click on your profile later on, go to your latest posts and that takes you straight back to your post without all the scrolling. And as your known IRL id say you would get an awnser pretty quick.

I have an active boards acc that ive had for about a year that i never trolled on. If i ever need a really quick awnser and don't think ill get it here then i just ask in the right section on boards with a new thread and normally it's awnsered pretty quickly. But im sure people don't want this turning into another boards which is what might happen if you have different thread for all random subjects. Not sure if you know what i mean as i rambled on there a bit

I wasen't having a go btw.

[Icarus152]

Personally,if I have a computer query etc,that I need a serious answer too,I'll go to a dedicated forum.

I think asking a question in BBV is like asking your mates in the pub about your car.You'll usually get a host of different opinions and half of them will be no help.

But that's just me,I hate change.Change is bad.

[6starpool]

Opinions are good, keep em coming.

Generally I have been pretty vocal against creating too much off topic stuff, but if it is a situation where there is a couple of random threads a week it wouldn't be too bad imo. The danger is that it might turn into too many of them obviously, and that would present a challenge. The user base here is too small to have things too spread out, and most people would still go to bbv with questions for the people here in general anyhow I think. I'm against it, but for it as well in a way. Indecisive am I.

[ianmc38]

Well if it's a poker forum then it should be all about or in some way related to poker/gambling, bar maybe one thread (bbv). For example if you started thread asking for advice on hotels in some random place, someone might do the same later on and what section would you put it in? Then a section is created for that and steadily more sections get asked for which would slowly kill the bbv thread (imo of course).

Lol what's random about one forum called Off Topic Discussion? If I have a travel question I post it there. If I want recommendations about a nice dog to buy as a pet I can post it there. If I want advice on the best place to buy runners online I can post it there. It's not like because someone once posted a travel related question that they suddenly have to say well now this off topic forum is getting out of hand, we need a dedicated travel forum.

A few example of sites with Off Topic Forums

http://www.warriorforum.com/off-topic-forum/

The biggest internet marketing forum on the net

And because your argument is related to poker, then why not use a few examples in that area:

http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/off-topic

- P5s, top5 poker sites traffic wise

http://www.pokernetwork.com/forums/off-topic/

- Poker Network - the biggest Australian Poker forum

The other thing is, that if in the case that such a forum was launched, noone would be in any way obligated to even look at it. My own feelings are that some people would use it and others wouldn't. I don't think it's going to dilute the BBV in any way, as the BBV has become a community in itself. I'd say a good 10% of the BBV don't even play poker and I think it's been shaped in such a way that it's an intrinsic part of the community now so that even if we setup a thousand subforums, the general banter and random discussion would still go on as is.

Anyway, they're just my thoughts on it. I could obviously go and setup an account on a travel forum to ask about the best palce to do x, y and z but then I'm not arsed tbh and I like being able to post in a community that I'm familiar with.

And most of them dont have Pacman!

[Ste05]

IMO a general off-topic forum is a natural progression for the forum if it continues to grow as it has, the only real question is whether the time has arrived or not, or if the community could support such a forum and not dilute other parts (In particular BBV, as it is the heart beat of the forum). IMO

[eagle eye]

I have to say I don't see any need for it. You can have 100 posts per page so all you have to do is go into your own posts and find the relevant one and then click on it, chances are if there is a helpful response its on that page or at the very worst the next page.

[Raoul Duke III]

I know the bbv is pretty much an off topic thread, but I find that I have to trawl through hundreds of posts to find what I'm looking for. Like if I ask how to fix a computer problem or hotel recommendations in London or where to buy cheap flights etc, I often lose track of where the post is or end up reading through 300 posts to find the answers to mine!

that's part of the beauty of it

it's like several dozen crossed telephone lines coupled with random headcase interventions.

[Solskjaer]

The BBV is like a universal twitter for all members of the site. It makes off topic a topic in itself. An off topic sticky will dilute it for deffo. They've already took a chunk out of it with the gambling forums, so it should in theory be less busy than the old BBV . It's impossible to read all posts in there anyway but if you've asked a question you can be sure your answer will be in the next 2/3 pages. After that it's old news. That's not too much trawling I wouldn't think, even for a salubrious businessman like Ianmc.

I'd like my NSFW suggestion but it got tumbleweeded. :-( ah well I can be thankful with the much coveted gambling threads.

[Denny Crane]

I'd be unterested to hear what everyone thinks of this.

feudian slip?

[Strewelpeter]

A starred or favourite posts feature is the solution IMO
If you were able to mark posts that you want to come back to as a starting point you would be able to start reading from where you asked the question.

The feature where clicking the arrow on the latest posts thread brings you back to where were the last time you last read the thread works very well and might indicate that the guts of what is needed for a favourite posts feature is already there in vBulliten.

[ianmc38]

After that it's old news. That's not too much trawling I wouldn't think, even for a salubrious businessman like Ianmc.

.

Have you been spying on me Willie?

[Guest]

Yeah Ian i see where you're coming from. I suppose when you say it like that it would be pretty cool if it ended up huge. Especially as all the advertising money the admins get for the site would be split between everyone who signed up in January 2010

[ianmc38]

Yeah Ian i see where you're coming from. I suppose when you say it like that it would be pretty cool if it ended up huge. Especially as all the advertising money the admins get for the site would be split between everyone who signed up in January 2010

haha. well i definitely see the other side of the coin too and I can see that the bbv regs are quite passionate about losing the whole spirit of it which is a small possibility.

I do think it's a good idea, but I guess implementing down the line when traffic is a bit higher is probably a better idea.