# Game Threads in The Game Room **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 17, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775 "2014-09-17T23:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/21 "2014-09-18T13:10:15Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Remember that all such threads used to be part of Cafe Society, but got split off when it was clear that there was enough interest for a separate forum. NOT all game-threads are in the Games forum, there are plenty games-threads in Cafe Society, f’rinstance. Really? I don’t think a thread asking to “Name actors who have fought giant capybaras on screen” is the same as the ABCD game. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/22 "2014-09-18T13:41:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > +2 > > Game: Add the next number in the sequence. Let’s not. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/23 "2014-09-18T14:39:14Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Let’s not. 😃 New game! Contradict the poster above you! Let’s shall! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/24 "2014-09-18T15:23:17Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Really? I don’t think a thread asking to “Name actors who have fought giant capybaras on screen” is the same as the ABCD game. Both types of threads can be summed up as “Post something according to arbitrary rules where the post is the end, rather the means to one.” ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/25 "2014-09-18T15:45:35Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Seperating sports into their own forum is an arbitrary non-solution. That doesn’t solve the issue of the game threads at all and just picks one topic of the subforum to exclude for no good reason (why not video games or board games getting their own forum?) > > Game threads are the problem. Splitting off anything other than the game threads only fractures the board and doesn’t solve the original problem. > > You’re missing the point. On this board, we separate boards by category. Some types of discussion naturally go together. Game threads are not a difference of category, they are a difference of type. > > In most forums, threads remain at the top because there’s a lot of interest in them and people are posting frequently because the topic is interesting or topical or the discussion is unusually good. On the other hand, game threads get a lot of low-content posts to bring them to the top constantly by their very nature. They dominate the forum listings of whatever forum they’re in, because they don’t work like other threads. > > “Cross pollination” is not an issue, because it’s not as if anyone playing the A-B-C-D post game is going to say “oh, huh, a Destiny thread, that’s totally what I’m here for” - game threads are a separate entity that really don’t belong or synergize with any other content. In fact they merely push out content. > > The boards don’t benefit from having a particular number of subforums that are set in stone. They benefit for splitting off a forum when it makes sense, when the overall health of the board is increased by doing so. > > Game threads are of a different type, they do not synergize with any other sort of content and in fact they strangle it and push it out. They are essentially a scourge of whatever forum you put them in. Now I’m not saying people are wrong to play in game threads - I’m just saying they should be their own entity so they aren’t ruining the dynamics of the board. > > There is no downside to splitting off game threads into their own forums - the same group of people typically play a lot of game threads a lot, and they will certainly move with the forums. There’s no lost synergy because they are sufficiently different in type of content that they don’t bring that to any forum. On the other hand, removing them from the game room removes a stranglehold where 22 of the top 25 threads are game threads. > > I can even suggest that people who are thinking “I’m in the mood to play in a thread game” would benefit by having a dedicated forum to those sorts of things, so they don’t have to wade through the non-game threads in the forum. > > I can tell you I peruse the game room page a lot less often because it’s tedious when you have to look hard for threads that might be interesting. While it’s sort of an odd pairing, with sports and video games and other sorts of discussions that don’t naturally go together, at least those discussions are of the same kind, and not a totally different entity like game threads. This sums up my thoughts, only better than I could have. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/26 "2014-09-18T15:56:56Z")
In a board that promotes discussion and discourse, there’s no discussion of any kind in most of those game threads. The Feud-type games, at least, had something going on after the results were posted. But now we’ve got these “Speak to me” games where you post whatever random crap the OP requests. There’s no discussion to be had whatsoever. They’re giant post-count parties; I thought those were banned. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/27 "2014-09-18T16:19:14Z")
Banning the games would be a solution I’d be fine with, but I know others enjoy them. Really, setting the actual games in a subforum, and leaving the forum for discussion of games, seems like the best decision. **Senorbeef** makes some excellent points about how these threads are fundamentally different from other threads in the forum. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/28 "2014-09-18T17:18:21Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Both types of threads can be summed up as “Post something according to arbitrary rules where the post is the end, rather the means to one.” No. There is usually discussion that goes along with the movie threads. But “post the next item in the list” is a different kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/29 "2014-09-18T17:21:59Z")
The other thing I’ve noticed is that threads that are Game Room-type threads that are started elsewhere don’t seem to ever be moved to the Game Room. Like this one on the Zoe Quinn thing: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17736495](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17736495) ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/30 "2014-09-18T18:04:51Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > No. There is usually discussion that goes along with the movie threads. But “post the next item in the list” is a different kind of thing. It depends on which threads you’re talking about, I suppose. Threads such as “Name actors who fought giant capybaras onscreen” don’t allow for much discussion, in my opinion. The answers are hard to dispute, unless there’s a debate to be had on whether or not it was actually a giant mara doing battle. There are, of course, more open-ended threads that seem similar. But I was thinking of threads like [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733735), which is just asking people to list people or things with “Lewis” or “Louis” in their names. There’s at least no discussion to be had based on the OP, even if someone manages to find a tangent in one of the other posts. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/31 "2014-09-18T18:59:31Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Seperating sports into their own forum is an arbitrary non-solution. That doesn’t solve the issue of the game threads at all /…/ SenorBeef’s (whole) post reflects my thoughts on the issue exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/32 "2014-09-18T19:14:19Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Let me state right at the top that I understand that they are specifically permitted in the forum, they don’t break any rules (although post-padding has become the de facto result of them) and I am perfectly capable of ignoring them, which I do. My concern is the sheer number of them recently, and that they have the effect of driving other content off the page. > > At this moment, of the first 25 threads, 22 of them are game threads, one is about an actual video game, and two are about Adrian Peterson. > > I get that sports aren’t a great topic of interest on the boards, but the NFL and College Football have just started, baseball is going into their playoffs, and European soccer is back on again. Not to mention that the NFL seems to be imploding. > > There are only a couple of dozen people that care at all about golf, and only a couple are on the board at any one time, so threads take time to get going, but in the past they did get going and the conversation was usually good and knowledgeable. I feel like if I started a thread on the upcoming Ryder Cup, it would get buried before another golf fan saw it. > > If Cafe Society had 22 of 25 threads about Star Trek at the top, someone might feel the need to step in and say “Hold it down, people,” even though it breaks no rules. > > I think it is getting to the point that it warrants a discussion, even if the answer is “Eh, that’s what people want” or “Shut your pie hole, golf fan.” > > I know I’m not the only one who feels that it’s getting excessive. +1 That forum has become pretty much unusable for me because of this. It’s hard to sort out the threads discussing video games/sports etc… from the threads that are actually games being played. I agree they are excessive and truthfully I think a subforum for “message board games” or a subboard for “video games” and “sports” discussions are called for. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/33 "2014-09-18T19:26:40Z")
> [@](#): > > The moderators have been discussing this over the last week and the consensus, right now, is that there just aren’t enough topics (of each thing) to warrant a split. This is dumb. Does it cost the SDMB money or something to create a subforum to the Game Room where people can go PLAY those games and leave the rest of the Game Room for ALL the other subject matter that has already been brought up? There is no downside to doing this. No one’s experience will be diminished. The forum is being destroyed by those games (One of which has a subject “A”…). I can’t believe that anyone in the SDMB Moderator Congress who voted against creating that subforum ever actually uses the Game Room or they would feel the same way. Unless they are playing those message board games and are trying to flex nuts. SenorBeef summed it up nicely. Josh Gordon is a pothead. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/34 "2014-09-18T19:37:54Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > … The staff discussed it over a few days last time and [this was the decision.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17616322&postcount=69)… Yeah, it needs at least as many threads as the Barn House gets to earn a sub forum of it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/35 "2014-09-18T20:02:50Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The other thing I’ve noticed is that threads that are Game Room-type threads that are started elsewhere don’t seem to ever be moved to the Game Room. Like this one on the Zoe Quinn thing: > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17736495](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17736495) I got the report about it, but I won’t be moving it because I wouldn’t define that thread as a game. It’s in IMHO and, to me, fits in there well. There’s nothing wrong with “tell me your thoughts about [person]/[thing]” topics in other forums. For example, a thread titled “Tell me the best thing that’s happened to you today” I wouldn’t move to the Game Room either. ---
**Author:** ![orangeapples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@orangeapples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orangeapples)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/36 "2014-09-18T20:12:51Z")
I supported\* the video games separation proposed in the thread linked above by **Idle Thoughts** , I support the sports threads separation proposed in this thread, but really what is needed is a separation from the Game Threads as also mentioned in this thread and probably the other one as well. As others have noted, sifting through the game threads in hopes of finding a thread on sports or video games is, at best, tedious. Even if removing the impediment of top-heavy game threads does nothing to increase the traffic to that forum, at least it would alleviate some of the tedium. Consider if those threads were to be posted in this forum as a rule. That would make finding actual message board related threads a real pain in the izzass. Or, as you guys tried to discuss this issue, you had to wade through thread after thread of “This Should Be A Fun Game” first. I have to think that would change some votes. I humbly request the issue be revisited, even though it wasn’t that long ago it was addressed. \*Not been here long, not a paying customer, and all the other usual caveats to expressing my opinion on a matter like this. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/37 "2014-09-18T20:19:27Z")
I withdraw my suggestion in post #12. **SenorBeef** is right - it is the game threads that are the problem and should be separated out into a forum of their own. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/38 "2014-09-18T20:25:00Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I got the report about it, but I won’t be moving it because I wouldn’t define that thread as a game. It’s in IMHO and, to me, fits in there well. > > There’s nothing wrong with “tell me your thoughts about [person]/[thing]” topics in other forums. For example, a thread titled “Tell me the best thing that’s happened to you today” I wouldn’t move to the Game Room either. 😕 The Game Room isn’t just for threads that are games; nobody suggests that the linked thread is a game. Instead it’s about a game designer being harassed by a bunch of gamers through an orchestrated campaign called Gamergate. It’s about gaming culture. It’s totally different from a thread called “Tell me the best thing that’s happened to you today”; it’s much more similar to threads about the violence plaguing the NFL, threads that tend to hang out in the lower reaches of Game Room, below all the game threads. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/39 "2014-09-18T20:27:17Z")
This is a quick cut and paste from the front page of the Game Room. I just went about halfway down the page (I think mine is set at 50 topics). I’ve bolded the Thread games. There are 13 non Thread Game and 22 Thread games. When the Thread Games aren’t highlighted the rest of those topics get lost in the noise and are difficult to notice. You can’t tell me the forum is usable in this state. > [@](#): > > **Bakers Dozen (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Word game- Guess my Password** > > NFL Week 2 (Multi-page thread 1 2) > > Poll: Week 4 CFB – Which AP Top 25 team(s) will lose? > > **Malapropagation 2012 – Revenge of the Schtick (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Thunderball! Design a sport one rule at a time (Multi-page thread 1 2)** > > What games have you abandoned midway through playing? (Multi-page thread 1 2) > > Playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown for the first time. > > A Feud! [Game Over] (Multi-page thread 1 2) > > **Made-Up, False and Flat-out Wrong Trivia Dominoes (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > Go to first new post NFL Week 3 > > **A (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **SIX-Letter Word-Change one or two letters make a new word (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Speak To Me Only in Song Lyrics (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **OOC/Setup Thread for SDMB D&D 5e PBP game (Multi-page thread 1 2 3)** > > **Botticelli - Sep 2014 (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > Total War: Rome II – How is it now it has been repeatedly patched? > > **Speak to me in succinct song lyrics (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > Go to first new post Nationals vs. Orioles. Least marketable World Series possible? > > **Challenge: Change “galaxy” to “meteor” with two and no fewer letters changed at each step.** > > **Speak to me only in Movie Quotes (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Speak to me only in Science Fiction (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Free Association (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Seven letter words cjange one or two letter to make a new word (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Free Association – Characters, Actors, Celebrities, etc. (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > **Count to infinity in pictures (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page)** > > Are any white people defending Peterson? > \*\* > Trivia Dominoes: Play Off the Last Bit of Trivia (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page) > \*\* > Doom-type vs Call of Duty-type games > MichaelEmouse > > **Geoguessr (Multi-page thread 1 2)** > > He Hate Me FF Keeper League – Year 12 (Multi-page thread 1 2 3) > > **The best [\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_] in [\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_]** > > MoP-ing up after the Cataclysm: Updated WoW General Discussion 8/22/12 (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page) > > Which college football teams are you a legitimate fan of – and why? (Multi-page thread 1 2) > > \*\*Haiku Madness (Multi-page thread 1 2 3 4 5 6 … Last Page) \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775/40 "2014-09-18T20:32:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Instead it’s about a game designer being harassed by a bunch of gamers through an orchestrated campaign called Gamergate. It’s about gaming culture. AH, okay…well, see, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know who Zoe Quinn was. Now that I know, I agree with you and Justin. I will move it over there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-threads-in-the-game-room/698775.md?page=3)