I’ve noticed that, since we’ve come back, MPSIMS is moving at a furious pace. A thread can fall off the front page (during the day) seemingly with the speed rivalled only by innuendo and rumor.
Is this just because more people are using MPSIMS? Or are there fewer slots per page now?
Is it possible that it’s time for another forum? Some of the MPSIMS stuff doesn’t really fit the ‘mundane’ or ‘pointless’ category anymore. We’ve had threads on numerous personal issues there ranging from relationship advice to drug abuse. And those aren’t really mundane or pointless IMHO.
Maybe another forum for such things? I don’t know what you’d call it (I’m certain someone will come up with something clever…just not me right now) but I think it might be a good idea.
Or maybe Dopefest threads or other such things could be given a forum?
In any event, I think a new forum splitting the MPSIMS definition might be a help.
You make a good point, it does move very very fast now. It is unclear to me why; I don’t remember the default number of threads shown in the old software.
I can say this from experience - although it shouldn’t make a difference, many people simply do not click on the second page of a Forum - once it’s off the “front page”, they’re not interested anymore, regardless of merit. That is somewhat bothersome behavior, as it does lead to many of the same exact sorts of threads started again and again.
Just speaking IMO entirely, I would bet that making a new Forum subcategory or whatever would be like gas expanding to fill a void - the number of threads being read, posts being made, etc. would all increase to match the new Forums, and we’d have a similar problem later on.
It’s possible that a new board will not remedy the problem, but I think it’s more probably that it will. Maybe a “Personal Issues” board. I agree with the OP, MPSIMS just moves too fast!
Anthracite may be right that biotes (posters, in this case) will expand to fill available room. But I think that another forum would allow some breathing room.
In any case, I’m still interested in peoples opinions. I’m really posting here so I can flag the ‘email notification’ option.
Uh, I honestly don’t see a need for a new forum here.
If you’re missing threads because they get moved to page 2 of MPSIMS, why can’t you just make it a point to click to page 2 of MPSIMS?
If posters lose interest in a thread, what difference would moving the stuff to another, new forum make?
I’ve never had a problem with the quick turnover in MPSIMS (and GQ to a lesser degree). The threads’ icons tell me which threads have new posts. And since I remember the general time I last logged off the board, I know which threads I probably have read already. So I have to go through two or three pages’ worth of posts. It doesn’t take very long.
I’m not saying “Be like me!”. I just don’t understand why this is something the board needs to accomodate for.
Why create more work for the mods, admins, and the server, when it would be simpler to change your posting habits and awareness?
My first feeling is to agree completely with AudreyK - why can’t people just click on Page 2?
I will raise the issue with my colleagues, but be aware that creating another forum has many issues:[ul]
[li]What would the subject matter for it be?[/li][li]Is it an appropriate subject matter for the SDMB? Remember that originally the SDMB was formed to comment on Straight Dope columns with the addition of General Questions, with all the rest being viewed as extraneous, non-essential material.[/li][li]Who would moderate that forum? Adding new moderators to the list would only slow down our decision process, as there are new people to consult (via e-mail) for consensus on how to approach a certain issue.[/li][li]Most importantly, will adding a new forum really slow down the amount of posting in MPSIMS? That was (partly) the purpose of trying to split off some posts into Café Society and IMHO. As we saw, creating the two new fora did not dramatically reduce the number of posts in MPSIMS, instead it seems like we gave posters new ideas for things to post about.[/li][/ul]
But still I’ll forward the suggestion to the other staff members.
I think any proposed solution to slow down the speed with which threads fall off the front page of MPSIMS should include measures to ensure that people stop posting obviously IMHO material there.
White Lightning– wouldn’t it be easier to just reiterate the forum rules and close or move the thread?
Why make these kinds of things the board software’s problem? When you get down to it, isn’t it the posters who need adjusting, not the vBulletin software?
First off, Thanks for the information O mighty Swiss Warrior!
A question:
Wouldn’t the increase in MPSIMS postings regardless of new fora be a function of the increased number of posters?
Comme ci, comme ca. Administration may do what it likes. But I do think that MPSIMS is crowded with non-MPSIMS material. But if it’s too much of a headache then cost/benefit probably doesn’t make it worthwhile.
Bu…bu…but doesn’t the fact that we don’t make that many comments speak volumes about the fine job Cecil and company are doing.
… beep beep beep … beep beep beep …
This was a test of the Emergency Toadying System. If this had been an actual toadying emergency, you would have been instructed on where to go and what to say. We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
As I alluded to in my previous post, if we open a new forum on a particular subject, that has the added significance to many people that we are inviting messages on that subject, which we are loathe to do especially since the server is overwhelmed by the board popularity right now.
e.g. we create a forum on “Computer How-tos?” I can guarantee an increase on questions regarding computer hardware/software issues.
We create a “Therapy” forum for the sad, depressed, or congenitally cheerful. I’m sure we would see an increase on people asking for counselling from the other posters.
etc.
I know MPSIMS used to have a turnover time* of about 3 hours during the stretch between noon and late evening, US East Coast time. I haven’t checked it lately, but I’d be surprised if it’s much faster than that now.
*[sub]I define ‘turnover time’ of a forum as how long it takes a thread to move off the front page after its last post. So when you open a forum page, you look down at the time of the last post in the last thread on p.1, and figure out long ago that was. That’s my turnover time.
For instance, I opened ATMB at 11:21am today (4/10); the last post in the thread at the bottom of the page was on 4/1 at 10:28am. So ATMB’s turnover time is currently 9 days.[/sub]
Why don’t we? The answer is that we already have, twice. Most of what’s now in IMHO would once have been MPSIMS, and the same for the Cafe. Judging from past experience, the posts really do expand to fill all available volume, so we just can’t solve the problem with new fora.
With the new software, a moved thread stays on the original forum page as a notification until it’s forced off by newer threads, so moving threads doesn’t impact the turnover time.
Also, the mods can’t do everything.
Yes. I was being facetious in suggesting that this was anything other than a user-side issue.
