# Maybe we need a new forum **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049 "2010-06-13T22:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/1 "2010-06-13T22:19:43Z")
I started a thread [What the SDMB is talking about](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=566956). It was closed because it didn’t appear to have a point. Maybe this board needs a forum where people can share stuff that is mundane and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/2 "2010-06-13T22:23:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Maybe this board needs a forum where people can share stuff that is mundane and pointless. Why don’t you start it over at MPSIMS. And, please post that you started it in ATMB and it was shut down. **samclem** Moderating ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/3 "2010-06-13T22:41:57Z")
There are now, and there always have been, limits to exactly how pointless an OP can be and be left open. A bare list of threads is on the wrong side of those limits. As I said when I closed the thread, if you had some point, and would be willing to communicate that point to me, I will be happy to reopen the thread. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/4 "2010-06-13T22:55:54Z")
Years ago I got my cat to walk on my keyboard and posted it in MPSIMS, and my thread got shut down. I’m still angry about it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/5 "2010-06-13T23:05:49Z")
> [@](#): > > **twickster** : There are now, and there always have been, limits to exactly how pointless an OP can be and be left open. In Mundane and POINTLESS Threads, a thread has to have a point? You are kidding, aren’t you? I thought the point was that you didn’t have to have a point. Something could just be of interest. Have you ever seen the film **The Point**? Fantastic narration by Dustin Hoffman with music by Cat Stevens. But it’s the art work that knocks me out. Anyway, the story has a point too. Mundane and Pointless Stuff has always been our playroom. Please don’t screw it up. I enjoyed the rose and cinnamon tea from empty cups. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/6 "2010-06-13T23:17:52Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Have you ever seen the film **The Point**? Fantastic narration by Dustin Hoffman with music by Cat Stevens. But it’s the art work that knocks me out. Anyway, the story has a point too. [Harry Nilsson, actually.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Point!) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/7 "2010-06-13T23:18:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Why don’t you start it over at MPSIMS. And, please post that you started it in ATMB and it was shut down. Huh? ---
**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:** [June 13, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/8 "2010-06-13T23:25:22Z")
There is such a thing as too pointless and you have apparently found it. Note that twickster said she’d reopen it if you provided some clue as to what’s supposed to be happening in the thread. We’re happy to help but we need more data to work with here, please. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/9 "2010-06-13T23:26:41Z")
> [@](#): > > There are now, and there always have been, limits to exactly how pointless an OP can be and be left open. A bare list of threads is on the wrong side of those limits. As I said when I closed the thread, if you had some point, and would be willing to communicate that point to me, I will be happy to reopen the thread. I can maybe see there being a limit to pointlessness if my OP had been something like, _“I have a dime in my pocket”_ - something so mundane that nobody would have any interest in the subject or anthing to comment on regarding it. But there have been plenty of threads where the initial subject was nothing beyond “check this out” with the expectation that others might want to check it out and find it of some interest. And I think my OP qualifies as at least that. This is the SDMB after all - a list of what the most common topics being discussed on the SDMB are must be of some interest to the same people who are discussing those topics. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/10 "2010-06-13T23:55:29Z")
How is closing a thread because you don’t think there’s anything to discuss not a self-fulfilling prophec?. And what purpose does closing them do besides give the mods something to do (when they should have enough to do already)? As has been pointed out many times before: if a thread is truly pointless, it will generate no comments, and thus fade away without being shut down. I also point out that the thread starting with the OP consisting of the single letter A was not shut down (until it became a zombie). What horrors did that produce that must now be stopped at all costs? ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/11 "2010-06-14T00:02:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This is the SDMB after all - a list of what the most common topics being discussed on the SDMB are must be of some interest to the same people who are discussing those topics. That list looked like it took some work to list and post. Why did you take the time to do it? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/12 "2010-06-14T00:08:17Z")
I was a participant in the “a” thread, and it was still active when it was closed by a mod. That was back in pre-Game-Room days, when game threads happened in MPSIMS. And, **Little Nemo** , this is not the first thread that has been closed because the OP provides cut-and-paste content or a link without any indication of what the point was. It will not be the last, apparently. As I have said, now, twice, give me a reason to reopen it (other than “I’m pissed that you closed it” or “it’s not actually the stupidest thread ever started in MPSIMS”) and I shall do so. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/13 "2010-06-14T00:16:59Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > As I said when I closed the thread, if you had some point, and would be willing to communicate that point to me, I will be happy to reopen the thread. You take your job a little too seriously. Ease up there, the name and description of the forum contradict your unwritten rules. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/14 "2010-06-14T00:19:28Z")
I should also mention that in the thread entitled “Forum Rules for MPSIMS - Please Read Before Posting” posted by an administrator, there is no mention of a thread needing to meet some arbitrary level of having a point. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/15 "2010-06-14T00:24:06Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > There is such a thing as too pointless and you have apparently found it. I’ve asked this before, in similar conversations, and i’ll ask again: If a forum is specifically named and designed for the posting of Pointless material, why not simply let the membership decide whether the thread is too Pointless to merit a contribution? If no-one thinks the topic is worthy of a contribution, it will sink off the front page in pretty short order; that happens to plenty of threads. And if people do respond to the topic and keep it going, then the thread is, by definition, not Pointless enough to close. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/16 "2010-06-14T00:39:16Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > I should also mention that in the thread entitled “Forum Rules for MPSIMS - Please Read Before Posting” posted by an administrator, there is no mention of a thread needing to meet some arbitrary level of having a point. I’m in a hurry, but this caught my eye. Yes, there is such a rule. > [@](#): > > **Post-Padding and Truly Pointless Threads** > > Even this forum—with its spectacular name—has its limits for truly pointless threads. We will be closing threads which cross that line, or exist merely for post-padding reasons. This includes any post count parties. > > We understand that determining what is or isn’t pointless is a subjective process, but we reserve the right to make the final decision. We will, however, be as consistent as possible, with the caveat that as human beings with families, jobs and other distractions, we’ll probably foul up once or twice. ETA: That’s the rule that Twix is tasked with following and as far as I can see, she’s done so in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/17 "2010-06-14T00:43:37Z")
> [@](#): > > And, Little Nemo, this is not the first thread that has been closed because the OP provides cut-and-paste content or a link without any indication of what the point was. It will not be the last, apparently. > > As I have said, now, twice, give me a reason to reopen it (other than “I’m pissed that you closed it” or “it’s not actually the stupidest thread ever started in MPSIMS”) and I shall do so. I’m sticking with what others have said. The thread was started in a forum for pointless topics. So there was no violation of any board policy that required its immediate closing. The OP might have generated responses (other threads with less promising OP’s have done so). If it developed into an ongoing thread then it would be justified by those responses - the fact that people found the topic worth commenting on would mean that it was worth opening a thread on that topic. Admittedly the OP might not have generated any responses (and I’ll concede it didn’t have a promising start). But in that case, it would have disappeared of its own accord. If nobody was posting in the thread it would have sank out of sight quickly. So there is no need for moderators to make their own personal judgements on which OP’s the membership will want to read and respond to. Enforce the rules and let us decide what’s too pointless to bother with. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/18 "2010-06-14T00:46:32Z")
And I’m not pissed about its closing. It’s really not that big a deal. I spent a couple of minutes composing the OP so it’s not like I had a lot invested in it. I may be questioning the decision to close the thread but I’m not angry about it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/19 "2010-06-14T01:13:38Z")
Ah, good, because I’m not angry either. And, yes, **Gukumatz** was kind enough to cite [the rule in question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9505194&postcount=4) before I had a chance to respond to **IAmNotSpartacus**. The issue isn’t “a violation of board policy,” which makes it sound like a way bigger deal than it is. The bottom line is that, in my judgment, your post didn’t meet the guidelines laid out for the forum. As it says in that guideline, we do make an effort to be consistent, and I have closed other threads before where the OP didn’t specify a topic, just provided cut and paste material, a quote, or a link, and I will continue to do so in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049/20 "2010-06-14T01:24:09Z")
It’s a bullshit guideline if you’re going to call the forum mundane and **pointless**. If you’re going to have minimum levels of pointedness, then change the forum name. Seriously, what is wrong with letting the membership decide what is too pointless? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-we-need-a-new-forum/543049.md?page=2)