# Mourning the loss of the Chicago forum. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369 "2015-01-30T20:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/21 "2015-01-31T18:24:23Z")
Where did the threads in the Chicago forum and the Barn House end up? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/22 "2015-01-31T19:54:09Z")
The Terrine is a wonderful resource for my fellow soup enthusiasts. ETA: removed link, don’t wanna get into a board war. SoupNazi is scary. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/23 "2015-01-31T20:10:58Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Where did the threads in the Chicago forum and the Barn House end up? General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/24 "2015-01-31T22:08:37Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > Mr. Downtown is a buddy IRL and one of my dreams is to build something around his vast knowledge of Chicago and cities in general. I’d participate in that for sure. Urban archaeology is one of my hobbies. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/25 "2015-02-01T00:47:15Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Can we please drop the Soup stuff? This is a very serious thread where we are mourning the loss of a great forum that everyone loved. No soup for you! ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/26 "2015-02-01T02:30:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No soup for you! Come back one year! ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/27 "2015-02-01T02:57:17Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > We need a soup forum. I know we have Cafe Society for food threads, but a dedicated soup forum, where we could talk about different kinds of soups, our favorite soup ingredients, where you can order mail-order soup from, etc, would be tits. You could call it The Soup Kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/28 "2015-02-01T03:52:24Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > We need a soup forum. I know we have Cafe Society for food threads, but a dedicated soup forum, where we could talk about different kinds of soups, our favorite soup ingredients, where you can order mail-order soup from, etc, would be tits. That’d be totally tits. I love me some chilibowl. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/29 "2015-02-01T04:01:38Z")
Chili is not a soup. Nor is it a stew. Dammit. Lots of things are not soups nor stews. Like bananas. When my waitress lists the soups and includes chili, I’m tempted to correct her, but I have toned down on that in recent years. Not worth violating over. /hijack. Back to soup talk. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/30 "2015-02-01T06:51:59Z")
I’m beginning to think that people are not taking this thread seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/31 "2015-02-01T19:57:39Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’m beginning to think that people are not taking this thread seriously. Maybe it’s time to take stock. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/32 "2015-02-01T20:06:04Z")
This thread has it all, from soup to nuts! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/33 "2015-02-01T20:14:15Z")
I miss it. It wasn’t dead. Before work, if I wasn’t not running late (so maybe once a week), I’d sit at the computer and check the news, weather and I’d refresh the SDMB index page for updates to the Chicago forum and, frequently, to see the latest to be banned. I especially enjoyed how it brought in relevant outsiders like in the [Warshawsky](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562776) and [Fish House](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508000) threads. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/34 "2015-02-01T20:23:45Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Maybe it’s time to take stock. I tried that. I will always roux that day. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/35 "2015-02-01T21:53:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I posted a couple questions about Chicago. The one about the historic stockyards yielded quite a bit of personal information from local posters that knew that area. Well it’s not like those can’t be answered in other forums, you. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/36 "2015-02-01T21:54:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I tried that. I will always roux that day. You must be chicken. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/37 "2015-02-01T22:46:16Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Can we please drop the Soup stuff? This is a very serious thread where we are mourning the loss of a great forum that everyone loved. This. Maybe not so sad on my part, but I was a regular poster on the board, and the “soup” posters are implicitly calling the “Chicago” posters a bunch of whiny babies. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/38 "2015-02-01T23:04:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I thought the Chicago forum gave the SDMB an identity. The Straight Dope Column is tied to a Chicago paper > (Chicago Reader ). There seems to be a lot of board members from from Chicago. A forum for the home team was a nice gesture. > > I know it was a low volume forum. But, I think the SDMB has lost a piece of its unique identity and culture with this decision. > > It’s the small touches that gives a home its character. > > Is modding a forum with only a few posts a month that big of a hassle? In my judgment it was more trouble than it was worth - and I say this as someone who had high hopes for the forum when it was introduced. Didn’t work out, and I can’t argue with the assessment that it gave the site a forlorn look. The threads were all moved to GQ and there’s nothing to prevent anyone from posting Chicago-specific threads there or in whatever forum seems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/39 "2015-02-02T06:54:07Z")
Crazy idea here: How about a forum called “Local Issues” or something like that. Each thread starts with the name of a specific location, followed by the issue. For example: “CHICAGO: Why do cabs all of a sudden all have green license plates?” A “read this before posting!!!” sticky at the top would explain the procedure. That way, the forum can be populated by all sorts of threads from all over the country (indeed, the world, nay, the galaxy!) and therefore avoid appearing to be moribund. Yet people can still easily see which ones are relevant to their own locations, and participate accordingly. Just a thought! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369/40 "2015-02-02T10:30:14Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Crazy idea here: How about a forum called “Local Issues” or something like that. Each thread starts with the name of a specific location, followed by the issue. For example: “CHICAGO: Why do cabs all of a sudden all have green license plates?” A “read this before posting!!!” sticky at the top would explain the procedure. > > That way, the forum can be populated by all sorts of threads from all over the country (indeed, the world, nay, the galaxy!) and therefore avoid appearing to be moribund. Yet people can still easily see which ones are relevant to their own locations, and participate accordingly. > > Just a thought! Doesn’t seem necessary, what’s to stop me starting a thread called “Why do all Chicago cabs have green licence plates all of a sudden?” in GQ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mourning-the-loss-of-the-chicago-forum/711369.md?page=3)