We are very happy to be on GU instead of Eversource. Even with Sandy power was only out for about 12 hours, IIRC.
Gee. While we’re at it, why not change the name from " Straight Dope " ?? After all, many law-abiding citizens would avoid a message board named after a slang word for pot and many other drugs.
Mentioning Beirut is a sop. If the Moderators, who do a remarkable job, feel a thread in MPSIMS is poorly placed, why they can move it.
The more you explore the Straight Dope Message Boards, the more you’ll see that the nostalgia, in jokes, playful forum names, irreverent motto, and even the tone of the moderation contribute to the personality of this place. In fact, they contribute to it being a “place” at all, in the sense of the “third place” we all seek.
Certainly I’d have no problem with the creation of a new news forum or the repurposing of an old special one, but I think the name MPSIMS fits well with the overall feel of the SDMB and I hope it stays.
I have been giving this some consideration. First off, we have a lot of complaints that very meaningful content is placed in a forum labeled both “Mundane” and “Pointless”. This is where we discuss ongoing disasters and tragedies like 911 and the Beirut explosion, RIP threads, and discussions of personal illness and loss, like death of loved ones. To me, this is nothing but cruel.
Second, we have had numerous threads that have been closed for the reason of being “too pointless, even for MPSIMS”. So why do we have a forum for pointless threads if we are not going to allow pointless threads? This makes no sense.
The reason we have MPSIMS labeled as we do is a historical connection to the early days of the Straight Dope, pre-UBB (which was pre-vB). I think it was from AOL, but don’t quote me on that. anyway, with all the updates and changes to the format and workings of the board, now is the time to consider if the previous choices no longer fit the needs of the current board, trying to attract new users that have no connection to a history from over 20 years ago.
I submit that putting serious and emotionally involved topics together with random thoughts and chitchatting is the root of the problem. In The Beginning, those were lumped together because they were with all the content that wasn’t about the Straight Dope column. But in the 21+ years of the board life, we have now split that content into numerous different forums, for various reasons about separating types of discussions. To me, this is a split long overdue.
If we really wish to preserve the MPSIMS acronym, I suggest that we could rename the forum “Meaningful or Painful Stuff I Must Share”, and it can contain all the content such as: RIP threads, discussions of tragedies and ongoing stories of loss like Beirut or the fires in California, and personal stories about sick/dying family members, etc. Birth announcements, and happy personal events could also be placed here.
Split off the more “pointless” content like the MMP, fun random life stories posted for humor (like the blimp thread or Beckdawrek’s latest adventures). Put that in a forum titled “Random Stuff” or “Chitchatting” or “Fun Topics” or whatever. This would avoid the issue of labeling someone’s literary masterpiece as “pointless”, as well as getting rid of that self-contradictory closing threads issue. Maybe “Things On My Mind” or something. I’m sure there are much more creative people than me who can give suggestions.
This is also a possibility, rather than a new separate forum from the sensitive emotional topics.
This is a fair obstacle to implementation. However, deciding that this is a worthwhile change to be implemented after the admin situation settles down is something we can accomplish now. Posting that in a list of “Upcoming Changes we are seeking to Implement” would be a great idea.
Yes, that was I said upthread. These categories are pretty much as diametrically opposite as you could imagine, and it’s a bizarre and counterintuitive “tradition” that these go into the same forum.
The primary issue is surely not figuring out names fo the forum(s), but (for reasons I find mysifying) convincing people that these categories belong in two different forums.
I’m not sure why you think this is a better solution than just leaving MPSIMS exactly as it is for the category of chit-chatty random stuff, and moving the serious stuff that you describe in your first paragraph to a new forum for “News”. You seem to be trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist - I’m not aware of anyone complaining that their chit-chatty threads go into a forum that contains the word “pointless”. The problem is with threads of great personal or global significance going into a forum for “pointless” stuff.
Yes, I agree that keeping Mundane Pointless around, minus the more serious content, makes sense as it certainly has its devotees, some of whom probably post there exclusively. Trying to retrofit the MPSIMS acronym just seems like a clumsy attempt to please all while actually pleasing none.
(Yes, l’m the guy who started this topic by suggesting a name change, but I’ve come to see that as counterproductive.)
Really, adding a simple news category would be the obvious answer, but maybe it should have a snappier name than “News”.
Thinking caps on: if there were a new category for news, what should it be called? Something that is not limited to “news” as in things covered in the media, but could encompass serious personal observations.
“Nitty + Gritty”
“As It Happens”
“The Straight Dope Times”
“Considerations”
“Points Valid and Otherwise”
“The Villiage Green”
There’s a lot of overlap. Often people post mundane news rather than BREAKING NEWS, but it can morph over. Or they post what they think is BREAKING NEWS, but it’s a whole lot of nothing. I’d imagine that with the 2 categories, there would be a lot of moving threads back and forth from one category to the other.
Well sure, there would be growing pains, but the mods could sort it out (“Here now young lady, don’t you think your post about the raccoons that keep tipping over your garbage would be much happier over there in the playground?”) and eventually everyone would get it.
I saw that, I’m agreeing with you.
Well duh, but I’m approaching the problem as a comprehensive solution. Wouldn’t that be more convincing?
We have had threads closed for being “too pointless”. In a forum called “Pointless”.
Hey, I threw it out as a suggestion. It’s an alternative approach. I would be on board with just moving the serous stuff out of MPSIMS if that is more popular.
If so, I don’t think the forum should be called “News” or “Breaking News” because I don’t think that captures the range of threads it should cover. Significant life events, tragedies, etc. Also, political news should go in Politics. Would celebrity gossip count as Breaking News? I don’t think the latest Kardashian misadventure belongs alongside “my wife is dying of cancer”, or whatever. “News” is too generic and broad and doesn’t convey the intent of the forum.
I propose “The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune”
Dedicated to the pop-up events, mostly but not always bad, that afflict both individual people and whole societies. And by decree aren’t overtly specifically political; those go in P&E.
Births, deaths, lottery winnings, large explosions, weather disasters, graduations, promotions, layoffs, divorces, etc. If it’s new (not necessarily news) and it deserves commiseration from your fellows, here’s where it goes. If you just want a pile-on of condemnation, not commiseration, well … the Pit is waiting for your OP instead.
TSOAF or SOAF even makes a decent acronym.
How about
TSAOF
:SMACK: I even looked at that and my spider sense was tingling but I couldn’t see it.
Thank you.
We could just go with the “KFC approach,” and keep the name MPSIMS without spelling out what it stands for.
Nuh-uh. I already hate when lazy people reduce everything to initials. Don’t encourage them. Laughing Out Loud!
SEND NEWDS
I like it.
This thread went into hibernation, but I didn’t want to abandon it. Just looked at the current run of topics in Mundane Pointless. It’s a mishmash of personal observations and brain droppings, with a few (very few) topical raisins dropped in. If I were new here, I’d wonder what they were doing there, and how this category is supposed to work.
So, again, I think a news-only category would be a welcome addition, with Mundane Pointless left to be a playground for the uncategorizable (and Beckdawreck’s cries into the wilderness).
Please?
The above quoted post is 2 years old, it’s true. But I just have to say: what a fantastic re-name idea for MPSIMS!
Deep, man. Deep.
The name has to go. It serves no purpose and has caused needless confusion. It exists because of a one off joke decades ago. It could drive off desperately needed new members (" You’re saying my mother’s cancer is mundane and pointless? Fuck you! I’m out of here.") I don’t understand why TPTB are so resistant to this. Any of the suggestions here are an improvement, though I’d prefer “General Discussion and Breaking News.”
Mundane, Profound, and Significant: Stuff I Must Share