I realize that some banal stuff gets bandied about on here. But a whole hell of a lot of it is NOT mundance and pointless.
People sharing and getting advice on important parts of their lives is anything but mundane…at least IMHO.
I would take the verbal support that I have been given here in the tattoo thread over most anything in GQ.
The mpsims forum has actually help get me through some life shaking situations and mundane and pointless just doesn’t seem the proper name for this forum.
Do you suppose any of the moderators or Cecil would ever consider renaming this forum?
If so what are some suggestions by the mpsim faithfuls? It’s the mundane and pointless part that bothers me.
I don’t feel that this topic should be in About this message board…but I of course remain humbled before the decisions of the great moderators.
I agree with Aha to a certain extent. I and others have shared things that may be mundane to others but not to ourselves (i.e. my wife and I finding out we were pregnant).
Maybe another forum. Because the advice stuff is not for debate, not really a question and is not a flame, but is also not mundane.
Maybe we could have a forum called “The Watercooler” where folks can gather around and talk. Or maybe NMPSIMS, Non-Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share.
Damn! You’re both pregnant? That’s not mundane or pointless, that’s amazing!
Sorry.
I think the name works, in the sense that the topics here are either silly or personal, which in the larger picture of The Straight Dope, could be considered mundane.
I was thinking about this the other day too. I didn’t want to lose MPSIMS as a forum but I thought we should have a new forum added for advice, recipes, etc. One of the free papers we used to get in Indiana had a section called “Good Neighbors” that people could write in to to get advice on contractors, recipes, etc. Stuff like “I wanted to save such and such article from such and such magazine but threw it away…does anyone still have it?” That sort of thing. I was even going to write TUBA and suggest it, but you beat me to bringing it up.
Aha makes a good point. MPSIMS would be more accurately described as a miscalleneous forum, although the name implies something else.
Many of the posts are not Great Debates, nor General Questions, nor flames. Nevertheless, a significant portion are important, not just to the posters, but to the responders as well. So Mundane and Pointless is something of a misnomer.
I’ve always defended this board against any sort of criticism, so it would be unseemly for me to start now, but aha has, in a non critical way, given us something to think about.
Notice I said “think.”
We’re not empowered to do more than that. It’s not our board, after all. But the admins have always been open to suggestion, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they responded, should enough members ask them to change the name to, say, “Wally’s Forum.”
Hey, it works for me.
SeaLemon, yes, my wife and I are both pregnant. See, there was no question, nor a debate, and not a flame, but not Mundane either. But it was the only forum where I could tell everyone. Otherwise it would have gotten moved here anyway.
Actually, the suggestion of The Lounge was a fairly good one and also the Good Neighbor Idea.
Pub, waiting room, etc would all work. But then we would all get too serious and forget our mission, to be MPSIMS. If you have a question and need an answer, go right to General, however trivial your question is. They can only throw you back to here.
What board have you been visiting? I seem to recall coment along the lines of “This board is not a democracy, and all considerations are decided by the Chicago Reader. (paraphared)” Anyways, I hope that certain things don’t always fall on deaf ears.
They’ll certainly respond, but I think the tone and receptiveness to constructive critisism are dependant on the cycles of the moon, or other monthly cycles ;).
Anyways, I have to agree that the OP brings up a very good point. While “Mipsisms” has a special spot in my heart, I agree that the truely mundane and pointless threads are the least interesting. I peruse the forum, as many have already expressed, to share personal stuff, either comical or serious, and to offer advice and solicited (and unsolicited) opinions. A large volume of topics aren’t questions, debates, or flames, but many definately aren’t mundane and pointless.
What to do? Well, if a “Watercooler” forum was added (I like that name), I don’t think there would be much traffic in the MPSIMS forum any more because it seems like vast majority of topics aren’t mundane and pointless.
Changing the name of the forum so it includes all types of topics seems like a good fix, but the MPSIMS name is just so entrenched in the SD lore that it would be sorely missed. I don’t think there is an easy solution.