# We have to many forums, and it is killing GQ. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 27, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336 "2018-08-27T04:29:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/21 "2018-08-27T13:52:06Z")
A moderator got noted for modding a note? Anywho … people who know about tennis and such have coagulated in the Game Room forum … anyone who has an opinion about tennis-wear will be found there … I don’t think we have too many fora quite yet … it’s getting close … but I think it’s fine the way it is … ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/22 "2018-08-27T13:54:37Z")
No sub forums. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/23 "2018-08-27T14:01:40Z")
Harm! Foul! Both of you meet at dawn! ---
**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:** [August 27, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/24 "2018-08-27T14:14:00Z")
You know, when we started we had two (2) forums: About This Message Board and General Questions. That was it. Ed told me you could divide up the entire world that way, so that was sufficient. That’s what we did for a long time. I sometimes wish we had stayed with that format. 😃 Jenny your humble TubaDiva PS Everybody said “this won’t last long.” That was in 1996. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/25 "2018-08-27T14:15:38Z")
Some of the posts above are suggesting further segmentation of the forums, like separating politics and elections. As it is, I regularly see (and report) threads opened in GQ that are obviously asking for advice or suggestions. Sometimes the thread title itself makes it clear that the OP is seeking advice or suggestions. If people can’t remember that GQ isn’t for suggestions or advice, how do you possibly think they’ll know where to put a thread about a political or election issue? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/26 "2018-08-27T14:34:04Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Admittedly there is an argument for splitting the Game Room into two, but the main argument against doing so is that if you split the forums too much, the various sub-forums don’t get enough traffic to remain sustainable. (Underline mine) Can you expand on this a bit? Frankly I’m mystified by the resistance to splitting and sub forums. Is it really harder to scroll to a different forum than it is to scroll through all of the topics you are not interested in? For me, putting games in its own forum made a HUGE difference in my board experience. I don’t follow sports or play video games and those topics dominated the other forum. Things that interested me were usually pushed to the second or third page. If a new forum or sub forum is listed as a front page choice it is automatically “sustainable”. It’s not like GQ rises to the top because it’s the busiest forum. The forums are tacked where they are. I guess what I’m asking is what’s meant by sustainable? I’ll go on to say I don’t really have a strong opinion about this either way. I’m more curious as to why some posters do. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/27 "2018-08-27T14:45:09Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > (Underline mine) > Can you expand on this a bit? Frankly I’m mystified by the resistance to splitting and sub forums. Makes a forum look dead and child forums are easy for posters to forget about. People tend not to post in forums they think are mostly inactive. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/28 "2018-08-27T14:56:04Z")
Much like Shakespeare’s play, it’s “much ado about nothing”. We all have personal tastes and opinions, but to say that this is some major issue is, to say the least, over dramatizing things. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/29 "2018-08-27T15:05:03Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Could just relabel elections to politics. I support this 100 million thousand percent. GD has improved tremendously since the election Stuff was taken out of it. How much better would be if we just get the bullet and dump the political stuff in it? Seriously it’s politics anyway why not just bite the bullet and call it that stuff was taken out of it. How much better would be if we just get the bullet and dump the political stuff in it? Seriously it’s politics anyway why not just bite the bullet and call with that. ? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/30 "2018-08-27T15:05:09Z")
Yeah, some people are splitters and some people are joiners. We try to keep a balance. It’s not like it hasn’t happened. As Tuba said upthread, we used to just have the two fora. So make a suggestion and see if it gains traction. It’s unlikely, but it has happened. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/31 "2018-08-27T15:13:01Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I support this 100 million thousand percent. GD has improved tremendously since the election Stuff was taken out of it. How much better would be if we just get the bullet and dump the political stuff in it? What all would you label as “politics”, and what would be left for Great Debates to cover? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/32 "2018-08-27T15:22:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What all would you label as “politics”, and what would be left for Great Debates to cover? What would GD cover? Almost anything from the Cecil columns from about 2000 and back. Pseudo science, religion, philosophy, what if type questions. Frankly if you look at the early days of GD politics was a negligible part of GD. Granted there is some overlap But I have every confidence that the current mods could cope with that. I’m not going to respond to them “what is politics?” Question. If you have a specific example of something that is so questionable that it will cause the current crop of mods heads to explode or something I’ll be happy to respond to that. Also keep in mind that in any category there will be stuff that’s questionable ala the OP. There’s never going to be 100% perfect system of categorization that will make everyone happy 100% of the time ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/33 "2018-08-27T15:28:33Z")
How much would heads explode if we called it Elections and Politics? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/34 "2018-08-27T15:39:38Z")
Abortion rights. Illegal aliens. Welfare. Crime. Great Debates, or Politics? ---
**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:** [August 27, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/35 "2018-08-27T15:44:08Z")
Maybe a separate “grammar” forum is needed? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/36 "2018-08-27T16:13:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Abortion rights. > Illegal aliens. > Welfare. > Crime. > > Great Debates, or Politics? Give me the actual questions not the topics. History of abortion rights? GQ. Current players in the abortion debate? probably GD, Abortion:Should all illegal aliens be forced to get mandatory abortions to lower the welfare and crime rates? That would go in Politics for about 10 minutes and then end up in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/37 "2018-08-27T16:26:13Z")
“To many forums!” \<\\> ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/38 "2018-08-27T16:33:24Z")
1. I still think Serena’s catsuit should go in IMHO, but it is not something I’d got to war over. 2. It’s Wikipedia that’s killing GQ, not the other forums. 3. Elections already is “Politics.” Might as well rename it. Looking through GD I see only a couple of threads that I’d call political. We seem to be good about understanding the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/39 "2018-08-27T16:36:24Z")
I’ve been to another message board with so many forums and sub-forums that is like going into an empty room and shouting at yourself. Post a question and maybe someone will stumble across it within 6-8 months. This place is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336/40 "2018-08-27T16:45:27Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > How much better would be if we just get the bullet and dump the political stuff in it? > > Seriously it’s politics anyway why not just bite the bullet and call it that stuff was taken out of it. How much better would be if we just get the bullet and dump the political stuff in it? > > Seriously it’s politics anyway why not just bite the bullet and call with that. ? This comes across as slightly bullet-hungry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-to-many-forums-and-it-is-killing-gq/820336.md?page=3)