The Star Wars Saga Forum Is *gasp* Now Open!

DA, what did you think of Wenleys idea of having a few games threads, and rotating them every month? That way no threads get permanently kicked out?

Other than that, your idea is somewhat similar to what I have been leaning towards if the Saga discussion isnt given a new forum. A strong limit on miscellaneous threads.

You say that if it doesnt work, then we can create a new forum down the line....that is true....however we would have really torn up the current Misc forum, and it wouldnt be in such good shape when Saga discussion is taken out.

Then we just relax the content restrictins and allow the newbie spam to flow as usual. Misc is the way is because restrictions are few and far between. It's a case of "leave it and they come.

All of the old threads will still be there, just locked. If the forum goes exceedingly badly (which I doubt will happen if we keep all of the important/relevant Misc threads including the Shaving Habits of DV, Starbucks and Handmaidens threads) we can always unlock what's there and revert to business as usual after...say...1 or 2 months? It should be apparent by then if everything is going smoothly right? ?

Is there anyone who is utterly opposed to this idea?

Edit: And I like the idea of rotating game threads Dagsy if they are distinct enough to stand out on their own. There are several games in there that are different only by interpretation but can't go because they're SW-related and don't fit anywhere else on the boards. I think we could stand to trim a few

I think the forum needs at least three months of test time before it reverts. That was the "test period" for both Senate and Amphitheatre. I see no reason why the same standard shouldn't be upheld with Misc's new itteration, as a forum for Saga discussion.

Thank you very much for your thoughts DA.

I too would like to see Miscellaneous transformed and being given something refreshing to work with.

Miscellaneous in not a bad forum at the moment. There is alot of newbie posting in there and they can sometimes be unaware of the rules.

That probably is one of the main "problems" with the forum at the moment...

Perhaps a faq thread would be in order?

I pretty much agree with all your points.

The next problem would the implimentation of these changes. It is possible to switch the preferences for a forum to make them unreadable/unpostable to the average user. It wouldn't be impossible to give a weeks notice to all of the threads that would go, close the forum for a few days and reopen it as the SW Saga forum, old threads intact.

Alternatively, the existing Misc. forum could be shifted to another catagory and made read-only, then a whole new forum started with the relevant threads from the old Misc invited to start new editions in the new SW Saga forum.

I am a little reticent to try the latter, only because it would take up server space (whole new forum) and would mean that several threads we're striving to give some stability to (Starbucks etc) would essentially need to move again because Snowboards has no "Move Thread" option.

All things to consider.

Unless there's been a notice to the modsquad they haven't mentioned to the rest of the place, I don't think server space is an issue anymore.

Well, as I've said before, I would prefer only one social thread in the Saga forum. One social thread per forum would be good, so that the regulars can get to know each other.

This means that if we relocated, say, the Starbucks back to the CT forum, then it would have to be restarted....if we find a place for all the social threads, they all have to be restarted, bar one....whichever gets to stay in the Saga forum.

But I am also weary of having any of the old social threads staying for the new forum, and am leaning towards the thought that maybe it should be a whole new social thread.

Why am I thinking this way? Well, because we want a social thread that is most relevant to the Saga forum....to the regulars that are there to discuss Saga issues. We dont want a carryover from other forums, other places, where the social groups are already set, where the people arent necessarily there because they are Saga forum posters.

So that means that we wouldnt have to restart all old threads if we had a new forum....it would be likely that we would have to restart less than 10 threads...one LbL, one Social thread, a few games threads, possibly a "Your favourite x" thread that can rotate every week. For a good Misc reform that gave adequate priority to Saga discussion, it wouldnt be more than 10 threads being carried over. As such, it isnt like there would be much duplication if a new forum was started.

And to be honest, I like the idea of a fresh forum with a fresh attitude. No baggage from the old Miscellaneous forum. Users cant go back 10 pages and see a bunch of locked threads that they might want to imitate.

So I would prefer moving away the old Misc forum, and starting a fresh Saga forum.

But thats just my opinion.

Before even discussing starting afresh, locking threads etc, wouldn't it be better to ask the opinions of the Social Threads, game threads etc on what they would like to see being done.

Much like what was done with LucasFilm projects and the YJCC Reform.

I think something like that would need to be done to see what the overall consensus of the people affected would be. Will something like that be done?

Personally, I think your suggestion of making the forum unposatble to ordinary users, lock the threads etc would be the most practical. Not only does it keep old threads with the "history" intact, it means that the threads that do stay don't have to go through the hassle of restarting again as you said.

But which threads would go? That would be a rather contencious issue methinks. I agree that some threads will need to go and that will ruffle feathers but how are you going to decided fairly which stay and which go?

Asking people in Social threads, and games threads etc if they think their thread should be shut isnt really necessary.

The response will be an overwhelming "Shut a different thread...not ours".

Most members consider themselves above what is best for the boards.

It was the failing of the JCC reform, and it would be a failing here....sometimes you just have to make the changes for the good of the boards, and deal with any complaints that might arise. Trying to avoid stepping on feet will always lead to a reform that doesnt actually do enough.

I can see where you are coming from Dagsy but it would be still interesting to hear their input.

You never know, we might be pleasantly surprised and they might come up with a workable outcome.

Has there been any progress on reforming SW Misc?

Yes, may we please get an update on what's happening, if anything?

Yes, discussion is ongoing in the Mod Squad/AC at the moment .

I know DarthAttorney is away at the moment, but I hope that you guys are still discussing, and getting somewhere.

Its sorta been a few weeks since the administration started discussing, and we havent seen anything coming from it.

Please dont let this fall by the wayside. There is a need for a place to have legitimate Saga discussion.

Discussion in MS was in support of the forum, but has waned as of late. I suppose this is a function of DA's being away for a bit. I'll kick it back up in MS and see what we can do about making it a reality.

Good good, thanks Sape.

It'd just be a shame to lose momentum on this...

You know, I'm waiting with baited breath for the next ModSquad update. I expect to see that you guys have discussed this more and are finally getting ready to do something.

Its a great opportunity to further SW discussion at the JC. If the administration drops the ball, it will only make you look bad.

The ball hasn't been dropped. There have been big things happening lately that have caused it to take a back seat to these other issues. But it hasn't been dropped. An MS update has been written and is currently sitting as a template in MS for everyone to make comments on.

I'm starting to think one of the possible changes to the JC that would help Misc most would actually be a reform for JCC: allow Star Wars-related games and social threads. This would definitely reduce the pervasive sense that Misc is a dumping ground for Star Wars joke emails and games. I think threads of that ilk are more in line with JCC's central theme of community-building, anyway.

"allow Star Wars-related games and social threads. This would definitely reduce the pervasive sense that Misc is a dumping ground for Star Wars joke emails and games. I think threads of that ilk are more in line with JCC's central theme of community-building, anyway."

But according to the JCC Reform (in as much as it's been followed), new social threads aren't allowed in the JCC.

Would it be possible to just try out a Saga forum for a short time? Let Misc be the lighthearted forum and have a Saga forum for more serious discussion. A Saga forum probably (sadly?) wouldn't be terribly large, so it wouldn't be much of a burden on the administration.

Amazing.

I thought the whole point of this thread was to discuss changing the status quo, Amazing.

Its a great opportunity to further SW discussion at the JC.

I think thats a perfect description of why we need this forum, Dags. Everything about the Misc. forum characterizes it as the dumping ground for mindless babble and redirects of posts from other forums. Even the name itself screams a big fat--"Meh".

If the admistration truly has a desire for the injection of actual, intelligent Star Wars discussion, they need to start some real discussion of the implementation of such an idea. The more we wait, the faster that forum will become a lost cause.

I totally agree, DOT.

If you two and the rest of AC4 manage to kick the Saga forum into inception, I'll be a very happy person.

Sounds like a plan to me. I hope it does get the MS go-ahead.