New sports forum discussion.

please no talk of a "trial" forum or period.

if a forum is created, it's going to stay. so far as i know, no major forum has ever been removed after its creation (april fools stuff aside). it just wouldn't happen.

 

Apologies...on my computer its on page 13 and I have 25 threads per page. So I was off by 7, I didn't write that down and just new it was not near the first page.

There is a Muslim Appreciation Thread that seems to have all the Muslim religious issues within it. I just would rather see a Christianity Questions thread that people could turn to rather than all these different threads popping up.

 

alright, good. permanent sports forum it is then.

 

There is a Muslim Appreciation Thread that seems to have all the Muslim religious issues within it.

given that there are only a small number of muslims here (that i'm aware of, at least), and that post in the jcc, i think that's pretty realistic.

I just would rather see a Christianity Questions thread that people could turn to rather than all these different threads popping up.

any particular problem with multiple threads (most of which quickly die off)? if they all discussed the same thing, i'd agree with you. but, generally, the main focus varies from thread to thread.

 

Well what about the trial period I talked about? I remember one of the compromises I listed in the last Sports Forum debate was that we keep everything in the JCC, just have them extended out of their respected official threads. What about a trial period where we don't create a new forum, but instead see how sports threads thrive in the JCC as is. See how much activity they really create. It will result in actual facts and help gauge user's arguments. If those threads are successful, the need for a Sports Forum will be more apparent to everyone.

 

Just because something has never happened, doesn't mean it CAN'T happen. People are so protective of YJCC that I think if there was the slightest damage done to that forum, any new forum would be dropped. I sincerely believe that.

 

What about a trial period where we don't create a new forum, but instead see how sports threads thrive in the JCC as is. See how much activity they really create.

i am opposed to this on the grounds that it would harm the established sports communities and negatively impact discussion.

 

KW is right in that most religious or political debates stem from a news item or something along those lines and quickly fall. Even threads like the Muslim Appreciation thread will slip five or six pages and has to be upped when a relevant post is made. The sports threads have benefitted from being established with clear timeframes and a point of discussion that doesn't change.

I can see both sides of this argument, but I'll say I'm not willing to do anything that will harm the JCC as it stands right now. We've got a good community, a good mod team, the userbase is closer than it has been in a long time, and it's thriving. I'm hesitant to upset that balance.

One has to remember that the JCC moves incredbly fast and set on 50ppp, I can easily see things slip off the radar by about five or six pages in a day. We've responded in the past to spoiler/non-spoiler sensativities (i.e. Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley) and sometimes we miss stuff that should have been locked and redirected because, again, it moves so quickly.


I'm not sure that a new forum would take that much traffic away from JCC, the JCC thrives because of the randomness and casual posting habits, mostly, IMO.

Like KW, I don't think "trial" is something we could really do. We either agree to do it, and do it, or we don't.

 

It would be great if the threads in the JCC weren't so massive and all encompassing.

You could have so many good threads just about baseball alone.

Cubs vs Whitesox
Yankees vs Redsox
HGH and Steroids effect on the game
Who is the greatest pitcher of all time?
Is the DH a crap rule?

It could go on and on. Heck, a forum could be made for baseball in general. It's been mentioned that the worry is that it's a large part of the JCC. Well, no, not really. It seemns there's more threads devoted to "How can I ask out so and so" than there are to sports discussion.

A sports forum is a great idea, and would allow for much more in depth discussions.

 

It's been mentioned that the worry is that it's a large part of the JCC.

no, not large. an essential part of it. it's the glue that helps give the jcc something of real substance, something that's reliable and community-based. some people know each other based largely on having discussed a sport with each other for several years.

 

I think it COULD still be done on a trial. Its not as though we've got to create a new forum, we just put these new dimensions to the existing Games Forum and then sit back for a month and see what happens. I mean, we're all assuming there would be a demand for this, and based on the people that have supported the idea in this thread today, that seems a fiar assumption, but really theres no guarantee it would be that well supported. If not, or if it had a negative impact on JCC, then the forum could just go back to being the old Games Forum once again. I think this is quite achievable.

EDIT: THIS would be the forum we could use to try this out. Just open this forum up to all sports and games, as well as health and fitness dicussion, and see what happens. If it has any negative impact on YJCC or isn't really used, it can go back to be the simple games forum we see now.

 

Someone posted that the Games forum is lucky to have 2 hits a day. Games are discussed in the JCC every day. Just now a user found a random game online and opened a thread about it, but yet the games forum still has its own area.

I still disagree with the religion thing. Most of the recent threads that popped up have to do with Christianity and not understanding certain aspects of it. Jesus is a myth (there were two of those, but the good mods locked one), I have doubts about heaven, its all encompassed within doubting Christianity.
Christianity Thread
The above thread is in the Senate and would be a more serious answer to their questions. If they are asking for laughs then its fine to ask in the JCC, because many of the answers aren't serious.

 

I don't think there's a need for a official Christianity thread because frankly I don't see the JCC becoming bogged down in multiple Christianity related threads. At times you'll get a few but then nothing for a while. Official sports threads exist because if multiple threads were allowed, the JCC would turn into a sports forum.

 

That's a fair point, but I honestly don't think the already established threads that have been around for years, will be affected in the slightest. Like I said, most, if not all of the people that have posted in those threads over the years, are regulars to the JCC in general. Thus, as regular posters at the JCC, they will continue to post in the official sports threads that reside in the JCC.

My reasoning of starting a Sports forum, is so that we can have more open discussion about not only many different sports(some not popular enough to get much, if any recognition in a forum as huge and fastmoving as the JCC), but the many different aspects of these sports as well.

 

Someone posted that the Games forum is lucky to have 2 hits a day. Games are discussed in the JCC every day

you misunderstood the comment about the games forum, i think. this is the primary videogames forum, and i assure you that it is quite a few posts each day.

The above thread is in the Senate and would be a more serious answer to their questions. If they are asking for laughs then its fine to ask in the JCC, because many of the answers aren't serious.


nobody asks for laughs in either forum. it's just that the discussion styles are completely different.

My reasoning of starting a Sports forum, is so that we can have more open discussion about not only many different sports

i think that's a compelling argument, and is the primary reason why i would disagree with a new forum but would not be up in arms about it.

 

Some of you make great points. Is there a downside to trying it?

 

I've always looked at the JCC as people mingling at a party, where everything can be discussed. Where the JCC discusses politics casually, the Senate debates it. Where the JCC discusses a movie, Amph will dissect it. Some will say it relieved the JCC from too serious a manner of discussion, others will say it robbed JCC from more intellectually stimulating discussion. Both times the basic reasoning made sense though, there was a clear line there, a difference that could be seen as a JCC approach and what would become an Amph or Senate approach to discussing a subject.

Here though, I see nothing. I see no rift present within the JCC in regards to sports and the manner in which they are discussed. I certainly haven't been made aware of any that I might have missed. I've not once received a PM discussing the way sports are handled in JCC since I was promoted. Nothing. But then this. Why pass attempting to work on a more sports friendly JCC with the current administration and go straight for the proposal of a new forum? I don't understand.

This to me is like requesting a triple bypass to cure a bad case of acid burn.

 

you won't find anyone coming up with a real downside. the only one I've heard is, "ZOMG IT'S GONNA DAMAGE TEH YJCC!"

 

Not directly, other than it isn't in keeping with what the JC is about. By offering more diverse of a product you run the risk of people posting less in existing forums. In other words if your middle of the road poster spends only 1 hour logged into the JC each day then posts they previously made in StarWars forums might be taken away in favour of posting in a new sports forum. I'm only speculating, but it's something worth noting.

However, dp4m it well when he said "None of that should go in a different thread. All of it was read, understood, digested, discussed and talked about by all members of that community without the need for a separate thread." regarding the MLB thread, and KW latched onto an excellent point when he said "the official threads also act as something of a yearbook/record for each season. "

I can't see any reason for a Sports Forum other than for the sake of having a sports forum. To warrant change you need to have a very strong reason.

edit

gabe makes excellent points

 

Not directly, other than it isn't in keeping with what the JC is about. By offering more diverse of a product you run the risk of people posting less in existing forums

i agree.

i think part of why the JC was so tight-knit and somewhat different in 1999-2001 was that there were fewer forums, and people spent more time amongst each other. now, there are tradeoffs both ways, and plenty of pros/cons, so i'm in no way saying that more forums since then was a mistake. just that the more forums you create, the more individual fiefdoms (as DA once eloquently put it) you create, and the more cut off from each other you can get.

there are people who post in places like fan films and fan fiction who never venture beyond those forums, but who might make great contributors if they did.

 

Like I said earlier, I don't think anyone would shed a tear if a sports forum was created - I just don't see the benefit, and am concerned on the potential loss of contributions to other forums.

 

As a new user I've found it extremely difficult to be accepted in the JCC. To be honest after some comments I stopped reading most threads other than the Sports threads into which I was welcomed with open arms. I also have found a spectacular welcoming within the EU Community and Lit boards. The community there is stronger with the lesser amounts of users that go there, and they are more welcoming IMHO. This is nothing against the mods, because they have been quite helpful to me.

 

I will say this, based on my experience only: The JCC's draw is the casual atmosphere. No matter what subject you are discussing, the forum has the amazing ability to draw you from whatever you're about and grab you with the humor, random postings, and odd line of utter cleverness that I don't think any forum can take away from it. I may be contributing too much to the forum itself, but over the years, it's been the mainstay that keeps its posts up and has the "addictive" draw that has nothing to do with any one thread or "pie segment" in particular. It's something that's hard to put your finger on.

A sports forum is going to draw people to talk about sports for two or three posts and then, they're going to go to the JCC. Becaue there is more than just sports there. I don't go there for any one particular thing, but I can find something to say in just about every thread there. This is because of the community, and the atmosphere, not the subject matter per se.

I can see where it might take a bit of spotlight off the JCC for a month or so, but just like with SFF opening, the JCC has so much more in the day-to-day atmosphere that to even think a sports forum, a Senate forum, the Amph forum, or an SFF forum could take that away is a not giving it credit for the forum it's become.

 

It's because it's where you can post all of the kooky thoughts that pop into your head during the day but that RL doesn't provide an outlet for. That and just the sheer volume of people you can interact with in this way.

The other forms discuss things that you can discuss in RL.

That's why the JCC is additive. That's why we can't quit, dammit.

 

I think this thread's proponent would be the perfect choice for a mod of the proposed sports forum. Juli knows these boards well and she is well known on the boards. She also has great, extensive knowledge of sports (and this is coming from an Eagles fan on behalf of a Cowboys fan).

I also support the formation of a sports forum. It would be nice to be able to talk about smaller, more specific topics in sports without them being buried in official threads.

Finally, as mentioned by others, the Senate and Amphitheater haven't completely eliminated discussions of politics, social issues, movies, music and the arts. Political threads, movie and tv show threads still tend to be some of the more popular threads in the JCC. I don't think a Sports forum would destroy the existing sports thread in the JCC, just like the Senate and Amphitheater haven't destroyed discussion of politics, social issues and the arts in the JCC.

The JCC is continually one of the most active forums. People will still post in the sports threads in JCC (if a Sports Forum is created) for the same reason people still post about politics, social issues and the arts in the JCC: the JCC moves faster and is more active than the more specific forums. This will keep the sports thread alive in the JCC.