RowdyFan42 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I guess it depends on what's being condensed and why. Sometimes it's better to have one big thread than a whole bunch of individual ones that get little to no activity. It's definitely possible, though, to get a whole bunch of somewhat-related topics going in one thread and then everyone's talking over each other. To that point, I suppose we need to be more mindful of going off on tangents and maybe spinning those off into their own threads. Also, when it's really busy here, like the trading deadline or a game day, it helps cut down on the chaos when you have a catch-all thread (like the GDT or the trade ticker) and then separate topics for stuff that attracts a lot of its own discussion (like a Devils trade). Triumph mentioned a couple posts I made a day or two ago in the minor league transactions thread concerning the rumors about a westward shift in the AHL and its possible effects on the Devils' farm system. To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about "this belongs here because this is a minors thread". The topic was brought up a little earlier in the thread so I responded there. Had it occurred to me that I was going off a tangent (what did I just say about being more mindful of that?) or that there might even be enough interest in that topic to stand on its own, I probably would've started a new thread. Someone mentioned the Locker Room section. If memory serves, at the time people were annoyed that sports stuff and non-sports stuff were lumped into the same forum and one (I forget which) was dominating the other. So, they were split up. Back during the '04 lockout, there was a much greater focus on the minors and college hockey than usual, so those topics got their own subforum. Eventually it outlived its usefulness and was removed. Things change, the board evolves. If the needs of the community dictate another evolution, so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsfan26 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I guess it depends on what's being condensed and why. Sometimes it's better to have one big thread than a whole bunch of individual ones that get little to no activity. It's definitely possible, though, to get a whole bunch of somewhat-related topics going in one thread and then everyone's talking over each other. To that point, I suppose we need to be more mindful of going off on tangents and maybe spinning those off into their own threads. Also, when it's really busy here, like the trading deadline or a game day, it helps cut down on the chaos when you have a catch-all thread (like the GDT or the trade ticker) and then separate topics for stuff that attracts a lot of its own discussion (like a Devils trade). Triumph mentioned a couple posts I made a day or two ago in the minor league transactions thread concerning the rumors about a westward shift in the AHL and its possible effects on the Devils' farm system. To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about "this belongs here because this is a minors thread". The topic was brought up a little earlier in the thread so I responded there. Had it occurred to me that I was going off a tangent (what did I just say about being more mindful of that?) or that there might even be enough interest in that topic to stand on its own, I probably would've started a new thread. Someone mentioned the Locker Room section. If memory serves, at the time people were annoyed that sports stuff and non-sports stuff were lumped into the same forum and one (I forget which) was dominating the other. So, they were split up. Back during the '04 lockout, there was a much greater focus on the minors and college hockey than usual, so those topics got their own subforum. Eventually it outlived its usefulness and was removed. Things change, the board evolves. If the needs of the community dictate another evolution, so be it. I was opposed to the Locker Room subforum back then because the off-topic section wasn't so busy that sports talk got in the way of general off-topic threads, it made it take longer to navigate to the sports conversation, and it made it an additional page you needed to check if you were interested in talking about other sports with the people on here. Now, you can get to the Locker Room without having to go through Off-Topic first, but it still makes no sense for it to be a separate subforum because off-topic is even more of a deserted void than it used to be. Right now the Locker Room and Off-Topic have a combined total of five threads that have been posted in over the past week, so separating them doesn't have any benefit and only makes the forum more segmented than it needs to be. Also, it may be a longshot but a theory could be made that allowing the sports talk in the off-topic section could bring the forum a little back towards its more civil and personal days. I feel like the off-topic section was where we got to know each other better, and taking discussions away from there has made off-topic less visited, and the lack of visitors is probably why nobody posts the fun off-topic threads we used to have because it is likely nobody will even see them. #OccupyLockerRoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgeControl Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 The poll remind me of this: . shouldnt water be on this list, or should that be on a seperate poll??? lol seriously, I agree with triunpth, condense at least the prospect, camp , draft threads, etc (its all the same to me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin226 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I'll just say that for years I've wanted a dedicated, stickied season ticket holder thread so that the STH community here has 1 place to go for updates.. I've been primarily on HFBoards lately in large part because of that thread with STH updates and arena/Newark info all in one spot.. I just don't get that here and don't want to start threads for every STH update.. Obviously non-STH would be more than welcome to comment but I think it would be really beneficial and might draw other Devils STH to posting here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) People start threads and usually there is something snarky posted about why the new thread? There is a group of posters that belittle folks most of the time. If they go off on a tangent that is okay but heaven forbid one outsider does. It is not worth the time or effort to post more so less is what you get imnsho. It is easier to have discussions in PMs. It is a sad situation. So this is how I see/perceive the community nowadays. Remember the days when it wasn't like this Tri? This only ever happens when people start spamming duplicate threads during Free Agency to be the first to break the news, and when the negative trolls create bait threads after losses. I honestly can't recall the last time a poster, new or old, was told to essentially f*** off for voicing an opinion in a new thread. If it happens as often as you suggest, maybe you could provide such an example from the past few months. I haven't looked here as often during the offseason as I usually do, so I might've missed em. Regardless - yes, people should feel free to start new threads for discussion-worthy topics. But again, if someone posts "Lou sucks, he should retire" (for example) as a thread topic without any sort of justification they're going to receive some backlash because we're going to assume they're just trolling. Edited September 25, 2014 by Devilsfan118 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I'll just say that for years I've wanted a dedicated, stickied season ticket holder thread so that the STH community here has 1 place to go for updates.. I've been primarily on HFBoards lately in large part because of that thread with STH updates and arena/Newark info all in one spot.. I just don't get that here and don't want to start threads for every STH update.. Obviously non-STH would be more than welcome to comment but I think it would be really beneficial and might draw other Devils STH to posting here I agree with this right here, i enjoy reading the season ticket holder thread over on HF.. even though iam not a season ticket holder they post up a lot of good information in there for anyone that goes to games.. we should have one of these threads here stickied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Colin might as well be the creator of said Season Ticket Holder thread - it can't hurt to have one stickied. Just make sure you guys provide us with inside information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin226 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Haha thanks guys I will bring it up to DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I mean we have the entire "The Rock" subforum which is woefully under-used. The only updates I ever see in there is either when I post about a new bar/restaurant or when someone updates us as to other happenings in Newark, but that's few and far between. Why not put the STH thread in there? Will people actually use it though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 we should take that thread change the name on it and sticky it in this section of the forum.. i feel like most people dont really look in the other areas of the board..the only other area i ever click into is the marketplace for the gameworn/jersey threads aand or to post or see whats posted for sale in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) I was opposed to the Locker Room subforum back then because the off-topic section wasn't so busy that sports talk got in the way of general off-topic threads, it made it take longer to navigate to the sports conversation, and it made it an additional page you needed to check if you were interested in talking about other sports with the people on here. Now, you can get to the Locker Room without having to go through Off-Topic first, but it still makes no sense for it to be a separate subforum because off-topic is even more of a deserted void than it used to be. Right now the Locker Room and Off-Topic have a combined total of five threads that have been posted in over the past week, so separating them doesn't have any benefit and only makes the forum more segmented than it needs to be. Also, it may be a longshot but a theory could be made that allowing the sports talk in the off-topic section could bring the forum a little back towards its more civil and personal days. I feel like the off-topic section was where we got to know each other better, and taking discussions away from there has made off-topic less visited, and the lack of visitors is probably why nobody posts the fun off-topic threads we used to have because it is likely nobody will even see them. #OccupyLockerRoom Funny you should bring up the Locker Room and act like it's causing the board deterioration, I think the sports folder is pretty much the only place on the forum that hasn't been contaminated into a 'posters x and y bashing each other' and 'have the same argument z' the way the hockey forum has been in recent years, and you still have fun, intelligent banter/discussions in the football threads, the Mets thread in baseball and the other random threads that pop up there occasionally. Precisely because the poster base there is smaller. When you have more traffic on a site, you're going to get more of the whiny element, it's just the way it is. That's why the Devils' Facebook is a wasteland...too much random traffic. As far as why there isn't more off-topic posting, well part of it is just the people who were posting Off-Topic back then aren't on the forum anymore period for one reason or another. You had younger posters then that are in a different place in their life and older posters that are just tired of the board...trust me I know, the longer you post in a particular place the more jaded you get about the board itself. And the other part of it is the internet's different than it was even five years ago. There are so many specialized sites out there to talk about whatever you want. Twitter's exploded, Facebook's become bigger, there are a million more sites and hundreds of outlets to talk about whatever you want to online strangers. Not wanting to scroll down an extra second to find Off-Topic isn't a valid reason why there isn't OT discussion. It exists on the forum, it's there for when people want to use it, it's just not the first thing people are going to look for and jump into if they're new posters and see very little activity there. To get to Tri's point, it really depends on the thread/purpose of it. You could take a page out of HF's book and have certain stickied threads that get long (an Albany thread, a STH thread as Colin said). Other threads could be more specialized and talk about specific things that happen and articles that get posted. Rock used to post all the articles, now nobody's really taken that mantle. And nobody wants to start threads based on Tweets. That's I suppose another place where having a longer team specific thread like HF might help, Tweets get posted there and that fosters discussion. I agree the Rock forum's pretty much outlived its usefulness imo, it was created when the Prudential Center first opened with new info about Newark, and it was useful. Now you could probably just devote thread(s) to the surrounding area here. Edited September 25, 2014 by NJDevs4978 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 i feel like this thread is becoming about this forum going down hill.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsfan26 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Funny you should bring up the Locker Room and act like it's causing the board deterioration, I think the sports folder is pretty much the only place on the forum that hasn't been contaminated into a 'posters x and y bashing each other' and 'have the same argument z' the way the hockey forum has been in recent years, and you still have fun, intelligent banter/discussions in the football threads, the Mets thread in baseball and the other random threads that pop up there occasionally. Precisely because the poster base there is smaller. When you have more traffic on a site, you're going to get more of the whiny element, it's just the way it is. That's why the Devils' Facebook is a wasteland...too much random traffic. As far as why there isn't more off-topic posting, well part of it is just the people who were posting Off-Topic back then aren't on the forum anymore period for one reason or another. You had younger posters then that are in a different place in their life and older posters that are just tired of the board...trust me I know, the longer you post in a particular place the more jaded you get about the board itself. And the other part of it is the internet's different than it was even five years ago. There are so many specialized sites out there to talk about whatever you want. Twitter's exploded, Facebook's become bigger, there are a million more sites and hundreds of outlets to talk about whatever you want to online strangers. Not wanting to scroll down an extra second to find Off-Topic isn't a valid reason why there isn't OT discussion. It exists on the forum, it's there for when people want to use it, it's just not the first thing people are going to look for and jump into if they're new posters and see very little activity there. To get to Tri's point, it really depends on the thread/purpose of it. You could take a page out of HF's book and have certain stickied threads that get long (an Albany thread, a STH thread as Colin said). Other threads could be more specialized and talk about specific things that happen and articles that get posted. Rock used to post all the articles, now nobody's really taken that mantle. And nobody wants to start threads based on Tweets. That's I suppose another place where having a longer team specific thread like HF might help, Tweets get posted there and that fosters discussion. I agree the Rock forum's pretty much outlived its usefulness imo, it was created when the Prudential Center first opened with new info about Newark, and it was useful. Now you could probably just devote thread(s) to the surrounding area here. I wasn't saying the Locker Room is causing the board to deteriorate, I merely suggested that perhaps if the off-topic section was more used, people would get to know each other as more than just a username and be more civil to each other. At least that's how I remember it being when I was new here (holy crap, just looked it up and can't believe it's been 11 years lol). I agree 100% that when you have more users, you get more bad posters and less peaceful discussion, and I would say that is probably the biggest factor in board deterioration, not the existence of the Locker Room. I think you're also missing my point on why the off-topic section isn't used. What you said about the internet having more specialized places to discuss things is true, but my point had nothing to do with needing to scroll down a little further. People know it exists, but without the sports threads in off-topic like they used to be, there are few people entering the off-topic section, so making a thread may seem pointless if hardly anyone will even see it. It becomes circular though because with few threads being started, less people will go into the off-topic section. I also agree that the Rock subforum should just be absorbed by the Hell subforum for the same reason you stated, which is also the same reason I think the Locker Room should be re-absorbed by Off-Topic. What is the argument to be made for keeping the Locker Room separate? There is not enough traffic in either subforum that off-topic threads will be getting in the way of sports threads, or vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 For me Off-Topic got less useful when you can post the random news and links and stuff in my Facebook feed and share them with the people I actually wanna talk too....that's just gonna happen..... Hell I pretty much only post in the Locker Room threads....the hockey talk's been not as much to join in on (my views have also changed and I value my OWN hockey playing WAY more then I do the NHL...the stream of lockout after lockout didn't help that either) As for topics in hell, I break them down two ways... 1. News threads....read page 1...maybe page 2...then the convo breaks down into its sh!tshow of petty arguing and name calling.....time to move on 2. GDT's I always read those backwards from last thread to first since the first 2-3 pages are all pre-game banter anyway I don't care where the football threads end up as long as they don't get dragged down into the crap that most of the hockey threads tend to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin226 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I agree with you guys.. "The Rock" needs to be absorbed by Hell, and make that a section for all Devils info (general news, discussion topics, team updates, STH news, tickets for sale, arena/Newark info) with longer threads for different topics.. People come on here looking first and foremost for interesting Devils content.. By consolidating, it's easier for newcomers to come on and get all of the content they want in one location, then as they join and get more active, branch out in to the off-topic threads and build out the community.. But the content has to be there, easy to find, and discussion needs to be moderated to keep petty/personal stuff out I mentioned this in a message to DM, but I'll also make it public here.. I love this forum as it was the first community I joined when I really got into the Devils.. Posted here religiously for years, as many folks know.. But recently I've moved primarily to HF because the content is all in one easy-to-find location, they have a fantastic STH/arena/Newark thread that is an amazing resource to many STH, and the discussions are moderated better.. They used to over-moderate, but now it's at a really good balance.. My personal feeling is that NJDevs began to go downhill when DM and MSweet took all mod responsibilities internal, and obviously because they are busy working and having lives, were unable to keep a lot of riff-raff out.. This board became filled with personal attacks and crap like that from some really bad members just looking to fight and spew hate, and a lot of good members left.. I think now there's a few other mods like Triumph (not sure if they're just chat mods though) so things here seem to be more calm, but some of the damage has been done and we might not get those folks back While HF has the diversity of being a collection of other teams' fans, this forum can separate itself by being the place just for Devils fans with no outside trolls (obviously allowing any fans of other teams to join so long as they realize we are a passionate Devils forum, therefore biased).. This board also has the chat, which is a solid differentiator and should be promoted more heavily to members.. It's awesome when the chat is crowded and discussion is flowing.. Maybe also a partnership with a guy like In Lou We Trust or Talking Red (Devils podcast) to give them more followers in exchange for some visibility to their user-base It's all about having good content and good moderating.. I'll recommit to helping drive the flow of good content here, especially on the STH side.. I just want to know that there's solid direction for this forum going forward.. We have a great thing here but it needs to evolve, and it needs to be overseen properly to keep discussions flowing in the right direction Just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I lurk on HF as their off-ice discussions tend to be more substantial there than on here. However, that's pretty much the only thing they have over this board. A lot of people on here I am a pretty big hockey jersey guy. That being said their thread for jerseys is god awful with everyone recommending either knockoff's or using that domestic counterfeiter in Colorado (not going to say his name as I do not want anyone to even think about using him) who often does a poor job on his customizations for Devils fans. If I were to post on that thread I know I would get banned within a day. Also the people on there tend to be mostly of the same cloth as the posters I see on the bigger Devils FB groups. I don't even want to get into it but to say its the peanut gallery is putting it as nicely as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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