No more sermons, no more rants.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

TYFS, I think, needs a description which says that, then. Doesn't seem clear to me.

Completely agree. We used to have reasonably descriptive subforum descriptions, but then we started changing some, and then we changed them some more. And right now most of them are complete nonsense that only give a hint of what the forum is about if you already know what's being hinted at.

- For instance there is currently nothing that identifies Apple Talk as a general discussion subforum.
- I have no idea what the description of Aneristic Illusions even means, let alone telling me it is a politics subforum.
- Literate Chaotic's description is so non-descriptive, that nobody remembers what it was even intended for.
- The description of Think For Yourself Schmuck! should mention "discussion of new ideas" first and the collaborative projects that happened to birth from them only as an afterthought. It's all about novelty and developing ideas, the BIP, Origin of the Lie, Shrapnel and more. It should probably start with Cram's (?) quote "Did you know that most people only have three original thoughts per week?" and then "Discuss new ideas to see if they catch fire." I don't even think it needs to mention Intermittens (since that technically belongs in another subforum), and maybe not even the BIP either (especially not abbreviated like that--remember, the descriptions are there foremost for n00bs) because "discuss the BIP"? What's there to talk about except for how awesome it is, or how it is too dark/negative? It is not really an active project anymore (well except for the Spanish translation right now) and if people have something to say about it, they will bring it up.
- Operation: Mindfuck needs improvement too. Now it basically says "discuss here if you want to DO something about it", while not strictly wrong, it is way too general. It should at least mention pranks and jakes. Pranks, jakes, trolls, mindfucks, shenanigans and misinformation campaigns. ("trolls" might draw unwanted attention from (trolled) people that just got past the postcount-barrier, though)
- The other descriptions at least describe what sort of content is supposed to go there. Principia Discussion's could elaborate a bit more, maybe.

Do you think that Literate Chaotic, Bring and Brag and Multimedia Menace could sort of be put together? Seems like there are things in each of them which belongs in the others. Podcast stuff in Bring and Brag, discussion of the Black Mirror TV series in Literate Chaotic.

yeah maybe. this is how I thought they were differentiated:

Literate Chaotic: books, reading, linguistics and writing projects
Bring & Brag: any sort of creative product you want to show off that is not directly Discordia-related (Literate Chaotic's writing projects should go here)
Multimedia Menace: used to be "Propaganda Depository" for flyers posters and pamphlets. Then got expanded to include other Discordian media such as video and podcasts and was renamed. I think it should be renamed back to "Propaganda Repository/Depository" (because it explains the purpose better) with the description specifying this includes "Flyers, posters, pamphlets, podcasts, videos, etc."

I agree about Principia Discussion. O:MF could probably go inside it, but there's no reason to do so.

No. I generally prefer to avoid child subforums, especially for important ones like O:MF. The problem is that people often forget them, when posting new threads.

Speaking of, RPG Ghetto is under Multimedia Menace. I like how this board became more than just RPG talk, but also has discussions about gaming theory, game development and DIY/indie gaming. Under Multimedia Menace is maybe a weird place (especially after we rename it to "Propaganda Deprository"), but I don't see any other place where it could go either

Changing the descriptions to clarify their purpose would be pretty helpful. If you've been here a while, you know what AI is about, and what AT is about, regardless of the description, but some of the other ones have always been pretty vague to me which is probably why I don't really post in them often, if at all. ANd I think that's part of the reason why a lot of good stuff goes into Apple Talk that should go elsewhere. People aren't sure where it would fit, and it might not get read if it's not in Apple Talk anyway.

Principia Discussion's description is kinda discouraging. And while I like the idea of a Pinealist magnet to try and keep them busy in there, even with them it doesn't get a lot of traffic. If it is supposed to be a philosophy forum, it should certainly say that, and not just be limited to classic Discordianism.

I'm still having trouble seeing how that sets it apart from TFYS,S.

Literate Chaotic's description also invites languish. It pretty much tells you it's pointless to look there or post there.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I would like to see Literate Chaotic's description revised to be not only a place to discuss literature, but also a place to post writings, because right now they end up in Apple Talk, Or Kill Me, or Bring & Brag.

[Triple Zero]

*checks* hm, seems I do have admin-ability to change the board descriptions. For some reason I thought that was just ECH. Except I need to do some stuff now and then some more stuff, maybe I can get back to it tomorrow morning, or otherwise Thursday.

But I'll do a few of them right now.

[Triple Zero]

... and then I actually did most of them. How do you like?

I kinda want to make Recipes, Techmology and Bring&Brag a bit more matter-of-fact now as well, even though they're fairly obvious and descriptive. IMVHO strange jokes/very colourful writing in the subforum descriptions goes stale pretty quickly (and has the already mentioned danger of making a subforum lose its focus especially to n00bs)

[Nephew Twiddleton]

... and then I actually did most of them. How do you like?

I kinda want to make Recipes, Techmology and Bring&Brag a bit more matter-of-fact now as well, even though they're fairly obvious and descriptive. IMVHO strange jokes/very colourful writing in the subforum descriptions goes stale pretty quickly (and has the already mentioned danger of making a subforum lose its focus especially to n00bs)

I like them, they're more straightforward now.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

... and then I actually did most of them. How do you like?

I kinda want to make Recipes, Techmology and Bring&Brag a bit more matter-of-fact now as well, even though they're fairly obvious and descriptive. IMVHO strange jokes/very colourful writing in the subforum descriptions goes stale pretty quickly (and has the already mentioned danger of making a subforum lose its focus especially to n00bs)

I like it; nice clear descriptions for people who are new to the joint.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

(but still with bits of humor)

[Triple Zero]

(but still with bits of humor)

Thanks

Though looking at it, the only bit of humour I added was the "no crazies" bit, and I took that straight from Roger's Online Dating Advice thread

(hope you don't mind, Roger, it seemed like just the right thing that it really needed)

also, who knows, having that at the top of the forum might actually ward of the crazies (yeah right)

[Nephew Twiddleton]

(but still with bits of humor)

Thanks

Though looking at it, the only bit of humour I added was the "no crazies" bit, and I took that straight from Roger's Online Dating Advice thread

(hope you don't mind, Roger, it seemed like just the right thing that it really needed)

also, who knows, having that at the top of the forum might actually ward of the crazies (yeah right)

I think the problem is the crazies don't know they're crazy. C'est la vie.

Anyway, I'm forming a couple of rant ideas at the moment, but it might be a couple of days before I can get them going.

[East Coast Hustle]

I'm not gonna be in a position to contribute to this discussion until I get home a few days from now but I just wanted to say that there are alot of awesome ideas flying around in here and that I completely approve of the subforum description changes. So thanks to Trip and to all of the rest of you who are letting the creative construction juices flow.

[Triple Zero]

I completely approve of the subforum description changes.

Ah good cause I believe you wrote the previous ones. But I figured I wasn't destroying anything of great literary value

I'll change the last few later on, as well.

[East Coast Hustle]

The problem, Trip, is that while the occasional fit of snark or pique inspires me to write them, there's nothing to inspire me to change them back once the snark or pique has run its course.

[BabylonHoruv]

This thread got me thinking about the criticism of organisations in The Coming Insurrection.

Organizations are attractive due to their apparent consistency – they have a history, a head office, a name, resources, a leader, a strategy and a discourse. They are nonetheless empty structures, which, in spite of their grand origins, can never be filled. In all their affairs, at every level, these organizations are concerned above all with their own survival as organizations, and little else. Their repeated betrayals have often alienated the commitment of their own rank and file. And this is why you can, on occasion, run into worthy beings within them. But the promise of the encounter can only be realized outside the organization and, unavoidably, at odds with it.

While I wouldn't attack PD.com with quite the same criticism, I think it's important to recognise that some people aren't here to contribute to MY understanding of Discordia. For some our posters, just being a part of this community as a community rather than as a means to advance Discordianism, is their aim. The sharing of what is seen as "the banal details of their lives" is a pretty normal part of the friendship they have with a lot of the other members. If that's not what some people want out of the site, I think we need to decide whether we can tell others that they're not allowed to get that here anymore; that efforts like this one need to be understood from the perspective of the members who will reply with "oh, so I can't contribute content, I guess I'm not wanted here anymore".

Do we risk their leaving by demanding that the evolution of Discordianism become our focus and restricting their ability to chat about their day?
Would their leaving actually be helpful in increasing content?

I stayed cause it turns out I love you guys

Not to imply that Cramulus is ONLY here to develop the community as a social community, but this post is a good example of what is keeping some people here.

What's the point in critiquing anything or engaging in real discussion when it all results in a nest of passive-aggressive snarking and whining? People say ridiculous things in order to get a reaction and then instead of engaging with people criticizing them or trying to improve their work, they either lash out, or they withdraw and sulk. It's like a whole generation of adult intellectual exercise has fallen out the window, and all that's left is a pile of mittens and butthurt.

This is a problem that, for those of us who are here to engage in real discussion, needs to be addressed. There's a lot of personal attachment to ideas, and hollering and screeching in response to people digging in and the discussion turning into a flame war.

In part, you've addressed it here:

Tip, though; if you are criticized, rather than taking it personally, brushing it off, or, worst of all, digging in and going defensive, just absorb it, say "thank you", and remember that you can always simply not use criticism that truly doesn't work for you.

But I wonder if we need to develop better tools and methods for addressing arguments that people are too invested in without triggering their "I AM BEING ATTACKED" circuitry.

I don't think anyone is advocating for barring people from simple socialization.  Taking down the open bar thread doesn't mean people can't post the random crap from their lives, it just means they have to actually make threads to do so.

If someone is going to go to the trouble of making a thread they are much more likely to also go to the trouble of making their random crap interesting in some way.

[East Coast Hustle]

^
Proof that even a snuff-porn loving clock with no social skills is right once.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Incidentally, I've noticed that Roger's "this board is not living up to my expectations" threads are another one of those - pretty much guaranteed to devolve into snark and namecalling - topics.