'The Thread Thread'

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Alex.

Alex.

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How about, to stop useless threads being made, we have a thread thread in each subforum, where any user can ask the answering mods if a thread he/she wants to make is viable and wouldnt be a waste of space, as you probably know I am a culprit for silly meaningless threads.

Any one with me? (has this been tried before?)

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I'm pretty sure that can be done with the search function and PMing a Mod.
 
Also, no matter how many answers you make available to anyone, they'll still open a new thread to ask their question.
 
I would much more prefer if people, themselves, thought about the merit of a thread before posting it.

I delete far too many posts and threads for my liking.

Its more of a matter of people thinking for themselves, instead of asking a moderator to verify a thread has a reason to exist.
 
Yes I agree, common sense is the best way to judge whether something deserves its own thread or not... a while back when it was nearing the GT4 launch that whole section of GTP had a system whereby every new thread submitted for that forum went through the mods to be cleared for viability, this was to stop the huge number of threads being posted (usually by new members) asking questions which have already been covered.

This has not happened yet for the GT5 forum yet but im sure it will nearer the time (which is not for years!) but as for the rest of the site I wouldnt want my thread to have to be veted by mods as it would waste their time which should be for moderating. So just think before you post a thread! Most people here can judge it very well so its not a big issue.

Robin
 
(yes i know this is old)

Ok, first of all, i dont see this as a useless thread, which makes me question just how "useless" the thread creators other threads really are.

This brings me to my point. Imo it's pretty hard to post a useless thread. but then ones definition of a useless thread differs i'm sure. Imo as long as a thread isnt asking a question that has been asked before, then it's a valid thread. And ANY thread that is contributing something, rather than asking a question, no matter how much you may not care about the content it's still not a useless post. It was important enough for a thread to the person who created it, and i'm sure a few others.

I think this "thread thread" idea is actualy a good one, and it gets users talking to mods about whats appropriate instead of viewing the mods as the OCD police. But i also agree that it would probably be too much work for the mods.

The current system of Post-thread cleanup (no pun intended) works just fine. But i dont think that having a thread deleted should be considered an infraction, unless it happens allot. and people need to know there not in trouble, there thread just didnt need to be here. I remember my first and last deleted thread. after that i was scared to make annother one for a month id say, :ouch: and it was a good thread too, just one that had already been done, and buried, and one that the search function (as usual) didnt turn up. if something like that was still on my "record" i'd probably be pretty purturbed about that, honestly.

So yeah, i suppose i'm not really asking the moderation staff to do anything, except maby treat the somewhat objective, "useless thread" transgression as less of an offence.
 
Good points, inferno.

I reckon having a dialogue or debate about the potential usefulness of any prospective threads could actually be quite counterproductive. For one thing, it would be too much extra work (he says, taking his feet off the desk and drinking a coffee). But also, to second guess the potential of a thread in advance would be wrong. Frankly, no discussion is needed in the case of thread closures that are clearly spam or duplicates of existing threads. In the case of questions like 'Do you think this thread will fly or not?' however, then the answer is to suck it and see... usually a thread is closed not because the original idea wasn't good, but because of the lousy quality of replies...

Also, there would be the danger that the 'thread thread(s)' themselves would quickly become mired in lengthy debates that we really don't need to be having...

I don't think that people should regard having a thread closed as anything like an infraction, unless they have already been contacted by a moderator already about starting useless or duplicate threads. As long as people are civil to each other, then no offence should be implied or taken.
 
Exactly. The mere act of having a thread closed or removed is not an infraction in any way. There's no record of it unless it is a symptom of a real infraction, such as spamming or flooding. If you start a duplicate thread, and the discussion gets referred to the older version and the new one is closed, that's as far as it goes.

As DA says, I'd rather see the members use real judgment of their own. In cases where a thread might be questionable, then PM a member of staff and pitch your reasons for starting it. If they're reasonable, we'll support you.
 

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