This forum is weird (Look a new topic!)

[Jov]

Most forums will have new topics submitted on a whim: You wanna talk about something, you make a post. It gets a page or two or three or maybe even 9 pages of responses and then it peters off and/or is locked. This forum is nothing but old, gigantic threads. In my decade+ experience as an internet and forum user, this is not beneficial towards the health of a forum.

 

Reason being, is threads are not really suitable for long ongoing conversations. Once a thread grows past a certain length - maybe around 200 replies - people start to not want to review the whole thread to see what's been said. At that point, the conversation begins to stagnate. Ideas are repeated. If you reply to the thread, chances are that only a handful of people will see it, until it has been buried under another few pages. The thread gets off topic and become bloated and meandering.

 

In my opinion, it's best practice to have moderators on a forum whom monitor threads, keep them on topic, and automatically lock them once they become a certain length.

 

Maybe it's just me and my neuroses, but as a newcomer to this forum, my first impression is that it feels cliquish and... closed (?). It's like I've got a very limited number of options of things I can talk about, all of which are huge threads where my response will be seen by a few, then buried. I imagine that if I submit a new thread, I'll get the "this topic exists already/do a search" response - which to me is a sign of a toxic (read: stagnating) community.

 

Why is the forum like this? Does it need more subforums? More/better moderation? Would you argue that this forum has a unique dynamic due to its setup?

[jennegatron]

What topic do you want to speak about? Often times those grab bag topics develop and flourish because individual threads can get little to no response, and people feel uncomfortable resurrecting long left alone threads.  I can agree that coming in fresh, it can be daunting to see 200+ page threads. These long threads are often times large topics that benefit from not being tied to one specific topic, and rather serve to be a current event + response thread.

 

I think you may underestimate how many people read new posts on long threads and I think it's pretty intentionally inflammatory to come into a community that exists and tell them they're doing it wrong. Especially when we do have other avenues open to members of the community, including the game jam, our slack channel, our secret santa, among others.

 

I'm sorry you're feeling like an outsider, but have you tried participating in existing conversations? Is there a game you really like and want to talk about? Is there a book you read that you want to share with people? The users here are not one to jump down your throat if you happen to bring up something that we already discussed at length. We may direct you to the appropriate section/thread so that you can respond to our responses, but that isn't to shut down a conversation, but rather so that we remember what was written on that topic.

[clyde]

I like that there is history and that things are typically organized by subject. For instance, if I play game from 5 years ago, I like to read through the thread that started when it came out and look at the responses to the games by members of this forum. If there was a thread for every time someone picked up an older game, I would lose that ability.

As far as the forum being exclusive and stagnant, that can just as easily be seen as familiar and dependable for others.

I do agree that expectations for folks to read more than a page or two of previous pages in a thread before posting can be unwelcoming. But I do appreciate it when someone provides direct-links to relevant threads and posts.

[Gormongous]

I agree that this forum has a unique dynamic, but I have personally come to like it over the three and a half years that I've been a part of it. The threads may be huge, but they're not long, ongoing conversations; they're headers under which many different conversations happen. If the topic of a conversation is specific, as it often is in the "Video Games" subforum, then a unique thread is usually created and usually follows the lifecycle that you describe. For many other topics (i.e., "What's going on in my life" or "I watched a TV show") I find it infinitely less of a barrier to post in the relevant megathread, where it's not pursuant on me to say anything profound or start a whole new conversation. Sometimes the "toxic" dynamic of posts being made, missed, and corrected occurs, but it seems to happen just about as much as in any other forum with the more standard dynamic that you ascribe. On other forums, my heart has sank repeatedly to watch a carefully constructed thread by me go unviewed and unanswered before being bumped to later pages of the forum. At least, in a megathread, there's a good chance that someone will find my post and respond to it while catching up with the last couple days of the thread.

 

Hot tip: Don't read the entire thread. Just post in it. I've only read two threads from front to back ("Books, Books Books" and "anime") and both times, I wasn't particularly edified by the journey. Small conversations about specific works spawn and die, with people inserting their own opinions about other unrelated works throughout. Even in situations where a new post repeated the technical content of a previous one, if people remembered the latter, they usually focus on the unique perspective that the former brings instead. There are some instances of people being irritated about having to repeat themselves, but all the examples of which I can think are in the Feminism and Social Justice megathreads, making them probably more examples of people getting tired of doing "feminism/social justice 101" that is universal to every progressive site on the internet.

 

And yeah, I didn't really want to comment on it, but it's a little strange to put the dynamic of a forum on blast when you don't really participate in it. I'm sorry you're not feeling it, but I can personally attest that all of the Thumbs here are generous, gracious, and clever people who would help you in a second. To that end, if your neuroses prevent you from posting without knowing whether a topic exists, there's a "Does This Thread Exist" thread that's a source of comfort. You'll get used to the dynamic, I promise.

[Bjorn]

It is a different structure than some other forums, but over time I've come to appreciate the particular culture and uniqueness of the Thumbs community.  Each of the huge threads generally serves a good purpose for which individual threads don't.

 

Life - Like mini-blogs where people talk about their lives.  Babies are born, relationships end, jobs are learned and struggles revealed.

 

Random Thought threads - Literally random things people think about during the day that don't necessarily feel like they need their own topic.  Often used for smaller thoughts/ideas where taking the time to write something denser would prevent people (me for sure) from posting a new thread

 

The Business of Video (Space) Games - All topics relevant to the business of games, big and small

 

Plug Your Shit - A place for people to show off or advertise their projects (we have multiple writers and game designers who hang out here).  Many forums frown on self promotion for commercial ventures, but that's the thread where they are welcome.

 

Pretty much any game anyone wants to talk about has a thread (or you're free to make one).  Like Clyde, I like having the history of people's thoughts on a game in one place to review if I want. 

 

 

I also personally think that MOST internet forums feel cliquish when you first join them, because there are new dynamics, people and norms to learn.  I'm on the newish side versus some members (at a measly 2 years), some members have been around for 7+ years (I think, however old the thumbs are, there are members here from the beginning).  Newcomers are always welcome, but this is also an established community of many people who have known each other and been friends for years.  That familiarity will (almost) always feel daunting to some new people, just as it can in real life. 

 

Anyways, jump in, post, read, learn.  It's a great forum.  It's the last forum or gaming site I visit on a regular basis, as I've grown weary of most other communities or they've died off (RIP Joystiq). 

[Badfinger]

This forum is cliquish as hell, by which I mean it's very small and everyone posts in every thread so everyone knows everyone's business (by choice).

 

Welcome to this clique.

[JonCole]

Considering most have already covered what would have been my long, detailed response, I'll put it another way. I'm actually looking for cliqueish places to post on the internet. I like places with a culture and a history. If I didn't want cliques, I would post in the forums on IGN dot com.

[Dewar]

I've found forums in which off-topic rules are enforced to be stifling. Of course, I'm biased. The last forum I was on before this one literally started when a larger forum outlawed Megathreads with wandering conversations in them, so those of us who frequented them built our own forum and ran that concept into the ground

[elmuerte]

Baboo. The Wizard.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I'm on the newish side versus some members (at a measly 2 years),

 

Hah, is that new? I've been here a year and a half and I feel kinda like the newness has faded. (also thought you were a longtime resident Bjorn)

[Bjorn]

Haha, no, I don't feel new anymore, but sometimes something reminds me that some members have been around here for a long time.  I honestly didn't realize that you had been around for less time than me. 

 

Edited to add: This was an interesting forum to join as well, as there were a couple of people I recognized from other places (SAM and Ben for sure), so it already felt more familiar than all strangers.  I know that at least one other person has also recognized me from the old Joystiq days (same profile image, though different username).

[jennegatron]

I got called "longtime user" on the podcast a month or so ago, and was extraordinarily flattered as I had not started posting until the 1989 conversation that Sean lead last fall/winter.

[Gormongous]

Hah, is that new? I've been here a year and a half and I feel kinda like the newness has faded. (also thought you were a longtime resident Bjorn)

 

I've found it funny that literally anyone who had at least double-digit posts when I joined seems to me an oldtimer and anyone who came after me still seems like a bit of a newbie. You totally seem like a newbie to me, jenna, but I think my brain's just slow. In my real life, I'm seven years in my grad program and still see the people two cohorts behind me as "the new kids."

[Bjorn]

I've found it funny that literally anyone who had at least double-digit posts when I joined seems to me an oldtimer and anyone who came after me still seems like a bit of a newbie. You totally seem like a newbie to me, jenna, but I think my brain's just slow. In my real life, I'm seven years in my grad program and still see the people two cohorts behind me as "the new kids."

 

I'm almost 40 and I'm starting to catch myself referring to 30 year olds as kids (because some of them I knew when they were kids and I was an adult). 

 

 

 

On topic, another thing I like about resurrecting the specific game threads is seeing how the opinion/experience on a game changes as it leaves the zeitgeist, particularly when someone is playing it several years later.  Another excellent thread was Zeus' journey through all the original Lucasarts adventure games, seeing his thoughts on them as he played many (or all?) of them for the first time and experienced the changes in design between them. 

[SuperBiasedMan]

It is exactly that yes Gor. (I also thought jenna was long term, and sure enough she predates my signing up!)

 

I also think we have the best (albeit confusing) thread titles.

[Problem Machine]

Hm, I thought of Bjorn as old and jenn as new: I can't tell whether that's because of the specifics of when they joined, some detail in how they presented themselves, or just good ol fashioned sexism.

 

Anyway we have to get this topic up to 100 pages now. chop chop.

[Bjorn]

This topic is now for meta-commentary on the development of the Thumbs forums.

[Jov]

Thanks for your words, thoughts and welcomes. If this post came off as inflammatory it was because it was an expression of my frustration at wanting to participate vs. not feeling comfortable to. If you click on my name you'll find my first post here was from nearly 1.5 years ago and I expressed feeling the same way then. I returned today out of interest in the Winter Jam, which I hope to participate in (I've got a rather fun idea but historically have struggled to actually manifest my ideas).

 

I'll try to get used to the megathread dynamic and insert myself where I can.

[Twig]

Hey at the very least everyone will like you more than they like me!

 

Welcome.

[Badfinger]

I started listening to Idle Thumbs after the Second Exodus and before the Kickstarter, but didn't get involved in the forums until 2012. That's 3/4 of the episodes, but a very short amount of time for this forum! I still feel like I'm the weird dissenting new opinion in a lot of threads here, but I also think that's ok. I basically assume anyone who isn't explicitly introducing themselves has been posting here since 2010 or earlier.

 

Your thread inspired me to post a new thread! You can always do that if a topic strikes your fancy!

[Bjorn]

I think the Cookie Clicker thread is the only place I would say where the forum gets really....clickish

 

 

 

 

[Problem Machine]

I'll try to get used to the megathread dynamic and insert myself where I can.

[James]

Sorry to hear you (and I'm sure others) find it excluding, but the format is probably the reason this is one of the two forums I ever visit. I personally find it very difficult to handle the endless onslaught of threads you find in other forums. I suppose it's a matter of personal preference, or perhaps even something to do with how you think.

I registered over six years ago, and still feel like a bit of an outsider sometimes. That's my stellar social skills at work, I suppose.

Would it maybe be a good idea to have a pinned thread that gives an informal introduction to the format? I'm not sure precisely what it'd say, mind you.

[Jov]

Would it maybe be a good idea to have a pinned thread that gives an informal introduction to the format? I'm not sure precisely what it'd say, mind you.

 

Maybe just keep this one alive with 600 or so pages of posts?

[Jutranjo]

Would it maybe be a good idea to have a pinned thread that gives an informal introduction to the format? I'm not sure precisely what it'd say, mind you.

Yes, more megathreads please!