My original intention wasn't to start a revolt...But AGAR is right...
A beginners forum NEEDS to be born.
The original thread was started by me solely for the purpose of a discussion. Specifically for those in the cult forum who have been expressing problems about the current system.
Keep in mind that I WAS NOT here 2+ years ago when this suggestion was brought up originally, so re-hashing it should not be held against me, I had NO clue that this was anything but my own idea at the time that I posted it.
Also in my defense, at the time, it WAS JUST a suggestion, among what I hoped would be many that would come out of the thread. I WAS NOT trying to be a rabble-rouser or start a wave of discontentment with it at all, just the opposite in fact.
But fine Road...if WE can't be heard in that forum than *I* will speak in this one, because I doubt that the general membership will follow the thread here. Perhaps for the very same reason that I am upset at you, a large portion of the general membership here are AFRAID to cross the mods!
Putting my post here is like putting it in the dragons lair, and some will just not speak out in this forum, for fear of reprisals from some who OBVIOUSLY bend their duties to suit their will.
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I would like to refer to segments of another of Ythans posts that can also be found here also, entitled -
"Official Statement On New Forum Creation"
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In this post Ythan said -
Of course all these issues are, to some degree, inherent in running a bulletin board and we can't expect to avoid them entirely. We're not going to sit on a good forum idea just because it might create a little more work for us. The problem is that the vast majority of forum suggestions are redundant because people come at it the wrong way. Instead of asking yourself "What would be a cool new forum?", ask "Which existing forums are overcrowded and how could they be logically split?"
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I think this applies here.
We are not talking about a request for a forum to be dedicated to Pet care, or Art history... This is the cultivation section of the message board. It is the BREAD AND BUTTER behind what the shroomery is ultimately about! Mushroom cultivation...
The current cult board is for EVERYONE, except those at the very upper echelon of the cultivation food chain, and it is NOT running smoothly.
I think that my post was getting at the heart of WHY it is not running smoothly. It IS time for a split...
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Ythan expressed in his post -
"We're not going to sit on a good forum idea just because it might create a little more work for us."
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I believe that this is a LARGE part of why the idea is being shot down NOW, before it can even be fully discussed.
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He also said in that post:
For instance, I like PHP programming. If we had a PHP forum I'd be posting in there every day. At the same time, we have the perfectly good, moderately trafficked Science and Technology forum which is absolutely appropriate for PHP discussion. If I want to get more specific, I can head to any one of the numerous PHP developer communities on the Internet. There is no reason to create an additional forum when an existing one would suffice, no matter how cool I think it would be.
On the other hand, if we saw a sudden influx of computer geeks for whatever reason and the Science and Technology forum took off, then we'd have a reason to reconsider.
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This too applies to general cult, only instead of "computer geeks" the influx has come in the form of BOTH intermediate level AND beginner level cultivators.
Which is great for the forum in general, and the sponsors in particular. BUT THE TWO GROUPS ARE NOT MIXING WELL...
The trend toward "newbie bashing" is getting out of hand, and the mods KNOW it, yet nothing is done. I must confess that I am guilty of this myself, although I am normally a very level headed individual.
It is a level of frustration among the intermediates that is causing this trend. Because there is just too much new influx for us to have the kind of quality conversations that we desire.
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Ythan also said:
We won't create a forum because it's "cool", but we'd definitely create one to fill a void. When it becomes difficult to keep up with the Science and Technology forum because of the glut of PHP topics, then I'll get my forum. Likewise for you guys. Before suggesting a forum, consider: is it really necessary or is it just a "pet" topic of yours?
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General cult is far from a "pet topic".
On any given day, at any given time, if you look at the amount of bodies in the rooms, general cult will have more people in it than ANY other forum.
I also believe that there is a void here, at least for us older "kindergardeners" as someone so affectionately called us recently.
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And finally...Ythan asks...
Would the new forum generate enough traffic to justify its existence?
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Considering that I posted a thread that was directed directly at the "intermediate crowd", and that in a short amount of time it received over 500 views and almost 80 responses, I would say that there is a demand...
So there it is, my argument for why I think that the idea of a splitting of the general cult is an idea whose time has come.
With this said...can someone PLEASE tell me WHY the desire to create an intermediate or beginners forum is such a bad idea NOW, not 2.5 years ago!
On a side note...I think AGAR is right, the bickering on this board will eventually tear it apart, push people away, or just generally degrade it into a state of utter bedlam...
Edited by Prajna (10/29/05 01:27 AM)
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