[d] Should we get rid of the megathreads?

[Twilight Imperium]

So real talk - are the staff actually considering getting rid of the megathreads, or are we just waiting for this one to burn out? Cause I think this fire's out of oxygen :v

[Forsher]

Actually, can we just get this thread and this thread merged into one pinned post?

First Stop for NSG & Rules to Pay Attention To

That gives one more thread, which might mean going from 8/22 to 8/23, which is an improvement. Or, maybe, it could mean 9/23 which would be worse... but there's no reason for those two threads to be different, regardless of the megathread business.

And surely "Links to resources for those who feel depressed/suicidal" would be useful for everyone... wouldn't it make more sense to be an announcement for all forums instead of just NSG??

[Juristonia]

So real talk - are the staff actually considering getting rid of the megathreads, or are we just waiting for this one to burn out? Cause I think this fire's out of oxygen :v

I'm guessing the latter, considering the mods that have weighed in and the general consensus so far.
Some people just really like to beat that horse in to a pulp.

[Hammer Britannia]

Yes. It has been years since I have been on this site and one the first things I noticed coming back today was that the forums seem to have really declined in quality and diversity of topics and ideas. The mods just tow stuff into the megathreads where the marginally-related topics which should have their own threads get lost and die in these massive echochambers. Most of the posts in these megathreads are just the same few people over and over again and they dominate these megathreads. Such dominance only further deters people with different opinions from contributing. There is hardly real conversation or debate anymore.

Bottom line, the megathreads are pointless and only serve to contain somewhat controversial topics at the expense of diversity of opinion and quality of NSG through the creation of these echochambers.

How exactly are you aware of the extent of this problem if you just came back today? Have you been searching through months and months of NSG archives?

We need him as a mod, as he can clearly read an entire thread in a matter of seconds

[Caleonia]

How exactly are you aware of the extent of this problem if you just came back today? Have you been searching through months and months of NSG archives?

We need him as a mod, as he can clearly read an entire thread in a matter of seconds

The bs in this statement is undeniable.

[Valentine Z]

We need him as a mod, as he can clearly read an entire thread in a matter of seconds

The bs in this statement is undeniable.

If you're talking about Hammer, you definitely missed the joke, lol.

For the discussion itself? Well... not the kind of thing I would participate largely in, but I would just let these threads stay.

[Caleonia]

The bs in this statement is undeniable.

If you're talking about Hammer, you definitely missed the joke, lol.

For the discussion itself? Well... not the kind of thing I would participate largely in, but I would just let these threads stay.

I meant the whole “being able to check entire megathreads in a day and understand what is going on” part. I just found hammer’s the most convenient to quote

[Valentine Z]

If you're talking about Hammer, you definitely missed the joke, lol.

For the discussion itself? Well... not the kind of thing I would participate largely in, but I would just let these threads stay.

I meant the whole “being able to check entire megathreads in a day and understand what is going on” part. I just found hammer’s the most convenient to quote

Ahhh, all right. My apologies, then.

[Celticland]

So real talk - are the staff actually considering getting rid of the megathreads, or are we just waiting for this one to burn out? Cause I think this fire's out of oxygen :v

The mods don't care what we think. The megathreads make their job easier by containing somewhat controversial material into one thread. They don't give a shit about the quality of the forums.

[Frisbeeteria]

They don't give a shit about the quality of the forums.

Thank you for your cogent analysis, one-day-old nation. It's nice to have my 15 years of support for this site summed up so eloquently.

[Celticland]

They don't give a shit about the quality of the forums.

Thank you for your cogent analysis, one-day-old nation. It's nice to have my 15 years of support for this site summed up so eloquently.

This isn't my first nation. I have been here for many years and took a break.

[Juristonia]

The mods don't care what we think. The megathreads make their job easier by containing somewhat controversial material into one thread. They don't give a shit about the quality of the forums.

Who's this "we" you're talking about?
Cause so far most people seem perfectly fine with the MT's.

[Celticland]

The mods don't care what we think. The megathreads make their job easier by containing somewhat controversial material into one thread. They don't give a shit about the quality of the forums.

Who's this "we" you're talking about?
Cause so far most people seem perfectly fine with the MT's.

I see a lot against them.

[Juristonia]

Yeah well, we all see what we want to see sometimes.

[Hammer Britannia]

Thank you for your cogent analysis, one-day-old nation. It's nice to have my 15 years of support for this site summed up so eloquently.

This isn't my first nation. I have been here for many years and took a break.

Oh, yeah. Guys

I've been around since 13th of November, 2002. I made my first nation when I was 10 with dial-up internet. Want proof? Nah.

Who's this "we" you're talking about?
Cause so far most people seem perfectly fine with the MT's.

I see a lot against them.

Fosher and like 2 other people don't count as "a lot"

[LiberNovusAmericae]

Thank you for your cogent analysis, one-day-old nation. It's nice to have my 15 years of support for this site summed up so eloquently.

This isn't my first nation. I have been here for many years and took a break.

What was your previous nation(s)?

[Luziyca]

Personally, no. I remember the days when NSG lacked megathreads. Back in those days, it was not uncommon for the front page to be covered in topics that are basically identical. When they were first introduced, it helped corral many of these topics to one place, allowing for other threads on other topics to get their turn in the limelight. They're not perfect, but it works well enough.

I don't really think we should get rid of them completely, but perhaps it might be a good idea for mods to designate x thread to be a megathread for y topic, and all things related to y, including z.

[The Black Forrest]

Keep the threads.

As mentioned we had many many similar topics. Abortion for example. Somebody would post something and then the rinse repeat pattern would start all over again.

[Kremlinian Russia]

I'd rather not have around thirty trillion different threads about how Boris Johnson, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump did [INSERT THING HERE], cheers.

[Sverigesriket]

Personally, I am in favor of megathreads. They keep related conversation topics limited to one thread instead of many small and possibly one-off threads. And of course, if one subtopic grows too large to lumped into one megathread, you could always create another megathread.

This is not what happens, more that a one off thread gets merged into the megathread.

Which irks me because suddenly I have been posting in threads that I ignore on purpose. And can't find where the particular subdiscussion was again, lost in various amounts of other stuff that is unuseful to me.

Well, that's a sacrifice we have to make in exchange for keeping our subforums nice and tidy.

[WayNeacTia]

Yes. It has been years since I have been on this site and one the first things I noticed coming back today was that the forums seem to have really declined in quality and diversity of topics and ideas. The mods just tow stuff into the megathreads where the marginally-related topics which should have their own threads get lost and die in these massive echochambers. Most of the posts in these megathreads are just the same few people over and over again and they dominate these megathreads. Such dominance only further deters people with different opinions from contributing. There is hardly real conversation or debate anymore.

Bottom line, the megathreads are pointless and only serve to contain somewhat controversial topics at the expense of diversity of opinion and quality of NSG through the creation of these echochambers.

Is there anyone hold a gun to your head forcing you to use the forums. If you don't like it, leave.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

As people have already mentioned, it would not be a good idea, as you'll have similar threads clogging up the first page. Yes, it sucks when a minor conversation gets drowned out when merged into the megathread, but I think the alternative is worse.

[Mackjaracotavon]

Threads like these exist for the purpose of cutting down on multiple threads about the same topic. Getting rid of them would merely make the Mods' job a whole lot harder.

[Frisbeeteria]

Getting rid of them would merely make the Mods' job a whole lot harder.

Don't worry about "our jobs". The objective of the megathreads is to benefit the readership, not the moderators. We think it's better to have one ongoing thread on, say, abortion rather than 50 new ones every time someone gets a bug to start a new one. That's really the only thing that we should be discussing.

[Ethel mermania]

Getting rid of them would merely make the Mods' job a whole lot harder.

Don't worry about "our jobs". The objective of the megathreads is to benefit the readership, not the moderators. We think it's better to have one ongoing thread on, say, abortion rather than 50 new ones every time someone gets a bug to start a new one. That's really the only thing that we should be discussing.

If that's the case the megathreads should stay, but moderation should be more liberal in allowing separate related topics to branch out into their own threads if there appears to be some reasonable separation on the topics.