So this is just a suggestion I have, take it or leave it, but in my ten years of jumping from forum to forum, I've noticed a section under the title of the serious discussion forum. I just think it'd be a nice place to separate the laid back threads in the general discussion forum and the more serious discussions (ie, Religious Tolerance, The Gay Thread, The Thread for the T in LBGT, my recent Hipster thread.) It's mainly just to separate the serious and the not so serious, which makes it easier to tell if a thread with a serious sounding title, isn't so serious. I also feel it'd make it easier for the mods to weed through threads. (ie, ponies are more likely to put depression threads in the serious forum than the general forum) But again, it's just a suggestion.
The problem with a serious discussion board is that it can get rather... heavy... at times. Almost every forum I've been part of with a "serious" board had political threads, massive arguments and flame wars, religious threads that always devolved into argument, gay threads that resulted in debate, and so on.
I've seen that too, but I feel that after spending some time with this community, that most everyone here is accepting, understanding, and intelligent enough to involve themselves in serious discussions without major flame wars and arguments.
I wouldn't be so sure. Even the greatest people can devolve into a state of blind argument and rage should the topic be right. Trust me. I'm one of them. Still, could be worth a shot.
I'll point this towards Derpy and Foxy but I personally can't help but feel it would only encourage the kind of threads we'd be better off without :/ Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
I'm with Grey on this one. I'd rather we keep the serious issues, such as politics, under check. I'm not against the idea... but things can get out of hand real quick.
On a forum I went to/co-owned, there was a similar "Serious Discussion" forum that was later renamed to "Rants and Raves" because all that was posted was angry topics and inappropriate comments regarding how bad their life was. Soon after, under much discussion with the staff, it was posthumously removed, because it was more of a problem than anything else. That's just my standpoint, though.
It was a haven for trolls, and nothing but negativity came out of it. Inevitably, the decision came down to me, but I was going to remove it either way, regardless if my co-workers wanted to keep it. If I don't foresee a favorable outcome, I don't like to sit around and find out.
Though I must point out, This itself has become a serious discussion. Perhaps not pointedly over-the-top gravely serious, But it somewhat of a debate. (^ Side note, not criticism or the like.)
On the forums page I visit other than this one, there is a section on there where at times "serious" discussion takes place. I try my best to avoid that area, because it's basically a void of endless flamewars and such. I mean, there's always stuff filling the site's "Abyss" that's bad. Splits, flamebait, aggressiveness, etc. -- Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk
Blize, I'm sure we never meant any hostility or anything. It's not a bad idea, in fact, if it can be kept in check, it could be a great idea, but it has the chance of getting out of hand. Not a lot of people like having to deal with Out of Hand 24/7. I apologize if I came off as hostile or anything.
You didn't. Like Grey said, this discussion about a serious discussion section has been beaten like, forgive the saying, a dead horse
To be fair, I'm pretty sure there was an episode they almost used a dead horse joke in the show itself. But then it was subverted, which was the joke in itself--oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, yeah, a serious discussion forum could potentially Go Horribly Wrong. I wouldn't mind at least giving it a chance, but I understand why you're all so reluctant. On the other hoof, the serious threads we do have that aren't just depression threads seem fine in general discussion...