Following recent closures in GSA am I to assume that Fun and Distractions is the place for 'room' threads?
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Hi
The moderators have closed this thread as the sheer number of room threads currently in GSA means that individual support threads are getting bumped off the forum with limited responses.
If you would like this thread to continue the moderators are happy for a thread to be made in the fun and distraction forum.
Does this apply to ALL kinds of 'room' threads? So can I restart a dissertation support & discussion thread there? Should the uni student thread be moved there? And employment one?
I'm just confused, as none of the above seems very fitting with the description of F&D, which is
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Taking your mind off things is an important part of Recovery. Share jokes, funny sites, quizzes or useful distractions to help beat your urges.
Room threads, to me, would look incredibly out of place in the midst of random quizzes and "what colour is your nose" threads. Obviously if it has been deemed the appropriate place for group threads, then that's cool, but just wanted to check.
Really, the Uni Student thread should be in Vets General, looking at the board descriptions.
If threads like the language one, the dissertation one etc etc wish to carry on being made, I don't think fun and distractions is the place. We need like a 'General Life' board (better titled, obviously) where these kind of things can go and not risk pushing personal threads down the list.
I think I've heard rumour that it's quite difficult to make a new board though? I know it's really easy on the forums I administrate/moderate, but RYL is much more fancy I believe and takes ALL the effort to make such changes.
Really, the Uni Student thread should be in Vets General, looking at the board descriptions.
If threads like the language one, the dissertation one etc etc wish to carry on being made, I don't think fun and distractions is the place. We need like a 'General Life' board (better titled, obviously) where these kind of things can go and not risk pushing personal threads down the list.
This.
'Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.'
['There is only one thing we say to death. Not today'.']
'We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.’ – Oscar Wilde
‘It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.’ Sydney Carter
Personally I think a lot of threads that are being made into 'room/group' threads are quite unnecessary and I think having a board for them would only put more segregation on the community.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I do see your point, however I personally see group threads as encouraging friendships as opposed to segregation. I don't post in the unemployment support thread because I'm not unemployment and thus not interested in it, but I don't feel segregated or like I wouldn't be welcome there if I were unemployed.
Like, it means that there's a place to go to ask uni/employment/dissertation-related questions without have to clog up the boards, and get a level of chat involved as well, bringing people together.
The fact that group threads have to be closed suggests that there is demand for them [if there was not, then mods would be at ease leaving them to die and drop off the board]. A sub-board for topic-specific discussion would please both sides of the "group threads are awesome vs group threads are mean and cliquey" debate, I think. It would please the people who want group threads, and also please those who dislike them, as it would get them off ALL the other boards.
^ I must admit I disagree with that a little, I think some (not all, but some) groups both within and technically outside of RYL can cause a sense of segregation, 'clubs' which I think a fair amount of these so called RYL groups turn into so is definitely an issue to look at.
However I do agree that a board for generalised general advice groups could perhaps work, provided they at least mostly kept to the topic at hand. Do appreciate this sort of forum would cost a lot of extra mod time.
Jenna the sub forum idea I think is a good one :)
'Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.'
['There is only one thing we say to death. Not today'.']
'We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.’ – Oscar Wilde
‘It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.’ Sydney Carter
Yeah, true, however cliques and groups will form regardless of there being group threads, and at least with group threads, it's still on RYL and new members have a variety of active group threads with which to join in, should they wish.
As an example, I remember when I was fairly new being told that London meets didn't really happen, because all the 'old group' organised them on facebook and I felt pretty left out because there was no way I'd get to be involved in these groups if they did everything privately. For me it was a blessing that the uni student thread was buzzing and active which meant I could join in and make friends. Had Katy, Belle, Lydia and Lillie 'met' on a normal thread about uni and it had been closed because group threads were cliquey, they may well of toddled off to facebook and chatted there and organised meet ups there, and no new people would be able to join the 'clique'.
That makes sense I think for me its more of the fact that say.....people go into GSA for the uni thread and by going into the board they see other threads that they might reply to, same in GC if people go there for the chatty thread they might get involved in other threads. Whereas in a board for just groups there will be less of people venturing into non room threads etc and I think that would be quite negative.x
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
That makes sense I think for me its more of the fact that say.....people go into GSA for the uni thread and by going into the board they see other threads that they might reply to, same in GC if people go there for the chatty thread they might get involved in other threads. Whereas in a board for just groups there will be less of people venturing into non room threads etc and I think that would be quite negative.x
Very good point! I'd never thought about it like that before.
If it was a sub-board of GSA, would you not have to go via GSA anyway though? I think that's how you get to the BORIS board [via ED board]?
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Originally Posted by yourockmysocks
I don't mind the room threads, I just don't think we need one for every single little thing. Not everyone is here to make friends.
True, but if you're not here to make friends, it's not like belonging to a group thread is compulsory.
Additionally, yeah, I don't think we need millions of room threads, and if we don't need one for spoon-lovers/maths students/cat-owners, then such threads will just die, and the ones that there is demand for would remain.
Of course if the same five or six people had a million room threads, then it would be right for a mod to be like, "dudes, less threads, contain yourselves", as I believe happened quite successfully in GC a wee while ago?
True, but if you're not here to make friends, it's not like belonging to a group thread is compulsory.
The group threads can and do push other threads down to the bottom of the boards often just for the sake of conversation. It's hard to post a thread asking for advice or support if you know it is going to disappear without any replies anyway. That doesn't mean that all of the group threads are bad, and most of the time I just hide them if I don't want to see them but having so many of them does change the dynamic of the site.
Last edited by yourockmysocks : 01-11-2012 at 10:16 PM.
i think that not everything needs to necessarily be made into a support thread or room thread.
For example.. it would go perfectly well in general chat to have a thread where some one says 'im learning a new language.. are you.. lets discuss that'
somewhat similar to the rainbow room or whatever.
I dont think general chat is used properly to be honest. to me, most of whats in general chat should be in fun and distractions, and peoples 'life' threads should be in general.
Very good point! I'd never thought about it like that before.
If it was a sub-board of GSA, would you not have to go via GSA anyway though? I think that's how you get to the BORIS board [via ED board]?
True, but if you're not here to make friends, it's not like belonging to a group thread is compulsory.
Additionally, yeah, I don't think we need millions of room threads, and if we don't need one for spoon-lovers/maths students/cat-owners, then such threads will just die, and the ones that there is demand for would remain.
Of course if the same five or six people had a million room threads, then it would be right for a mod to be like, "dudes, less threads, contain yourselves", as I believe happened quite successfully in GC a wee while ago?
Nope you dont have to go through the ED board to get to boris :) x
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Liv, so where can people post threads about learning languages and having to do major projects and such to get help, advice and support from others?
I would put threads like that in GC. i think if we cracked down on the hijacking in threads then it would work havig threads like that in GC.x
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
The group threads can and do push other threads down to the bottom of the boards often just for the sake of conversation. It's hard to post a thread asking for advice or support if you know it is going to disappear without any replies anyway.
Hence the suggestion to have a separate sub-board for them.
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Originally Posted by griddlebone
Nope you dont have to go through the ED board to get to boris :) x
Oh gosh, you're right! Can't believe I'd never noticed that link there. Maybe if there was to be a sub-board of GSA, it could not have that link like BORIS does?
Additionally, maybe straying away from differentiating between 'room' threads and Charlie's example of the language thread, there could be a sub-board of GSA for less-serious stuff? So GSA was for moderate woe not serious enough for the serious board, and the sub-board be more discussion based? But then that just sounds like what general chat should be like, as Charlie said. And now I've gotten myself confused and am not sure what I think!
The only problem I see with dissertation/employment type thread in GC is that it means that the discussion has to stay very 'trigger-free', whereas at least in GSA, you can post in the uni thread saying that you're really struggling to adapt to life in halls and it's making your anxiety/self-harming worse. That's just like a random example.
