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Firearms subforum?

Emily's Cat

Rarely prone to hissy-fits
Emily's Cat
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Just a suggestion... There are so many gun-related threads in the social issues & current events forum that you'd think that was the only issue out there. While I occasionally enjoy a good firearm-related throw-down (:p), I often want to find something completely different. How would TPTB feel about spinning up a subforum just for all the pro/anti-gun folks to hurl effluvia at each other?
 
There'd certainly be more threads than in Trials and Errors.
 
Is it too much to ask for a gun politics sub-forum and a gun hobbies sub-forum?

Ranb
 
Ranb said:
Is it too much to ask for a gun politics sub-forum and a gun hobbies sub-forum?

Ranb
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Yes, to "guns 'n politics" with a caveat. I worry that it becomes a ghetto. There are many current events threads where the topic of guns, controlled or not, are very appropriate to the discussion. It's not difficult to imagine dozens of posts saying "Reported. Off-topic. Take it to the Guns/No-Guns sub-forum." And there are people on both sides of the debate who will use it to stifle legitimate discussion.

No, to Gun Hobbbyist. I'd be in favor of a "Hobbies" sub-forum, and gunzies could start threads in there, but a whole sub-forum to guns? Then the gardening crowd demands their sub-forum, and the knitting crowd and the modelers, etc...
 
I think it's a great idea, but I would request a feature where I could filter out threads that begin with "Responsible gun owner."
 
Cleon said:
I think it's a great idea, but I would request a feature where I could filter out threads that begin with "Responsible gun owner."
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You're no fun!

As one of the usual suspects in firearms related threads, I can see where a subforum might be useful, but for the most part the SICE is completely appropriate for the purpose.
 
I agree that SICE is the approriate place for gun discussions. I even take part in them once in a while! My suggestion is only because there are soooooooo many of them. Sometimes I don't want to blather about firearms, but it can be hard to sift through them all to find anything else.

I liken it to the 2016 US Presidential Election subforum in USA Politics. It's not that it's not the right area, it's just that this one topic buries everything else :p
 
Foolmewunz said:
No, to Gun Hobbbyist. I'd be in favor of a "Hobbies" sub-forum, and gunzies could start threads in there, but a whole sub-forum to guns? Then the gardening crowd demands their sub-forum, and the knitting crowd and the modelers, etc...
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I agree with this. I don't think we don't want to be creating subforums for specific interests. Otherwise, where would we stop? I can see us years down the track with a million special interest subforums, each of which have two regular posters.
 
I think the creation of a new sub-forum should be based on an assessment of how much a single subject has taken over an existing forum. Good examples of this are the separation of the "USA Politics" and "Non-USA and General Politics" fora, and the creation of the "911" sub-forum in "Conspiracy Theories".

When a single topic takes up most of the first page for an extended period, consideration should be made to separating it. If a sub-forum becomes moribund it can be re-incorporated into it's parent forum.
 
Cleon said:
I think it's a great idea, but I would request a feature where I could filter out threads that begin with "Responsible gun owner."
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Would irresponsible gun owner be o.k.? (Enquirer minds you know!!!)
 
arthwollipot said:
I agree with this. I don't think we don't want to be creating subforums for specific interests. Otherwise, where would we stop? I can see us years down the track with a million special interest subforums, each of which have two regular posters.
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I think if a subject generates substantial interest and multiple ongoing threads, a subforum is worth looking at. If activity slows and stops after a while, it can always be closed down and threads put back in SI&CE. Guns certainly qualify; they've generated substantial interest and multiple threads pretty much since the forum first opened.
 
Emily's Cat said:
I'm wondering if maybe this needs to be moved to a different location, maybe Forum Management Feedback? We don't seem to have received any attention from TPTB :(
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The request has been made a number of times, it's always been denied. I doubt that's going to change.
 
Cleon said:
I think if a subject generates substantial interest and multiple ongoing threads, a subforum is worth looking at. If activity slows and stops after a while, it can always be closed down and threads put back in SI&CE. Guns certainly qualify; they've generated substantial interest and multiple threads pretty much since the forum first opened.
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If, as someone said earlier, it starts overwhelming everything else in SI&CE, like 9/11 did for CT way back, then yes, I think that a subforum would be warranted. I don't look at individual subforums (only the User CP and New Posts screens) so I don't know if that is happening.
 
arthwollipot said:
If, as someone said earlier, it starts overwhelming everything else in SI&CE, like 9/11 did for CT way back, then yes, I think that a subforum would be warranted. I don't look at individual subforums (only the User CP and New Posts screens) so I don't know if that is happening.
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Currently, there's only a couple, but there are times when there can be half a dozen or more* gun threads hovering near the top of the front page.



* I'm going from memory here, I have no way to substantiate AFAIK
 
I'm not in favor of such fine-grained splintering into sub-fora. The benefits aren't clear, and as Foolmewunz suggested above, it encourages gamesmanship.

I have good luck with the JKS strategy of thread content management. When I encounter posts that are irrelevant or annoying, I Just Keep Scrolling.
 
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