META: Create an OT forum?

Submitted by kawter on

Has there ever been consideration given to expanding the forums/boards beyond MGoBoard to accommodate OT, other sports etc?

It seems there is generally a fair amount of frustration expressed when OT threads push other MICHIGAN related content down but I admit I appreciate several of these topics (but feel if I could decide when I want to see them would help).

Scout seems to have done this fairly well. They have a few boards and I know I will see all M football all the time when I view the Victor's club.

Discus

mGrowOld

July 13th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^

All kidding aside I'm sure with the amount of content you've amassed and your encyclopedic knowledge of all things Michigan (thank you SuperGuides) you could actually have something decent.

Good luck to you with your launch (if you're serious).

Space Coyote

July 13th, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^

It's an appropriate feature, and based on Seth's response above, I'm hoping they plan on implementing it on the new site. I think a lot of people share common interests around here. Other times, I feel like reading about actual Michigan sports rather than the posbang thread. It would be nice to have it divided.

4godkingandwol…

July 13th, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^

whatever results in the most long-term traffic to this site, in order to keep it's contributiors well-fed.  

My gut tells me that if you create a different forum for OT, overall traffic to the site will go down. People will be less likely to impulse click and participate on the topic.  I know I'd never click ont the "OT" tab, even though I occassionaly read and contribute to those posts when they are mixed into the existing board.    

M-Dog

July 13th, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^

Yeah, I agree with this.  I always forget about the Diaries, but I would read them if they were on the regular board.  I just forget they are there.

I kind of like the stream of consciousness that is the MGoBoard.  Yes, you get some posts that are a waste of time, but these get shouted down quickly and often deleted.

On the whole, there are a lot of smart people on MGoBlog and the Board content is quite good.

 

stephenrjking

July 13th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^

Don't want one and don't want one on the new site in production. I've been involved with boards that have separate "community" forums and I prefer the flow of mgoblog significantly. A "community" forum involves an entirely different navigational mentality, bifurcates the community more than necessary, and reduces the richness of the existing interaction. We have it pretty good. How many people ever leave the front page for forum posts? You would need to for an OT forum. I think this arrangement works much better.

Braylons Butte…

July 13th, 2016 at 1:37 PM ^

I think it would be simple enough to have two views that each user can toggle between, something like 1) All Topic Mode (all posts are viewable); and 2) On-Topic Mode (all off-topic posts are excluded from view).

No need to even label "OT: _____" in titles, as an OP (or later, a mod) could tag the post as off-topic to be viewable only by user choice. 

stephenrjking

July 13th, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^

This sort of topic filter is theoretically possible, I suppose, just to have a prominent button or tab on the sidebar to click.

I am pessimistic that this can/will happen because I don't know whether it actually exists in workable format elsewhere (and, let's face it, building something like this from scratch is probably not a good use of the resources of the Mgoblog management, so they'd probably want to import existing framework to do it) and I am a bit burned by things like the nonexistent page feature on the current sidebar.

NYC Fan

July 13th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^

If someone would like to look for a grad school, moving to a new city, buying a house, starting investing.... Why not have a general forum where fellow Michigan fans can help offer advice.

PoseyHipster

July 13th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^

 

You could probably achieve most of what people are asking for here by forcing people to tag their posts on the board and giving everyone the ability to filter their own view of the board by the tags.  So, someone might only want to see the "M Football" posts, somebody else might want to see everything.

The beauty is that it preserves the bickering, because instead of the subject line, we can bicker about appropriate/inappropriate tagging.

Amaizing Blue

July 13th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^

How else could I learn way more than I wanted to know about where to watch the game in my car while wearing jorts before taking my kids to a destination within Michigan to ride personal watercraft before making barbeque?

LSAClassOf2000

July 13th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

Just so we're clear in advance, my entire philosophy towards monitoring such a forum will basically be that as long as the place doesn't start getting into the territory of "OT: Does This Look Infected To You?" or "SIAP: Need Spare Fuel Injector For 1987 Civic", then we're probably OK....unless that's what you want there, in which case, never mind the mod behind the curtain.

FolkstyleCoach

July 13th, 2016 at 6:03 PM ^

I don't post a lot because before you came around there were kind of guidelines that you didn't water down the board with OT shit, even in the offseason. So you know, I only post when I deem it appropriate. Thanks for taking this place just a liiiiiiitle closer to mlive for us. Just ask hatter, there's an mlive app! Wow!



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

TIMMMAAY

July 14th, 2016 at 9:45 AM ^

Says the guy who is probably on his third or fourth account. I'm always a little bit leery when someone with a newly created account takes ownership of the board.

Actually, IDK about that. If you had been around here as long as you're implying that you have, then nothing you posted makes any sense. This board has always been full of OT type posts, always, going back to the Haloscan days.

 

cincygoblue

July 13th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^

I don't remember the last time I used mgoblog outside of my iPhone, but I hope the new site looks nothing like 11 warriors. It's a professional look and very functional...but this blog is the best. Hands down. Wouldn't change a thing.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

drawdown400

July 13th, 2016 at 6:57 PM ^

Totally agree. My friend was looking over my shoulder one time while I was on mgoblog and he said "that looks like shit" and even though I strongly strongly disagree with him on that, I said proudly "well it's my shit." The vibe on this blog is so genuine and 11W just feels sterile and manufactured.

reddogrjw

July 14th, 2016 at 8:13 AM ^

dumping OT items will probably leave 3-4 days worth of non-OT items on the front page

 

Don't know if good or bad, but don't want a stagnant front page either

 

Obviously more of an issue during the summer