A Great Idea that wasn't...
 

This thread poses the question: What great thread idea did you post that really, really tanked? Or you could say, what thread did you think would sprint through pages but only got a few replies?

My most recent thread that was not so great was my run at 'Barrowdown's Tag'. I'll not go into detail, but it was shut down(justfully; no hard feelings). I thought it would be fun, but it just kinda sank.

Or maybe this thread(the one you're currently reading) will turn into my newest shame. If nobody replies to this, that would kinda be the whole idea of the thread. Now that would be ironic! :D

But really, what thread ideas of yours never worked out?

Don't feel bad, Gurthang. All my threads failed and are now lost somewhere on the site. I've had a few other ideas (intelligents ones) but for fear of another failure I've refrained from starting a thread.

I had one good success but my Eagles one and a Bombadil one failed rather dismally! Still, always more ideas.

I've posted some topics that were too specialized or didn't catch people's attention for whatever reason - one thread about children in Middle-earth didn't get a single answer for months before someone noticed it; another about the Art nouveau influence in the Elven architecture of the movies got only a few replies and seems to have gotten completely lost at some point in time; and the one about Tolkien and the textile arts has only a few replies as well. I posted a new topic last week that hasn't gotten one answer yet, about the Sil parodies.

It's no shame to try a topic that interests you, but you never know if those who are interested will be around at that time and want to post on it, or have time to do more than just read it without contributing. And it's no shame to have a topic moved, merged or even closed if a moderator considers that best! As long as it's not against the forum rules (which I always assume everyone will of course have read before starting a new thread! :p ), go for it - no risk, no gain! And there's always the chance yours could be the hit thread of the month - you won't know unless you try.

Sometimes a thread can get a more sucessful revival.... I think it is hard to find a thread that is original - I have to admit that my most successful one was sparked by something Davem had posted in cbC which interested me. But sometimes people just don't pick up on things you find intriguing... or they haven't got time at that moment to check it out.... or sometimes one of the great minds has answered so comprehensively that you feel there is nothing you can usefully add....

Um, my worst thread is also one of my most embarrassing moments. Back in the newbier days of my life on the 'downs I got to wondering if anyone else was from Kansas. Doing the unthinkable I decided it would be a 'good' idea to create a thread asking if there were any BDers from Kansas. The only surprise that came from that thread was that there was actually one post on it before the B-W found it & understandable smashed it with a sledgehammer.

edit: well, now that I've posted this I see that it doesn't really qualify as a 'great idea' that wasn't...oh well.

It went by various names: The Dueling Inn; the Gauntlet Tavern; Behind The Hedge. But alas, the variety of names was all that came of it.

I have started numerous embarrassing threads which I explain somewhat in Estel's 'Most embarrassing Barrowdowns moments' thread. The best was probably a Fingolfin/Finarfin question that could have been easily answered by reading the Sil's family trees. And that was in The Books forum!

The shame of such ignorance still gnaws at my very soul.

I've done a couple without much interest in the way of replies, but I don't mind at all. Sometimes you just want to post some information or share something with everyone, and in those cases there might not be very much anyone could post in reply apart from "hmm, that's interesting". Sometimes a thread might be very specialised, or it might be that there's an almighty ruckus happening on another thread that's keeping everyone busy ;) . So, there's nowt to be embarrassed about at all. :)

I started a "Legolas Appreciation" thread, that was shut down very soon. I don't think they understood something I said. Perhaps I should try again... No hard feelings. :)

Ah, kindred souls. Getting no replies is the very reason I used to be hesitant to open new threads. But a very kind wizard (actually, five of them) said these encouraging words when he described me in the 'Know Yer Mates' thread:

So most of the threads I've started (all in the Books) were not replied to much, but at least I was somehow able to contribute something to the forum. :)

I've always been very hesitant to start new threads, mostly because any ideas I do have have already been said in much clearer ways by others. I did start one thread, way back in 2003, on my theories on Into the West, which were of course promptly debunked. Fortunately, the thread turned into a general discussion of various theories on the song, but ever since then I've been quite wary of starting threads. I think that some of the posts I made as a newbie are much, much worse than that thread, though. There are some where I misunderstood what other people were saying, leading to very stupid posts that I cringe about in retrospect.

Ah... starting threads.

As yet, that bug has refrained from biting me- undoubtedly due to the nasty flavour. However, should it ever strike, I fear that there will be some hesitancy on my part for fear that somewhere in the past several years of this site's operation, SOMEONE will have posted on the same topic.

And Search options never seem to work for me the way they ought.

my threads for the most part all go down in this category some i see why they went down others i am confused as to why they were no-goes if you will

Considering it was the only thread on the topic bbc radio production i thought was a shoe-in

Artists wanted another one I thought would be great

Oh and Nasty Tricksy Sauron....

Um sorry went down memory lane for a sec

Polls.

Mark, I agree with you there... I tried to make one once but couldn't find the option for it. :(

I started up a thread a while back about the significance of the phrase "my precious" and whether Gollum was referring to himself or the Ring (or both). I thought it was a pretty fascinating speculation (still do), but it didn't garner many replies... hopefully people read with interest, though.

In April I thought I had come up with a really interesting thread idea on Farmer Giles of Ham and its similarities to MacBeth, but I only got one reply on it. Until it slipped from the first page of the books forum, I used to check to see if anybody else posted on it.

My greatest failures would be:

Recently: A thread on whether Mallorns could be related to Laurelin or not. I got one reply before the thread sunk into oblivion. Then, I found that it clearly states in the appendices that they're not...

In Ye Olde Days: One on my (I thought) witty threads descended into list-dom. Sigh. :rolleyes:

Looking back at all the threads I started, I found another one. I thought I had come up with a good thread about the similarities between Smeagol/Gollum and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Especially the whole evil now, but good past. I got one reply that pointed out everything I had just said wrong and then the thread drifted to the bottom of the list, never to be seen again... :(

Oh, well, you can't make one to rival Crazy Captions every time! :D

Hmmmm.... My "Balrog Appreciation Month" thread didn't do to badly. I was actually expecting less people then that.

The only other one that I started was a question about what happens to people's accounts after a certain period of time. The only person who replied to that was Perky. Oh well.

mirthoholic
 

I'm terrible at and/or with this. In my.. oh.. now 52 posts I'll have (count 'em) three threads to my two syllable name. And if you do your math... thats a thread each month. Yikes!

As for me there has been one that, within the three months I've been here, has sunken back into the shadows hissing, snarlling, and foaming at it's hypertext versions of a mouth. When my newbish insanity ruled as well as a desire to make more permanent a joke from the Barrowdown's chatroom, the SilmIRC: Ainulindale was created. I broke my back on that masterpeice of nearly-incomprehensible ramble and was awarded with much praise, but ah! Alas that in this barrow I might have a thread that is 5/6ths my own!

...though it might have done better to reveal my intentions was for other to follow along and add on their jokes.

I've started a few threads. Some of them has led to interesting answers, as they've been of the questioning sort. Something I wondered anout which others apparently thought more about than me.

What bugs me though is the threads were you don't get any replies, but visitors and reps saying things like: very good thinking, interesting thread etc, BUT NO REPLIES! Well, that's life...

I actually feel like a failure whenever one of my threads ends up with a lot of posts in it, most of them having nothing to do with my original purpose. I jump into the fray and ask people to behave myself, and end up feeling like a failure and a grouch. :(

I know the feeling, Lush. I've been in that situation, too. I've learned the hard way that the conversation can go any direction, and any attempt to put it where you want it will generally be completely ingnored. I think I've even gotten a neg rep for saying someone was off topic. That was very long ago, though, so I'm not sure.

You people, there is no reson to feel like a failur. This is just a part of the magic that sorrunds conversations! You are not supose to be abel to control them, but let them evolve and see what interesting things come out of them.

Ofcourse when there is a specific topic you want to discuss, it can be a real pain when people are off topic. If it is only a few post's then live with it, but if it goes on and on, people should consider starting a new thread.

The point is allthoug it can be annoying when people is off topic: Do not feel like failure. You have sparked something in people and inspired them to take on a different topic and who knows what comes out of it.

ironicly this thread almost should be listed in itself ;) :p

Well :p back at ya, Morsul!

Maybe you're right, though. ;)

Well, see this:

Search: Threads Started By: Thinlómien
Thread / Thread Starter Last Post Replies Views Forum
If Gollum and Bilbo had parted in a civil manner...
Thinlómien 10-28-2005 09:21 PM
by davem replies: 15 184 The Books
The Grace of Ilúvatar?
Thinlómien 08-16-2005 03:23 PM
by mark12_30 replies: 27 428 The Books
The two types of LotR fans ( 1 2 )
Thinlómien 06-20-2005 03:04 PM
by Thinlómien replies: 43 825 Novices and Newcomers
Having a LotR nickname?
Thinlómien 06-01-2005 01:54 AM
by Elentari_Elbereth replies: 32 519 Middle-earth Mirth
The two UT's?!? What is the book that I have then?
Thinlómien 04-17-2005 08:05 PM
by Thinlómien replies:14 282 Novices and Newcomers
About dwarf women
Thinlómien 01-21-2005 05:58 PM
by The Saucepan Man replies:21 547 The Books
The Umli? Did/ do they exist?
Thinlómien 12-17-2004 03:16 PM
by Thinlómien replies: 4 245 The Books

How succesful my threads have been! :rolleyes:

Actually, Thin, I would consider that pretty successful.

For me at least, I would call anything over 20 a pretty good thread. And if it goes a few pages, well, I mark my calender(not really). I've started a few threads, and I've never had one go over some 60-some replies.

If you want, you can also guage success by what reps you get from starting the thread. On some of mine that I've gotten just few replies, I've received many reps for my good thoughts.

I know precisely how you feel, Lush m'dear...

Threads come and threads go, but the Downs remain the same...

While threads are oft ignored and sometimes e'en mistreated, they are oftimes remembered fondly and in participators' minds completed

If at first you don't hit a good'un, try, try again.



To cut off with the corny poems and revised quotes, the true measure of a Downer is not how good he can start and control a thread, but how much he gives to others. How encouraging it is to see that others share that mortal fear of embarrasment when remembering old threads. *cold shivers running down spine*

And I always enjoyed that BD'ers thread, Fordim. Did it not go the way you wanted it to?

I have a feeling it's going to happen to my new thread, "Call My Bluff, ME style", which is dissapointing cause I liked the idea (then, I did create it). I know I only created it today, but doom seems to follow my posts everywhere. I'm only ever had one rating, hence the sig, and I've been a downer since 2002. Admittedly, I have only just returned to the forums (well, over a month ago).

Anyhoo, I think its sad when good threads die. I used to try my best to revive some of the better ones in Middle Earth Mirth, but it just doesn't work.

I think Fordim's original intent was to see if other people could already see other Barrowdowner's in their minds, without actually seeing them. You know, have set images of them in their minds, however wrong they might be. I doubt he had wanted people to simply make up farest-fetched(sp) image they could conjure up.

And, Elentari, don't worry about it. Some threads just don't work out. Personally, I thought this one was pretty much finished awhile ago, but it came back. You never know what might happen. :D

Well, biblo_baggins and Celebuial are both keeping my thread going nicely :D 18 posts (i think) in just 6hours. Almost as good as the thread "Rip Off" I started once.

Well, some of them did actually quite well and I got a lot of reputation points for the Bilbo+Gollum thread, and some for the others as well, so I actually shouldn't be complaining... :rolleyes:

I remember starting a thread called "The Doom of Eucatastrophe," which was too eruditical for most and not controversial enough for the saged.

To just sound a little weird but say something that is heavy on my mind, does anyone besides me see the immininent decline and death of discussion on the 'Downs? That we are just a part of an entropy on steriods, rushing into its own oblivion?

This thread reminded me of how the 'Downs was and is a great idea, but the idea must run out someday. All things will have been posted, and we will try to think of something to think about. It could almost make one cry...

To risk eternal hatred by quoting from a different fandom...

"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations"

But there'll be (hopefully) new members, who have something of their own to add. So don't worry. :)

I just did a "threads started by" search on myself and found loads (mostly books questions) with single-figure responses. I clearly used to be a much busier thread-starter in my eager early Downer days than I am now, and I have absolutely no recollection of half of them.....
....but there was one thread I found on my search that I confess to being a little ashamed of. It was in the movie forum, amd it was basically a tit-for-tat response to some guy who started a thread called "who is more beautiful, Arwen or Galadriel"... mine called for a similar discussion on the relative pulchritude of Legolas and Aragorn.
It actually got 58 replies before Estelyn quite rightly closed it down...(mind you, I seem to remember that the Arwen/Galadriel one stayed open, ho hum...)

Yes, exactly. Older members become worn and leave, and new ones with fresh ideas become dead. It's the way it goes.

I think their was a thread about this once, maybe I'll hunt that up.