For a drearier, scarier, better ‘downs.

[Farael]

I was thinking about posting on the “Community Statement” thread, but then I realized that most of what I wanted to say was well…. Off-topic. With regards to that thread, of course. All I can say about Davem is that I didn’t particularly like or dislike him, and I was put off a little by his tone. I chose to simply steer away from him, as I got the feeling that he was not doing it on purpose but rather that it was his personality. And trust me, I know how that goes… I’ve rubbed many people the wrong way without even meaning to.

Enough about Davem, I’d really like to ask the (hopefully many) subsequent posters to leave that whole issue aside when you step in here.

Yo’, why did you write about Davem then?

Well, I believe that it was necessary to provide some background… although what prompted this idea was not Davem’s banning per-se but rather…

Originally Posted by Valier

If you want something in specific to happen or change then just say it.

And also the (several) comments about the quantity and quality of discussion dying down, which actually reflect one of my concerns, if perhaps for other reasons.

Well, guess what? I do want something to change, and I’d like to provide a space where we can suggest our ideas on how to make The Barrow Downs a better place for all of us. That is, unless the Barrow Wight decides that such an endeavor should only be undertaken by the administrative body of the ‘downs. And let it be noted that I believe it might just be the case. If the Barrow Down’s administration wanted a “comment box” they would have probably done it already, but what I want to propose is a little different.

Probably the best way to explain what I mean is with an example. (And if you have stuck with me through all of the above nonsense, you are a really patient and charitable soul)

Problem: The books discussion is slower than what I’d want it to be.

Possible Cause: The works of Tolkien are finite. Lord of the Rings is what, a thousand five-hundred pages long? I’m sort of guessing there, but what I mean to say is that it is very much possible for virtually all the “easy” topics to have been discussed. Now, there is probably an infinite number of new takes and new approaches that can be taken to the same piece of work, but sooner or later it becomes hard to find novel ways to talk about Tolkien’s works. That alone would explain partially why few new things have been cropping up. We’ve talked about everything! Or at least, many, many things. From who, what, which, when or where is Tom Bombadil to Legolas’ hair colour, if it’s there we’ve talked about it.

There is also another issue. It is frowned upon, and with good reason, to open up a thread discussing issues that have been talked about already. But I’ve seen a few (and mind you, you can probably count them with the fingers of your hand) good looking new threads that were quickly referred to an old, existing, dead thread and died as well. I am not implying that we should open a new thread for every little idea that pops up in our collective minds, but…

Possible solution: No, I will not say “allow us to open as many new threads as we want” but rather, how about drawing a line and saying “ok, topics that have not been discussed in the last (X amount of time) can be re-opened for discussion in a new thread”?

There should be some restrictions, such as (and just brainstorming here, feel free to add your own or comment on mine):
*The two threads should not have the exact same approach, even if they share the same topic.
*The first post of the thread should encourage discussion, not raise a question that could be answered by reading the old thread.
*There should be a considerable time gap between the last post of the old thread and the new thread. What would “considerable” be? Well, if both threads are very similar (but never the exact same), I’d suggest not less than a year, maybe more than that. If the topics are the same but the approaches are radically different, perhaps a couple months would do.

So that’s my suggestion. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it’s the best I can come up with. Yet here’s the (I think) great thing about this thread…. You are all invited to join in, comment on my perceived problem, its causes and suggest a solution. Two heads think better than one, so how much better would two thousand heads be, drawn from as many different places and backgrounds as we all are?

Hey buddy… you said this was not a comment box, but it sure looks like one

Well, it’s up to us not to make it go down that road. What I want to propose is that we discuss these issues just like we discuss a topic in the books section, with the lateral thinking we use to solve quizzes and with the jovial mood and the effort we put into a nicely done RPG post.

Ultimately it will be the Administrators’ job to decide if any idea proposed here is worth implementing, and perhaps most importantly, if it’s possible. I mean, it’d be great to have an encyclopedia of old threads where excerpts from the “Barrow Down’s gold” and links to the appropriate thread for further enlightment can be found… but how many man-hours would be necessary to compile only a tenth of the information in here? Or perhaps it’d be a good idea to assign a “mentor” to each “newbie” that comes in, but again is it doable? And most importantly, While I am sure that the Barrow Wight and the other moderators and administrators of this forum are interested in our input, it is solely their responsibility and ultimately their choice to “legislate” the rules and “enforce” them.

We can only suggest and, once we have developed a good-looking idea, perhaps PM someone so that the administrators can consider our idea. The point of this thread is to work out ideas among (potentially) all of us ‘downers before we submit them to the appropriate people, not to replace or in any way undermine the Barrow Downs’ staff authority with regards to rule making.

Having said that, let the discussion begin! And let’s try to talk about one topic at the time… since there’s been some concern expressed about the Books sub-forum, I think we should start on that, then at some point perhaps we’ll discuss something else.