Of late, I have been less happy about the quality of threads we've been running. I have also been in something of a creative drought, so I haven't been good at writing up thread ideas myself. As the steward of bumpage, it falls to me to keep an eye on such things and to change things up when they happen. The other mods have, as you'd expect, generously offered their time to assist with The Bumpage, and they may yet be called upon to do so. But not yet. A post that's always sort of been living in the back of my head regarding our predecessor message board: We retained this tradition, and it has certain benefits. However, as a scientist, I am always interested in changing something and seeing what happens. As such: Every thread that is posted on the Suggestions Board between the time the Drunk Thread goes up this weekend and the time it is locked will be run. If we get a lot (and I hope we do), I will not run them all at once to avoid flooding the board. We will run 3-5 a day as usual, starting next week. The only restriction is that threads must have a FOCUS. The FOCUS may be broad, but it must somehow constrain discussion - we already have FOCUS-free Drunk Threads every week, we do not need 10 more. HOWEVER, there is a catch: Threads that are Awesome: will get a prize of some sort. Maybe you'll get a custom title. Maybe you will get to set someone else's custom title. Maybe you will get a rep bonus. Maybe you will get to set the board tagline for a while. Maybe we will let you run threads of your choosing for a while. The point is, you will get something good. Mediocre Threads: Get a set of steak knives. That is, nothing. Threads that Suck: Will also get a prize, but it will be a prize you don't want. Like you're banned for a period in proportion to how bad your thread is. Or you lose an amount of rep proportional to how bad your thread is. How will threads be judged? The mods will use a complex, custom algorithm based on singular value decomposition and simulated annealing, taking into account variables such as: Number of posts How involved people got with the thread Whether it got new posters (or posters from other parts of the board) to post The general awesomeness of the thread idea Sadly the exact algorithm is proprietary, but we will certainly let you know the results. Note that this is not a bell curve distribution or anything - I would be very happy if there were no terrible threads at all, and that may happen. Your thread will be evaluated on its own merits, rather than in competition with the rest of the group. If you posted a thread suggestion that hasn't been run already, but you want to run your thread in the contest, either repost it during the appointed time or PM me while the drunk thread is up with a link to the thread you want me to run. If you PM me before or after the drunk thread is open this week, you will be banned for 24 hours. Best of luck! --Doc
dibs on the "Gorillas and lions deciding whether they sit or stand to wipe while trying to fly a plane off a treadmill" thread On a serious note, this sounds interesting. I usually don't submit suggestion threads but maybe I'll have a flash of brilliance.
Let's say, hypothetically, somebody runs the worst thread in the history of the internet. How will locking work in regards to this aforementioned awful thread? Will you be bound by the very real guidelines already set forth? This is important information.
Please, let's hope nobody stoops that low. Part of the reason this board is so great is because we keep that shit out of here. We all know if that happens it will turn into a never-ending "I'm smart, you're stupid, only my opinions matter, sit down and shut the fuck up" flame war. I ask you, my people, my friends, be classy and don't do this.
I love how discussing politics is "stooping low" on a board full of poop and sex jokes. And I'm not saying I disagree with you.
Please God let Milly come back and submit some thread suggestions. Edit: Also, there should be some kind of specific prize if your thread induces a long, drawn out, point for point debate between KIMaster and someone else...wait, never mind, that happens all the time.
Fat chance. Since he put his site back up, I asked him to come back to TiB and he responded by taking down all of his "stories". AGAIN. The dude is honestly chicken-shit terrified of this place now. I'm done with him. I'm more inclined to wonder who's next?
D wasn't for "DrFrylock??" What a fucking failure that blog was. As for the topic at hand, this is a great idea. I doubt I'll have any thread ideas to contribute, but it'll be great to see how this little experiment works. The current model works better in the long term and serves to make the board better and of higher quality, but as well as it works, I've always felt that it's somewhat inherently flawed, due to potentially rich threads being left in Suggestion Purgatory to rot, left in the hands of the moderator(s) in charge of promoting them (in this case, DrFylock & Friends). I think this deviation from the norm will be a fun way to let threads thrive or fail in a more self-selecting manner. I'd like to think we're all smart enough to promote the good threads and let the shitty ones fall by the wayside, but then again we're also a people that likes to take wagers on Ambien/beer combinations done by our peers on the weekends, so...who knows. Question for the Fry Man: just so all participating parties are clear (because these WDT durations can be pretty inconsistent at times) is there a particular set time that this upcoming drunk thread will be closed? I know we've had a few "weekend" drunk threads around here run until Tuesday or Wednesday, and it confuses the hell out of me. As a scientist, I'm sure you can appreciate the need for set parameters and all that jazz. I can see one or two people throwing a fit afterwards because "I didn't know the thread would be closed by then!" But then again, fuck them if they do. "Fry-man, we're full of religion now. Everyone, please, bow your heads and pretend to be serious."