Arrggghhh. I had a whole carefully constructed list of forum topics for the new forum. And I lost it.

I want to err on the side of having too FEW topics, just to keep it less cluttered, but the thought of redoing that damn list is making me want to cry.

So help me. What topics do we need?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Answers

Well, books. Books and sex.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Starting and bumping, all at the same time:

• Politics, Crime, and Current Events -- make that all one, I think. Unless you all disagree.
  
  
• Education -- or should this be a category, with smaller topics underneath? Maybe reading, writing, and sciences? But writing doesn't really go there. Damn. (See how hard this is?)
  
  
• We need a nice big fat books topic, but I think it can be all one topic. I considered "the written word" and having it include online media, as well, but I'd like your feedback on that. Might be way too cluttered, and do we want all that online journal crap in with our erudite discussions of Stephen King?
  
  
• Religion. Maybe I'll make a category for "Issues" and put religion, politics, gender issues, employment, health, etc. under that.
  
  
• Movies, TV, and Music (we don't discuss this stuff enough to justify three separate categories, do we?)
  
  
• Fashion and beauty? Do we talk about that stuff anymore? We used to, but it's all kind of gone over to ThreeWay. Leave it out?
  
  
• Relationships. Get 'em all under one topic. We'll put sex in a hidden topic somewhere, what do you think?
  
  
• Home and garden. Do we talk about that stuff anymore? I was going to do a separate garden forum but I don't think there's enough interest.
  
  
• Would y'all be offended if I put Pets and Children under the same category? Because I'm a'gonna. I'll call it Beasts.
  
  
• Life, the Universe, and Everything. For miscellaneous stuff.

Of course I'll have a suggestions and feedback section. Also a general lobby area for chitchat, where posts won't be archived for more than a week or so. That's your substitute for "padding."

Any thoughts? I really appreciate this because this is my LEAST favorite part of setting this thing up.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Ooh! I just had an idea. Not going to tell you what it was, but I'll see how your suggestions fit in.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

I love the idea of beasts being 'kids and pets', but would add family in there as well. My family, anyway ;)

I am anti-sex threads. If it were just the same old regulars that always post here it would be funny, but man! I am not at my fave old forum as much anymore because 1: so many people find that place thru those threads, and I have gotten some way creepy emails from them. Stuff that they have found on the nonsex threads, and have fetishized, and 2: after I read some of the stuff some people have posted in those threads, it makes it hard to want to engage them in dialogue in other threads. After reading some of the sex threads, I just don't want to read anything from the same people in the cooking threads, for example. I just don't.

How about Beautification? Covers fashion, decorating, gardening?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Ooh, I like beautification.

I will only do a separate sex forum if I can hide it from everyone except regulars. I thought that was going to be an easy thing to do, but I just realized that that was an early forum we tested. I still might be able to do it, but I haven't figured it out yet.

My reason for having a separate sex forum is so that stuff doesn't show up in the relationships forum. I hate sex trolls, too.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Maybe a theme forum? Creeters: pets, parents, and kids.
Thumpin' an' Stumpin': Religion and Politics
Beautifyin': Fashion and decorating.
Book learnin': The Book Club
'Shine and Possum: Cooking
Speechifyin': the padding threads.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Heh! I think Kristin should be doing this. Kristin, you need a forum!

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Your list above sounds good, Beth. I love the Beasts idea. Kind of indifferent on sex threads, though there has to be some place to house Rudie's stuff.

One question: maybe I missed it, but I don't see a section on computers, technology, other geek-related stuff. That'd be nice, I think.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Can do. We haven't had that here, but it's a good idea. Can I lump all tech stuff together in case someone wants to ask about stereo equipment or something?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Yeah, that's how I thought it'd be. It'd have the added benefit of avoiding Mac/PC, CD/vinyl, etc. balkanization. People have to acknowledge one another when they're in the same room.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Do you know what the very hardest part is? I'll tell you. It's breaking it down into categories. Not the individual topics, the categories. You can dispense with them altogether, but then the page looks cluttered. Man. It's hard to come up with titles that no one else is using.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

I thought I might look through your archive here, and post all the thread titles that didn't seem to have an appropriate home just to see if you're missing a common category.

don't have the time at the moment though. (I'm always saying, does this idea fit under politics or outer space?)

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

What about a Smackdown category, for the big debates/issues?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

I dunno if pets and kids go in the same folder. I mean, what would Doc think of that?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Perhaps life forms that crap indiscriminately and slobber constantly should have one category (read: dogs and kids), and tidier yet sinister, less friendly creatures (read: cats) should have another.

So much for non-Balkanizing, eh?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

With luck, though, kids outgrow most of those traits - pets don't. (Furthermore, I might have to include my co-workers under that criteria, and that could get confusing)

On the other hand, when pets decide to have giant "She's looking at me!" shoutfests, you can shut them up in the bathroom.

On balance, I'd say 'beasts' is a pretty good catch-all.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Also, Aziz, I don't think anything that can look you dead in the eye while hacking up a large mound of it's own hair can really be called 'tidier'!

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

So long as there's enough room to swing a cat, we'll be fine.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Curtis - I think our gracious hostess has three she wouldn't mind you swining.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Is swining a cat really fair to the pigs?

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

"Also, Aziz, I don't think anything that can look you dead in the eye while hacking up a large mound of its own hair can really be called 'tidier'!"

Fully disagree. I've knit myself many a tidy sweater using those hairballs. Cats and pigs share many traits, by the way, among them sloth, smell and intelligence.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Bah. This stuff is hard. Banging head on keyboard. Hoping to have it live by the weekend. Wanting to break things. Wasn't I supposed to be sick or something? Bah. Having tea now. Possibly going to bed.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Bed? Isn't it a little past your bedtime already? What happened, Denny's start serving the senior dinner specials even earlier? You could probably get a few topic ideas from here.

I'm just kidding! luv ya. smoochies.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Lynda,

I had to read your post like five times before I got it. "Pigs? What pigs?"

I suck.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

David - it's ok... I obviously have a very sad and pathetic life, or I'd not be so giddy at the idea of having 'gotten' you. ;)

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Something to do with geography? Where I live, where you live, where we like to vist? Why Texas is so much better than everywhere else.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Got it, except for that bit about Texas.

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Beth, you could put all of movies, TV, books, music under a broad "entertainment" (or in Kristin's method... entertainifying...) category. It could also include any play / sports / hobbies / events. You might want one for work, too. I love 'beasts.'

-- Anonymous, August 01, 2001

Everything except for books pretty much went under one category. I think I've got the categories more or less done now ... just working on some system bugs. I think (cross your fingers) that we'll be able to go live by this weekend, although there may be some bugs still in the system.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

You could put fashion, beauty, home and garden all in one section--- beatifying, decorating, frivolousity. And did you have a section for work? or general bitching?

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Yeah, there are sections for work AND bitching. I wound up splitting home/garden and fashion/beauty, because guys do post on the home/garden threads, but I think the fashion/beauty would tend to drive a lot of them away.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Of course, the whole site is down this morning. So don't say goodbye to Greenspun just yet.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Should beatifying go in the religion forum?

(how 'bout a purgatory for spelling timmys?)

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

toni sez: I love 'beasts.'

I read that fast and thought toni and I had something in common. Then I read it slow, and figured out she's just talking about puppies or something. Then, I realized -- so am I! We're not so different after all.

There should be a single topic covering racism, abortion, drug legalization and proper punishments for pedophiles. That way, those of us nice simple rednecks who just come to make friends and talk about bath soap can steer clear of heated debate.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Word to Jim Howard, a local color section would be grand. Especially because oftentimes people will post a quick, "visiting city X, want advice" thread. Ok, maybe not that often, but it happens sometimes.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Yeah, and at h's suggestion, that's one of the few areas where threads will be archived indefinitely. It's nice to go back to those discussions to find the old suggestions.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Actually, this may screw things up a bit but it might be nice to have an "advice" section that gets archived, although most questions will probably relate to other categories (kids, pets, home, travel).

By advice I mean practical advice like the current "good dog-cat relationship" thread, not so much the interpersonal relationship advice stuff.

But that may be adding a lot of work for you, and I'd rather you spend your time writing than doing forum maintainence - for my own selfish reasons.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

The new forum has a potentially very annoying feature where you can "alert" the moderator to let them know about a problem post. I'm going to see if we can hack a similar alert button to nominate a thread for archiving. It's pretty easy to do, and I agree that there will be occasional threads we'll want to save. The advice ones are what I'm thinking of.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

It should be a realistic, down-to-earth forum - that's completely off- the-wall and swarming with magic robots.

And also, you should win things by watching.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

Martha Stewart suggests getting carpet the same color as hairballs.

that's exactly why I wouldn't let my husband pick white. he was upset at first. now he understands.

beth - try hiding the sex topic in the books category. I'm thinking that will be the less-traveled by trolls. everything else sounds good!

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

I recommend a very busy Persian carpet pattern for hairballs. The problem is that sometimes they blend in too well, and you step on them. Nobody wants that.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

i also thought hiding sex in the graduate school section would make it a bit safer...

my dogs, cats, birds, etc and all my patients would be quite upset to lumped in with children! how about a 'beastiality' thread and make that one about pets!

winky face

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001

I don't know about animals and kids being linked together. My kids eat cats and screech at dogs.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001