Why Isn't This Board More Popular?

[_Yoda]

(Moderator Note) I have split Antishock's comments, and all quotes of his comments to the Telestial Forum. Antishock, please, as a favor to me, lighten up on the aggressive sexual references. You know it just means I'm going to come in and split them off. Pretty please? Give this tired Mod a break. ;) Liz

[_Jersey Girl]

Thanks Dwight,

I frequented MD and enjoyed it much more a year ago when it wasn't a little fishbowl overlooking the ocean.

MD needs a couple more guidelines:

1) Close a thread after 5 pages.

Why?

Nobody reads 23 pages (!) to get up to speed to comment intelligently. So who is commenting on page 24? Good grief.

The people who are engaged on the thread in progress are likely the one's commenting on page 24.

2) Stay on topic. There is a lot of ADD from some of the members here.

Almost every thread on every board diverts off topic eventually. It would be nice if mod's could come into a thread and encourage folks to stay on topic however, that would be a full time (unpaid) and it would limit posters from engaging a subtopic.

3) Draw the line on derails. I am amazed at how many here bite at all of the intentional derails by posters like DCP. He knows what he's doing. I'm surprised so many fall for it.

That's the same thing as trying to make folks stay on topic. Who do you think would facilitate that?

4) If you don't want to stay on topic, don't be such a wussie. Start your own thread.

Again, who would enforce or facilitate that rule?

5) Limit individual posts to ?? 40 a week. Maybe this will promote quality over quantity.

You mean capping? You're serious? You can see by the polls that there are less than 50 posters, posting on a fairly regular basis. What you're suggesting is that this board collect just 40 posts from approx. 50 posters?

The only thing that would promote is a decline in interest.

[_Yoda]

AMEN, Jersey Girl! :)

[_Jersey Girl]

AMEN, Jersey Girl! :)

Yeah, I know...

[_Yoda]

If the number of votes in the recent polls posted on this board correlates at all to the number of active posters, there are currently only between 30-40 regular users of this board. Boards like MAD and RfM enjoy numbers significantly greater, but, generally speaking, Mo's don't like RfM because they can't defend the Church, and critics don't like MAD because of its restrictive moderation policies. It seems MormonDiscussions would be an ideal place for those who want a board where both sides can post freely, yet it is frequented by only a few dozen. What gives? Do folks just not know about this place?

Glad you enjoy the board, Dwight! :)

Please feel free to invite anyone who you think would be interested in the discussions here. I think the best way this board is going to extend more interest is through word of mouth.

What I find interesting is that even though this board only maintains 30-40 active posters, we manage to consistently come up with topics which I think are as intriguing, and in some cases more intriguing, than those you may read on MAD or RfM.

[_harmony]

The reason why this board isn't more popular is because very very few Mormons will actually engage in conversations that aren't heavily moderated in their favor. And there are very very few non-LDS people who will actually engage in conversations with Mormons without referencing subjects that are off-limits.

So what we have here is a very unique group of people.

[_Ray A]

I'd say this board isn't popular because there's little moderation in the Terrestrial, and when it's done it's limited to what Liz just did with AS8's comments. There's no moderation in the Telestial, and personal attacks are okay. I believe Shades said that those personal attacks which happen in the Terrestrial have to be thread-starters in order to get shifted to the Telestial, and personal attacks within threads don't apply.

People don't like to be personally attacked (BC apparently doesn't mind), simple as that. Does anyone like it in real life? Why would it be different in writing? I think there can be, and should be, healthy and even strong disagreement, but with an open free-speech policy that allows personal attacks, the board is very unlikely to ever rise to large numbers posting. It has been going for what, two or three years now? And the small numbers have been fairly consistent, and most who have objected or stayed away say it's because threads too often descend to a level unacceptable to them.

I doubt tightening moderation and rules is an idea that will go down too well with Shades or Keene, and it would require a lot more (boring) moderator work, and it may dissuade posters who often come here because they can't stand arbitrary and inconsistent rules and even favouritism on other boards. So I guess the policy is: Post at your own risk.

[_Jersey Girl]

Ray,

What you say about the posters who have discontinued participation here on account of the nature of exchanges here is true and while I agree that personal attack will be part of the reason this board fails to grow, I do think another reason is because the board is largely limited to Mormonism as a main theme.

I think that because of that limited theme, this will always be a small community and one that will likely continue without me. It's not that I don't appreciate the spirit in which the board was created, it's that I find it all too confining. I see perhaps one topic looming on the horizon that I would like to engage or at least see played out. Beyond that, I can think of no reason that this board would sustain my interest.

[_bcspace]

I can see why you would see to derail this particular topic.

How was my post a derail?

You don't like this place. I imagine this is your ultimate goal.

My ultimate goal is trashing bozos.

The fact of the matter is that this board is superior to the MADB if you want to discuss LDS doctrine and it's applications fully and is actually moderated according to LDS principles much more so than the MADB which is overly censorious. Ironic isn't it? True you get some swamp bubbles comming up from the Telestial Kingdom, but that can be dealt with.

[_bcspace]

People don't like to be personally attacked (BC apparently doesn't mind), simple as that. Does anyone like it in real life? Why would it be different in writing?

When you realize that it's all anonymous (if you make it that way), potshots should come off you like water off a duck's back.