One thing I would suggest if the forum isn't made is a possible revamp of the current showcase thread, possibly accompanied with a forum-wide announcement so people are aware that it exists? It's not in the most obvious place right now (not that there's really anywhere else to put it at the moment) so the publicity would help. It could be used as a test to see if a forum would actually be viable some time in the future and if not, it would hopefully at least lead to the thread getting some more constructive activity if it's explained properly. I'd also suggest coming up with a new name for the thread since honestly the current name isn't that clear on what's meant to be in the thread, but that's just a matter of opinion haha.
I have no problems with this. Publicity for the thread certainly can't hurt, and would definitely be the best test for determining if a potential sub-forum would be used. As for the name, I'd definitely be all ears for hearing a better one. Names/titles for anything are not my strong suit, and the name as it stands was easily the best out of a bunch that were suggested: it was short, snappy and relatively to the point. Having said that, I need to quibble with a few other points that you made in your previous post.
First off, there have definitely some posts moved into the Creative Media Showcase (CMS), but the number is very, very small. As a percentage of total submissions, ones that were not started in the CMS itself totalled about 6%. And of those, most of them were started in C&M/GE, meaning that people would have hopefully seen the CMS before choosing not to post in it. That implies that there's a lack of awareness of the purpose of the CMS; not that there is a demand that isn't being currently met. If there was a demand, either a) the CMS itself would be more active or b) more posts would be merged into the CMS through lack of awareness. None of these are happening at the moment, implying that there isn't a hidden demand that we're not seeing.
Second, the lack of commentary is also concerning. However, the ability to comment upon posts in the CMS is highlighted in the first paragraph of the CMS:
Creative Media Showcase said:
If you've seen something in this thread that you like and want to comment upon it, great! That's what this thread is here for too
Of the people who have posted in the CMS, 70% have only done so once. And most of my posts are administrative in nature, meaning that the true 'community' of the CMS couples about 25% of the thread. I honestly wish the CMS were a more thriving, vibrant community... and maybe the problem is simply lack of awareness. However, to be honest, I've never really thought there was all that much demand for this kind of stuff on PC. It's all very well people
saying that they'd post in threads and contribute and make their own remixes/videos/whatever, but when push comes to shove very few people are willing to put their money where their mouths are. (And yes, I'm aware that I'm speaking entirely in idioms! :P)
The creation of a sub-forum/new forum in general is something not to be taken lightly. Obviously not on the same level as curing cancer, but on PC, it's a pretty big deal. Of the two most recently created sub-forums, there was either a) clear demand for a sub-forum (Pokemon Voting Polls) or b) a strong basis to open up forums further, but in a natural progression (Competitive Team Help/Character Discussion & Shipping). With the CMS, it's been established that there's not a demand at present, and it doesn't naturally flow from the main points of GE. So, at this present time, I don't see the value of adding a sub-forum that would probably end up being a wasteland.
But, like I mentioned at the start of this very tl;dr thread, the lack of awareness is a serious issue, and I'll try my best to improve that.