IMPORTANT: Deep Discussion Feedback thread mk.II

[Nah]

previous feedback thread here

Hi there. This is the feedback thread for the Deep Discussion section of the Pokecommunity. In this thread, all users are welcome to post any and all feedback they may have regarding this section. Ask questions, voice concerns/issues, offer ideas on things you want to see (and don't want to see), tell me I'm the biggest **** you've ever met, or any other comments--no matter how big or small--you feel are relevant to the maintenance and improvement of DD.

This thread is open for posting at anytime, please make use of it.

 

[EC]

I will say changing the overall theme of this area has made me more likely to participate and make threads, so well done on that front.

 

[strangerhypno]

Seems good, the discussion heat gets intense so some change might make it easier to participate.

 

[curiousnathan]

I personally prefer 'Discussion & Debates' (or whatever it was). 'Deep Discussion' sounds awkward and...off-putting for a lack of a better word, haha.

Edit: Really digging this [Life] tag, though. Feels like a place I can have meaningful discussions with people. (Still not deep though haha).

 

[Nah]

i had to look at the Hub thread to remember why we changed the name.....which took up like nearly half of that thread lol

I personally prefer 'Discussion & Debates' (or whatever it was). 'Deep Discussion' sounds awkward and...off-putting for a lack of a better word, haha.

Edit: Really digging this [Life] tag, though. Feels like a place I can have meaningful discussions with people. (Still not deep though haha).

Basically we felt that there was a negative stigma attached to the name "Discussions & Debates" (and especially the word debates) and thought that maybe a name change would help a bit in moving away from that unwanted stigma. There were a lot of name ideas brought up, but we had a hard time deciding on what one to go with and eventually sort of went "fuck it, let's just go with Deep Discussion or something". Maybe not the perfect name yeah, but we didn't know what else to do and wanted to get on with our plans for the section already.

Glad that you like the Life tag though.

 

[Her]

Level with me, because imo D&D is at a point it has never been at before - a point where no one wants to contribute. It's never been at this stage before. It's always been unpopular, yes, but never so dead or outright displeasing to so much as glance at.
What worthwhile discussion can be had if the same three/four people choke all possible entry for others? What discussion can possibly be had through the transformation of each and every thread into a partisan shitslinging fest or acting solely in bad faith in order to derail discussion? This level of bad faith wouldn't have been tolerated in previous times. So much has been borrowed from OT to keep the place afloat over the years, but I don't see what else can be done if there's a) nothing else left to borrow and b) the section is in a chokehold by people that have little interest in anything but shilling for whatever American shitshow they personally subscribe to. I'd say it's tiring, but I'm not even engaged enough to be drained. I get the impression that despite protests to the contrary, these section-ending attitudes are tolerated as by this point, they're the only people contributing to discussions outside of the two mods.

Like... really. I know this is symptomatic of the decline of the forums as a whole, and a lack of engaged new members for this section, but I currently don't see a way for D&D to come back from this.

 

[EnglishALT]

Just some ideas:

Rant thread: similar to the anonymous thread have somewhere people can let out frustrations about anything.

Self Help thread: like the rant thread somewhere someone can go to seek some assurance or self improvement.

How do you solve X: a series of threads talking about various topics and crisis like migration, climate change, income inequality, etc with the explicit purpose the thread is not to talk about politics, politicians or the validity of such a problem but merely different ideas and solutions that could be undertaken to solve the problem.

Anyway those are some ideas that could steer the forum away from American politics.

 

[gimmepie]

I mean, there's not a problem with activity really. We're quite active.
The trouble is that the people currently posting seem to only want to discuss partisan American politics. It can be tiresome, but it's also only quite recently it's come to this level. Honestly, Nah and I have been working hard to expand on the topic discussed and it worked well for a while, but in the end, people are going to discuss what they want to discuss.

We can't do it alone, if people want to discuss other things or look at topics in a different way, then they are going to have to make those threads.

 

[Nah]

Level with me, because imo D&D is at a point it has never been at before - a point where no one wants to contribute. It's never been at this stage before. It's always been unpopular, yes, but never so dead or outright displeasing to so much as glance at.
What worthwhile discussion can be had if the same three/four people choke all possible entry for others? What discussion can possibly be had through the transformation of each and every thread into a partisan shitslinging fest or acting solely in bad faith in order to derail discussion? This level of bad faith wouldn't have been tolerated in previous times. So much has been borrowed from OT to keep the place afloat over the years, but I don't see what else can be done if there's a) nothing else left to borrow and b) the section is in a chokehold by people that have little interest in anything but shilling for whatever American shitshow they personally subscribe to. I'd say it's tiring, but I'm not even engaged enough to be drained. I get the impression that despite protests to the contrary, these section-ending attitudes are tolerated as by this point, they're the only people contributing to discussions outside of the two mods.

Like... really. I know this is symptomatic of the decline of the forums as a whole, and a lack of engaged new members for this section, but I currently don't see a way for D&D to come back from this.

What would you do?

Rant thread: similar to the anonymous thread have somewhere people can let out frustrations about anything.

That's often what people do in DA anyway, so it would seem kind of redundant to me to have this.

Self Help thread: like the rant thread somewhere someone can go to seek some assurance or self improvement.

Kind of already have this in the form of the Help & Advice tag

How do you solve X: a series of threads talking about various topics and crisis like migration, climate change, income inequality, etc with the explicit purpose the thread is not to talk about politics, politicians or the validity of such a problem but merely different ideas and solutions that could be undertaken to solve the problem.

Will need to think more on this one

 

[Grey Wind]

I agree with Her. I know I pretty much just lurk nowadays, but it's also difficult to insert yourself into a conversation when the same two/three people are just gonna go around in circles debating their usual shit.

 

[Her]

Well, since you asked, I would have intervened months ago and removed/masked the people that are patently incapable of approaching topics with good faith. I would have chosen decreased activity with the hope of gradual revitalisation as opposed to maintaining activity in which 85% of it is directly toxic to discussion and off-putting to other members.

Intervention is not something to be afraid of. I get the hesitance because you guys have tried to be hands off unless someone is throwing around slurs or such things, but you're now in a situation where not tackling the root cause of the issue has dried up the section. I feel for you guys, but at the same time, I personally don't consider it a hard decision.

 

[gimmepie]

Please do not use this thread to discuss problems with specific members. Any concerns of that nature should be taken to myself, Nah or an admin privately.

As for the current trend of turning every single thread into heavily-biased, heavily-partisan argument even when partisan politics has little to nothing to do with the discussion, we have already started coming down on that are are working on improving in that area. I'll say again though, that if people want that change to happen, they're going to need to be a part of making that change happen with their own posting habits.

 

[Her]

Just to nitpick because why not. While I agree, this is not a 'specific members' issue if they're not just the only ones left, but also merely the latest in a long chain. By that stage, the dire lack of any good faith discussion is closer to an in-section culture problem, which is why I've been careful to not label any one person since that would detract from my point.

 

[Nah]

I personally don't consider it a hard decision.

I can imagine why it wouldn't be a hard decision for you, but that doesn't mean that it is or should be for everyone else. I have concerns about the likelihood that it will actually pay off, and of the precedent it would set.

 

[Her]

I can imagine why it wouldn't be a hard decision for you, but that doesn't mean that it is or should be for everyone else. I have concerns about the likelihood that it will actually pay off, and of the precedent it would set.

And the internal discussion should be considered wisely, of course. My own thoughts of the ease of such things aren't relevant.