Thread closures/News Stories

[Jerry S]

I noticed lately that threads get closed when somebody puts it in a news article on the front page. While I do understand the point of that, nobody really uses the news stories as much as they do the threads. For example:

http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/...closing-2.html

I would like to speculate about that, but it was closed, while at the same time only two people replied to the news story. Can we maybe leave some topics open, especially when it involves speculation about the future of a park and/or ride? I'm sure I'm not the only person who would like to know more about Ozark Wildcat.

[Brian F]

You should have added your speculation in the discussion under the news story.

I see your point, but it doesn't make much sense to have two discussions about the same thing.

[Phil]

I don't understand why we don't have a "News Discussion" forum, where there is a link to the story's thread at the bottom of the page instead of the comments. Seems like that would work much better to generate actual discussion, but there must be reasons as to why that isn't being done.

[Steven]

We have been finding a way to make it so the news and forums share the same comment system. However, the news pages have their own discussion threads right on the page, and it has been standard policy from the beginning that the news posting takes precedence over the forum post. Since we can't move the discussion, the only other option is to close it and redirect it to the news post. Enforcement of this has been lax until recently. Also, if you look on all other news sites, people comment directly within the story... not link to a forum post. It's a lot more efficient all around.

Furthermore, if you want to see it posted on the news page, you should submit it, and we usually take it and post it, while giving you credit. Also, and I have said this time and time again... the forums should not be the center of the site.

[I love DW]

I have wondered this too. There needs to be some way like the forum though that you can see when a new comment is made about a news story. Because most news stories do not have nearly the in depth discussion as the threads do. I for one usually forget about it all together and just read the article and post no comment even if I have one now because I know the discussion really never gets off the ground.

[Steven]

Again... we have been trying to find a way to integrate it better... however, we have not had much luck in this field. Until then, the current system remains in place.

[Brian F]

Originally Posted by I love DW

I for one usually forget about it all together and just read the article and post no comment even if I have one now because I know the discussion really never gets off the ground.

Guess why it never gets off the ground. Make your comments, then see what happens.

[Jerry S]

I don't see why it needs to be closed just because it isn't that popular of a thread, it's not like it's problematic. It seems like t would be better to not have comments in the news stories at all because they never get too far.

[Chip]

There have been plenty of news stories that have a good discussion.

The reason we close threads is because the forums aren't all the site is. If it's that difficult to comment on a news story, then don't. It's pretty much the same system as the forums, as in it's a threaded comment system.

You can carry your conversations over to the news article if the thread is closed. It's no big deal. I think part of the plan ahead is to better integrate the two -- the forums and the news articles.

But for now, there's no real need to make a fuss. Don't post news in the forums. Try submitting a story. We do check them and post them, and we give you credit for the story (or at least we should).

[Steven]

It's not about popularity... it's about keeping news where it belongs... in the main part of the site.

[sfft_2108]

I know how yall want the site not to be centered around the forums and try to integrate other sections of the site, but the truth is, the forum is what powers this site. Its the main reason why I come here. I hate seeing a news article be published in the news section and It not have a single comment. If the news were some how integrated in the forums, it would open up a lot more discussion about the topic instead of just sitting there unread and not commented on. The matter of fact is, the forum is the main focus for a lot of people. Something needs to be done.

[Steven]

I've heard enough of the excuses... now we're talking sheer laziness...

I have always said that people who jump straight to the forums are missing out on the rest of the site, and really, people who do so get so focused just on the forums. We have a homepage that acts as a portal to the rest of the site, which includes the most active forums at the moment, the active discussions in Construction, the most recent news, recent SpeedZone uploads, and a featured thrill ride (whether it'd be a coaster or a flat).

The real problem, and you as members aren't seeing this or are refusing to see this, is that you continue to go straight to the forums, and when news happens, you post it on the forums instead of submitting it as news. If you think you're contributing by doing stuff like that, you're really not. In fact, you're hurting a lot of people by doing that, and I'm not just talking the staff of editors who work their ass off trying to keep the news updated (and trust me, you are doing them a huge disservice by not going to the news stories)... I'm talking your fellow members that actually do go to the homepage. Then, you wonder why there are periods of no news... it's all because you're not giving them any attention. Wes, Chip, James R, and especially Alex deserve a hell of a lot more respect than you're giving them.

I even added a forum link... "News Discussion"... and you all ignore it. You may say there's no news there, but you're still posting it in Roller Coasters or Parks, and you're not doing anyone any favors by doing that.

As others have said... there have been stories with a few comments, but there have been stories where there had been a large number of comments (like multiple pages... you see 20 comments per page, so there have been 60-80 or more posts on an article at times). You can't say that no one is going there. There are even other members posting strictly on the news stories... you should get to know them.

Seriously... do I have to force people to go straight to the main site when they link directly to the forums? I can set it up to do so very easily. I may just set that up during the next time I do site maintenance now that I think about it.

And you wonder why I can be such an ass on here at times.

[Brian F]

Besides, it's pretty stupid to have the same thing being discussed in two different places.

If you have something worthwhile to say, comment under the story. If not, don't.

[sfft_2108]

I know there are other parts to this site, but aren't the forums the main focus? Don't say there are other parts of the site, just tell me that the forums are the main focus, because I'm pretty sure they are. Speedzone has been dead for awhile. Just not much interest in it anymore. TN Jobs? It was a nice idea, but It probably needs to be removed. The latest job offer was in 2007-11-15? The store is pretty much outdated also. Ride and Park DB. Never visit much, be seems like it gets a lot of traffic. Then now tell me that the forums aren't the main focus.

I'm not saying that Wes, Chip, James R, and Alex are worthless. It would be more reasonable if the news Is posted in the forums. Its obviously the main focus of the site. I'm curious as to how Wes, James and Alex feel on this issue.

[Andrew P]

Wow...just wow.

The thing that brought me to this site in the first place was the rumors. I believe that was on the main site. Forums were secondary to me.

[Chip]

Sfft, if a news article is posted on the news section but not on the forums, and there's a lengthy discussion going on, do you just totally miss it? If so, that's what Steven's saying. There's a lot more news posted in news than on the forums.

Try your hand at submitting a story. If it's posted, and you see your name on it and it gets good discussion, how is that different from posting a thread?

You're being nitpicky. Just visit this link and tell me how many of those stories appeared on the forums.

[Steven]

I totally disagree with you SFFT...

- TN Jobs: You are right... nothing has been done about that. Of course, a lot of it has to do with that we were trying it as an idea (the TNJobs home has a beta on it)... we are shutting it down.
- SpeedZone: It's holding its own, it has its niche crowd
- The store: We're not marketing experts, and no one wants to lift a finger to say what you want to see in it. So yeah, it gets stagnant.
- The Database: Some of you go to RCDB... yeah that's fine. But, we do have users that use ours, and we are working to extend it further. I personally use it because a) I'm already on the site and b) I find it to be informative for what I need 99% of the time. I hardly ever go to RCDB myself anymore.
- Again, the news: If you want to see a news story posted... submit it as news. If you can't do that... then I'm sorry. The policy is there so we avoid duplicate discussion, and people don't have to go to two places to discuss the same damned thing.

In the end, you all bypass the homepage and head straight for the forums. I'm dead serious when I say I will force everyone to the homepage next time I do site maintenance, because we have done everything to make it easier for all of you to do that... even from the forums. We've even called on more help to handle the stories... instead people continued to post them on the forums. All this has served to do is prove how lazy you all are. If you quit using TN as a result... fine, but that will open it up for those who actually can use the features of this site the way they were intended.

Unless you can convince me otherwise, I'm making the changes this weekend, which is the next scheduled maintenance.

End of story.

[sfft_2108]

I'm just saying It will create even more discussion on the topic, If it were in the forums.

Of course there is going to be more news in the news section, because Its obviously not allowed in the forums.

But can yall just agree that the forums are the main focus and people use it the most?

If someone just uses the Park and Ride DB and not the forums, shouldn't they be critized, because they aren't using all the other "Features". I'm sure they are lazy.

I've pretty much have used every feature on this site. So. I don't think I'm lazy because I just like to use the forums now.

All I have said is that It would create more discussion if news was posted in the forums.

[Chip]

I disagree with you on that, sfft. I don't believe there'd be more discussion if the news were posted on the forums. Do you expect every news item to get 50 posts? No. Not every thread gets that.

Look at the news articles. The latest Six Flags article has 11 replies. The Granite Park article from Oct. 26 has none. Look at the Hard Rock park stories. Those get lots of replies since it's a hot topic.

But Steven's right. It's coming down to laziness on your part and stubbornness. Is it really that difficult to venture outside the forums? Because if it is, then stop arguing with us.

I do agree with you in saying the forums are the central focus of the site. Thrillnetwork.com is my home page, but I click on the forums if there's no news I care about. Most of the people who visit this site visit the forums, but there are people who don't post on the forums. Some only use the database or SpeedZone. Do I think they're not getting the most out of the site? Of course. I don't know how you can even visit TN without stopping at the forums.

But you're being a bit irrational. If it's really that difficult to click on the "News" link on the top of the site, then just stay on the forums and miss out on the news.

I think you should give it a try. It's a threaded forum system (yes, I feel it could be better integrated, but our coder's busy and resources are limited). Try finding a news article somewhere on the Web and submitting it.