fiona

Is it possible to get a subforum for UK posters? I have posted in OMNI but often feel that the majority of threads I can't take part in. The BA forum is very lively but I dont see many of the UK members from it on OMNI-perhaps a UK OMNI would fill a gap?

lin821

If we apply this logic, wouldn't we need regional subsets under each forum on FT? Should we then have OMNI Asia? OMNI Canada? What about AA Europe?

I recall somewhere else one or two Canadian FTers had asked ways/places to discuss deals for Canadians as well.

It's a fact FT are outnumbered by Americans. It's not just in OMNI, quite a few deals in SPAM Forum are only good in the United States. Credit card offers bundled with huge signup bonuses are usually US-based.

Even though I don't post much in OMNI, I do recognize a few OMNIites that are based in UK. OMNI is popular but allow me to say not every FTer steps in OMNI or OMNI/PR, either before or after the googleable OMNI (since 10/20/08).

Having said that, I think OMNI can be global. Like the bugger drunk thread; Susan Boyle thread; Rudi's Swiss German word thread; even the Europe more racist thread.

There's no limit (within FT TOS of course) on the topics you can open up for discussion. Just jump in. And if your topics/threads attract FTers, UK-based or not, they'll take off! Even non-Americans can participate in American-centric OMNI threads.

I don't think we need any regional subforum in OMNI or OMNI/PR.

tcook052

Disagree completely with the premise of further dividing up OMNI as I feel it most definately unnecessary.

wharvey

Fiona,

There are lots of members who participate on the hotel/airline forums who do not visit OMNI... so your BA argument could apply to any of the travel related forums.

In addition, you are free to start any thread in OMNI... so not sure why you cannot participate. I see many members from around the world participating in the OMNI threadsd.

I do hope that we do not start segmenting OMNI.

Jenbel

wharvey is right - you are free to start any thread in OMNI, just be prepared for it to be talking about the US by post 8 if it isn't about the US, Iraq or Israel. That's the reality of OMNI.

Mind you, we actually had a UK budget thread in which no-one mentioned the US until post 22 - that was almost a record for a thread supposedly about the UK!

fiona

I understand the problems there would be and so will have to resign myself that I am actually on a US website. I did in my early days try to start up threads but the forum is really fast moving and so many threads do get lost if no-one immediately adds to them. Still, I will just continue to use the other forums and leave OMNI to the Americans.

wharvey

Fiona,

You have only started one thread in OMNI in the past 2 1/2 years (assuming Search is working right). Tough to say we should have a UK OMNI Forum with that lackluster posting.

It appears as the other 18 threads you posted got responses.... some a great deal.

I find the appeal of OMNI is that it is fast moving... threads that are not interested are relegated to go off the front page.... but often get rebumped.

I guess I just do not see the "volume" to justify another separate forum.

William

fiona

Yes I am aware that I haven't posted in OMNI recently. If you read my last post it refers to me posting in my early days. I have also explained why I dont post in OMNI any more. I would assume that, as there is not a volume to justify a subforum and yet there are a huge number of UK members, that most of them have similar feelings.
I have also posted that I do understand the reasoning given here for not creating a subforum. It was just a suggestion.

Cholula

fiona, as some of the others have said, you are free to start an OMNI thread and name it anything you like. Call it the OMNI/UK Lounge Thread or even the OMNI/UK Sub-Forum Thread.

Anybody would be free to post in it but with UK in the title I’d guess that it would be mostly UK folks.

Just a random thought on your question.

fiona

good idea^

kokonutz

What can we say, we Americans are nothing if not narcissists: enough about how we feel about America...how do YOU feel about America.

For better or for worse, OMNI/UK exists more or less in the form of 'BA/OT:'

And from all I have heard and seen that seems to work for the most part. Far off topic BA/OT:s do get relegated to OMNI but that seems fairly rare.

I think that any discussion of making OMNI more UK-friendly would necessarily involve making BA less OT: friendly, and I don't believe that many UK posters would welcome that change.

If I am incorrect on that point, however, I expect I will soon be corrected!

NickB

kokonutz is spot on, imo: OMNI, as a rule, simply does not work for UK-focused threads and, therefore, these threads tend to end up in UK-centric fora, chiefly BA. As long as moderation remains moderate in these fora, the system works reasonably well.

wharvey

I still do not understand why OMNI does not work for UK focused threads..... I see many UK members posting in OMNI.... they are not shy....

Jenbel

Then you haven't tried to follow any threads which are predominantly UK orientated.

The most likely outcomes are:
a) most OMNI posters don't care so the thread goes nowhere
b) those OMNI posters who are interested may not know an awful lot about the subject, so any serious discussion is subsumed by explanations of very basic things like how the House of Lords work (how would political discussions about the US go if you could never get beyond explaining how the US government works?) or exploring the tax status of the Royal Family (which seems of much more concern to some Americans than any British person I know!)
c) invariably, we are patronisingly told that either the US does it better (where 'it' is the subject under discussion) or we, the British responding, don't really understand our own country (admittedly, this is a new phenomenon, but it is a little bit frustrating) as some American tells us how it really is in the UK - our experiences and understanding notwithstanding (cf any thread in which the NHS gets mentioned, likewise any thread about how Christmas is celebrated in the UK)
d) than handful of UK or UK based posters get fed up with a-c happening and wander off to read yet another thread about waterboarding.

Really, there aren't 'many' UK based posters who post regularly - there's probably about half a dozen, plus a handful more who post semi-regularly. That's not enough to create a sub-culture within OMNI, so the only ones who remain are those who are sufficiently interested in discussing all aspects of US life in excrutiating detail. And if we ask basic questions about the US political system in doing so, we get referred to google And with that the status quo, and other, UK-centric forum to spend time on, then the British are highly unlikely to adopt OMNI in any great number, and any attempt to force UK OMNI-type threads from their refugia is likely to just stop those type of threads occurring.

lin821

I would say it also applies to all non-US based posters.

It's a given Americans are the majority on FT. The rest of us are all "minorities." In order to have a sub-culture or "culture corner" in OMNI, you got to have enough posters from the same culture/country/region/class/language that are willing to participate in OMNI regularly and share similar interests. Plus, the minorities have to be strong enough to defend the U.S. "invasion."

Factor in all of these, I doubt there are enough active non-US based "players" out there.