Originally Posted by
cblaisd
I continue to wonder why the fixation on thread-count as the sole blunt instrument quantitiative measure of this or any forum.
I think tradition plays a part in that. I remember advocating for a Virgin America forum 7-8 years ago and one Talk Board member kept encouraging me to post links to threads appearing across the forums of FT, some in the Virgin Atlantic forum and others in places like Travel Buzz. I started with about 10 threads but that wasn't enough. He wouldn't tell me what the magic number of threads was to get a new forum, so it was basically "I'll know it when I see it" and that I should keep on posting links.
There still aren't any fixed metrics as to when we get a new forum, but the linking of threads in other forums to show demand dates back years. In some recent discussions, metrics don't come into play at all, so maybe it is time to no longer request those numbers/threads when trying to create a new forum. I don't know what you'd replace it with, though. What criteria would you use to create a South African Airways forum, for instance, if not metrics showing demand? A new transparent forum creation policy could address that.
The Talk Board also prepares an annual activity report to review underutilized forums, though I can't find a report for this year (the 2011-2104 reports are available). Metrics clearly factor into that report.
I don't care if they take metrics off the table, but if you're going to do that publish new forum creation criteria that we can all work with.