LTN Phobia

I have noticed that there is no general USA forum in the Destinations section and the USA-related forums are divided into states.

However I have noticed that there are quite a few general topics on the USA or those that span multiple US states that don't fit into any of the specific forums.

Therefore, I'd like to suggest creating a general USA forum.

CMK10

Hmm, I've never thought of this, can you give some examples of threads that don't fit into the current regional forums?

tcook052

Aren't the regional U.S. forums able to handle multiple state queries? West, Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, etc. all seem to me broad enough to cover locations within those areas that don't have a dedicated forum so not sure we would need to add a generic USA forum. Just MHO.

SanDiego1K

Here's why I think Talkboard should consider a USA forum. We have an Asia forum, a Europe forum, a South America forum, and Africa. But we have no USA forum. I suspect that in the early years FT was dominated by Americans who had a sense of where they wanted to travel. Now we are a 60:40 split between those in the US and those outside. I expect that the more global questions would come from them. "Can I drive from New York to Chicago and what should I see enroute?" "Should I combine Boston, San Francisco, and Orlando?" Mods for international airlines sometimes see a question re travel in the US that doesn't tidily fit into any of the boxes which we've carved out. They would like to move it on, but the lack of a USA forum leaves them wondering where.

For a quick look at the Destination forum, look here.

mia

Agreed, and there may also be questions which are not destination-specific but cause pre-trip anxiety, including: language, etiquette, emergency medical treatment, money, credit cards, tipping, etc

goalie

I think SanDiego1K's comments below cover it as the way I see it, the "USA" forum would be the catch all for overlaps or "just USA" posts 'n questions and etc (kind like there is a California forum which contains both San Francisco and Los Angeles as sub-forums so using that logic, it would be a USA forum with the current cities & regions as subforums

Well said Boss ^

SkiAdcock

I hadn't either, as I assumed the regional areas covered it. Something to consider though.

Your point re: there not being a forum for generic USA questions is a valid one & is certainly something to consider given the current 60:40 ratio. One question that comes to mind is, will it get enough traffic to make it a viable forum? If one is created, then the forum description will need to clarify that it's for general USA questions & potentially a mod assigned to switch threads that are more region specific to the appropriate sub-forums. I'd be supportive of this.

Aren't those items currently covered in TravelBuzz?

Cheers.

kipper

If someone has general questions about driving cross country, from Florida to California, where do they post those questions now? Do they have to try to divide them up by geographic location? What if it's a, "What are not-to-miss stops along the route?" or such, where they aren't really in a hurry to get to California, so they're willing to have shorter days of driving?

tcook052

How many of those threads are there at present?

As would I as I could see many questions being posted in a generic U.S. forum instead of the more appropriate regional forums that are already in place.

SkiAdcock

I'm a bit confused. I said I'd be supportive of the general USA forum. You say you would be as well, but then the rest of your sentence implies that you think the regional forums are the appropriate place. Or are you referring to having a mod to move threads to regional if needed?

Cheers.

tcook052

Yes, I am. As I said earlier I'm not convinced this is needed but if it goes ahead I would like to see threads posted in the general USA forum that could better be housed in the regional subforums moved there.

SkiAdcock

I don't think anyone was really suggesting leaving sub-forum specific threads in the general forum. If created, it would consist of threads that don't quite fit into the regional forums such as kipper's example above.

Cheers.

kipper

I don't know, and after the past week that I've had, I'm not taking the time to count right now.

Cholula

I would tend to favor a USA Forum for many of the reasons outlined thus far.

Surprised that this hasn't come up sooner.

CMK10

I think it hasn't come up sooner because the regional threads tend to take in a lot of traffic and then what doesn't go there, ends up in TravelBuzz. Also, outside of New York City, Las Vegas and California, there regional threads don't get much activity. I check South and West fairly regularly and there are sometimes a whole week that passes without a post. Is there really enough traffic for a General USA forum?

I also note that I asked a few posts ago for some examples of threads that should have gone there and no one has posted any.