Proposal: Sub-Divide the OMNI Forum
 

Given the recent controversy and debate that erupted in the Comments Welcome: Voting Underway - Don't Count OMNI Posts In Member Post Counts thread, I thought that I would introduce the following proposal, to which I have posted to FlyerTalk more than once, in its own thread:

Consider sub-dividing the OMNI forum.

What I propose can be found in the following quote from what I posted last year:Of course, this idea can always be tweaked and improved.

I am interested in reading opinions related to this proposal.

What do you think?

Since you asked :p

It's bad enough that I have to open one Omni forum; but now, click on additional forums or sub-forums :confused:
I'll pass.

dh

Ditto. Another "solution" in search of a real "problem."

How many moderators is it going to take to keep people from posting in the wrong places?

Another solution that doesn't have a problem to solve.

Another opportunity for more fuss and fury.

I've got to applaud the folks like Canarsie who are at least advancing suggestions and ideas. And who are giving this issue some critical thought.

Whether or not OMNI needs a face lift or a restructuring is debatable. But that's kind of what we do in these TB threads......debate.

This is sort of blue-sky country where we can throw out all kinds of ideas.

And if your idea is that OMNI doesn't have to change, then let's hear it. And the reasons why.

I'm not so sure that the "If it isn't broke, then don't fix it" argument applies here as there were a lot of suggestions about restructuring OMNI in the OMNI post count thread. But if you disagree, let's hear from you.

I don't have a big issue with how OMNI is currently organized but I think we need to keep an eye on the future and make sure that the current OMNI is in tune with the direction, purpose and growth of FT.

On the surface this idea looks really good to me. Obviously some of the details would have to be hammered out but I like this a lot.

It gets annoying to goto OMNI and have to wade through two pages of new posts to find the topics I'm interested in (when I really dont care about what games are being played.)

And on the topic of moderators I am willing to volunteer my services as needed. I dont have a ton of posts here but I have a couple of other message boards with long track records of me being a moderator which I will provide links to on request.

I don't like the idea of having the political/religious section unmoderated. I do like the idea of not having the "Report Bad Post" button working.

Randy should remain there as moderator and be free to hand out suspensions if he sees something that goes beyond all boundaries. On the other hand, getting rid of the button will cut down on the amount of work he has.

I have no issue with sub-dividing OMNI. We do it with other forums, why not with OMNI?

But I do have reservations about taking away the Report Bad Post button for any forum on FT. Topics and posts already get heated enough, just wait until we say that here's you an unmoderated area to go at it. Also, if there is no Report Bad Post button, then how would RP know there is a thread/post that needs a little bit of attention? Email? PMs directly to him? I'm not a moderator, so I don't know how the system formats/sends the Bad Post report, but I suspect that all we would be doing is either shifting the Bad Post load to a different media, or even worse, not moderating at all and thus potentially allowing posts that may be "beyond all boundaries."

I'm not an OMNI regular; it's not why I come to FT, and I don't have time to hang out there. But I have found useful information via search a couple of times.

However, I'm not in favor of people gaining evangelist status primarily through playing counting games. I think it devalues the title and reputation. From what I read in the motion thread to drop posts from OMNI, that was a major point for those who were in favor of it. So why not move the games to a separate subforum where they don't count toward post count?

Omni is fine as is... There's no need for a separate forum for each genre… Its time people stop taking post counts as some elite status with Flyertalk..

That is part of the point of this proposal:

• Threads in the proposed Humor and Games sub-forum do not need to count towards one’s “Post Count”, and that would be easy enough to implement.
• Information would be much easier to find, in my opinion, if the OMNI forum was sub-divided.

When I first launched this thread, I fully expected candid and passionate responses to this proposal on both sides. I have met at least two of the FlyerTalk members who have already voiced their partial or complete opposition to this proposal in this thread, and their thoughts are perfectly fine. I appreciate the honesty!

By no means is this proposal perfect. However, FlyerTalk members are famous — or infamous — for improving upon and perfecting an idea that is publicly posted on FlyerTalk. This proposal was posted to get everybody thinking — not to “create a solution to find a problem”. I was taught a long time ago in art school to think “way beyond the box” and come up with ideas that are practically impossible, then “pull back” and think about what can feasibly be done — if anything at all, and that is what I am attempting to do here.

By the way, the idea for this proposal originally came about when there was the possibility that the OMNI forum may yet again be closed. While this is certainly not the case at this time, it is something about which we may want to consider as a possibility in the future that we may want to prevent. Although I am not a prolific poster in the OMNI forum, I would be against its closure.

Please keep posting your opinions and thoughts here, whether you are for or against this proposal, or if there is any way you believe this proposal can be improved.

Thank you in advance.

We're still putting the cart in front of the horse.

What is (are) the problem(s) we are trying to solve?

linsj expressed one issue clearly:

...people gaining evangelist status primarily through playing counting games.

I'd like to see a list of (and agreement on) everything that is perceived to be broken, then we can consider fixes.

I don't feel there has to be a specific problem in order to discuss improving OMNI or any other aspects of FT.

We can start with the assumption that no part of FT is perfect or as good as it gets. And then look at ways to improve the user experience.

Maybe nothing comes out of this exercise but then again maybe we'll trip over an idea or two that makes sense, has general acceptance and can be implemented.

Those of us who have been FT'ers for the last several years have seen at least two major facelifts of the website as well as dozens and dozens of minor tweaks.

Was FT problematic or broken?? Not always but that didn't mean the HOM staff sat on their laurels and patted each other on the back.

They are constantly looking at ways to improve FT from the technical standpoint. And I feel we should always be on the lookout for ways to improve FT from the content and structural aspects.

The concern that I have always had with trying to spike-out religion and politics threads on OMNI is that makes one large assumption -- that such threads are easily identifiable. In some cases they are, but not all the time.

For example, how should a thread on a contraversial historical event be treated?

Can I suggest the somewhat obvious tweak on Canarsie's suggestion. Divide Omni, but into two not four areas (and not as sub forums, but two independent forums). Omni and FT Games. Omni remains post count and all the other "values" of FT and FT Games is the only non-counting forum.

I agree with what everyone is saying that there should be a problem to solve and while I am still dubious why this really is a problem, there seems to be a significant number of people who have real angst from the posts gotten via the games (counting, next member and so on). The games do have a different kind of merit, particularly when stuck oin the road in a hotel and I dont think they should be removed from FT but putting them in their own clearly defined area makes sense.

With respect to Canarsie though I have to say that the other divisions sounds like chaos to me and I agree with whomever said it that they would be a moderation nightmare, not to mention a readers nightmare, do I put this here or here and when it gets moved around by mods...nope just please do 2 divisions.

And DO NOT make the removal of counts retroactive, just make it apply going forward, what is done is done, leave it alone. The posts were earned let them stay, please.

I really hope the TB will give this serious consideration!!!