DeAndre Jordan 360 Dunk

[Andrew]

Another vine, for your enjoyment.


https://vine.co/v/e0UwEl9Br5Y

[Kevin]

love the part when the slow motion started and see the sweat particles flying around.

[bowdown]

Impressive athlete and I would be a fan of his if he wasn't an abrasive douche. And somewhat off track..


Sorry Andrew but this whole making a new thread for every minor tid bit isn't as good as the one major thread. I used to log in every day and read that NBA Season thread. But now the only person who will bother to make a thread about something like this is you or maybe another moderator. Reality is most people will skip creating a new thread about something like this and therefore not as many interesting discussions will flow due to it.

[Andrew]

I'm sorry you feel that way. The thing is, having just one thread to encompass a season's worth of discussions can be somewhat daunting to new users, and it's kind of a waste of having a whole section for NBA discussion when all the conversation is happening in one thread. There's a time and a place for catch-all threads, but they also have their drawbacks. When multiple discussions are trying to take place within one thread, it gets crowded, confusing, and it definitely doesn't lead to better or more interesting discussions, because you have maybe one or two posts max on one topic before someone else raises another one. Central threads stifle discussion and overall Forum activity; encouraging the creation of specific threads does not.

If people aren't creating threads, it's because we've established an unfortunate trend with an overuse of central catch-all threads in years gone by. Frankly, there's also too much of a focus on who has created the thread. Take for example some of the threads that CoryMach7 has created recently. Have they all been topics that can spark good, lengthy discussion? No, not always. Have many of them started out by offering up opinions that left many of us scratching our heads? Certainly. But instead of providing counterpoints, or simply running with the topic and posting our own opinions, the focus has been on disparaging the opinion in the original post, and grumbling about the quality of the posts. This doesn't set a good example, nor help new posters feel welcome or get better as posters.

It's an adjustment, and it will take some time. But there's a definite and obvious drawback to the overuse of central discussion threads. We'll continue to monitor the situation and try to gauge when it's appropriate, but there's a reason for the change.

[bowdown]

Central threads stifle discussion and overall Forum activity; encouraging the creation of specific threads does not.



It's an adjustment, and it will take some time. But there's a definite and obvious drawback to the overuse of central discussion threads. We'll continue to monitor the situation and try to gauge when it's appropriate, but there's a reason for the change.

I don't know about you Andrew but last two season I was very excited to go into the NBA season thread and see what people had to say about recent games and performances. You just have to look at the last two Random NBA Discussion threads to see they had been very popular averaging about 20 pages.

I have rarely seen any single topic threads (especially in the NBA section) having expansive discussions that are any much more different than a catch all NBA season thread. Everybody just drops by and gives their 2 cents. Once in a while you have guys arguing that lengthens the discussion.

This season when someone is excited about a good performance from one of the players they like they won't have anywhere to post it. Who is going to make a new thread about Noah Vonleh scoring 25/10 in a game? If people don't feel like they can freely post they won't even bother coming to the NBA section much.

You are right about other catch-all threads stifling discussion (ones that have been running for a decade) but a single thread for a single NBA season actually makes the NBA section in these forums more worthwhile for me.

Not to mention when a big story does break out people can always make a new thread and discuss it separately.

[Andrew]

I don't know about you Andrew but last two season I was very excited to go into the NBA season thread and see what people had to say about recent games and performances. You just have to look at the last two Random NBA Discussion threads to see they had been very popular averaging about 20 pages.

Yes, because that's the way we'd been doing things for a few years, and thus it became the norm. It used to be that we'd create new threads to talk about topics that interested us; we'd have central threads for certain events like All-Star Weekend, or a specific Playoff series, but if something happened that we wanted to talk about, and there wasn't a thread for it already, someone would create one.

I have rarely seen any single topic threads (especially in the NBA section) having expansive discussions that are any much more different than a catch all NBA season thread. Everybody just drops by and gives their 2 cents. Once in a while you have guys arguing that lengthens the discussion.

Because as a community, we'd grown accustomed to using catch-all threads. There's no room for discussions to expand when it all takes place in a single thread. We're no longer used to it.

This season when someone is excited about a good performance from one of the players they like they won't have anywhere to post it. Who is going to make a new thread about Noah Vonleh scoring 25/10 in a game? If people don't feel like they can freely post they won't even bother coming to the NBA section much.

But there is a place to post it: the NBA & Basketball section, the section that's here to talk about anything and everything related to the NBA and basketball. Considering that anyone can create new threads and start a discussion about anything they're interested in talking about, everyone is able to freely post about whatever it is that interests them. The lack of a central thread doesn't prevent that. Some threads will be more popular than others, some more open to debate, but that doesn't matter. When there's a thread regarding a certain topic, people know exactly what it's about, and can decide whether they're interested in talking about that or not.

What we're looking for here is balance: moving away from a reliance on catch-all threads, but still making good use of them. Is it possible that we're swinging too far in the opposite direction? Certainly, but there's a reason for it, and we're still trying to find that balance. You say that having a central thread for season discussion makes the NBA section worthwhile for you. Fair enough, that's feedback that I can and will take on board, but there's also the problem of people coming to the off-topic sections, only seeing a few active threads including one that's a few months old and has a lot of posts about a variety of subjects, and thinking "Well, there's not much activity here, except in the one thread I'm late to the party on, so I'm not going to bother".

Either way, someone feels that the Forum isn't as fun or welcoming as it should be. A central thread for the season discussion is fine in theory, but when all the discussion takes place there, we might as well just have the one off-topic section, with a couple of NBA threads. With central threads, I think that some discussions don't really get much of a chance. It can also make people reluctant to post, on the chance that they might post something in the wrong place or overlook the "correct" thread, and be chastised or even ostracised for a simple mistake.

Having said all that, I would rather have this dialogue than not, to hear what you and others have to say, so that I can work out the best solution moving forward. If there's a way we can make good use of the central threads while also encouraging people to create new threads about topics that they're interested in, and not restricting all activity to a single thread in a section, then that would be the way to go.

[NovU]

I was actually looking forward to see "NBA 2015 Random Talk" thread though. I know Kevin was being a dick about it to break the tradition of bowdown creating the thread and timing was bit too early as "2015 preseason" thread should have come first, but as bowdown said, it is a thread where I can say little things like Game I watched yesterday was boring or fun, or stuff like if it wasn't for Mario's boneheaded play the Heat could have won the game (sure I do this usually on Heat thread but you get the point on less fortunate/popular teams like Bucks or Bobcats). So I think central thread like bowdown's random discussion stimulates the discussion in many ways.

I still appreciate Andrew trying to make changes for the better and thread makers should be encouraged at all levels. Kevin is one guy I came to like for that reason. On and off we have mandich who does a good job every now and then. And corymach is a new phenom in this forum and should be encouraged (I would urge people to not resort to personal attack too much though little fun is always ok). Then there's that guy benji who's known to make crap thread but would often resort to trolling so people leave him alone. That said, there's no such a thing as stupid thread or comment. Have you guys been to other forums? People would go extent to share their opinions and stories. Shit should be same here as we have different ages to personality. Something you might not think is mature or fun, it may be very well so to some other people.

As for the balance of "central" and "individual" thread, I get Andrew's point as I also have felt that we have leaning toward "central" thread bit too much. For instance I have been posting minor trade comment using random talk thread. I will make corrections in my habit from now on.

[Andrew]

There's definitely value in them. Ideally, we could have a central thread for a few things like that, yet still encourage people to make other threads, and spin off discussions. We can always split discussions from a central thread, but it'd be good if people could get into the habit of creating new threads when there's something they really want to talk about, that isn't being discussed anywhere else.

Anyway, it's food for thought, and I do appreciate the feedback. I'll mull it over, and let's see if we can strike a good balance.

[benji]

Since that thread was locked before I could reply and I see you guys discussing it in here.

I just want to point out, it's not the fucking 2016-17 season. That's a year away.

[Axel]

Impressive athlete and I would be a fan of his if he wasn't an abrasive douche. And somewhat off track..


Sorry Andrew but this whole making a new thread for every minor tid bit isn't as good as the one major thread. I used to log in every day and read that NBA Season thread. But now the only person who will bother to make a thread about something like this is you or maybe another moderator. Reality is most people will skip creating a new thread about something like this and therefore not as many interesting discussions will flow due to it.

I disagree thoroughly. This forum needs more discussion. I know I'll be posting a lot more once the season starts up, and having one thread for all discussion topics seems pointless with the level of traffic here.

[mp3]

Impressive athlete and I would be a fan of his if he wasn't an abrasive douche. And somewhat off track..


Sorry Andrew but this whole making a new thread for every minor tid bit isn't as good as the one major thread. I used to log in every day and read that NBA Season thread. But now the only person who will bother to make a thread about something like this is you or maybe another moderator. Reality is most people will skip creating a new thread about something like this and therefore not as many interesting discussions will flow due to it.

I disagree thoroughly. This forum needs more discussion. I know I'll be posting a lot more once the season starts up, and having one thread for all discussion topics seems pointless with the level of traffic here.

This.

By all means have a 15/16 season thread but sometimes if your not checking it every day then you miss posts like this because it make be a page or so back, having both season and random tipbit threads to highlight clips like this imo help the discussion because people may be more drawn to this thread title than pages of game threads.

[air gordon]

It would be nice to have a centralized thread for the off season signings, especially once the leftovers leftovers are all that's left.

12th man type signings were merely 2nd hand news vs something to spark discussion, especially when the user creating the post was just posting a link.

My lazy self views the forum on the mobile version so in the offseason it was just cluttered with threads of scrubs signing and I missed a few of those cool greatest #'s threads

And please sticky the Bulls thread lol

[Andrew]

See? Who says posting a quick clip of a dunk can't spark some good discussion?

Appreciate the input, everyone. It certainly gives the team and I something to think about as we continue to fine tune policy and our approach to central threads. If anyone else has an opinion, by all means speak up, so that we can figure out the best possible approach moving forward.

[bowdown]

Fyi if I hadn't created some waves about this issue people wouldn't have been "awakened" to make more threads in the NBA section. So either way I get some credit which is really what I was after. Thanks.

[mp3]

Why are people today scared to create there own threads?

This is a forum of discussion like freedom of speech

[Kevin]

Not really scared to create, just too lazy to do it. Plus, I like seeing organized threads where for example, Thread A is for Random NBA stuff that's currently happening and then Thread B would be for other stuff like "NLSC Award Predictions blah-blah". I don't like creating threads just for the sake of telling people that somebody scored 15 points in their debut game or something like that. Just how I feel, not trying to say anything bad about it.

[shadowgrin]

All these and yet no one thought of the children. Please think of the children.

[Andrew]

Not really scared to create, just too lazy to do it. Plus, I like seeing organized threads where for example, Thread A is for Random NBA stuff that's currently happening and then Thread B would be for other stuff like "NLSC Award Predictions blah-blah". I don't like creating threads just for the sake of telling people that somebody scored 15 points in their debut game or something like that. Just how I feel, not trying to say anything bad about it.

That's true, not everything absolutely needs its own thread. Of course, everyone is free to create threads if they really want to, and if they don't gain any traction, that's just the way it is. I think in time, most people can get a good feel of the kind of things that would do well to have their own threads, and when posting in a central thread is more appropriate.

I'm happy to look at making better use of central threads, while still encouraging people to create threads when there's an interesting topic that's worth talking about, and a thread doesn't already exist for it, because the latter is important, too.