Initiative: Revitalize Discussion and Debate

dealing with it · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **dealing with it** on Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:16 pm

I know there's a few lurkers, but not very many active and participating members of Discussion and Debate. It's kind of a ghost town, and I'm getting tired of hearing my echo... echo... echo....

I'm ready to listen to advice for how to better moderate the subforum. I'd like more of the chaos that I was called in to quell.

VindicatedPurpose · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **VindicatedPurpose** on Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:29 pm

More current events related topics?

Maybe bridging your fringe philosophical topics with mainstream topics.

Maybe check out the threads that often had the most traffic.

I remember when I used to contribute. I miss those days. Life's been busy with me.

FyreT1ger · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **FyreT1ger** on Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:15 pm

I second Vin's comments, and I am one of those semi-active players that both you and Aniihya know. Semi-active because some of the topics are simply out of my depth. Those I feel I can relate to or have a strong opinion on are the ones in which I put my thoughts.

Are there any current events that you feel strongly about? Something that makes you want to scream or cry, something that gets you excited? The debates that stir people's emotions are the ones that most likely will have the longest life, and stir the most excitement if that's what you want. One has to be careful with those to avoid flame wars though. All my time there, I didn't see anyone starting or getting involved in flame wars, so I don't see that as a problem in this community at least.

Kurokiku · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Kurokiku** on Mon Jan 25, 2016 7:36 pm

It strikes me that especially specific queries might be of help with generating discussion. Beginning with the big abstract questions up-front can be a little more difficult for some, as I'm slowly learning via teaching responsibilities. But bridging into the general from the specific is easier. Also, it might increase turnover, where old posts aren't kind of staggering along forever. One question is discussed, which would be possible to do in a finite amount of time if it's specific enough, and then the active discussion participants can move on to the next one to keep things "fresh," I suppose.

Some of that advice may not apply to the D&D forum, though; admittedly, it's been a while since I visited, and I'm going on memory from some time ago.

Also, after a while a thread with a huge number of responses is daunting; I don't want to read it all, and therefore I don't respond, for fear of being redundant. Shorter threads with higher turnover to new topics would help with that also, I think.

Aniihya · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Aniihya** on Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:56 pm

But I like the fringe philosophical topics.

Sara Whitley · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Sara Whitley** on Fri Jan 29, 2016 2:22 pm

I try to participate when I feel I have something worthwhile but I rarely come around anymore.

Miss Echo · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Miss Echo** on Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:49 pm

*rolls in*
DID SOMEONE SAY ECHO *is late to party but ehhh*

I'm just beginning to dip my foot into the wonder and excitement that are the official forums, but I've been poking at things that interest me once in a while. I usually steer clear from politics, although I'm most likely going to be poking the other various ones with a stick since I'm a procrastionator. Maybe if there was fresh flip-overs for more contributions, there could be more activity?
Although that's just my two cents.

dealing with it · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **dealing with it** on Sat Jan 30, 2016 6:27 pm

Miss Echo wrote:Maybe if there was fresh flip-overs for more contributions, there could be more activity?

What does this sentence mean? Urbandictionary gave me an.. erm... definition of "flip-over" that's NSFW.

MayContainPlagiarism · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **MayContainPlagiarism** on Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:57 pm

Sara Whitley wrote:I try to participate when I feel I have something worthwhile but I rarely come around anymore.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I seem to have the bad habit of responding to conversations that ended 2 years ago, and I've misunderstood the question, or intentions of the OP, more times than I'm proud to admit. I wasn't an active member of any of the forums years ago, because when Gambit's Bar was still the place to be, it's all I came here for, aside the handful of forum RPs that interested me.

sI'm hesitant to advocate for D&D tackling "current event" issues. I think that's a weird area to get into, as far as what I consider to be in the scope of a roleplaying forum and community, and I tend to think that with the newer (and, inevitably, younger) audience that will be joining in the future, it's not something I expect to be discussed seriously.

Be that as it may, as I said, I wasn't active when D&D was at its peak; I was twiddling around with Gary Stus in vampire-central. I can't speak with any experience or authority, as far as D&D is specifically concerned, whether or not it is a good idea, but I don't think it's a genre of conversation I'd be glad to pursue. I think if someone wants to discuss politics or foreign policy or how seriously horrible Flint, Michigan is-I mean, come on, the people are being poisoned but it's child abuse to prevent kids from drinking public water, what the hell?-they have other mediums. NationStates, their local message board, whatever.

I'd be happier to see the revitalization effort focus on discussing roleplaying/writing styles and strategies, or discussing literature and entertainment, which I see as more relevant to a website with roleplay in its name. "What makes a good villain?" "What's the best way to handle antagonistic writers?" "How could you translate the federalist and anti-federalist debates metaphorically into a chess game, in the context of divine politics, in a noir crime thriller?" Those are the kinds of provocative questions I expect in D&D, and that I'm happy to discuss and/or debate.

But, again, I know that D&D has had its share of well received topics in no way related to what I consider relevant and I'm sure I've missed out on the very provocative, deep, intellectually conversations that happen in between the name calling and other jiggery-pokery.

The Website wrote:Discussion & Debate
Have a subject that you'd like to debate that isn't about roleplay? This is the place.

Yep. Glad I found that without someone pointing out that I'm dumb.

Carry on everybody.

VindicatedPurpose · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **VindicatedPurpose** on Wed Feb 03, 2016 12:01 am

MayContainPlagiarism wrote:
The Website wrote:Discussion & Debate
Have a subject that you'd like to debate that isn't about roleplay? This is the place.

Yep. Glad I found that without someone pointing out that I'm dumb.

Carry on everybody.

Rulke · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Rulke** on Tue Feb 16, 2016 7:44 am

Things don't need to be hot issues or pressing concerns to be discussed they can be philosophical or even say things like why FPS games are better than RPG or something to that note, that sorta deal.

Initiative: Revitalize Discussion and Debate

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