Okay, so this might come as a shocker, but Main board is actually reserved for, quoting the board description, "Important topics, overarching Dollars issues, and actual topics of discussion". So threads that essentially boiled down to greeting exchanges with little to no discussions happening in them (like many that crops up within the last 2 weeks(?) (Umbra cleaned it up and bump them off the top page, thanks Umbra!)) should actually belong on Introduction sub board.

But, hear me out, people introduce themselves to be known by the regular members, and to a certain extent, their way of expressing "I want to be accepted-by and assimilate-with the existing community here."

What happens then, when there is none left to read the introduction board, that greets and welcomed the newcomer's posts? That it seems like no community existed anymore here. Well, one that would accept new members that is. Keyword : SEEMINGLY.

Regular members that I knew and interacted within the site stays in Random board, they never checked any other board. The so-called "existing community" to assimilate with, doesn't actually check Introduction board, where new members flocked.

It also doesn't escape my attention, that new people are confused, or dumb idk. When someone new who doesn't know anything made a "hello!" thread, new members quickly flocked to the thread with their replies. I'm willing to bet this happened only because those threads are so simplistic and straightforward in its nature, that they perceive it as "This is definitely a human person posting, and they're actually a newcomer just like me!" and replying to it, for them, provides a semblance of, a sense of belonging, to a community.

I'm not saying that "Hello!" threads actually belongs on Main, but I don't think its fair to say that they should simply post on Introduction board only to then get ignored.

I was thinking about providing a simple discussion thread on Introduction board, a place where, after new members made their own thread of intro, could join in and interact with other new members? Perhaps a monthly batch of member threads? A sandbox-esque corner, so to speak, where they can make mistakes and not get yelled at or saged to oblivion.

Who cares? It's a forum man not like this is actually that active.

>>2 First, you're right. But secondly, me, I'm the one who cares. Which is why I bothered writing that all up.

There might be others who also cares, but can't put it into words that can be posted. I put myself out with this thread so those like-minded people can come out here and chime in with their thoughts.

>>1 I would agree with you it is annoying and it's fair enough to care about mate, but due to the layout of the site there is not much we can do about it, other then try an keep it clean by bumping up the other threads, i,e Read This If You're New (ver. 5) (228)

>>4 My first issue is, yes you're right, clutter on Main will persists until the heat death of the universe.

But my second issue, the one that actually bothers me, is that neither the site nor the member base properly conveys, communicates, nor shown how the site is actually supposed to be utilized, especially as a discussion medium.

The way the site is used nowadays and the way it was used back when RTIYN was made is different, I think its important to take that into account when proceeding forward.

I'm sure that everyone heard this enough already, we want more activity, but the site's customizability to accommodate that wish is very limited due to Reltair's unwillingness to cooperate. Yet, here we all are still. Everyone of us that still bump threads, frequently visiting the site. Do you really think its impossible to coordinate together and move as one, even if only for a brief moment, to shape the site and community-culture to our utopic vision?

I fully endorse the idea of a more discussion-based thread on Intro to familiarize newer members with the everything and express their excitement in joining!

As mentioned in >>6, Reltair no longer adds new features to this site - and to be fair, he built the site 14 years ago and has largely moved on. However, if there comes a time when a web developer member wishes to create a site with their own unique design and ideas, I'm sure people would be willing to give it a shot. 'Til then, we can all continue to enjoy the use of the BBS as it is.

Also, you should have seen the communication issues back in 2010 lmao Main was an absolute mess back when Durarara!! was airing

>>7 DHR is a chatroom made by our old friend Name over on RTT back in like, 2020 or 2021 if memory serves. Its not fancy, but it works.

Yes I have read the historical threads, lots of mayhem indeed throughout the years. I had my fair share of fascination-phase during the pandemic when I got nothing to do except dig through countless old threads.