Things change and I can see Dave has a point to revisit this topic again. However, as things have changed, I would hope the reasons for proposing another restructuring of the forums be analyzed before changes are immediately made, because change happens on multiple fronts, and the original reasons for wanting to close down this forum may no longer be as valid, or should be phrased or implemented differently.
To Dave’s explanation as to why Whedonville should be broken down and assimilated into General or Horror or Customs or whatever - Joss Whedon has gone mainstream.
You know, I believe that, too, and it’s in contrast to an element of Buffy and Angel which appealed to me – those shows broke molds. They had an indie feel. They were smartly written, which more often than not overcame the low budget. Part of the genius. Going mainstream makes production easier, doesn’t necessarily affect a writer’s ability to write smartly, but now you’ve got to answer to your corporate bosses, and sometimes that does affect the end product. However, this doesn’t change what’s been accomplished to get to the point of him being assimilated into the mainstream: Buffy and Angel were damned good shows that broke ground. I don’t care how elitist it sounds – they were intellectually stimulating even as they were often wildly entertaining. So, I’d submit the fact that Joss is now directing the Avengers shouldn’t be the primary reason for dissolving Whedonville (Cabin on the Woods looks like another sleeper quality movie, I'd hesitate to christen it mainstream just yet - that will depend on receipts, not critical praise). On the other hand, each show that comes out of the ground they broke, whether better like Supernature or mediocre like the teenage vampire or superhero girl spinoffs or gay/lesbian normalization is a marker that dates them. So, yeah, they are getting long in the tooth and it seems like there are fewer and fewer of us here to justify whatever resources Dave and his team have to put into maintaining a niche forum. That, I think, would be the main justification for closing Whedonville and moving its threads to other forums, which may in fact re-vitalize them, and make them current once more.
Since I have no idea what those resources are, I can only speculate. We don’t need as much modding due to the nature of the folks who frequent this board. Trolls attack here on occasion but being on boards like this one for 15 years (yikes), I’ve found ignoring them really does work. Perhaps the lack of traffic (ironically, much of which seems to be generated by trollish posts) is offensive to some who prefer pages turn over once or twice or more a day. I lurk in those kinds of forums and find them tedious to cull through multiple threads of no interest to me (and which, again, seem to be generated in large part by trolls and those they bait). But, some people virtually live their entire social lives on these boards, and I guess it’s those folks who benefit from that kind of board. Since I’m not privy to the logistical downside to maintaining Whedonville though we contribute little trouble or traffic, I can’t offer anything but my opinion as someone who lurks – a lot, but will post a comment if I think it will benefit a conversation.
So, I for one am open to some restructuring, if done right. From the safety of my armchair, this post right here:
I have no particular fondness for a "Whedon" section. All I want is to be able to find the threads I am interested in without having to flip through 3 or 4 pages worth of threads.
The general section has 3 pages of threads that had a reply in the last 3 days. That's just too many to rummage through.
Break up General into multiple sections, move Firefly to the SciFi section, move Buffy and Angel to a TV Horror section, etc.
SciFi (Firefly/Planet of the Apes/Doctor Who)
Fantasy (Sucker Punch/Gremlins/Conan)
Crime (Scarface/Godfather)
TV Horror (Buffy/Angel)
Cartoons (TMNT/Naruto)
Action (Bruce Lee/Rambo/Die Hard)
Probably a lot more.
Makes the most sense to me, though maybe not as many sections as that. I mean, I probably wouldn't put cartoons in its own category. TV Horror and movie horror could probably be combined. I like the Sci Fi (add Farscape to that, please) and Fantasy (LOTR - doesn't need its own venue), maybe even combine them. Crime/Action could be combined too. I've said it before, Indiana Jones and LOTR are in boats just slightly bigger than Whedonville. Combine Indiana Jones in Crime/Action or throw it into Lucas/Speilberg with Star Wars. Buffy and Angel can go into Horror along with Cabin in the Woods.
Firefly really seems to have its own audience from Buffy and Angel. Fans tend to be familiar with all three because they are Joss's shows, but I don't believe they have any connection beyond that. Same with Dollhouse and Dr Horrible (sci fi). Personally, I don't think I'll miss seeing Firefly threads on the same page as Buffy and Angel. I'll just visit two forums instead of one.
Customs - as far as I can tell, selling customs seems to belong in the customs thread. The making of customs really belong in their main genre forum. That should be across the board IMO.
Anyway, I'm suggesting this as someone who lurks more than I post with no knowledge about the logistics/financials of maintaining a forum, which to me has always looked like a big headache and necessarily a labor of love. So, thanks to Dave however it goes.