Suggestion—Off Topic/General Lounge Forum

[PCG Paul]

I’d love a forum section for MISC topics. You know, in case someone wants to talk about motorcycles, or Jeeps, or ‘Hey, check out these pics from my vacation to (exotic place)’, or ‘Anyone have a good recipe for (exotic food)?’, or ‘How about them (sports team)’, etc.

Maybe this was discussed internally and shelved to keep the focus 100% on gaming and/or because of the added moderating it would require. Fair points. But I still vote for a lounge. Gives us a chance to get to know one another a little better, beyond the introduction thread.

 

[jpishgar]

Heya! Great suggestion, but gotta punt on this one to save our (and your) sanity/willpower/time. It was discussed, quite a bit, actually! Eventually, it was decided the best approach to take in contrast to the forums here from way back when is to do our best to keep things super on-topic to head off scope creep and sprawl. It got a bit too chaosy and pandemonium in the long ago, and keeping discussion here about games, gaming, and gamers is best to contain beastlier casual diversions.

I do have a few instant pot recipes that'll knock your socks off, though.

 

[Colif]

We have the discord channel for off topic, perhaps iit will sell more memberships of the club if we keep it that way?

 

[Cooper88]

When forums are just getting off the ground like this I think it helps to have a defecto "gathering spot" where the nascent community can gather and interact. As long as you have hard rules about no politics\no religion debates, they usually are fine as long as the community remains relatively small in size. But almost like clockwork it seems there is a certain size forums reach where off-topic areas turn to troll havens and become more trouble than they are worth. It's certainly a double edged sword for sure.

 

[SHaines]

When forums are just getting off the ground like this I think it helps to have a defecto "gathering spot" where the nascent community can gather and interact. As long as you have hard rules about no politics\no religion debates, they usually are fine...

We definitely understand the desire to have that outlet here, but as Joe mentioned, we've decided to move forward without that.

There are forum areas to discuss a variety of topics, with a heavy focus on PC gaming. That's a very conscious and deliberate choice on our part. These forums have a fantastic community of folks being helpful and supportive of each other, which is a dream come true.

We're going to keep working on ways to help the community grow naturally, while holding onto that supportive vibe. It takes work, for sure. Not just from us, but from the entire community of passionate gamers who choose to spend their time with us here.

Our goal is just to offer the framework upon which you're all building something fantastic.

 

[JC Denton]

I'd like to see a section for car talk.

Anyone who's worked on a car and a PC will tell you that there isn't much difference when it comes to cleaning, repairs and mods.

Also If there is a car thread on here, it'll be full of like-minded people with common interests and not the typical petrol heads who brag about how great their last burnout was or how many sets of tyres they go through a month.

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

I will just add that having a movie section and not music section slightly grinds my gears.

 

[Tartrazine]

How many of you mods and staff members were even around back in the CVG days? Yeah they could get toxic, that's what mods are for, but by Christ they were fun. Inventive, intelligent, entertaining and creative minds that idiots like me could be entertained for hours by. It was a home from home back when gaming made you a wierdo to society at large.

Now don't get me wrong, those days are never coming back if only because Forums are the floppy disks of their day now everyone's using article comments, discord and the like. But this isn't China. Yet.

Let people talk FFS without trying to control everything.

And no f*cking Herons messing up your pots and pans (10 points for getting that reference).

 

[jpishgar]

Let people talk FFS without trying to control everything.

No.

Yeah they could get toxic, that's what mods are for

There will be zero toxicity in this place. We have built this venue as a place of great welcome and respite, safe from the tumult, turmoil, and drama du'jour of many forums and commentary systems. The value presented here is in the maturity and civility of the engagement, and is growing as one to rely upon.

It was a home from home back when gaming made you a weirdo to society at large.

So too will this forum become. Only, fewer stains on the carpet and less screaming. Less chaos doesn't necessarily mean a sterile environment devoid of character. But it, unlike some of the other discussion boards out there that have come and gone, is built to last. There are a trillion places to go to flame war and troll and engage in contentious off-topic conversations about things unrelated to games, gamers, and gaming, but we'll stick to the basics here to keep things on track and most relevant.