art forum discussion?

i suppose i do see the points you guys are all making, i just dont see what the problem is in making a subforum in SO and seeing how it does..

at the very least if it doesnt work out then there will be an archive of the photo comptetitions and the art discussion thread

it also seems to me that although only 20% of the threads are art related that there could be 8 more threads that are specific to second opinion that could be seen on the first page by the public.

essentially my point is, even without demand for such a forum it would increase the organization overall and in the end allow even a small cult following to continue their journey's in their own designated forum rather than cluttering a forum to which they dont truly belong

i mean the music forums dont get too much attention or traffic, but they still exist dont they?
 
Creating Arts as a sub-forum of SO has its pluses and minuses, IMO.

On the plus side, it gives Arts a home. BL currently does not show sub-forums on the main page, so a simple change would have to be done behind the scenes to make just this one sub-forum show up on the main page like so (while keeping the rest off; which opens a can of worms in itself):

artssub2.gif


I could assist the admins/engineers, if need be, in making the code change (its really simple).

Visibility is key in bringing people to the right venue.

The down side is that once the threads are migrated to this separate forum, it may become more evident how infrequently arts topics are actually started. The photo contest being the only exception. If long term traffic warrants it, the sub-forum could be upgraded to a full forum.

Continuing on, once the sub-forum is created, should it still be made a sub-forum of SO, or should it be moved with the music/words/film group, where it more logically belongs? Which of those forums would it best be a sub-forum of?

The sub-forum idea is a more viable idea than the fully fledged forum one, IMO, and may appeal to admins a bit better that way. It still opens a whole bunch of questions, as you can see, the answers to which might not please everyone.
 
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I think if it's a sub-forum, it should be one of a more appropriate main topic, as mentioned by others. That way, if it doesn't generate enough traffic and ends up needing merged, it could be more appropriately combined with an art-related category (such as words) and just given a newer and more inclusive title. Would the Forum Jump drop down include it as a sub, cuz that gets used a lot (the thing in the lower right corner)...
 
but honestly, if poetry justifies its own forum, I really think that once it is started and catches on, an art/photography forum will definitely find its' share of regulars. Right now in S/O, the photo and art threads are mainly contest related, but there is no reason to think it will stay that way once there is a proper home for that stuff. I rarely contribute to the photo contests because there are so many professional caliber participants, but I can see a lot of people contributing to general photo topics. Even threads like the pet pic one in the lounge could be moved, since it isn't such a social discussion and more of a sharing topic.

I was going to start a photo advice thread in S/O, where novice camera owners could post a pic and ask the more experienced people here for setting advice and all, but I'm going to wait and see how this pans out. It would be a good kick-off thread if a new forum is generated, as people will need to help fill it up initially.
 
vibr8tor said:
Would the Forum Jump drop down include it as a sub, cuz that gets used a lot (the thing in the lower right corner)...
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Yes, it can be easily set to be included in the forum-jump menu, vibby. Admin call.
 
vibr8tor said:
I was going to start a photo advice thread in S/O, where novice camera owners could post a pic and ask the more experienced people here for setting advice and all, but I'm going to wait and see how this pans out. It would be a good kick-off thread if a new forum is generated, as people will need to help fill it up initially.
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I remember you mentioning that,vibby. Great idea and should help generate some decent traffic.
 
Hi all. :) Having some free time the last week or so since being on break I've been peeking my head in now and then.

As most of you know I would absolutely love to have an arts forum here and have previously made efforts when my life allowed the extra time to generate some other arts related traffic and discussion. That said, I have to agree that the traffic just isn't there right now. Out of everyone that said they would support and post in an art forum, only a handful actually did, and that is what continues to be the problem as far as I see it.

It even seems to me that some of the 'demand' for an arts forum is now from people that don't like the contest threads in SO rather than those that actually support a new forum. There are some that feel they 'clutter' SO. I've never viewed it that way, and still don't, but several members have mentioned it.

Again, this alone does not warrant the creation of a new forum to house those threads, I'm just throwing my own observations/experience/feedback out there.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season.<3
 
well i think the best way to generate traffic would be to give people the opportunity.. if i had a question about art right now it wouldnt get posted because i wouldnt know where to put it.

common sense says it doesnt belong to SO if im asking for art advice or i want to discuss banksy.. as ive said before, worst comes to worst this subforum fails; its not like were going to die as a whole if it does
 
blissfulMenace said:
well i think the best way to generate traffic would be to give people the opportunity.. if i had a question about art right now it wouldnt get posted because i wouldnt know where to put it.
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i'm sorry, but that made me LOL. there's one question that's GUARANTEED not to get much traffic. ;)

you already have the opportunity to post it in SO. everyone knows SO is the de facto 'Art' discussion forum, so just go for it.

at the risk of being lynched - and as much as i love it - the Sci Tech forum hasn't exactly set the world on fire. i suspect a dedicated art forum would attract even less traffic. (no offence to anyone.) :)

the more arty threads you and everyone else posts (and responds to), the more chance there is of this ever happening.

[not that i have a say in this at all, just giving you my humble opinion and advice <3]
 
I'm not sold on either direction really but I wanted to express some things that were running through my mind:

When I first joined bluelight back in the day I really liked the VPA forum. I thought the discussion, though limited, was solid, had depth and created a sense of community.

I wasn't privy to the reasons why VPA was shut down and thus have a limited perspective. I'm not sure how the traffic really was once these decisions were made as I might have dropped off from regularing the forum once I moved onto other forums that I continue to regular today. I just don't remember fully.

That said, VPA is one of the reasons I stuck around bluelight. I think its in bluelight's best interest to try and keep the most quality bluelighters on the site. I don't think I'm alone when I say that I think the number of quality posters dropping off is disconcerning. Creating what could be considered as an intellectual community such as an arts forum might be a step in keeping people on board.

Also, just because a forum doesn't have a large amount of traffic doesn't mean the discussion isn't worthwhile IMO. There's a difference between almost zero discussion and sparse but in-depth and thoughtful discussion. The Arts forum might just be an example of quality>quantity on bluelight.

I guess what I'm arguing is that if creating an arts forum caused for quality posters to find it, and stick around it might not be such a terrible idea. Personally, I'd rather see 5 zorns stick around than 500 < - enter any number of bluelighters here - > s.

Of course I can't really argue anything without also being wishwashy so I'll also point out that I'm not sure SO isn't already creating this community or drive for quality bluelighters in its art threads. What's more, I'm not really selling the idea that we should do pursuits with the hope of achieving the result I conjured. I'm just saying what happened for me, and I don't think my experience is so very unique. :)
 
While we're discussing this, can the mods from other forums please do me a huge favour and post some links to some threads which would potentially be moved to an Arts forum? You're all intimately familiar with your own domains and would likely be able to think of a list in a matter of minutes, where it would probably take me days. Thanks a million in advance!

To explain this exercise, I've been *stupidly* viewing this from the perspective of threads present only in the SO forum. Adding more logs into my little smouldering heap could very well light a bigger fire under my butt. Good things tend to happen when my ass is on fire (i.e. helps me better focus towards a goal). =D

edited to add: I would also appreciate the resident mods' opinions on how much resistance they would expect against moving the posted arts-destined threads. Thanks.
 
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*ponders whether 'how do i make my avatar work' questions fall under 'art'*

:D

great post amy. agreed 100% :)
 
felix said:
i'm sorry, but that made me LOL. there's one question that's GUARANTEED not to get much traffic. ;)

you already have the opportunity to post it in SO. everyone knows SO is the de facto 'Art' discussion forum, so just go for it.

at the risk of being lynched - and as much as i love it - the Sci Tech forum hasn't exactly set the world on fire. i suspect a dedicated art forum would attract even less traffic. (no offence to anyone.) :)

the more arty threads you and everyone else posts (and responds to), the more chance there is of this ever happening.

[not that i have a say in this at all, just giving you my humble opinion and advice <3]
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only the members that have been here for a while know that SO is the semi art forum, the new members dont know...

also just because we in S&T dont get tons of traffic like od.. if you look at OD its the same threads over and over with the same answers over and over.. the rate of NEW INTERESTING threads is about the same as in S&T... i dont even read OD anymore because if someone asks a question 90% of the time the search feature can solve it...
 
dude. sorry, i forgot/didn't notice you were a mod in Sci-Tech! so that wasn't directed at you personally. <3 i was pretty drunk last night. 8)

my ass is sore from sitting on the fence on this issue, to be honest, seriously. if it happens, i'll be delighted, but i'm just being realistic about it based on past discussions here and there. :)

as i said before - i <3 Sci-Tech. there is indeed a lot to be said for signal/noise ratio.
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@ admins: [insert 'do it faggot' image here] =D
 
lol its no big deal, i see you in scitech every once in a while and you do have a valid point, it doesnt get very much traffic.. but the traffic we do get is rather meaningful aside from the occasional pamela anderson sex tape link that i doubt even works

were all good, i dont think i have beef with anyone here..

now that were done draggin this off topic.. i bid you adieu and will continue to support this idea until the bitter end!
 
I think it's a goods idea to start, and then traffic will follow. I mean, where would I post a poem if Words wasn't around? I would see personally that the same logic follows in an Arts forum, i.e., the forum will create the necessary traffic.
 
we have some amazing artists here, Bl never ceases to astound. and some over the top repressed! expressive intellectuals, but i also doubt it will get much traffic. :(

sadly but surely.
 
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