Hey guys, hope it's not too late to add a couple of comments.
1. News threads. I agree that there is an issue with the number of news threads on the front page of AusDD.
Enforcing a policy of all news threads to go into DitM (and moving any posted in AusDD to DiTM) is the best solution in my mind. An Aus News subforum does decentralise the news information, and is rather defeating the purpose of DitM. As others have pointed out, a very specific subforum like Aus News may not attract enough traffic to warrant its existence.
However, given the amount of articles that are posted in AusDD atm, would this create a deluge of Australian content in DitM? I don't spend much time in DitM at the moment, so don't know if this would be the case - perhaps drug_mentor can tell us? If it were the case, does an Aus News subforum then become the better solution?
Finally, I have posted news articles myself, not because I couldn't be bothered going to DitM, but because there were regular news threads in AusDD and I got the impression that this was the accepted place for these threads. Whatever the solution is to this issue is, perhaps it would be nice to have a note in the guidelines about it, just to specify exactly where news threads are expected to be posted.
2. The CWE thread. The thread did start as a description of the CWE technique, but has evolved to be a general discussion of codeine, including topics like enzyme inhibitors/inducers, antihistamines, codeine scheduling, etc. I can understand users getting the impression that the thread is all questions about 'how do I maximise my yield' or 'will GFJ get me higher' because tbh questions like this do often crop up.
I have a couple of ideas of how to improve the situation and refocus the codeine discussion on HR -
a) Mr Blonde's FAQ was good but far from comprehensive, IMO, because it's primarily concerned with CWE technique. A majority of the questions asked in the CWE thread now could easily be answered by a more general but detailed codeine FAQ, one that includes information on HR, inhibitors, CWE technique etc.
There is a vast amount of information contained in the CWE mega threads, and the archived threads about splittable Nurofen+ etc. This information just needs to be brought together in an easily readable document that could hopefully answer a few more of these recurring questions that we see coming up in the CWE thread at present. I would be willing to work on such an FAQ if needed.
b) As well as a more general codeine FAQ, I think we then need to have a general codeine thread that deals with all the codeine issues, not just a CWE technique thread that has gotten out of hand. Sure, there will still be the questions on technique, but the thread would have a broader focus, and this shift could provoke more meaningful and thoughtful discussion. Regardless of how well this works, surely a general codeine thread would give a more positive image than a CWE technique thread that, to some, seems to exist only to help users better their technique or increase their yield.
3. Guidelines. I'd like to see the guidelines updated a bit. There's some really outdated info in there, for example about PIRs. Regulars would know the current expectations surrounding PIRs, but newbs who read the guidelines could easily become confused. Especially considering that the guidelines are where everyone is pointed to when they join or whenever mods take action, it would seem necessary that they are kept properly up to date.
4. AusDD in general. What is AusDD's purpose? What are its aims? I can't see this written anywhere, although there seems to be some collective idea of what the purpose and aims are. I would assume that we need to know what the goals of the forum are before we can set out guidelines on how to achieve them. I know BL has a general direction, I'm talking about AusDD specifically.
A regional forum like AusDD is tricky - if you post a basic drug question, you're sent to BDD. An psychedelic question, you're sent to PDD. An events thread, you're sent to Aus S&E.
So what kinds of threads do we want to see in here? There seems to be a bit of chatter from the older posters remarking that the forum isn't as it used to be. What types of threads are you referring to that aren't posted any more? Or do you just mean it used to have a more HR focus and now that has been lost?
Well that's my input for now. Hope it provides some food for thought, especially on the CWE thread.