Opinions Needed - Splitting Opiate Discussion Off From OD Into A New Forum

[cosmic charlie]

stims and benzos and others will belong to Those Drugs

And Opiate Discussion will be the only OD left

 

[AMTDan]

I think a split would be for the best. Sometimes its hard to find non-opiate information as those threads tend to get pushed down real fast.

Frankly there is more traffic here just from opiates than there is in the ecstasy forums

 

[CounTerOrdeR]

Almost 75% for splitting it up! I voted no. Ive been readin these forums since i was like 14-15(6-7 years now) and really OD is 90% the reason i come here. Actually idk if OD was around 6-7 years ago but anyway.. Its the best forum here so why mess it up. Opiates only would be boring imo, and i dont know if it would be worth visiting everyday or 2 as the majority of threads would likely be very similar, i guess i like the variety in OD as it is.

Having said that id rather see a Stimulant/Downer split if there was one. Big thing is drug combos though... would those all get thrown into BDD 'kuz if that was the case might as well throw everything into BDD/ADD. *shrugs I just say leave it be, it rocks.

 

[blznlow]

I feel that there are enough opiate threads to be its own forum but i also like logging into OD and learning about benzos etc because a lot of us do not just use opiates i would guess a good number of us use both and people in recovery from opiates are almost always on a benzo as well as a program with subs or methadone etc..

 

[tathra]

it seems like the majority of people who are for the split are relatively new. is this because the more seasoned members have gotten used to the way things are and dont want to see it change, or is there something more to it, like seeing the value in having a lot of different information on various subjects right in front of you?

also, is there any word on whether or not we'll get an implementation of prefixes, or is the whole issue just dead in the water?

obviously some sort of improvement is needed, because the issue of splitting OD seems to come up on a regular basis. something should definitely be done, but further fragmentation isnt the answer

perhaps a way to make the prefixes not so damn obvious and ugly would be if they could be implimented somehow with the post icons. this would certainly take more work, but it would make the prefixes nice on the eyes, and quite elegant really

 

[Bell Ringer]

Hell No

Many people who post on OD are/were poly-drug users. Have a question about speedballs? Where would that fit in? Use dope everyday and have a question about mixing it with amphetamines? well ?

I could go on but basically many people have knowledge that covers the full OD spectrum. Splitting OD would just create 2 closely related forums that overlap and decrease the overall audience of both forums. That would decrease the spread of information as people would never read threads that may help them or that they may otherwise contribute to.

Splitting OD would be a very unwise decision.

 

[johanneschimpo]

it seems like the majority of people who are for the split are relatively new. is this because the more seasoned members have gotten used to the way things are and dont want to see it change, or is there something more to it, like seeing the value in having a lot of different information on various subjects right in front of you?

I figure more seasoned members know more about/whats best for the forum.

On that note, staff/crew votes make up about 3.5% of the "yes" and 20% of the a"no" vote. So, people affiliated with BL, who have insight about how it runs on the inside, overwhelmingly are against the split. [Hows that for stats on the votes?]

 

[BaybeX]

As a regular of OD and an opiate-addict..
I usually open more threads that are not opiate related to further educate myself on those drugs.
Of course, I read threads on opiates and help when I can but I would rather see a fair mix of opiate and non-opiate related threads than just opiate.

To be quite honest, I highly doubt I'd spend very much time at all in a strictly opiate based forum.
Of course, that is just my opinion.. but I'd assume most OD regulars would agree.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

I don't really go by forum, but mostly choose the New Posts option. And if a title seems interesting I click on it and yes I am mostly interested in opiates so BL having an opiate forum would mean I'd finally have my own place.

 

[tathra]

I figure more seasoned members know more about/whats best for the forum.

On that note, staff/crew votes make up about 3.5% of the "yes" and 20% of the a"no" vote. So, people affiliated with BL, who have insight about how it runs on the inside, overwhelmingly are against the split. [Hows that for stats on the votes?]

yeah thats my take on it too, especially with what the staff/crew say; having been involved in the moderation, management, politics, and other behind-the-scenes stuff, it gives a much better understanding of the issue, as well as a better idea of what would improve or degrade the forums

it was more a rhetorical question, with the answers meant to help all the "yes" voters understand why, despite overwhelming votes to split, nothing is going to come from it

 

[Bell Ringer]

Opiates or Opioids?

I have nothing against the copious discussion of opiates on OD however there are many more deserving topics to be discussed that often go overlooked and buried due to the flood of posts concerning opiates.

I believe if the opiates had their own forum, much more would come out of OD than the same posts that seem to get reiterated over and over (opiates are pretty generic drugs so the same questions do tend to get asked repeatedly).

Just my $0.02

This post is not directed at you in particular​

Opiates are complex, although I can only think of four that are CNS active, maybe some questions just need to be moved to DB. Opioids, semi-synthetics and synthetics, I would not dare try to guess how many exist and how many of those are CNS active. Out of the CNS active ones how many have any recreational or therapeutic value? A shitload.

How do they interact with other substances (not just what are commonly considered drugs)? It depends, so many factor involved. Tramadol is an opioid it also acts as a SNRI.

Opiates are not generic, some questions about them may be.

If you were to include semi-synthetics and synthetics, take a look at Demerol, note it's structure and side effects. Then take a look at atropine. After that compare all three to morphine.

If there are to many base post in OD then they ought to be moved to BD, but a basic question may yield a complex, enlightening conversation. If the problem you described really is a problem than heavier moderation is the best solution.

Again, since I see this so often the term opiate is NOT interchangeable with the term opioid.

 

[johanneschimpo]

^ Right, but you know what they mean.
"Splitting opiate discussion off from OD = "Splitting opioid discussion off from OD."
So, opiates/opioids would be in one forum, everything else that's currently covered in OD would stay there.

There are many inherent problems with that split - the main one being that so many opiate/opioid questions are polydrug questions, about interactions, or from people who use other drugs as well. So threads like that would need to go to OD anyway. In the end, something like half the opiate/opioid questions would fit better in OD, and a forum for just opiates/opioids wouldn't provide any real advantage.

 

[sixpartseven]

also, is there any word on whether or not we'll get an implementation of prefixes, or is the whole issue just dead in the water?

Definitely not dead in the water. Far from it, in fact.

If I had to speculate, I would say we could almost definitely count on this being implemented, regardless of whether OD is split or not. I'm not promising anything, but it's looking good.

I'll post a more comprehensive post in the morning, responding to all the recent posts. I have to get some sleep for now, though.

 

[tathra]

some small, but probably quite obvious, suggestions

thread prefixes update

Settings in Admin CP

Thread Prefix required: Users have to select a thread prefix for their threads. You can select this globally for all forums or on a per forum basis.
Show Thread Prefixes in extra column or in front of the thread title in the same column
Alignment of the prefixes (if 'Show in extra column' is enabled): Align left, align right, center
Show Prefix in 'Last Post' column
Allow Thread Prefix search: If enabled, the prefixes of all forums the user has access to will be grouped in a list and displayed in the search engine.

requiring prefixes upon starting a new thread would definitely be needed, to help ease the work mods have to do
displaying them in an extra column might make things tidier and easier on the eyes, possibly using something like the post icon pictures

 

[Captain.Heroin]

anyways, since we are taking suggestions
MODS: can we please amend the rules so that there can be unlimited drug discussion in the social.
everyone in there uses drugs and whenever it is talked about why it is we cant discuss drugs in the social the answer always is that is what the rest of OD is for but that isnt always true. OD is for good/well thought out questions in regards to certain drugs.

drug discussion in the social is, well, social drug talk. not questions and damn sure not something that warrants its own thread. i dunno just an idea i would like to throw out there as long as we are takin suggestions

EDIT: figures.......... after the above post an hour ago i just got busted for talkin bout drugs in the social. it was two posts. i was talkin to someone else who did two posts n we got our stuff deleted.

also as a suggestion is regards to ^this for the mods is have the rules apply evenly to everyone. small amounts of drug talk slide by in the social when a mod is participating in the discussion but if not then the mods crack down harder n try to make an example/wield the modstick, you guys may not wanna look into yourselfs but go back n check the threads. if a mod is talkin drugs then the discussion will go on for a little while. if it is two non mods or non BL crew then your window of drug discussion opportunity is much smaller.

mods must lead by example or whatever they say is gonna get ignored.


Just some food for thought Mods

Take this up in the OD Social, not this thread.

 

[HighonLife]

^ i have taken it up in the social and i am told to leave if i dont like it

i guess i could PM the administrators but i have been tryin to just throw the idea out there n just see if i have any support or if others feel the same way ya know? if a bunch of people wanna see some change then it wont look like i am just bein a whiney little bitch ( which i may or may not be but is besides the point )

 

[l0ckd0wn]

Captain.Heroin's elegant response...

Captain.Heroin made me want to change my vote: Keep OD as it is now. Sorry, felt compelled to change it after reading this.

P.S.
I figured after 8 pages that there is probably going to be a change. I understand, still felt compelled to say something as his response changed my view.

 

[phr]

some small, but probably quite obvious, suggestions

thread prefixes update


requiring prefixes upon starting a new thread would definitely be needed, to help ease the work mods have to do
displaying them in an extra column might make things tidier and easier on the eyes, possibly using something like the post icon pictures

Whether users have the ability to set prefixes has to be discussed more. When we first discussed prefixes, quite a bit before the OD/ODD split discussion we're having now, we initially went along with the idea that they would be mod assigned, at least for a bit of time right after implementation. We also have to discuss which prefixes we'll use, how they'll be displayed(as you mentioned), etc.

Barring any technical issues it looks like OD will be getting prefixes. From what I've seen, all of the staff directly involved at least, are for it. I don't have a timetable for when it'll be done. It could be with a split or with out it. There still needs to be a conclusion on that.

Right now the next step is to move this split discussion to the Support forum and let it run there for a week or so. 6/7 said he's on that, so we'll just go from there.

 

[CounTerOrdeR]

Many people who post on OD are/were poly-drug users. Have a question about speedballs? Where would that fit in? Use dope everyday and have a question about mixing it with amphetamines? well ?

I could go on but basically many people have knowledge that covers the full OD spectrum. Splitting OD would just create 2 closely related forums that overlap and decrease the overall audience of both forums. That would decrease the spread of information as people would never read threads that may help them or that they may otherwise contribute to.

Splitting OD would be a very unwise decision.

Gotta second this.

 

[Bell Ringer]

Please Read the Thread Before you Vote

Captain.Heroin made me want to change my vote: Keep OD as it is now. Sorry, felt compelled to change it after reading this.

P.S.
I figured after 8 pages that there is probably going to be a change. I understand, still felt compelled to say something as his response changed my view.

And

Please Vote No.​

Splitting OD would decrease the quality and flow of information. So many knowledgeable people would either post less, leave, or focus on one of the two potential forums.

It will cause stagnation.​

IMO OD is fine they way it is but if I am in the minority on that opinion than the answer is not to split OD but to add more moderators, or create Jr. Mod. position that would give Jr. Mods the ability to move post to DB and whatever else is necessary but nothing more (I don't see why they would need a new title although I think for a title is a good idea because it would lighten the workload of upper level mods). There could be strict rules on if/what they could handle and what they must relay and to whom. Basically the position would filter out a lot of noise. Or the current mods could be more trigger happy but that is the wrong way to go.