is it closed and can only be read or am i missing something? :no:
Its closed. Usually only open for a day at a time.
thats what i figured but wasnt sure, thanx!
I will never understand why this forum doesn’t have a regular off topic area that is available on a day to day basis. I understand that it’s a “horse site,” but in all the forums I belong to, they all have an original purpose that remains the bulk of the discussion. And yet they all have a booming OT forum as well.
I’m sure having a regular off topic category would be busy, but somehow it’s more special this way. It’s sort of like if every day was Friday, it wouldn’t be as exciting to reach Friday each week. This way there’s that jump in adrenalin when we see it’s off topic day. 
eh, it really doesn’t do anything for me. There’s no time for a real discussion, or a chance for anyone to really give a good input unless they happen to be off that day. In all the time I spend on this site, I’m almost never off on OT day. Everyone just races around trying to post little bits and pieces in any possibly interesting thread. It really takes the fun out of it for me, but perhaps not others. Tis not my site, I just don’t get it.
Holy crap, can you IMAGINE the bandwidth?!
This site is free. The servers are fast. Chronicle of the Horse pays a LOT of money for this bandwidth. It would be a lot more money to pay for a Off Topic room full time.
This is not a “free” thing we have here.
[QUOTE=Simkie;3604472]
Holy crap, can you IMAGINE the bandwidth?!
This site is free. The servers are fast. Chronicle of the Horse pays a LOT of money for this bandwidth. It would be a lot more money to pay for a Off Topic room full time.
This is not a “free” thing we have here.[/QUOTE]
True, but you have to wonder if more posters would be inclined to upgrade to Premium status if there was a permanent OT forum…
Maybe if the OT forum was premium members only…
The only thing I WISH they would do is post a sticky at the top of every forum a day before or the day of OT Day stating that there is an OT day!!!. I always miss it now because i go straight to off course or HJ and not the entire forum list page.
Perhaps have them scheduled around a few previously selected holidays and hold them open over the weekend, say 4PM Friday to 4PM Sunday. I like the “Premium Members only” idea. It would probably boost the number of paying customers. A couple of Teflon-backed volunteer moderators for weekend duty would (hopefully) help keep things in line.
It’s always a problem for commercial interests to host these discussions. Too many thin-skinned whiners get their panties wadded up and start harassing advertisers to pressure the host if views not to their liking are expressed. Especially during the political season.
[QUOTE=Simkie;3604472]
Holy crap, can you IMAGINE the bandwidth?!
This site is free. The servers are fast. Chronicle of the Horse pays a LOT of money for this bandwidth. It would be a lot more money to pay for a Off Topic room full time.
This is not a “free” thing we have here.[/QUOTE]
Well quite frankly, the off topic area could be “off course” as just about everything covered in off course falls into another category, aside from perhaps clothing for humans, good barn dogs, etc… and in reality, most of those types of topics on “the other forums” are posted in off topic. All of the advertising forums (tack, clothing, etc…) seem to me like they would get more traffic if they were in one forum, and free or not, it would increase post could which increases site traffic, which increases people wanting to advertise on the forum (IE: generates more ad sales).
It’s amusing that there is always SOMEONE to jump in and say “this site isn’t free ya know.” Lets be realistic here. Pretty much every major forum site out there is FREE. Who is going to pay to join a site they’ve never posted on, or couldn’t view without posting? No one! People donate money to sites after the fact. I’ve donated money to sites in the past, though typically sites I have a much more vested interest in. IMHO, sites that have a true 24/7 off topic forum have threads that create much for (for lack of a better word) bonding between members. This in turn increases member loyalty and donations to keep the site running.
I love Frank’s idea of weekend long OT days on holiday weekends!!
I like the random off topic days and I am happy to have the rest of the off topic stay on other forums.
Off topic forums ususally lead to more arguments and snarkiness. Those who want off topic have already pointed out, there are plenty of other free options out there.
I totally agree with Curb Appeal! I love the OT days, look forward to the holiday ones, and the suprise ones are extra special! There are plenty of non-stop OTs out there for those who can’t seem to get enough here.
They use to do the stickies at the top of each forum announcing OT day. That would be a nice thing to do again. I almost always miss it, or end up seeing it with just a couple of hours left, since I have the individual forums bookmarked.
[QUOTE=Frank B;3604689]
Too many thin-skinned whiners get their panties wadded up and start harassing advertisers to pressure the host if views not to their liking are expressed. Especially during the political season.[/QUOTE]
People do that!!?? I HATE it when someone crams obama’s name on their post but would never even consider complaining about it. <except to myself>
[QUOTE=Painted Up;3604358]
is it closed and can only be read or am i missing something? :no:[/QUOTE]
The other thing I have noticed on other horse related forums is the OT section is where the wheels come off the bus. FIGHTS, THREATS, MESSY!
I for one am glad and really enjoy the odd OT days because people just get up a head of steam …and it’s over! They usually forget before the next OT day whom they were mad at.
So thumbs up for the occasional OT day!
I do wish there could be a heads up a couple of days beforehand- I always seem to either miss it entirely, or notice it an hour before it gets closed.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. We have run the OT/all-the-time idea past the Chronicle bosses and staff several times in the past, but it’s been voted down for many of the reason outlined above. It would require further resources–both technological and moderational–and they have wanted to keep the focus on horses.
We have big plans for the coming months/years with the Chronicle’s web presence and will absolutely be tweaking things on all of our sites-- advertising opportunities and beyond. We’ll be posting a link to a marketing/ demographics survey soon and plan to offer one geared more toward input on the board itself in the furture.
While I don’t know if any changes will be made as far as how the OT forum is handled, we CAN post an announcement a couple of days prior to most scheduled OT days in the future. We’ll likely still throw a few surprises in there as well…
Thanks again for the feedback!
Mod 1
