Well, my suggestion for how this plays out doesn't have to be taken I'd just like to see some sort of solution:
I find the board as a whole very cluttered. Lots of dead threads and sub boards to weed through. As a newb it was really hard for me to get a hang on it without constantly being active with the site and even now if I go away for a few days it can be a huge chore.

I'd like to see a bit of a spring clean up happen I guess, with watever means plausible. I think it would make it easier for noobs and easier for us!

This could mean combining like boards or moving their order to make them more accesable to players, and/or deleting older inactve threads (like the ones from 3 years ago where none of the members are still members!) I know there would be an issue where someone was in an older post and it's important character development so those sorts of things would always be considered... but really... this group has been around for a long time and there's a lot of cobwebs.

I think it would help us, and newbs and I think if it were considered in whatever manner appropriate I think Lady J should pick some mods other than just herself to sift through so it's not an overwhelming task and we're also all not just waiting for Lady J as she is busy IRL and it can take a while to get these sorts of things going.

Disagree if you like, that's ok, but in being a person who rped years ago and is now getting back into it I think I represent a good chunk of those who are new/returning when I say it can be incredlby overwhelming to get around. The guides are all great... but I dont think we should keep hanging on to things that are serving us no good.

Please consider.

*things that are serving us no good as in old old posts, not the guides. hehe love the guides

Hmm...While I like the idea of a 'spring cleaning' of sorts, Deleting threads and such, IMHO is a bad idea. No matter if the people in them are no longer members, they're still apart of MRO. It is the easiest way of doing it though.

Instead of deleting them, perhaps we should have an archive board where all old, dead threads go. I'm not sure how it works, but I would think moving threads and such into a board like that would break any links to other posts/threads, but *shrug* so be it, we can go and put a link to those threads again if need be. With this idea, I would think the difficult part would be how to organize the Archive Board.

But that's my two cents for now.

Archiving sounds like a good idea. Also, locking old/ancient threads, so new ones can't accidently try and revive them, without realizing they are dead threads.

yeah, once in a while we have a new person try and resurrect a post i made 10 months ago, lol. Anyway, like I said, I'm totally open to whatever methods you deem proper I'd just like to see a bit of a facelift. In regards to links and things, I think if they're older threads they'd really only be linked to older/even older threads- safe for maybe the occasional one? Maybe we could delete some of the ooc posts/threads that are inactive and have been kicking around a few years.

I like the idea of archiving, say have guigeline that if a thread isn't posted in a certain amount of time (6 months? a year? longer?) then it be moved to the archives. we could even have an 'archive mod', someone who polices the old threads, and when they die, moves them to the 'resting home' lol.

My $0.02: I don't object at all to this happening, if someone wants to take on the job of doing it.

But there are a lot of threads and it's going to turn into a lot of work (especially when it break links and forces people to edit histories and plot summaries and stuff). If someone is volunteering to do this on an ongoing basis, great.... but I'm not sure it's a priority.

And really, it's easy enough to check the last-updated date on a thread.

yeah but it's a lot to filter through, and considering the threads are from dead plots and MIA charcaters anyway it shoudlnt affect anyone who's currently involved with the site, it would really just be archiving. I honestly think it would make a huge difference in some of the boards. Especially like ones like the around the world one, some of the 3 year old threads in the mansion, and it would just make the whole integration process easier.

and I did say it woudlnt be one person, if I got the OK i woudln't mind a long with a few others doing the deed.

I somewhat like the idea of locking old/dead posts, so that no one accidentally posts in them, and to signal that they've ended. I would volunteer to go around and do that.

I vehemently hate the idea of deleting older threads (even if they were made by members who no longer exist), and I dislike the idea of having an "archive". Since the threads are already organized by their age, I have never found the number of them confusing--it's fairly obvious after a few clicks which threads are new and which have rotted away to glistening bones. As someone who enjoys going back and figuring out the history of MRO by reading back threads, I like those back threads to A) exist and B) exist in the location that they were written at. That way when I'm looking up the history of the Mansion, I can simply look in the Mansion boards. It's a pretty intuitive set-up that we've got going. I like it. I don't want to make an archive, because A) that would be a colossal task to do well, B) it would be make things hideously confusing for an MRO history-reader like myself to read through if done poorly, and C) it would mess up things like links/references in many, many, many places.

So, in conclusion: I think dead threads should be locked, not stowed in a closet, and definitely not put in burlap sacks with rocks and tossed off a bridge. I'd volunteer to go through the boards and do the locking. In fact, that sounds like the sort of mindless busywork that I've been craving. In truth, though, I don't think we need to do anything with older threads. If someone can't notice that the most recent post on a thread was three years ago... it's their intelligence I worry about, not our site organization.

Calley does make a point, especailly since trying to organise an srchive would take months, if not a year or so. If an archive had been set up and working from the start of the site's creation, that would have been cool, but it may be a little late. I do think that at the least someone should lock the threads; and if Calley is a willing volunteer, then go ahead . But do feel free to rope in any willing helpers if you want, or to go and volunteer then yourself lol. But first things first, I reckon we should speak to Lady J, and ask her opinion. Because, you know, unless I'm greatly and horribly mistaken, this is her site, so she should have rather a lot of influence.

I am completely against the idea of reorganizing the site., either through deleting or archiving. It would be a huge amount of work to reorganize, both for mods and for members who have to back and redo all their links. If there are people who aren't around any more to fix their links, it would become imposible to find those old threads at all.

Locking threads would be less trouble. I would be okay with that.

I like seeing posts in their original locations and I don't find it troublesome to find out which threads are old and which are new. If there is anyone who doesn't like the clutter, I suggest bookmarking the threads you want to stay caught up on, then all your important threads will be visible in one place.

I also highly suggest that people archive (or rather create a library of) their own threads on their member pages so people can go back and find your histories and back posts. Returning members could also use them to find out what their favorite characters have been up to in their absence.

Actually, on second thought, I don't support locking threads, either--that would stop their creators from modifying any posts they've put on. I know that sometimes I read my own back posts, and quite frequently, that leads to me fixing spelling/grammar up on them. It would annoy me eternally if I couldn't do that because the thread was locked. (Granted that I can get around that since I'm a Mod now, but that's hardly the point--I think everyone should have full access to their own posts. It... makes sense.)

This is Calley with a Mod hat on, by the by.

Well, I still like the thought of locking old threads. Just speaking for myself, when I first joined things weren't as active as they are now, so there weren't many people to ask, and it took me a while to figure out the little things: 20 recent posts, how to look and see which threads were updated recently, active members, etc. I didn't pay attention to details really. Granted, it would take a lot of sifting, which I actually don't mind doing if you're looking for volunteers, but I'd say threads should be locked in cases where most of the posters are deleted/inactive, or have to do with plots long gone (the ones in the RIP section of the Plots board). That seems to cover mainly deleted or inactive characters, thus negating the issue of active members going back to alter their posts and such. Plus, if they are really that far back, it seems any changes would be minor, and not affect much in the present.

*drops her 2 cents into the jar, and wonders who's going to get all that money when we're done....*

As another suggestion for cleanup, this was brought up and suggested as well in the Cbox: Any chance we could move the 'Points System' board up on the forum, perhaps just above the Character Profiles? Some have trouble remembering where to find the board, and its current placement is a tad awkward.

Truly ancient ones I would be okay with locking, though I wouldn't see the point for it--for most of those, you have to click a few pages back to see them.

As to plot ones, that makes sense--for instance, Registration Day One should probably be locked, as well as everything at the camps from before the seven week jump.