[babsa]

Would this be a viable sub-forum? I think i would find myself frequenting this if it were established.

[Still Standing]

I'd be around. Could include gardening (which can be related to cooking) and landscaping too.

Question is, will the powers that be deem it appropriate for a "debate forum"?

[babsa]

	Originally Posted by Still Standing
	I'd be around. Could include gardening (which can be related to cooking) and landscaping too.

That was actually one of the topics i initially imagined it covering.

[GoldBoost]

That would be really cool, this forum seems to cover just about every aspect you can think of and organized it into sections well. Cooking and home improvement would be a great addition, too. I would mostly lurk though, as I can't cook beyond basic meals like chicken breast with rice mixed with canned tuna.

[Muse]

I also take personal interest in these topics.

[irini]

Yes, it would be nice...after all eveyryone has a home or consider a place as a home.
Exchanging worldwide opinions of how we can improve our homes it would be interesting, challenging and ...entertaining!

[Jezebel]

	Originally Posted by Still Standing
	Question is, will the powers that be deem it appropriate for a "debate forum"?

Whether or not it's a "debate forum" isn't an issue. What the powers that be worry about is "will it be a ghost town?". We want all of our subforums to look active. There should be multiple threads with new posts every day. I have no doubt that there will be people interested in the topics in this category, but will there be enough members interested enough to post there every day? Do we already have a lot of threads on the forum that indicate there is a lot of interest in these topics?

[MrFlaneur]

Gardening and cooking, can't wait. I'm in favour, not that I'm into DIY/food, but I think that we need something softer to balance the tone of the place out a bit, instead of peeps constantly arguing the finer points of minutiae.

Go for it, be bold.

[vampyroteuthis]

	Originally Posted by MrFlaneur
	Gardening and cooking, can't wait. I'm in favour, not that I'm into DIY/food, but I think that we need something softer to balance the tone of the place out a bit, instead of peeps constantly arguing the finer points of minutiae. Go for it, be bold.

You think people aren't going to argue about minutiae in a discussion on cooking?

[True Rune]

Like a hobbies and life skills forum? It'd be similar to work and education, just in a less technical/formal sense. We INTJs are all about self improvement.. I think it would work.

[babsa]

Originally Posted by Jezebel

Whether or not it's a "debate forum" isn't an issue. What the powers that be worry about is "will it be a ghost town?". We want all of our subforums to look active. There should be multiple threads with new posts every day. I have no doubt that there will be people interested in the topics in this category, but will there be enough members interested enough to post there every day? Do we already have a lot of threads on the forum that indicate there is a lot of interest in these topics?

Hmmm, well, i am not sure how to answer your questions. I don't know how much work it takes adding a sub-forum, but my first instinct is to try it out and see. We can do a poll to see how many people would go there, but i don't think it would be a very accurate gauge in whether people would actually be regular visitors to that forum. It is difficult to predict how the sub-forum's environment will feel like, or it's quality, for that matter.

	Originally Posted by vampyroteuthis
	You think people aren't going to argue about minutiae in a discussion on cooking?

I laughed when i read this, lol. :D

I can imagine it now:
"No! No! No! No! Steak is best on a CHARCOAL grill not on stovetop!"

[Still Standing]

	Originally Posted by True Rune
	Like a hobbies and life skills forum? It'd be similar to work and education, just in a less technical/formal sense. We INTJs are all about self improvement.. I think it would work.

For it to keep enough people around, maybe it could be expanded a bit beyond cooking and home improvement. It could be some sort of DIY subforum that includes:

- exterior/interior home improvement and decoration
- gardening and landscaping
- cooking and barbecuing
- furniture/wood repair and finishing
- swimming pool and spa servicing
- cooling, heating and ventilation systems, fireplaces, humidifiers, etc.
- home appliances cleaning and repair
- basic plumbing
- pest control

Maybe even expand that to many people's second home or refuge, i.e. their car, and include car mechanics and repairs/improvement. Ditto for bikes, motorbikes, RVs, etc.

[deconspire]

It all just seems like A&E-ish topics to me, and I never see any posts about this kind of stuff anyway.

Erm...I feel like a party pooper now. I like the idea, but y'all better start spamming those threads out there then.

[gracious]

I would be interested in this subforum.

[babsa]

	Originally Posted by deconspire
	It all just seems like A&E-ish topics to me, and I never see any posts about this kind of stuff anyway. Erm...I feel like a party pooper now. I like the idea, but y'all better start spamming those threads out there then.

It doesnt really fall under any of the sub-forums to be honest... Kind of like how they started a gender sub-forum, they somewhat fell under relationships. Yes, cooking is referred to as culinary arts, but i don't think anyone really logically places cooking with the art category.

[Amphorian]

I'd be very interest in said forum too. Anyways, the reason why I don't post those type of topics is because it feels like no one else wants to (even though that may not be the case), and there really isn't a proper forum for it.

*Edit: I think it is important to note there is a lot of talk about these subjects but they are more so sprinkled about in the lounge, especially in the blogs.

[deconspire]

	Originally Posted by babsa
	It doesnt really fall under any of the sub-forums to be honest... Kind of like how they started a gender sub-forum, they somewhat fell under relationships. Yes, cooking is referred to as culinary arts, but i don't think anyone really logically places cooking with the art category.

Understood, although the point being "are people withholding from posting threads about cooking or whatever simply because there is not a specific subforum?" I don't think so.

Splitting A&E into separate subforums (one Art/Music, one Entertainment/Hobbies or something) might help boost the numbers though.

[babsa]

	Originally Posted by deconspire
	Understood, although the point being "are people withholding from posting threads about cooking or whatever simply because there is not a specific subforum?" I don't think so. Splitting A&E into separate subforums (one Art/Music, one Entertainment/Hobbies or something) might help boost the numbers though.

As i said earlier in this thread, we can run in circles speculating and theorizing about the nature of forums and forumites, or they can create the sub-forum and find out. This ignores the effort or cost of creating a sub-forum, because i am admittedly ignorant of these facts.

[Amphorian]

	Originally Posted by deconspire
	Understood, although the point being "are people withholding from posting threads about cooking or whatever simply because there is not a specific subforum?" I don't think so.

Don't be so sure about your opinion. If I recall some of the largest threads here in the S&F were about people not wanting to post in certain forums because they felt the debate in those forums was/are just 'attack, attack, attack' and thus many didn't post in said forum. I'm thinking mainly about the R&M, and others requesting a new subforum for the threads about anti-feminism (which we got as G&A) and the libertarian threads in the P&E.

I also have seen bloggers here post recipes and home improvement stuff, but end up making outside blogs so others here can easily find said posts instead of searching through a personal blog.

[deconspire]

	Originally Posted by Amphorian
	Don't be so sure about your opinion.

I'm not, hence the "think". But I still think if y'all show instead of tell, you'll have more weight to the suggestion. Hell, I'll post in them too, I love cooking, and I think the DIY idea is great. I might be able to save money fixing my car then.

[Amphorian]

	Originally Posted by deconspire
	I'm not, hence the "think". But I still think if y'all show instead of tell, you'll have more weight to the suggestion. Hell, I'll post in them too, I love cooking, and I think the DIY idea is great. I might be able to save money fixing my car then.

I already explained there are a lot of posts about these subjects, but mainly in the lounge area and especially in the blogs. There really isn't a proper forum to place these subjects in.

[Uriel]

Originally Posted by Still Standing

For it to keep enough people around, maybe it could be expanded a bit beyond cooking and home improvement. It could be some sort of DIY subforum that includes: - exterior/interior home improvement and decoration - gardening and landscaping - cooking and barbecuing - furniture/wood repair and finishing - swimming pool and spa servicing - cooling, heating and ventilation systems, fireplaces, humidifiers, etc. - home appliances cleaning and repair - basic plumbing - pest control Maybe even expand that to many people's second home or refuge, i.e. their car, and include car mechanics and repairs/improvement. Ditto for bikes, motorbikes, RVs, etc.

Home Economics?
Cooking, Gardening, Home Improvement

It sort of does go in line with an INTJs predilection for independence.

[JTG]

	Originally Posted by deconspire
	Splitting A&E into separate subforums (one Art/Music, one Entertainment/Hobbies or something) might help boost the numbers though.

This was considered, but Arts and Entertainment is among the slowest moving areas of the forum already. Pulling topics out to build a hobbies subforum would drop its activity even further.

That's not to say it will never happen. There just has to be a way to accommodate a new subforum without killing other areas.

[Silverity]

	Originally Posted by JTG
	This was considered, but Arts and Entertainment is among the slowest moving areas of the forum already. Pulling topics out to build a hobbies subforum would drop its activity even further. That's not to say it will never happen. There just has to be a way to accommodate a new subforum without killing other areas.

Right, but to reiterate what Amph mentioned, these threads aren't just going into the A&E subforum, they crop up in sociology, the lounge, member's only, and the personal blogs. I think it's worth checking all the subforums to see what the volume really is, it might be more than we think.

EDIT: Also, the descriptor for the A&E forum is:

	Visual Art, Music, Movies, Books, Creative Writing, Videos, Sports

^-- That does not encompass what we're talking about. None of the forums really do, except the lounge, where they get buried almost immediately.

[Jezebel]

	Originally Posted by babsa
	Hmmm, well, i am not sure how to answer your questions.

What I look for is the number of threads that already exist that can be moved to the new subforum so it doesn't start out empty, how many of those threads are recent, and the activity level of the primary subforum they will be moved from.

I do think the Lounge could benefit from a split since threads with new posts sometimes fall off the front page the same day. If I do create a new subforum I'm leaning toward "Home and Hobbies" which could include cooking, gardening, diy projects, automotives, travel and perhaps sports (it seems kind out of out of place in Arts and Entertainment).

	Originally Posted by babsa
	I don't know how much work it takes adding a sub-forum

It generally involves reorganizing a lot of threads, mucking around in our permissions system, inviting a new moderator and regularly monitoring the new subforum's progress for some time afterward in case adjustments need to be made. It isn't a lot of work, but it's enough that I wouldn't want to do it if I thought it might not work out.