Merge club forums into league idea

[Onyx]

In light of the lack of activity on the forum, I think it would be a good idea to merge the individual club forums into league forums. It would definitely freshen things up and provided that the regular members of the club forums continue posting, the activity of the new sections will be at an acceptable level. These would be the new forum sections.

English Football
Spanish Football
Italian Football
German Football
Rest of the World

[Lucifer]

Against it.

[Pedram]

NO

[Art Morte]

I would be willing to try it. The club sections are pretty dead.

However, because we are all used to having GL the way it is, I think most of us wouldn't feel comfortable going to a different system.

[Onyx]

Going through with this would mean people get to talk to and debate with people they've never spoken to before. For example I rarely ever go into another section and randomly make a post. It would feel like I'm intruding. Like a stranger trying to relate to a family.

The idea opens up new discussions and possibilities.

[guest7]

EPL is going to get a major boost in popularity and maybe La Liga will get more aside from Barca + Madrid (La Liga thread in the GenSec is the most popular)

I think it would be great. I know mods are nervous since many are against discussing other clubs than their own but really it's gonna be the same as long as the posters are active supporters of their own club.

[Guest]

Do you really think Barcelona and Madrid players can coexist?

I'm against it.

Are we able to see who votes for what? I feel like clubs with a more inactive section will be more inclined to vote year. And those with a more active section, with a tight knit family will be more opposed to it.

[Freeza]

I voted yes for the banter

[Thimmy]

Speaking of voting and banter. A friend of mine just came home from a vacation in California, where he talked to a Mexican guy who allegedly voted for Trump, purely based on him being a fan of Trump's wife and daughters It sounds a bit ridiculous, but then again.. California.

[McAgger]

I voted yes. GL needs a change and honestly I'm backing any kind of change even though this idea isn't the greatest it's better than sitting on our ass.

I foresee the General Section hurting slightly from this but would definitely boost the dead zones that are club sections.

[Guest]

People post in milan section and I've seen others posting in other sections. Other clubs are generally welcoming so long as you don't rustle any feathers. I think this keeps things more civil. Can you imagine Harmonica going up against some Madrid heads?

[Guest]

Speaking of voting and banter. A friend of mine just came home from a vacation in California, where he talked to a Mexican guy who allegedly voted for Trump, purely based on him being a fan of Trump's wife and daughters It sounds a bit ridiculous, but then again.. California.

I'm hearing talks of gay New Yorker voting republican...

[Freeza]

People post in milan section and I've seen others posting in other sections. Other clubs are generally welcoming so long as you don't rustle any feathers. I think this keeps things more civil. Can you imagine Harmonica going up against some Madrid heads?

That's basically the entire general section. I basically retired from football discussion because of him.

[Thimmy]

Speaking of voting and banter. A friend of mine just came home from a vacation in California, where he talked to a Mexican guy who allegedly voted for Trump, purely based on him being a fan of Trump's wife and daughters It sounds a bit ridiculous, but then again.. California.

I'm hearing talks of gay New Yorker voting republican...

That's hilarious

[Cruijf]

I think a great deal of these barriers are psychological. Not many people know but I've actually been a member since long before the Goal shutdown and transition to this forum, I just almost never left the Milan section. It's only in the past year or so that I've ventured outside into the other sections, mostly because talking about Milan is very depressing these days

Looking back, I regret not participating in discussions outside of the Milan forum in the Goal days. I've never been a particularly active or outgoing poster, and as such never left my comfort zone that was our family of Milanisti. While it was nice to have a proverbial home, keeping the forum as is would amputate a significant amount of the experience of GL for users like me. By removing the articificial club boundaries, we can get rid of these unnecessary separations in discussions, something which I believe would lead to more mingling between posters that don't normally mix. This can only be a good thing, because it will mean a more active forum and more diverse discussions.

This move wouldn't actually change anything, it would just remove the psychological blocks we've put on ourselves, that we can't leave 'our' section or enter 'their' section. Every single thread and discussion that happens in the current club sections would still happen, you'd just have more people, more activity, and more diversity.

[M99]

Pls no

[free_cat]

You can do that in the General section... so my vote is no.

[Onyx]

You can do that in the General section... so my vote is no.

Sure, but there's a lot of good posters who don't go on the general section. Plus the more in depth topics for a club are usually discussed within the club forums.

The main purpose of the change is to increase the activity levels of the club forums. Now if you merge them into league forums, the activity levels automatically increase if those that post now in the club forums continue to post. There might actually be more activity since fans can now respond to threads that don't involve their club. For example a Juventus fan participating in an AC Milan tactics thread. Or a Chelsea fan discussing Arsenal's transfer rumours.

[Guest]

I hear what you're saying, but I think those people don't go there for a reason. One of the Milan guys said it psychological, but I would argue that all he has to do is go post in the general section as opposed to changing the system. I'm just afraid we might lost posters, or have some become less active because they like having their safe place (club section).

I understand where you're coming from, but I really feel this could go either way. General section can be used for what you're trying to create. I've seen a Neymar thread in the Barca section and one in the General section. Hell I've even occasionally posted on sections I would not consider my home (so long as I feel I have something to add)

I personally love having the Milan section with many posters I've grown close to over the years. I get along with some of the other serie A guys, but that doesn't mean I like the idea of coexisting with them in a Serie A thread. General section already has threads dedicated to each league if I'm not mistaken. If people really want to branch out, they can already do so. I don't like the idea of forcing people out of their "homes".

[rincon]

I know I'm new but I vote yes.

There's a lot more action happening in spanish and english football club sections, but Roma and Inter dont have more than a couple. An italian one would be nice. I enjoy discussing most of the teams and maybe we can talk more about clubs besides Juve and Milan (the most happening sections).

[Onyx]

I hear what you're saying, but I think those people don't go there for a reason. One of the Milan guys said it psychological, but I would argue that all he has to do is go post in the general section as opposed to changing the system. I'm just afraid we might lost posters, or have some become less active because they like having their safe place (club section).

I understand where you're coming from, but I really feel this could go either way. General section can be used for what you're trying to create. I've seen a Neymar thread in the Barca section and one in the General section. Hell I've even occasionally posted on sections I would not consider my home (so long as I feel I have something to add)

I personally love having the Milan section with many posters I've grown close to over the years. I get along with some of the other serie A guys, but that doesn't mean I like the idea of coexisting with them in a Serie A thread. General section already has threads dedicated to each league if I'm not mistaken. If people really want to branch out, they can already do so. I don't like the idea of forcing people out of their "homes".

Well I used to exclusively post within the RM section when I first joined and never considered posting elsewhere. It wasn't because I disliked other places, it was more that all the other forums felt like unknown territory. Why would I want to go into a forum that isn't related to my club and intrude on a strangers conversation? Plus clicking through 10 different club forums isn't really ideal, especially considering that psychological barrier. Now if you merge the sections, people no longer have to worry about that and everything becomes more universal.

Now I do agree the general section can used for I'm saying, however some people don't want to use the general section and there's often threads created in the GS that end up getting moved to the appropriate club forum. The issue here is the lack of activity and this idea is to simply remedy that, anything else is a bonus. It could go either way, but imo sometimes risks need to be taken.

[Dante]

Although i am fond of the Milan section , if the suggested idea could be better for the forum , i would be ok with the change. Maybe it's worth a shot .

I have a question for the admins , if this ever happened . Assuming this change didn't go well for whatever reason , would the sections return as they were , with all the threads and posts intact , as they were right before the change ? Or once you remove the sections , everything is lost for good ? Because if this idea wouldn't work , and that meant sections would have to start from scratch .. is it worth the risk ?

I think this is something we should know , and perhaps any other technicality or important bit you guys feel we should know about . Especially before people 'vote' and give whatever feedback they have to give . You said in the other thread you want feedback . Said feedback will count for much more if more information is available about the subject at hand . I mean , all i can say for sure right now is that i am open minded about it , but i can't go further than that . Personally , I wouldn't like to find empty sections returning as a result one day , that's all .

This is one thing i wouldn't like , if it's even a thing after all. The other one is , if it all would derive more from the general section . Sections usually add to the general section , in their way . But this could actually take from the general section , seeing as a lot of general discussions could actually move elsewhere .

__

And as i am given the opportunity ,  i have something last to say about a previous 'section idea' . The 'clean debate' one ; maybe it's time to revisit that decision ? I understand that , at the time , it made sense . I think for a while now it really doesn't . It diminishes the general section these days . And although it didn't really see that heavy activity , i do believe it took a lot of .. potential from the GS . Some pretty good discussions could have taken place in the GS , but it didn't , because they begun in a place almost nobody cares to check frequently , or contribute consistently.

What does clean debate even mean ? What is the GS for ? Talk about our nails ? I think you would do well to reconsider that one . Give value back to the general section , it sets an arbitrary barrier that here goes the 'good posts' , there 'anything else'. Again , it made sense back then because of the trolling or frequent derails , i don't think it does any more .

GS section should be the place for debates , 'clean' and what not . And just for the record ; there's no good debate without humor in it . I understand that 'clean' was there because of the trolling that used to pop often back in the day , but you don't need to sound like you've graduated from the Cruiffian University of Total Voetbal to make it a good debate. If anything , our most appreciated threads , always been like that , are filled with banter and even trolling at times (past threads) . You want more quality GS , give it some value back .

[futbol]

Going through with this would mean people get to talk to and debate with people they've never spoken to before. For example I rarely ever go into another section and randomly make a post. It would feel like I'm intruding. Like a stranger trying to relate to a family.

The idea opens up new discussions and possibilities.

In short, that's the essence of it. There are so many wasted opportunities because people are accustomed to staying in their own sections or not bothering to enter the other sections.

[RED]

Nope. I personally don't give a ish about other English clubs other than United, not enough to warrant an entire section of discussing topics of them all at once. I'm pretty sure many feel the same way.

As dead as the club sections are, leave it the way it is. We have the general section, where all of us can get together and discuss the world of football.

Having league sections would pretty much slowly kill the gen section, imo.

[Guest]

I think what I take away from all this is that people should break down this imaginary psychological barrier and visit other sections. That's why mods are designated to each section - to keep things civil. I don't see why we should change the whole format, when certain posters can easily change there mentality and roam around the forum.

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