I know there was a thread about this some time ago, but recent events have led me to open the discussion again.
Yesterday, I referred 2 persons to HWC, one was having a mysterious hardware problem, the other wanted information about RAID controllers. Neither of those 2 bothered to register and post their questions. The reason ? A couple of threads in the general forum, mostly the gun control issue.
The general forum is the place most of the people visit first when they come to this site. I don't mind the off-topic subjects that are posted, since they are often interesting and entertaining. But
some threads might be considered provocative by the average 1-post people who drop by to ask a hardware-related question.
I would suggest that we get a forum specifically designed for "social" posting, debates and other topics that aren't related to hardware. This could be a private forum, or you could hide it so that it wouldn't be immediately visible to the new members.
All members, please feel free to comment on this suggestion.
And remember, the description of the general forum says general hardware discussion.
I just checked the forum today. I'm definitely not sending people with hardware problems here any more. If they look at the topics in the general forum before going to the support forum, they'll think I've lost my mind.
[This message has been edited by 1 (edited 04-06-2000).]
Good idea. Maybe there should be a Social forum and then the more hardware related posts can be in the General forum.
EPOX EP9NPA+
AMD 64 3000+
2x 512mb Samsung DDR 400
80gb Western Digital
Benq DvD Writer
LG Combo
19" Mag Innovision CRT
GeForce 6600GT
Windows XP Pro SP1
i think you guys are right. it would be better to have a "non-hardware discussion" board as well. seems like lately there have been some interesting issues in "general" but sometimes it does feel a little weird replying to that stuff on a hardware board.
this assumes that the membership at large thinks non-hardware issues belong to this site AT ALL. i don't know the answer to that.
I would debate the necessity of such a board though - do we want that in a place like HWC? Or should people who want to talkabout guns, nukes, old women and parenting go somewhere else entirely?
Well, I've previously told people I know in real life to visit this site when they need technical information. I feel that I can no longer do this, when the first thread they see is a debate on whether marijuana should be legalized or not.
At the very least let's get topics like that out of the general forum. It has become more and more difficult to find threads with pc-related contents there, and as I said, that is the forum most of the new people check out first.
I admit Ive done it too. But only once or twice. I think that we all have different views, and people think that a hardware forum is a good place for it.
------------------ Please don't provoke the poor people..........
Their website said "Requires Linux Distrubution based on kernel 2.4.2 or better," so I went and installed FreeBSD.
I agree, the General Hardware Forum is not the place to discuss Political Crap. There should be a Scocial Forum! The General Forum would then be what it used to be, for general hardware questions.
Thanks.
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I will KILL for my KRAFT DINNER!!!!!
I will KILL for my KRAFT DINNER!!!!!
Shove that MAC up your A$$!!
I believe a forum for social issues is helpful for promoting a sense of community among those who visit frequently which I think is a good thing. Not everyone does though so keeping it in a forum of its own will make it easier to ignore for those who are not interested.
After you have been here for awhile, it's nice to talk to the people you have gotten to know about other subjects. If people like SadSadPanda find that stupid, then they are being ridiculous. It seems as though just about any hardware question should fit in one of the existing forums, so I don't really see the need for a new one.
I vote for the addition of a forum where you can talk about anything BUT computers. If there isn't one, the stuff is just going to keep showing up in the general forum. But it IS a general forum. I mean there is also support, I have no problem with the off topic questions.
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