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Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

I've seen some remarks about a chat thread having an adverse effect on the quality of the OT Forum.

I think in a way it does, because the chat threads are just that; chat. They're not a thread about a specific topic of discussion, they're just a meandering chat. I don't think the goal of OT is to replace MSN or ICQ or whatever, it's to house threads which are off-topic and don't fit elsewhere; but are still discussion threads.

That in itself (that we want discussions, not chat) isn't a huge reason, but it is one.

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

I've seen suggestions that the Chat Room could be used.

I think that'd be great, it's there for that.

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

I've seen it suggested that the enormous, multi-thousand replies and multi-hundred page threads cause server strain.

This is true, but hard to quantify. From a general database point of view the more records the software has to go through to generate the information requested, the more strain it has to put on the server. The bigger a thread, the more resources are needed to display it and update it.

As to how much of an impact, that's difficult to say without basically doing benchmarks, setting up 500 fake users, measuring exact query times, etc etc... So it's hard to say if it's a 1% drain or a 10% drain. But server CPU is definitely the next limiting factor for us hardware wise so it's an important consideration.

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Is there a definitive answer to this? Or if not, at least a clear subjective explanation? The participants in the 'chat threads' seemed to enjoy them - they can foster a sense of community and comraderie amongst members.

I agree, though I think there's a "maximum" level of that too, and the chat threads are usually limited to a relatively small # of members. But that is one thing on the positive side to consider.

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

In terms of having a meandering, ever changing topic - I don't see the harm in that. Threads often can contain very interesting discussions and exchanges of ideas that have very little to do with the original topic. I don't see a thread being "derailed" or "hi-jacked" as a negative thing - these discussions can evolve organically and often take unexpected twists and turns.

That's true, but even a thread that evolves still usually has something to do with the original topic.. if it doesn't then in an ideal world a moderator would actually split the thread into two threads so both topics could continue, but that's pretty intensive for moderators time. But maybe that's something that has to happen more in the future, I know forums who's moderators are very active in that kind of thing.

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

If concerns about "quality" or "server strain" are legitimate -- surely they would equally apply to Game chat threads as well? With 5 or 6 "Iggy scores!" posts or "McGratton owned in that fight" for every highlight? Perhaps I'm exaggerating or underrating the quality of discussion in the game threads. For reasons that community members avoided the multi-page OT "chat" threads, I avoid the multi-page FOI Game "chat" threads. I don't see one being inherently better or worse than the other.

From a server strain point of view, game threads are temporary and short lived, so while the load of lots of people all at once is significant, the strain from the actual thread itself isn't that bad because the thread is small.

And we are Calgarypuck, so a game thread "chat" is more expected of a sports site than a general chat thread, and it is all on one single topic (mostly).

But from a quality point of view, I totally agree. Some game threads I want to lock after the first period. But I can't really think of any solution to that, other than mass bannings.. which I'm up for

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

I checked the board guidelines, I checked the OT forum description, and I didn't see anything approaching a policy or direction that was laid out with regards to "chat" threads. If such threads are to be discouraged, surely there is room for an explanation or update to the guidelines, descriptions or policies?

Of course.. policy is something that grows and changes over time as the forum grows and changes too, and discussing it is reasonable.

One other aspect of a chat thread is difficulty in moderation.. they're just hard to moderate because they're hard to read. So mods stay out of them, which means more goes on there than in other threads, and when action is necessary, it can take forever to foil out what's going on... the source of something might be 50 pages back!

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

But if these decisions are being made because of the company line, could the company line be laid out for the users and participants in these forums?

Thanks for your time. Sorry for rambling.

Maybe more of a case of us finding the "company line".. we've allowed them for a while, and have seen that side of it, and the costs maybe have outweighed the benefits.. but you've made some points to think on as well.