Changes to the Outside the Box section

[Tiriel]

Hello everyone! We hope you're doing well and having a good time on the community.

The mod team has decided to make some changes to the Outside the Box section, which will affect Fun and Games as well. Since said changes might spark confusion —especially for those of you who frequent both places— we would like you to take a look at this thread to get a better picture of how things will be from now on.

What are we changing?

In the next several weeks, we will be moving a number of threads that are currently in Outside the Box to the Fun and Games section, or somewhere else if we find a thread more fitting for a different section.

Why move threads from Outside the Box?

Our vision for Outside the Box is for it to be a place that both encourages conversation and allows users to express themselves in a more personal and substantial way. The problem is that, upon further inspection, we realized that there are quite a few threads there that don't really match that description; instead, they only allow users to post something in a way that doesn't spark any meaningful discussion. For example: A person can only say so much to describe 'What's to your left?', whereas something like 'The hot take thread' allows people to post their personal feelings and opinions on a topic that others may agree or disagree with. So, with that in mind, we have made the decision to move any threads that could be categorized as more 'gamey' or 'just for fun' to Fun and Games (or potentially, to a different section), as we believe that to be a more suitable place for them.

How are we going to do this?

We will be moving threads in batches, with the more obvious ones being first. As we start doing this, the mod team will continue to discuss and decide if the threads that are not as easy to categorize should stay in Outside the Box or be moved as well.

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And that's it for now! Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask them here!

 

[Antiyonder]

I am curious about the YouTube video thread not working for Outside the Box. A little concerned depending on which of the two forums are visited more.

But I would argue it fits OtB since I figure the videos posted relate to what we enjoy.

 

[Tiriel]

I am curious about the YouTube video thread not working for Outside the Box. A little concerned depending on which of the two forums are visited more.

But I would argue it fits OtB since I figure the videos posted relate to what we enjoy.

That's one of the threads that falls into our "harder to categorize" list and will require further discussion with the rest of the mod team. Our hope is that we'll be able to keep Outside the Box active by making new threads to replace the ones being moved, but letting threads such as 'What song are you currently listening to?' stay in Outside the Box is something that's definitely being considered

 

[Greninjaman]

I know this is about the "Outside the Box" section, but I feel it best to ask here instead of making a whole new thread for something that already has a similar thing: Will the General Pokémon Discussion Section get the same treatment (threads that seem game-like will be moved to fun and games)? I ask because there is this thread that feels like a game.

 

[Sheep]

I know this is about the "Outside the Box" section, but I feel it best to ask here instead of making a whole new thread for something that already has a similar thing: Will the General Pokémon Discussion Section get the same treatment (threads that seem game-like will be moved to fun and games)? I ask because there is this thread that feels like a game.

We don't have plans to do this right now. While there are a few threads that feel game-like currently in General Pokémon Discussion, they get the most relevant eyes on them if we keep them where they are. It's not as much of an issue when it's just a few threads that fall into this category, rather than Outside the Box where it's the majority of them.

 

[Antiyonder]

That's one of the threads that falls into our "harder to categorize" list and will require further discussion with the rest of the mod team. Our hope is that we'll be able to keep Outside the Box active by making new threads to replace the ones being moved, but letting threads such as 'What song are you currently listening to?' stay in Outside the Box is something that's definitely being considered

Good to know it's being considered. Though sometimes I wonder if with how forum activeness has been well shaky over the last few years, if maybe it might be better just the same to merge Fun & Games with OtB.