I was thinking maybe we need an off topic forum. The problem with using general stuff for that purpose imo is that some don't come to nesdev for the off topic stuff and tech stuff related to nes DOES get posted in general stuff. (so it is worth checking) This would all be solved with an "off topic" subforum.
Maybe one easy solution is to just change the name of the Test forum to Off-topic?
Perhaps we could adopt a model like that of stage plays in New York, NY: there's Broadway, then off-Broadway, then off-off-Broadway. Then General Stuff would be off-topic and whatever Test Forum becomes would be off-off-topic, but we'd need to find some sort of guideline for what's just off-topic.
Then it would become turtles, all the way down.
No, the turtles are on top. It's Mario corpses all the way down, at least according to Bill Mudron.
tepples wrote:
but we'd need to find some sort of guideline for what's just off-topic.
- Hmm... what about "unrelated with NES development, gaming and anything that would bring the NES into the subject".
- A "general forum" brings NES stuff (in short words now), but "a dream about lottery" isn't related in anyways... and it's annoying at extreme! AH!
Zepper wrote:
but "a dream about lottery" isn't related in anyways
That of course depends on whether the dream was about pushing start to RICH.
Good intentions on the ideas, but I don't think it will solve the issue exactly. If we made an off-topic forum, I can guarantee that some threads will end up being "off-topic" at first, but after a few pages in the same thread, posts will be including code blocks and talking about game ideas and the finer points of PPU programming. Which is perfectly natural, because most of us here are programmers and interested in the NES. And it would be sorta lame to say "you can talk about anything except NES stuff here", on an NES site. The last thing we need are constant outbreaks of political discussions and stuff like that.
I suppose there could be an "NES General" forum, but originally I avoided that because there already are many NES sites. I frequented NESWorld at the time, it's still up (and also is on Parodius), Nintendoage has a pretty active forum as well.
If you look at how the sections are organized on the forum index, you can see that General / SNES/ GB etc is all grouped under "Other". Basically, it IS the off-topic forum.
I suppose there could be an "NES General" forum, but originally I avoided that because there already are many NES sites. I frequented NESWorld at the time, it's still up (and also is on Parodius), Nintendoage has a pretty active forum as well.
If you look at how the sections are organized on the forum index, you can see that General / SNES/ GB etc is all grouped under "Other". Basically, it IS the off-topic forum.
I thought "General" was the off-topic forum, because it says we can talk about almost anything there.
I think it has something to do with an incident over two years ago. Censored so as not to open old wounds: "J*, this is not your blog."