[Toups]

So, let's discuss this. It seems that James thinks that FF would be better if it were open to any topic.

I for one, don't really feel this way, since this is a games focused site, the forum is focused on games, and while James post was great -- lots of information and links and videos and generally cool stuff -- it was on a subject that I have no interest in whatsoever. And I reckon a lot of people here are the same way. And given that it's interest in videogames that has brought this community together, I feel that it's only correct that we have on-topic threads there. We don't have a music forum, because, well, it would be small and slow -- same thing for film, or any other set of topics. And what's to keep other people from posting livejournal entries as topics, or things of more limited interest?

I guess what I'm saying is this is a step towards the site becoming an E/N blog, and I sure as hell don't want THAT to happen.
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[Toups]

And another issue is that the SB.net frontpage has an audience that goes beyond the forum members (people sometimes forget this, I guess), and that audience is primarily a gameplaying one -- so stuff like this might alienate or cause them to lose interest in the site. It's a question of relevance, and why people come to the frontpage or have it on their RSS feeds to began with.

Anyway -- I appreciate the effort that went into that thread, and, since the RSS feeds have already picked it up, I may as well leave it on the frontpage, but, well. How does everyone else feel about this?
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[Maztorre]

I don't think it should have been there, but people had already started replying to it and there was obviously a lot of effort put into the post, so yeah.

The frontpage should reflect the main output of the site, which is videogames.

[Mr Mustache]

The problem is that there isn't much output. The main page is pretty stagnant, and never seems to spawn very productive threads. I'm sure this could be fixed without adding additional types of content, but it would take some doing.
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The people are like wool to me

[internisus]

I don't take much issue with this... threads in general often have at least a borderline or tangential relation to videogame culture or otherwise interest those of a videogaming cultural mindset -- hence why such threads appear here, anyway. That's just my initial reaction, anyway.

[!=]

I think it can work, occasionally.

Selectbutton is not a commercial outlet, ruled by marketing laws.

However, I do understand the concern. It all comes down on whether you have a mechanism for deciding what fits and what does not. Maybe a cabal could decide what goes public?

[ionustron]

I recall back in the IC days, the question came up about what IC was all about. My memory isn't perfect, but I remember more than a few folks believing that IC was a sort of defining pattern, or perhaps a sort of underlay of life, folks with tons of interests, but like-minded that they enjoy gaming and serious gaming discussion as well..

Hmm, Okay, I just butchered that, but my point is that I think it's perfectly reasonable to put wonderful, not totally game-related content on the main page from time to time, just not all the time. We don't need to be a site that covers all forms of media of course, but it's not good if we just limit ourselves to videogames all the time. We could very well stagnate that way. I had no prior knowledge of Electro (other than, what, Electro Rock?), but found it very interesting nevertheless.

[haze]

I think it's alright, make the front page site seem more laid-back. but just sometimes, and only if they're really good. having them outnumber the game-related articles would feel weird to me, at least right now.

[icycalm]

I think non-gaming content on the frontpage would be a horrible idea. Except if it's porn.

[Toups]

[Toups]

Actually, yeah. The more I think about it, the more I realize this is a bad idea. Unless someone can really present a convincing argument to the contrary.
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[slipstream]

The frontpage says sb is: half rollicking argument about videogames, half self-absorbed inanity. It wouldn't be bad if the front page reflected the forums, because a lot of great discussion happens to not be about games.
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[icycalm]

Or you could just delete the "half self-absorbed inanity" altogether...

[internisus]

[Toups]

[Ebrey]

[slipstream]

I liked James post and it didn't seem too far out there, is all. Obviously too many "off topic" posts wouldn't be good, but it shouldn't be off limits, in my opinion, because the community is more than just videogames.
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[internisus]

[Mr. Apol]

[icycalm]

Objection duly noted!

[Dark Age Iron Savior]

[Levi]

Isn't this kind of a moot point with James' thread, given he explicitly draws a link to video games in the OP?

[Toups]

[SplashBeats]

Toups, the correlation between electro and videogame music is pretty obvious. You'll see a lot of YMO's influence in early arcade and console games.

Also, who reads the frontpage (other than Kotaku) that doesn't post here?

[Mr Mustache]

[SplashBeats]

[Corinth]

I agree with Toups (oh, the horror!) in that we probably shouldn't make strictly non-video game-related posts front-page material, but this is mostly because of the momentum we have (and the reputation we've gained) as a gaming site. I don't see a problem with tangentially related things, like for example a topic about Akira Yamaoka's extra-gaming exploits, or Escape From New York and Snake Plisken and his effect on MGS, and in fact those could be very interesting! I see no reason to remove the electro thread from FF, as it is very well done and we hadn't discussed this yet, but my vote (and my feelings on this aren't very strong) is that we keep things game-oriented for the front page content.

[Toups]

Yeah, and a good deal of the discussion in that thread is in fact game-related, so it works out fine for me. This isn't really about the electro thread (which I'm just using as example), but to discuss whether or not we want to open up the topicality restrictions of FF.

[Corinth]

Precisely my feelings.

[inmatarian]

Maybe you could just move more interesting threads over to FF, or, have the provokation (first post) spiffied up to make it front page worthy.
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2993 badness blog email

[Ebrey]

Isn't what seperates SelectButton from other gaming sites a vague, unquantifiable spirit in how we approach them? And doesn't this spirit apply to how we talk about everything else outside of the front page? Only one of the three actively used boards (KoP, general, and axe) is based around video games; why shouldn't the front page reflect the site?

Also, Toups, you seem to misunderstand the concept of E/N. E/N was the stuff Ging was posting, which meant everything to him and nothing to anyone else. Whereas James' Electro article was written for people who didn't know anything about electro: James wrote it for everybody else, not himself.

It's silly to say "I don't want Select Button to be like _____ type of site", because 99.9% of gaming sites are awful and we do alright. It's the quality of posters that matters.

[Toups]

[Teflon]

So no BDSM thread on the front page until someone ties (a-ha) it to Voldo then.

[Intentionally Wrong]

I'd be fine with off-topic posts if the front page operated more like a blog. I'm not sure how feasible this is, since it's just taking topics in Force Feedback and displaying a preview of the first post, but I'd like to see keywords tagged on all entries, and then some way either to display all entries sharing one keyword or to filter certain entries that share a keyword out of the results. Then we could just tag off-topic entries as "off topic" and let the users decide for themselves.
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JSNLV is frequently and intentionally wrong.

[parkbench]

If it had just gone in GBF it would have been fine and still interesting. As is, I agree that SB should be a site that focuses on gaming. Even if the proposed topic is only tangentially related, at least it is...related, you know? The JamesE thread is good, but I think it's out of place.
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metafilter vs. youtube comments

[Hot Stott Bot]

One of the most interesting facets of these forums is that while everyone has some modicum of interest in videogames, there is lots of good and interesting discussion about things not related to videogames.

If FF is a showcase for the best of the forums with a significant part of its purpose being to attract new members, then it should showcase the best of the stuff we talk about not related to videogames as well if you want to attract new members.

Otherwise, I'm not convinced we wouldn't be better off without FF...

I think it kind of creates a needless barrier to entry.

Only people interested in the stuff posted on FF are going to bother clicking the forums and then only people also interested in the stuff on the forums will stay!

The point of FF is, of course, to filter down the content to the best bits and make it easier for people to see the content and get into it, but by not accurately reflecting the larger feel and topic of the forums, I think it does the opposite of its intended goal.

[Daphaknee]

open to anything, as long as it doesnt turn into a boring blog site
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the internet's

[Toups]

[Teflon]

What I'm not really seeing is how General Burnings are going to get in the way of game-related FF posts. It's not like we have three or four FF-worthy topics a day all fighting for space on the frontpage is it?

Yeah you're going to physically get general subjects shoving old game posts into the pruning zone but who really wants to see an article from December 2006 proudly displayed up front?

We've got quality folks here, I say lend them a stage to do whatever the hell they like.

[icycalm]

How about we put this to a vote :)