Specific Anime Series Suggestion

Since I'm an active poster in the Specific Anime section, I decided to bring this issue to light. Within the Specific Anime Series Suggestion section, there is a spot called: Episode Discussion. Now, while this is a good idea, I've been noticing less and less people use the board for discussing a new episode of a currently running series.

So, what I'm wondering is if we can do something to put this section of the topic to use. Maybe we could have a General Topic Thread, (like for amagami, or something), but then directly underneath that would be links for each episode individually. So, it would look something like this:

Amagami-General Discussion

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, etc

And the separate episode section wouldn't exist.

I know that this may be a hard thing to implement, but I believe that something like this should be considered.

Anyways, if anyone else has any ideas, or think things should stay the way that they are, feel free to speak up. I merely wanted to bring this issue to light.

Support this fully. Two thumbs up on the idea.

I stand neutral on the issue. Although I have to agree that the Episode Discussion section is not as lively as compared to the past, I like the main section the way it is right now.

Nonetheless, there are a couple of queries which came to mind.

1) What happens if a series is exceptionally long, lasting 2 seasons or more? There are titles which may stretch beyond 24 or 26 episodes and having multiple links may seem somewhat messy?

2) Will it affect the main discussion of a particular title? Assuming a member is slow in watching a particular series and after doing so, s/he wishes to discuss certain scenes or arcs. Should said member post in the episode link or the main discussion?

As I have always said, creativity and originality are welcomed on Fakku. Your ideas and suggestions are refreshing in a positive manner.

I also think that the episode discussion needs to be changed. I'm not yet sure in what way though. Still, as of now the episode discussion serves little purpose and admittedly very rarely do I even check for new post in there.

Time to brainstorm...

1) If a series is lengthy, (say something like Bleach), then it would probably be best to leave it without the invididual episode links. Or, perhaps the individual links could be used, but could be divided up into story arcs instead.

2)As for a slow member wanting to voice their opinion, I would say that they should post in the episode they want to discuss,(unless it's a more general idea, or what to talk about a whole arc). In that case, they would be able to post in the General Discussion. We could maybe have some kind of updating system implemented where users would know if someone made a comment in an older episode link.

I know it sounds kind of complicated and messy, but the section is really going to waste, and asking users to post there instead could be confusing, and not worth much effort. I'm just trying to think of a way that it would make it easier for users to discuss a specific episode at a time while not having to navigate through a whole section, or scanning through another topic, trying to see if anyone has posted up anything about it yet.

Why was the section made in the first place? To keep people from spoiling the story for others or was it always there from the beginning? Active posters usually talk about certain episodes in the shows main thread. The section could be useful in its current state if there was a larger active base posting about anime.

Perhaps repurposing the section to be for OVAs or movies would be better?

In response to Gambler's questions:

Episode discussion threads could be individual at first, see the example Twilight Angel posted above. Once the anime reaches 10 episodes (If it's more than a season long), merge the discussion threads into one.

Example:

Anime General Discussion
Episodes 1-10, Episode 11, Episode 12

If the anime is lengthy like Bleach, follow this style until the arc ends, and then merge all of the episodes into one arc. Simply rinse and repeat the process until the anime finishes.

Example:

Bleach General Discussion
Karakura Town Arc, Soul Society Arc, Episodes XX-XX, Episodes XX-XX, Episode X, Episode X

If a user wants to post something that encompasses one or more arcs they should use the General Discussion thread. Things relating to the anime in general would also be posted there, keeping the General Discussion thread alive as well as the sub-threads.

With this system, as threads and episodes become inactive it will be easy see new posts people have made about older content, allowing new discussions to come to fruition.

The main problem with this entire idea is that someone with appropriate privileges to merge and re-name would need to be watching the anime. You could accept volunteers from the community or even implement a sort of adoption system, where a user agrees to look after an anime. Though it's hard to find people you can trust to do such things.

I totally agree with your addition on my idea, (with the merge of threads after a certain number of episodes. That could definitely keep all of the links clear and easy for people to access. I, too, agree that this could also increase the amount of discussion.

I also agree with your major issue to this plan. We would have to have at least one moderator, (preferably a few), keep track of all of the threads and merge when necessary. The adoption part I don't think would work that well, though, especially if a person decides to drop a show, or is no longer active.

It appears that some of you have thought the idea through, which is rather in-depth. However, a few more queries and worries have come to mind.

1) I am worried that the main topic of discussion may be neglected if everyone were to post in the episode links. Furthermore, members may possibly be confused as to where they should post their reply. Will the replies in the main topic or episode links be neglected? Furthermore, I am also worried that the differentiation between the "General Discussion" and "Specific Anime Series" section will be further blurred.

2) Will the creator of the main topic be the person who subsequently creates each episode thread? If so, this might be not be fair to other members who hope to do so. On the other hand, if each member were allowed to create an episode sub-thread, things might get a little messy. I don't mind merging them eventually, but it feels as if the efforts of sub-thread starter will "disappear".



The section was pretty popular when it first started off. However, I guess its popularity soon dwindled because users realized that some of their threads and replies have gone unnoticed. Again, I am worried that the same might happen to the above proposal. Either the main topic or the episode sub-thread might be neglected.

Maybe more opinions and eventually a trial run would be needed?

Gambler raises two good points:

1) The discussion about a certain anime would get spread out over multiple threads. If the thread of a certain episode gets all the attention, what would be the point of the main thread? It may be that the attention given to each section would simply reverse - the episode discussion would get the attention and the Main threads would be ignored.

2) The creation of multiple threads for a single anime will become messy at some point. Instead of one thread for each show (sometimes for each season of a show, i.e. Clannad and Clannad After story), you now have multiple threads. If I want to discuss multiple episodes, do I have to jump between each thread?

Also, consider this:
I make a thread for episode 1 of a 24 episode series. Later, someone makes a thread for episode 7. Later again, someone makes a thread for episode 12. Finally, someone later makes a thread for episode 3. Sometime in the future, threads are made about the last 12 episodes. People report the threads, ask to have them merged and we divide the episodic discussion into 2 seasons - 12 episodes a piece. Gambler merges the threads, and the post align according to dates they were posted.

Now, the first thread will have post discussing episode 1, episode 7, episode 12, then episode 3. The thread is basically a mirror reflection of the main threads we have for each anime right now where the thread is a discussion of the show overall - except you can't post about anything after episode 12. I don't see the benefit of having divided the discussion. In my example, we've simply created season 1 and season 2 of a show, something we can already do in the Specific Anime section. It may look neater, but does it contribute to helping people sharing their opinions? And will the episode discussion threads die once the series, or even just that episode, is over?

In my opinion, episode discussion seem to be purposed for people to be able to talk openly about the latest episode of a series without spoiling their post.

Sorry for the long post.

IMO this would work if this site was a Anime website like MAL (Myanimelist), but unfortunately we're are not focused only on anime.

The Forum system in MAL is good for anime discussions, since all of them are contained in one link that is made and controlled by mods and admins, removing the problem of duplicates. It contains all the Info for the anime, reviews and specific forum discussions

but in fakku it's hard to implement that.

In the end the anime section will have to many sub-section, and sub-threads

@neko-chan: I think the Episode Discussion section was made for keeping people from being spoilered, as back when it was created some people were rather haphazard about using spoilers. The section was never really popular anyway. Only the most popular of series like Code Geass R2, Toradora, and K-On! hit the double digit numbers in replies.

I think any way of getting a use out of the Episode sub-section would need a lot of mod action. The main thread is simply too nice at getting everyone's ideas together since most people who post in the main threads are up-to-the-latest-episode on the anime.

Good points made by both of you. However, I'm still wondering what we should do about the failing Episode Subsection. Should we try to force people to use it, delete it, or continue to just not use it?

Given those three options I say...



No just kidding... I think it is not necessary so I would guess it should be deleted, but as Fakku grows I think it would become useful once again.

If another show that was widely popular - like code geasss was - were to come out, it might be used again.

To tell the truth, I don't have any bright ideas on how to spice up the Episode Discussion section once more. However, with enough brainstorming, as seen through the ideas put forth, I believe the subsection can definitely reach its potential.

MM. So, I guess for now we continue to try to think of ways to either spice it up, or wait for another big title to emerge.