Should we have a What's for Dinner or Cooking new forum?

[Chancellor]

Should we have a "What's for dinner" entirely new forum?

Rockabilly suggested this and I wondered how you all felt.

[Avola]

I think that would be great for recipe exchange and such

[Canyon]

I have mixed feeling on this question. Having food-related threads in a separate forum would keep them organized and theoretically easier to find. But, I think the UDBB had too many forums and the Kitchen Forum got less traffic than it might have otherwise. IDK, maybe people got tired of the extra clicks.

So, I voted “no.” But, I'll still visit and contribute, if you decide to have a new forum.

[Chancellor]

I have mixed feeling on this question. Having food-related threads in a separate forum would keep them organized and theoretically easier to find. But, I think the UDBB had too many forums and the Kitchen Forum got less traffic than it might have otherwise. IDK, maybe people got tired of the extra clicks.

So, I voted “no.” But, I'll still visit and contribute, if you decide to have a new forum.

And that is EXACTLY why I decided to do a poll. I felt the same as you did. The newly formatted UDBB had WAY TOO MANY forums IMO. And I didn't want to do the same thing here.

[KathyK]

Yes! We have so many great cooks here, I'd like to be able to check out new posts about cooking without having to sift through all the threads in the OL.

[Snork]

I have mixed feelings about it as well. On one hand, i love seeing things in one place, but on the other, i really liked the "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get" nature of the old-old-UDBB, and the new DDBB.

So I'm torn, and no help at all. If i had to make a decision, i think i'd lean more towards leaving it in the ObLounge, just for the fun of having different topics all together.

[Rhianon]

I'm 100% in favour of keeping it all in the Obs lounge because I never know what I'm interested in until I see it.

[StraightForward]

Could we have a sort of Kitchen, Garden and Home type forum? I enjoyed the gardening and cooking forums, but don't think either got enough traffic to warrant it's own spot.

[scruffy the cat]

I vote for fewer forums. Even the Menagerie forum takes away from the higher number of views in the OL. If you want more discussion, just keep it in the OL. Once in its own forum, the attention it will get is diminished. After all- when you posted your pit bull pictures, you put it in the OL for more views rather than the Menagerie forum, right? So you instinctively know keeping things in the OL is the way to spur more discussion.

[carpevita]

I voted to keep it all together too.
Part of what makes the ob lounge interesting and fun (for me anyway) is the variety of discussions we have on any given day.

[heddylamar]

All together. Maybe a new thread each week/month? But that can be user modified. Just add "monthxxxx" to the title.

[texsuze]

I prefer the idea of a "Kitchen/Garden/Home' forum. When these topics are mixed within the OL, I tend to miss them once they float beyond the first page. The (possibly) lower traffic seen on these topics actually keeps them more interactive, IMHO, if they have their own location. If someone has a bathroom redo, or has renovated their yard, it is nice to go back and follow the progression, which is more easily done when not blended in with OL. Hopefully, folks will now fully explore all the forums that Chance has made available, and not just stick to OL! Does that make sense? It is past my bedtime and I'm waffling

[Mirabella]

Why not just make it a sticky or whatever so it will always be the first thread in the OL? Never moves and people know where it will be.

[KathyK]

We have one forum with zero threads, and four with five or fewer threads. The "What's for Dinner" thread already has 145 posts. I think it deserves its own forum more than Musical Freestyles, with no threads at all.

[Rockabilly]

Why not just make it a sticky or whatever so it will always be the first thread in the OL? Never moves and people know where it will be.

That's what I was thinking of just to make it a sticky in the OL. "What's for Dinner?" is such a popular topic that even if we all don't cook we still love to read it.

[Chancellor]

Okay. I can make it a sticky for now. I have another idea too but I'll have to see if I can make it work. I want to see if there is a way to post in two different forums. So, if you have a recipe to share, you can share it in both the recipe forum AND the OL. But, no promises.

[WheresMyWhite]

Oh, and count me in on the idea of a Kitchen/Garden/Home single forum... that way it could cover planting garlic, which book you reading, how to remodel...

OTOH, it is nice to have only a single place to look for stuff instead of trying to divine where someone might put a specific topic

[M&M]

Chancellor, I was just going to ask about a separate forum for recipes!

[boots-aregard]

I wouldn't go to a separate forum to see it (because I'm not interested in food much), but I do see it here and occasionally view it.

A separate forum for recipies?

[Suzon]

A separate forum for recipies?

I think a recipe box forum would be a great idea. I too wouldn't go to a separate forum to talk about food, but if I see something on this forum, I totally would be up for being able to find the recipe again. So a "hey this lizard guts au gratin sounds great...throw the recipe in the box please!" would work for me.

[Chancellor]

A separate forum for recipies?

I think a recipe box forum would be a great idea. I too wouldn't go to a separate forum to talk about food, but if I see something on this forum, I totally would be up for being able to find the recipe again. So a "hey this lizard guts au gratin sounds great...throw the recipe in the box please!" would work for me.

So, my idea is to have a recipe box forum. If you have a recipe to share, you put it in the forum. If it is a new post in that forum, then it will also post into the Obs Lounge. That way, we get the best of both worlds. I don't THINK it will be too hard to do....but I need time to write the trigger for the database. And I am going to a fiber festival with Valerie this weekend to buy more fiber to spin! So, assuming I have the time on Sunday, I will try to do that. Keep your fingers crossed.

[WheresMyWhite]

Very nice

[Canyon]

Chancellor, I also like the idea of a recipe box forum.

Maybe have a "sticky post" explaining the proper way to acknowledge the source of a recipe, if it is not an original creation, to keep the IP patrol happy?

[Chancellor]

Good idea Canyon!