What would you guys like us to do to improve the forums? What would entice you to spend more time here, post more, start more topics, etc...

Is threading anoying? Does moderation turn you off? Would you prefer one big forum instead of a half-dozen little ones?

I'm not promising we'll do any of the stuff you suggest, but I want this to be a fun place to hang out. I want to know what you'd like. We will consider all sugestions.

I'm also very bored at work, and I need pervasive distraction.

What would you guys like us to do to improve the forums?

It's the quality of the people that determines how much time i devote to a community. Thus, i'd like there to be more cute chicks posting that have a predilection for pedantry...preferably from the Houston area.

Alternatively, i think that more Phillip would increase the forums appeal.

In Response to luvrhino (#4386):

I'm working on it, but there's a limit to how fast I can put on weight.

Beer has been known to work well in that regards, so if more people would just send me more beer, there would undoubtedly be more phillip.

In Response to luvrhino (#4386):

I would be willing to shut up for a certain period of time, in exchange for a validated donation to the site of an agreed upon value.

I am open to suggestions on how much my silence is worth.

I am also open to discussion on whether this would improve the quality of the people here. My own opinion on this matter should be obvious - 'There are other people here? Who knew.'

Phillip could arrange to have this donation converted into Beer. Thus the same quantity of cash would have double-value.

In Response to zamphir (#4389):

I'm usually more likely to post or read things I find interesting, so (like luvrhino says) it all comes down to the quality of users. Most people in the community seem to be friendly and respectful, so I come back often.

Also, (and I'm a little ashamed to admit this), I enjoy watching my karma grow. Even though it's a completely meaningless number, it's MY meaningless number, and it lets me know that someone read and enjoyed something I have to say.

It might be nice if karma points could be awarded to conversations that are started as well. Or some other sort of meaningless reward for starting an interesting conversation.

In Response to stilllwaiting (#4390):

some other sort of meaningless reward for starting an interesting conversation.

I take a meaningless reward out of having anyone participate at all in any conversation I start. It's the only way I know whether it's interesting or not.

In Response to stilllwaiting (#4390):

Yummmm, Karma....I agree with all of this, but it seems to me that there is an as yet untapped population of ubergeeks (insert your own umlaut) such as myself who would be more than wiling to join and contribute to the Goats community. Now whether you want uber geeks such as myself to contribute to the Goats community is an altogether seperate question...

In Response to baboo4 (#4392):

What qualifies you to be an ubergeek? What is your geek speciality?

I think the forums are pretty damn good the way they are. I've been to other sites, and compared to many, these are interesting, and fairly easy to follow the topics.

I will say though, I have seen a down trend in interesting topics and discussions, and just the overall number of new topics since the premium section open. I'm guessing that since many of the more intersting and more regular users who have made the goats forums so great, are paid premium members, and therefor are spending more of their time, and ideas in the premiums only section, causing the public forums to suffer slightly. I have no proof of this though, as I am a worthless bum who only supports goats through occasional merchandise purchasing.

In Response to coolhand (#4399):

therefor are spending more of their time, and ideas in the premiums only section,

Alas, it's even more of a wasteland than the rest of the forums.

Err... I mean, it's fabulous! There's all sorts of fascinating topics going on! You're missing everything by not becoming a preemie. We actually had to stop one of our more intersting topics, making fun of Dynedain, when he joined. Heck, people are even posting photos of their girlfriends on there. In FULL COLOR!! Join quick!

Just one thought: the main reason I haven't bothered registering and posting here is because this forum software is annoying to look at. Any one of the major freeware forum offerings would be an improvement, specifically:

1) InvisionBoard [invisionboard.com]
2) phpBB [phpbb.com]

In Response to zamphir (#4396):

I would trophy on my wall, the star trek reruns in my VCR, and my overwhelming obsession with The A-Team all qualify me as a grade A geek (no pun intended).

In Response to Lonely Goatherd (#4406):

sry, forgot to log in, that was me....

In Response to Lonely Goatherd (#4405):

So, you'd like this forum better if it was blue?

That's a very well reasoned, well thought out, logically based objection.

In Response to Lonely Goatherd (#4406):

Dynedain is constructing an entire separate wing of his house, with elaborate monitoring and custom lighting, just to house his Lord of the Rings Posters.

Are you sure there aren't enough ubergeeks here?

I think it would improve this forum if there were user avatars. But only if each user could create any avatar they wanted AND only if the graphics for the avatars were stored on the goats server (with an obvious size restriction, possibly dependant on your membership level).

This way, you could create an avatar for Lonely Goatherd that would make the rest of us laugh - like a potato with a switchblade.

In Response to stilllwaiting (#4390):

Most people in the community seem to be friendly and respectful, so I come back often.

See? That's the problem.

I don't feel that i fit in within a friendly and respectful community. That's why i don't post as often as i might.

We need more assholes. Cute assholes, though...zamphir [goats.com] doesn't count.

In Response to luvrhino (#4411):

Are you sure my asshole isn't cute?

In Response to zamphir (#4414):

I haven't seen any pictures of your asshole that i'd consider cute.

In Response to zamphir (#4409):

I.....I am shamed....I have no right to call myself an ubergeek I am shamed....Maybe I'm just an ubernerd... Do we have too many of those?

In Response to luvrhino (#4415):

You haven't seen any pictures of my asshole. Therefore, you have no basis for consideration.

How much is it worth to you to determine if my asshole is cute or not?

In Response to zamphir (#4417):

You know how they say pictures in the internet are like pee in the pool...once it's in there, it's in there?

In Response to luvrhino (#4419):

once it's in there, it's in there?
Are you still talking about my asshole?

In Response to baboo4 (#4416):

I've seen several opportunities in this forum to use this link, and now is as good a time as any. Like most of life, the definitions of our existence [catandgirl.com] may be found in web comics.

In Response to zamphir (#4421):

Why would i change the subject away from the glory that is your hole?

In Response to luvrhino (#4426):

the glory that is your hole?

So you do think my asshole is cute, then?

You have a vivid imagination.