So, as we all know there's some groups that think putting all discussion in a single thread is a good idea, be it a single topic like Story Ideas, or something like discussing a character.

Could someone please explain to me how in the hell this is ever a good idea?

I mean it, it's good with meaningless threads like self-promotion or introductions that need literally no feedback, but not when you're trying to plan out a story and would actually you know like ideas to be bounced back and forth.

The entire thing on the surface looks fine, it seems like an intelligent idea, just push everything in a single place but that's without thinking about the long term effects.

Everyone with a story idea confined to a single thread means that nobody's gonna care enough to actually help because they don't see anything that interests them, same with looking for pre-readers, and maybe most importantly discussing a character.

Single threads if you ask me should be for two things, something so exact and pin-point that everyone will be on the exact same page, or something meaningless that needs no actual feedback.

So, what are some other opinions on the whole thing? Should a group have few hundred page threads that don't help anyone, or a lot o couple page threads that actually give the people the information they want?

I'm being serious here, I want pros and cons of both, I want actual stories about why they work or don't, I want genuine opinions from you guys on if this system of confining everything is stupid or smart.

Personally, I have never once gotten any feedback on a story thread, I've never once gotten any offerson a pre-reader thread, and the Looking for a Group thread on the FoE forums is basically dead because nobody ever got PMed because they would just you know find a game thread and join that.

So yeah, I think it's a mess, I think they're a good way to kill a group, I think it's simply an excuse to be lazy because looking over one or two threads is simpler than actually keeping track of an active forum.

And I suppose in the end, that's a key problem to me, Forum's definition

a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

But if you're tossing everything into one thread, then how is anyone gonna really show their opinion on any issue? What's gonna happen when everyone goes through hundreds of irrelevant posts, finds the discussion they want, and derail whatever was going on because the previous discussion didn't answer what they wanted?

I'm not the only one who understands that this is a flawed system right? I'm not the only one that sees that this isn't how a forum works right?

Again, I welcome any other opinions, but don't just say, "I'm right, you're wrong, end of story," explain why it's better, and not why it's better for the admin why it's better for the people who are actively using the forum to get answers.

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So, as we all know there's some groups that think putting all discussion in a single thread is a good idea, be it a single topic like Story Ideas, or something like discussing a character.
Could someone please explain to me how in the hell this is ever a good idea?

Because in a lot of groups, when every new thread is just another request for help, people not only ignore the threads but also get annoyed by how many threads pop up.

The clear exception to this rule is groups (like Looking For Editors) that are there specifically to handle these sort of requests. And in those groups, every author is allowed to make their own threads, because everyone in that group is there to either get editors or to edit for another person.

Personally, I have never once gotten any feedback on a story thread, I've never once gotten any offerson a pre-reader thread, and the Looking for a Group thread on the FoE forums is basically dead because nobody ever got PMed because they would just you know find a game thread and join that.

This isn't a problem with there only being one thread. This is a problem because people don't go to the FO:E group to edit for other people's stories. People go there to talk about story ideas (for which there is no single thread), or ask questions (again, no single thread) and others. But they don't go there looking to support other authors. And because the users don't behave like that, the forum isn't designed for that. It's set up to promote other sorts of threads.

If you want to get pre-reading, go to a forum designed to accommodate people searching for pre-readers. Which is what we recommend on the FO:E group front page.

Now, I'm only talking about one thread in one group, and I obviously can't say these reasons are the same for all group admins, but there are definitely valid causes for such threads to be created.