It's always difficult to maintain these subtle distinctions unless the forums are moderated mercilessly (e.g. the UBB support forums). In general, if you let the users actions decide, all forums will tend to blend into one big undifferentiated discussion. This is particularly true on busy forums.
What you have at work here is posters who are not clear on the purpose of the main forum and either moderators who are also not clear on the purpose or are not bothered by the overlap between the main and requests forums. I would say that if the requests forum remains then the mods should be more diligent in moving threads. Users will pick up soon enough on the appropriate forum.
But, I agree with theflow that it would be just as well to let requests be posted in the main forum. The distinction between what is a "formal" request for a hack and discussion is too blurry. I think a Hacks In Progress forum would have the same problem. A request is made or a discussion leads to work on a hack. At what point, does it become a "hack in progress". Some hacks are done so quickly that the entire conversation would be over before a moderator would have a chance to move the thread. However, call the "Hacks In Progress" forum hack testing or beta hacks and its purpose would instantly be clear.
08-26-2001, 02:51 AM
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