What is the idea of a forum if you can't make your own threads? If these threads annoy you, then please just skip them. Not everyone can like every single thread. After all, pretty much all the discussions in here have already been covered before.
I'm a member of some other forums where all posting is limited to megathreads. It's horrible. Tons of stuff gets buried and you never get more than a reply or two to your question before someone else steals the spotlight.
I agree that a forum that goes to the extreme and resorts to megathreads would be horrible, but there's a happy balance between that and what sometimes happens with the "25 threads about X" problem.
Today was a great example with the iPhone announcement's announcement. Minutes after the story hit the front page we saw (and are still seeing) threads crop up attempting to have a microdiscussion about something already being discussed under the news thread.
One may be of the opinion that it's nice to have a separate thread about the "1" in the graphic of the iPhone announcement because the discussion about that is getting lost amongst discussion of other things inside the news thread. One may also be of the opinion that a separate thread is simply an attempt by the thread creator to be the "OP" just because we all know the "OP" runs the thread. Obviously that's silly and I don't think an OP runs a thread, but I'm highlighting a common feeling people have when they make a new thread. We all know the usual culprits.
Point is (and it's simply an opinion) this site is a beautiful democracy. We can vote with our voices, mouseclicks and keystrokes and our moderators will make decisions. They do a damn good job with it. They've got a TON of feedback to sort through every minute of every day.
So while I'm of the opinion that some of these 25 threads on RAM or even more so the 50 threads on "DO YOU THINK THE iPHONE 5 IS GUNNA BE KEWL!?!?" are extremely obnoxious and if I had God powers I'd delete them myself, I'm rational and humble, and therefore I know I don't posess such powers. I have the power of opinion and I'll express it as long as it's appropriate and quasi-polite.
From there, it's in the hands of the moderators and arn himself. The success of this site is glaring evidence that the system works. I'd rather not mess with it.
There may be 25 new "does this ram work" threads, but there may also be 25 threads with 25 different questions in that same hour, and the thread a member started will still get bumped to the second page. There isn't much that can be done about it, members may just have to look through one or more pages to find threads they are interested in.
I have no idea how, but it would be fantastic to have a system like Forum Spy to only spy on new threads. I know the current spy system emboldens new threads, but once they move down and out of sight, they're out of mind as well. It would help with those situations where I'm just in the mood for answering questions and trying to help people out.
A lot of members have specific needs or a specific budget, or find a great deal and want to know if that exact model will work ... that's what a lot of the "easy to find answers" really are, and a megathread would not be the best solution to those questions, as they would get buried in the thread quickly.
Information becomes irrelevant, and deals disappear, quickly - as do threads that answer those "simple" questions.
This is too true. I've been in communities where a common response sounds like, "$#%ing idiot and these stupid threads!$@#($* IT'S REPLY #92 ON PAGE 226 OF THE 74th THREAD OF THE FAQ PAGE!!!!!11rageragerage"
I look at that kind of response and my jaw drops. Who actually spends the time to find that?
