The Board Survey

[Arcaiden]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/85119/

Roughly half of all participants asked for less censorship and more reader interaction, and as a result of that, the board is creating a new forum with where reader and writer comments will continue to be censored.... /sigh.

Also, I didn't realize there was such ill-will towards The Board Board over there.

[Zedability]

Not 100% sure where you're getting the "roughly half asking for less censorship," but I could be missing something, because I didn't pay much attention to that question.

And yeah, the Board Board hate kinda surprised me.

[Marduk]

What specifically are you referring to? All I see is a comment asserting non-affiliation.

Although it wouldn't surprise me in the least, given the large percentage of faithful readership.

[mic0]

Holy moly, that was thorough. There has been hate for theboardboard for quite some time ("the board hate board"?). We've discussed it here, too, honestly I can see how others would perceive it as clique-ish.

I wonder who will decide what is "anti-Mormon" on the new forum! I doubt I'll be posting there since I'm not the target demographic anyway.

I thought it was funny wording that they won't be allowing alumni to write for the board anymore, and then a couple sentences later it said writers who graduate won't be forced to retire.

How could they get more "diverse" writers?? How would that even happen? No offense, BYU isn't diverse to begin with, so at least in terms of opinions they aren't doing bad at all on that front.

I was surprised how old a lot of readers are!

[Tally M.]

I thought it was funny wording that they won't be allowing alumni to write for the board anymore, and then a couple sentences later it said writers who graduate won't be forced to retire.

It's more that writers who were students when they started don't have do leave when they are no longer students, rather than allowing people to start writing after they've graduated.

[Arcaiden]

There were several themes readers consistently brought up about what the board should change, but there was almost always pretty evenly divided disagreement among you as to what the change should be.

That's the section I was referring to. It seemed like half of the readers wanted more censorship, and half wanted less.

[Marduk]

I'd love to see the actual data.

[mic0]

It's more that writers who were students when they started don't have do leave when they are no longer students, rather than allowing people to start writing after they've graduated.

I understand that, it's still funny wording.

[yayfulness]

As far as the new comment board goes... it's an experiment, really. For better or for worse, the Board Board hasn't been attracting new active users at all for the past year or two. Also, for better or for worse, the Board Board's target audience has become very different from the Board's target audience. It is substantially older and substantially less Mormon. The purpose of the new forum is to attract new users in an environment that reflects the Board's target audience. As of right now, it will serve exclusively as a place to comment on questions and answers.

Of course, as of right now, there are five registered users; three are current writers, one is me, and one is a computer. We'll see whether the site ever gets off the ground.

I personally don't intend to be leaving the Board Board anytime soon. It fills a need; that need just isn't the same one that it originally filled, and the new comment board is intended to reflect that.

[Zedability]

And yayfulness and I are doing the moderating, so it's not going to be draconian or anything haha.

[Portia]

I guess I'm the ur-late-twenties-ex-Mormon-ex-writer around here.

And I agree with the idea of a new forum to bring in young blood; all y'all will be my students come August. :P (Metaphorically. If we happen to go to the same school and you're in a class I teach and I get funding to teach.)

I didn't get the impression of "hate," actually? People are welcome to be critical of viewpoints they disagree with if done honestly and respectfully, and I think the current editors/senior writers are far from hot-headed. It's definitely a case of diverging priorities.

I think yay and Zedability could also take on the task of steering folks towards whichever forum they think would serve an individual's needs?

[Marduk]

And I agree with the idea of a new forum to bring in young blood; all y'all will be my students come August. (Metaphorically. If we happen to go to the same school and you're in a class I teach and I get funding to teach.)

Does this mean you've been accepted?

[Portia]

And I agree with the idea of a new forum to bring in young blood; all y'all will be my students come August. :P (Metaphorically. If we happen to go to the same school and you're in a class I teach and I get funding to teach.)

Does this mean you've been accepted?

Deadline was today, but I'm feeling optimistic. I suppose I'll go back to tutoring/teaching as my backup plan, so, either way! :-)

[Katya]

For better or for worse, the Board Board hasn't been attracting new active users at all for the past year or two. Also, for better or for worse, the Board Board's target audience has become very different from the Board's target audience. It is substantially older and substantially less Mormon.

I have nothing to add other than that I agree with this assessment.

[Marduk]

Attracting? No, there've been a handful that have come through at least enough to register and post a few times. They haven't stayed long, though.

[larry_wayne]

Speaking of users coming through and registering, I'm the Board Board's newest member. I haven't felt like it would be worth it to post much yet, but I've been following your discussions for quite a while. Whether I ever have much to contribute remains to be seen.

For better or for worse, the Board Board hasn't been attracting new active users at all for the past year or two. Also, for better or for worse, the Board Board's target audience has become very different from the Board's target audience. It is substantially older and substantially less Mormon.

I do agree, but even though demographically I fit better with the Board's target audience (younger and substantially more Mormon than the average on this forum), the Board Board remains engaging and worthwhile for its own reasons.

[Whistler]

hey welcome!