Lots of really great ideas and suggestions. Let's keep this topic ON topic and full of suggestions vs. debates.
The BYC Staff do a fantastic job of listening to suggestions. We often spend hours... sometimes weeks discussing ideas and weighing the pros and cons of each option. Trust us... with 75,000 members and 5 million posts, there aren't any "black / white", one size fits all, please everyone, options!
GUARANTEED!
Again, we listen to the feedback, review it, and discuss it. If we don't implement something it isn't because we didn't listen. It might not even be because we disagree. Some changes are just technically difficult to implement and some would be VERY expensive and time consuming to do.
So, we're listing and taking notes. A couple things that we want to make clear:
1) It isn't anybody's right to tell others not to start threads on a topic
except the moderators! PERIOD! Members can report posts or topics if they feel there is a duplicate thread, but we probably won't be inclined to take action on these since very often questions are specific to a certain case. The only exception would be something like this: Someone posts, "What color eggs do xxxyy lay?" A member could, in a very friendly manner, reply with a link to an existing thread where the exact question is posed and addressed... that would be appropriate
2) All members should use better subject / titles for their posts... ALWAYS! Also, the first post in a topic will often determine the tone and path of a topic. If you want a serious discussion in your topic, say so. If you want it to be a lively conversation with lots of chit-chat... say so!
3) We do have policies about informational topics being derailed. Help us by having very specific titles and clear goals of the thread in the first post, and report posts that are taking serious topics off course and we'll be able to enforce our policies MUCH easier.
Keep the helpful ideas and suggestions coming, and make sure to pay
close attention to the three points above!