What I got from Errol's post is that he's asking if we want for the main active soaps to each have a section where multiple topics about different aspects/questions about the soaps can be opened. Not just have one main discussion/spoiler topic each month. That's what I get, but maybe I'm reading it wrong. If that's what he is talking about, I'm all for it...

41 minutes ago, Spoon said:

I think what he is suggesting is like the soapcentral boards where they have a sub-board for every section. The threads in that section would be separate, specific topics. The problem with that is you have lots of dead threads.

For example, a gh board would have say a thread about willow and say another thread about favorite characters and so forth.

That's how I understand it too. Within the GH section there could be daily discussions, spoiler threads, and you could also start threads like "I love Emma and Gio!!!" and "Carly is a hypocrite!" but that doesn't feel organic to this board somehow.

I think this place tends to be super organized and archive-able, so that if I want to rewatch GH from the late 2000s or early 2010s, I could literally go into the archives and read the "live" discussion threads alongside, if I wanted. That's what I like about SON, that it is well organized with a lot of data, synopsis, and intelligent discussion of both classic and current soaps. Another example would be in 5 years, I can go back into the BTG BTS thread and re-read everything that happened as the show developed and watch it unfold as it did in real time - initial reactions, casting news, story nuggets dropped. With the new setup being proposed there would be probably be new threads for every announcement.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by BoldRestless

50 minutes ago, BoldRestless said:

That's how I understand it too. Within the GH section there could be daily discussions, spoiler threads, and you could also start threads like "I love Emma and Gio!!!" and "Carly is a hypocrite!" but that doesn't feel organic to this board somehow.

I think this place tends to be super organized and archive-able, so that if I want to rewatch GH from the late 2000s or early 2010s, I could literally go into the archives and read the "live" discussion threads alongside, if I wanted. That's what I like about SON, that it is well organized with a lot of data, synopsis, and intelligent discussion of both classic and current soaps. Another example would be in 5 years, I can go back into the BTG BTS thread and re-read everything that happened as the show developed and watch it unfold as it did in real time - initial reactions, casting news, story nuggets dropped. With the new setup being proposed there would be probably be new threads for every announcement.

😂😂😂

That's why I stopped posting on SOC. We already have a love-hate forum for that.

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

What I got from Errol's post is that he's asking if we want for the main active soaps to each have a section where multiple topics about different aspects/questions about the soaps can be opened. Not just have one main discussion/spoiler topic each month. That's what I get, but maybe I'm reading it wrong. If that's what he is talking about, I'm all for it...

Correct. My apologies for any confusion caused by my initial post (I wrote it when I was barely awake).

My proposal is to abandon the concept of threads for each soap currently still in production. Meaning, no more monthly spoiler and discussion threads for the current soaps, and instead create a show-specific forum, where people can talk about any topic they want about a particular show.

Currently, the Discuss the Soaps forum is a cluttered mess, with monthly discussion threads for five shows pinned, plus another five pinned for a set period of time for the episode counts. This means that at any given time, 10 posts are pinned, and the potential to create or expand conversations on other topics is lost because no one reads beyond page one of said forum, since all conversations are stuck in a thread somewhere.

For example, each week, Soapy has a new guest. Say you want to discuss the Susan Lucci episode, but the most recent comments are on the Peter Bergman episode since it was the most recently posted, your comment would appear out of date, or someone might have said the same thing earlier in the thread, but you didn't realize it because you didn't read an earlier post that was published pages earlier around the time the Susan Lucci episode was first released.

Another example. The B&B website revamp. Had @dragonflies posted exclusively in the B&B history, pictures thread, many posters wouldn't have heard about the revamp. That's not to say the post couldn't also be mentioned in the B&B history, pictures thread, but I think the point is made.

Using spoilers as another example. Tomorrow, the Luke Spencer dedication episode of General Hospital, which also honors Tony Geary, airs. The idea of the thread is that everything related to the special must be posted there. It doesn't always work because there are many aspects to it, including interviews with specific cast members, promos, and other media. The thread title wouldn't work for all that, especially if someone is looking for something specific related to the topic.

Overall, I'm looking to find ways to drive more discussions, significantly increase readership/registrations, and ensure the longevity of the community as it celebrates its 25th year. As it stands, it's not worth investing in without making any changes, since the ads people complain about don't even pay $15 a day, yet the upkeep costs have grown by leaps and bounds. For instance, besides hosting, I have to pay a monthly subscription so that people can embed posts from social media platforms, pay for the ability to use GIFs in posts, and pay for maintenance outside of hosting, among other rising costs.

To a certain extent, I think the Soap Central forums would be a good example of what I'm looking at.

As for the other forums, if there is more than one thread for something like Sisters, that shouldn't happen, and it also means we need to clean up the other forums to make things more organized.

27 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

😂😂😂

That's why I stopped posting on SOC. We already have a love-hate forum for that.

I'm not anticipating those types of posts appearing in a show-specific forum, and would certainly move such a topic to that forum for that purpose if necessary.

To elaborate further, the Beyond the Gates and General Hospital monthly threads have the highest post counts each month. That is amazing, and I am thrilled. However, if you want to discuss a particular episode from last week or earlier, sure, one can just go ahead and post a comment, but then it's unlikely to receive a response since others would be discussing more current episodes. Conversations therefore get lost and unorganized.

Now, I understand that B&B and Y&R get the fewest posts in the discussion threads, and that's mostly because of the defined nature of who has registered and which shows they are watching. Clearly, we have less posters for some shows than others. That's another reason I'm contemplating change as it'll hopefully lead to people finding this space a good place to discuss the show they want to discuss. While the threads idea helps keep things organized, it also leads to confusion and missed opportunities for newcomers.

8 hours ago, janea4old said:

@Errol I'm just as confused as some of the above posters about what your vision for this is.

I can imagine what you're saying regarding a few things.

For example, there are two recent discussions of "Sisters" in the Cancelled Soaps section: within the "Primetime Soaps" thread and also on a dedicated Sisters thread. Both places are totally fine, neither is right or wrong, but it gets confusing as to where to post.

Another example is a new thread about "Rich Man Poor Man" in the Cancelled Soaps section. Does that belong there, or in
the existing "Classic Primetime MiniSeries" thread in the Primetime section? Both places are fine. (Of course the point of the new thread was to discuss if richmanpoorman was actually a soap or not.)

For daytime soaps, there have been miscellaneous discussions within the Cancelled Soaps section in the pinned threads called "ABC Daytime", "NBC Daytime", and "CBS Daytime".
That works for cancelled soaps.

Are you suggesting something like this thread in the "Cancelled Soaps" section
"ALL: General Retro Soap Discussion" (see description in first post of that thread)
https://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/68121-all-general-rebtro-soap-discussion/
I can see a niche for that sort of thing; but otherwise?

I can see how a general area would address cancelled daytime and cancelled primetime series where things overlap, per the above examples that already exist.

But I do think there's a need for separate threads for active daytime soaps. Otherwise I think it would get very confusing.
Or you could have an * additional * thread called "Misc. current daytime discussion".

Of course, sometimes we drift into discussions of the past within the current month's discussion threads of active daytime soaps. That's only natural, and sometimes it's unclear as to whether to continue the discussion there, or to move it over to the bts/history thread. Is that what you're referring to? I don't think there's an easy answer to that.

The links provided about two Sisters threads is confusing. I see only one active Sisters thread, while there is a general thread for Primetime Soaps. One is specific to a show, while the other is a day part. Ditto for the Rich Man Poor Man example. One is specific to the show, and the other is a general topic.

In my view, the show-specific threads for canceled shows are meant to discuss the show in depth with its fans. Meanwhile, ABC Daytime, NBC Daytime, CBS Daytime, Primetime Soaps, Classic Primetime Mini-Series, etc., type threads are specific to lineups or general conversations about genres that might also mention a specific show in that discussion. For instance, if someone is talking about NBC's decision to cancel Santa Barbara and replace it with another show, that could technically be specific to Santa Barbara, but the topic itself is beyond the show itself, because one is talking about NBC's decision and the show greenlit as the replacement. That's where NBC Daytime thread and Santa Barbara thread differ.

Think of it like this, for nearly an entire year, we discussed all things Beyond the Gates from the time it was first announced as being in development, all the way through its first episode airing. That was a historic thread that still lives on in a new capacity, but as it stands, anything and everything related to the show is either limited to that thread, the monthly discussion thread or the monthly spoiler thread. Where can we discuss other aspects of the show where people can actively participate without having to search dozens, or even hundreds, of pages first?

I personally can't read every single page of every single thread just to find where someone discussed something, and I can't expect others to do the same.

(This is me rambling, not necessarily a direct and only response to @janea4old )

Beyond The Gates and General Hospital are the only monthly threads that generate high discussion so I can't see individual boards working when the other soaps have very anemic discussions. Less than 15 years ago we had daily threads then that devolved to weekly and finally monthly.

13 minutes ago, ReddFoxx said:

Beyond The Gates and General Hospital are the only monthly threads that generate high discussion so I can't see individual boards working when the other soaps have very anemic discussions. Less than 15 years ago we had daily threads then that devolved to weekly and finally monthly.

Sure, there was a reason behind morphing discussion threads into monthly discussions, but, while it made sense at the time, it has also stifled the community's growth potential. At year 25, this place needs to grow. There is no incentive to maintain it without changing its organization.

This is for everyone:

From the perspective of a new visitor or potential registered member, what reason would one want to take part in discussions if you can't find topics worth discussing beyond a monthly thread, a spoiler thread, and maybe an all-inclusive show history thread? It's claustrophobic. That's what I want to fix.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Errol
fixed typo

1 minute ago, Errol said:

Sure, there was a reason behind morphing discussion threads into monthly discussions, but, while it made sense at the time, it has also stifled the community's growth potential. At year 25, this place needs to grow. There is no incentive to maintain it without changing its organization.

This is for everyone:

From the perspective of a new visitor or potential registered member, what reason would one want to take part in discussions if you can't find topics worth discussing beyond a monthly thread, a spoiler thread, and maybe an all-inclusive show history thread? It's clostraphobic. That's what I want to fix.

Understandable, Errol. I'll give it some thought.

Would it help to just not sticky the monthly threads? GH, Days and BTG would probably naturally stay near the top. I also don't see why the monthly cast lists need to be sticked. That would open up some breathing room.

I do see the problem with the long threads, because I rarely am caught up enough on BTG and GH to actually post and there's not much point in posting a week after the fact. And it can almost be a drag to catch up.

What about posting the news items in Discuss the Soaps instead of a separate area? I feel like those often duplicate the spoiler threads too. Something vague like "actor exits ( show) " seems vague enough to me to fit in DTS. Something like the Ted recast on BTG could have generated a lot of discussion.

39 minutes ago, Errol said:

Sure, there was a reason behind morphing discussion threads into monthly discussions, but, while it made sense at the time, it has also stifled the community's growth potential. At year 25, this place needs to grow. There is no incentive to maintain it without changing its organization.

This is for everyone:

From the perspective of a new visitor or potential registered member, what reason would one want to take part in discussions if you can't find topics worth discussing beyond a monthly thread, a spoiler thread, and maybe an all-inclusive show history thread? It's claustrophobic. That's what I want to fix.

From that perspective I see your point. A monthly thread does become clogged when it reaches 10 or more pages. A new user would definitely see that as a hard place to join in on the discussion.

15 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

But would the old threads still continue, like the classic Y&R thread? To me it makes more sense to post old clips and articles there than people starting a new thread for random odds and ends.

Yes, it could and can continue. What I'm contemplating is allowing posters to expand on a topic that has previously been confined to a thread, such as the classics thread. For instance, say someone wants to discuss a specific storyline for Y&R from 1987. They wouldn't be forced to post only in the classics thread. They can create their own.

The problem with posting in just the classics thread is that there are thousands of posts. One wouldn't be able to find any particular conversation in the thread, which has been open for more than a decade. It would be easier to find under a specific title.

6 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

I'm confused, because we all know what threads are, but I feel like you might be talking about the individual sections of the whole community? So, instead of there being separate sections for current soap discussion, classic/cancelled soap discussion, and spoilers, they would all just be together in one place? Or, there would be one section that is all things Y&R (current discussion, classic discussion, spoilers, etc), one for BTG, one for GH, etc.

I personally think it's fine the way it is, but I do think it's no longer necessary to have separate boards for the various networks/streamers over in the primetime section.

Theoretical breakdown:

Discuss the Soaps (main forum, followed by sub-forums)

• Beyond the Gates

  • SPOILER: Blank is joining the show in a recurring role

  • Anita Dupree's breast cancer storyline

  • Thursday, February 19, 2026 Episode Discussion

  • Beyond the Gates launches PSA

  • Interview with Ambyr Michelle

• The Bold and the Beautiful

  • SPOILER: Couple to get married

  • JMW returns from maternity leave

  • Katherine Kelly Lang joins DWTS

• Days of our Lives

• General Hospital

• The Young and the Restless

Specific show conversations would fall under each show's forum. General Discussion, encompassing all the soaps, such as the Y&R/BTG Crossover info, would fall under the main Discuss the Soaps forum.

in case a poster is harassed are there rules against it ? Eveerything on this thread should be only here we should not be bringing any info from other sites over here.