Regional Forums have Stolen the Jazz from American Weather

[My Weather Today]

I would say there are a number who are mainly interested in their own backyards, perhaps a majority. But the subforums have made that worse. There really is no going back, and there is no reason to per se, but there could be other measured ways of bringing back activity into a forum where people can discuss despite regional differences. Of course the tropical guys are going to say there is no issue as they now have free reign of this forum once the season heats up.

I would like to hear more opinions on the state of things.

Here are just a few ideas that I've had for a while that may generate more interest in the main forum...

• Have a MET / PRO create a broad ongoing discussion Monthly Outlook thread covering the entire US and pin it. Anyone should be able to discuss and ask questions freely within this thread; just try to keep the IMBY questions to a minimum. All in-dept IMBY discussions and outlooks should be kept within the regional forums.
• Have a MET / PRO create a broad ongoing discussion Seasonal Outlook thread covering the entire US and pin this one as well. This thread should be handled the same way as the Monthly Threads, keeping in-dept IMBY questions / discussions to a minimum.
• Have a MET / PRO create a similar ongoing discussion Monthly Outlook thread with respect to the 2011 Hurricane Season and pin it. Have one Monthly Outlook thread for the Atlantic basin and one for the Pacific basin. Again, everyone should be able to participate, post data, debate, and ask questions freely. You may what to minimize the ongoing storm discussions within these monthly outlook threads. Each named storm of the season should have its own thread and pinned accordingly. (I think this may be how folks at Eastern handled this as well.)
• Have a monthly rainfall / snowfall accumulation contest thread and pin it. This thread should be just for fun and entertainment purposes only. The American Weather member who accumulates the most precip in each catergory within his own backyard each month should be able to win some sort of prize or special forum previlege. Verifying these member's monthly accumulations may be the only challenge to such a contest.

I have some other ideas, but I will hold off on posting them for right now.

[skierinvermont]

One or more of the above ideas (esp #1) I think would be good. I think a number of us are all on the same page regarding the need to find a way to get general LR disco back into one place (me, Isotherm, tacoman, gil, famartin, My Weather Today, etc. all had similar comments). It would possibly be good to pin a LR thread that appears even when you are in subforums (the way admin notices often do). That will divert more traffic to the thread and make it easier for people (especially mets) with thoughts on the LR to post it in one go-to thread.

Back on the old format we used to have one sort of D7+/monthly LR thread, and then another that might be more seasonal. Sometimes there were 3+ LR threads all active at the same time dealing with different timeperiods or different LR phenomena (like 1 for a stratospheric warming event, and another on the MJO). It would be great to find a way to bring back ALL the threads of this nature, but if not, it would at least be good to get one LR thread going and encourage mets and others to post there.

I never contributed much to these threads but I definitely enjoyed reading them. Now all the good stuff is often buried in dozens of IMBY weenie posts.

[nzucker]

One or more of the above ideas (esp #1) I think would be good. I think a number of us are all on the same page regarding the need to find a way to get general LR disco back into one place (me, Isotherm, tacoman, gil, famartin, My Weather Today, etc. all had similar comments). It would possibly be good to pin a LR thread that appears even when you are in subforums (the way admin notices often do). That will divert more traffic to the thread and make it easier for people (especially mets) with thoughts on the LR to post it in one go-to thread.

Back on the old format we used to have one sort of D7+/monthly LR thread, and then another that might be more seasonal. Sometimes there were 3+ LR threads all active at the same time dealing with different timeperiods or different LR phenomena (like 1 for a stratospheric warming event, and another on the MJO). It would be great to find a way to bring back ALL the threads of this nature, but if not, it would at least be good to get one LR thread going and encourage mets and others to post there.

I never contributed much to these threads but I definitely enjoyed reading them. Now all the good stuff is often buried in dozens of IMBY weenie posts.

Yes, entirely agree. One thing that's begun to frustrate me is the lack of threads discussing the overall pattern/teleconnections in favor of more weenie posts and regional running jokes...it seems we've lost the great contributions of the energy mets and long-range forecasting specialists on topics like the MJO, solar activity, ENSO, EPO, etc. We used to have some very rich threads discussing the global and national pattern, and the sub-forums have basically done away with that. The goal of the subforums, to foster more specific discussion, has certainly worked, but we've lost the big picture. I think we should definitely have a "pattern thread" that appears in every sub-forum, or as some others have suggested, we could post storm threats in the main forum until it has become clear exactly where the storm will hit. I'd also like to go back to the model analysis threads, that was a lot of fun and very educational when it was done in the main forum as you got to hear a lot of expert discussion about small changes in H5 and what different people thought of the biases/problems with each model. We need to get back to this type of conversation.

[CooL]

Interesting ideas in here..But from May - October i am glued to the main thread because of hurricane season..Last year was amazing, i learned so much, and the threads were loaded with amazing posts. Im hoping they do the big severe weather outbreaks on the main forum as well, but other than that the regional subforums are a must for the northeast snow weenies. It can get intense and sometimes wayyy to intense in the winter.

[iceman56]

[Completely agree. The dilution of meterological talent has been significant. I understand that mega-threads can become very unwieldy, but we've lost that great element of overall storm analysis and discussion, where pros from multiple regions would discuss their regions, but also speculate on the overall evolution of the storm, both with respect to what that meant to their region and with respect to what that meant for the overall event and the synoptic setup/pattern. I used to love seeing guys like Vaxman, ray, usedtobe, tip, HM, orh, earthlight and many others having rich discussions about an entire event - it was not only interesting, but much more informative about the overall meteorology than just reading about MBY.

This is the problem I was just about to post about. The back and forth between the pros is largely missing in the regional forums.

Maybe a pros-only thread on the main page for discussion of big events? This would exclude the whiners and IMBY weenies

that promulgate a lot of the the local threads.

[Riptide]

subforums have definitely hurt some things.

Like America, Easternuswx became too politically correct and moved into what we know as Americanwx. People need to ease up sometime. Americawx does feel like less of a dictatorship though, even outside of storm mode. This might be because it is less active.

[am19psu]

Yes, entirely agree. One thing that's begun to frustrate me is the lack of threads discussing the overall pattern/teleconnections in favor of more weenie posts and regional running jokes...it seems we've lost the great contributions of the energy mets and long-range forecasting specialists on topics like the MJO, solar activity, ENSO, EPO, etc. We used to have some very rich threads discussing the global and national pattern, and the sub-forums have basically done away with that. The goal of the subforums, to foster more specific discussion, has certainly worked, but we've lost the big picture. I think we should definitely have a "pattern thread" that appears in every sub-forum, or as some others have suggested, we could post storm threats in the main forum until it has become clear exactly where the storm will hit. I'd also like to go back to the model analysis threads, that was a lot of fun and very educational when it was done in the main forum as you got to hear a lot of expert discussion about small changes in H5 and what different people thought of the biases/problems with each model. We need to get back to this type of conversation.

I agree with your premise, but we can't force people to post in the main forum. I've tried on numerous occasions to focus conversation about those things in this forum, but 1. I'm still learning MR/LR forecasting and I'm certainly no expert and 2. except for Vawxman and wxmx, no one else seems to participate. Don S had several threads during the winter season, but they devolved into nothing more than a guy in the Pac NW and a guy in Ottawa asking how much for TBY. I'm not sure what can be done.

[Ed Lizard]

A taggers only main forum or a monthly or seasonal thread (with quality wx side plain tagger posters maybe invited at mod discretion) viewable by all might be a good thing as far as weenieism. I understand there is a red tagger only forum now, we just can't see it.

I'd also think, as mentioned before, items of interest greater than 7 days out could be main side model threads, and locked 3 days prior as greater detail shifts the discussion more local/subforum. W/ strict moderation on IMBY and smiley face posts that don't help the thread.

[Clinch Leatherwood]

Agreed. There are some folks like myself (granted I may be in a stark minority) that like to discuss the big picture more rather than small regional stuff. We have a handful who still do that here on the main board, but it seems like most keep even that in the subforum superthreads, making meaningful stuff harder to find.

I'm not advocating changing back to the old way. I don't post as much as I used to anyhow, but agree subforums, while helping in some ways, have hurt in others.

Any met/poster from an out of region location that tries to interject opinion into a regional weenie thread gets ripped. Usually it's to indicate that the next storm is not in fact a 1978 redo. This is one of the big downfalls of the new system, we have largely lost out of region, unbiased and emotionally detached posting.

Different moderation standards are also tough.

[Ellinwood]

A taggers only main forum or a monthly or seasonal thread (with quality wx side plain tagger posters maybe invited at mod discretion) viewable by all might be a good thing as far as weenieism. I understand there is a red tagger only forum now, we just can't see it.

I'd also think, as mentioned before, items of interest greater than 7 days out could be main side model threads, and locked 3 days prior as greater detail shifts the discussion more local/subforum. W/ strict moderation on IMBY and smiley face posts that don't help the thread.

It's not an exciting forum and we don't talk about the weather

Any met/poster from an out of region location that tries to interject opinion into a regional weenie thread gets ripped. Usually it's to indicate that the next storm is not in fact a 1978 redo. This is one of the big downfalls of the new system, we have largely lost out of region, unbiased and emotionally detached posting.

Different moderation standards are also tough.

I've had no issues when jumping into different regions, and I expect most people don't unless their sole intent is to troll (note: this does not include interjecting realism). I would think/hope that most people would accept a reasonable discussion by those who are knowledgeable on the subject.

[Ed Lizard]

It's not an exciting forum and we don't talk about the weather

I've had no issues when jumping into different regions, and I expect most people don't unless their sole intent is to troll (note: this does not include interjecting realism). I would think/hope that most people would accept a reasonable discussion by those who are knowledgeable on the subject.

This would be a separate forum from the taggers only forum, not for discussing job openings or complaining about someone at the office. Read only to most. Red/orange taggers, and some no taggers who consistently post good stuff. From our regional forum, Jorge seems like a good example of a non-tagger who might get posting priviledges in that scenario.

[HKY_WX]

I actually think we should go back to one board. All we do in the sub-forum is start an obs thread and stay in that it seems. I don't see how it'd be any different than having an obs thread on the main board. I agree the overall interaction on the board is down.Maybe we could leave the sub forums but preclude them from including anything but observation threads.

[snowman21]

This would be a separate forum from the taggers only forum, not for discussing job openings or complaining about someone at the office. Read only to most. Red/orange taggers, and some no taggers who consistently post good stuff. From our regional forum, Jorge seems like a good example of a non-tagger who might get posting priviledges in that scenario.

I'd like to see non-red taggers post limited on the weather side. Something like 20-25 posts per day would be fair. There's no reason to have people averaging 50 or 100 posts per day especially during a significant event. A lot of good stuff the mets post gets lost in the fast moving regional main line threads by trolling, weenie forecasts, and using the main thread as a party line.

[Ed Lizard]

I'd like to see non-red taggers post limited on the weather side. Something like 20-25 posts per day would be fair. There's no reason to have people averaging 50 or 100 posts per day especially during a significant event. A lot of good stuff the mets post gets lost in the fast moving regional main line threads by trolling, weenie forecasts, and using the main thread as a party line.

Some good tropical posters I wouldn't want post limited.

[snowman21]

Some good tropical posters I wouldn't want post limited.

Yeah you're right, but a lot of the main threads within the regions move way too fast, and it's not because there's a lot of mets posting rapid-fire style. I was just thinking that if people knew they were limited to a certain number of posts each day they'd really think about what they posted since then there's a vested interest to not waste posts.

[skierinvermont]

I actually think we should go back to one board. All we do in the sub-forum is start an obs thread and stay in that it seems. I don't see how it'd be any different than having an obs thread on the main board. I agree the overall interaction on the board is down.Maybe we could leave the sub forums but preclude them from including anything but observation threads.

This is basically why I disagreed with subforums originally.. there wasn't a huge issue with there being too many threads started and falling off the first page. We don't really have more thread diversity now.. look at the subforums... sometimes all the threads have been inactive for days except the first few.

I guess it cuts down on the inter-regional arguing that went on because people tend to stay in their own regions.. but we end up with other types of arguments instead. I guess subforums have improved some things and they're probably here to stay.. but we have definitely lost out on some things and I never saw the overwhelming need in the first place.

[VAwxman]

I agree with your premise, but we can't force people to post in the main forum. I've tried on numerous occasions to focus conversation about those things in this forum, but 1. I'm still learning MR/LR forecasting and I'm certainly no expert and 2. except for Vawxman and wxmx, no one else seems to participate. Don S had several threads during the winter season, but they devolved into nothing more than a guy in the Pac NW and a guy in Ottawa asking how much for TBY. I'm not sure what can be done.

Yeah you have tried to initiate these kinds of discussions. It seems like other than a select few of us, most just go straight to their regional forums rather than even looking to see what is here. I dunno though. Whatever the case is, I personally like the setup less now than before subforums due to the diluted discussions, but realize the subforums are here to stay.

[RaleighWx]

I see the advantages and disadvantages to both, but certainly tended to post more when there was one big board. Some of that is just job/family changes over the years. I do miss the one board, because I tend, to stay camped out on the regional board particularly during winter. But just my opinion and I am sure many like the regional idea.

[Clinch Leatherwood]

I see the advantages and disadvantages to both, but certainly tended to post more when there was one big board. Some of that is just job/family changes over the years. I do miss the one board, because I tend, to stay camped out on the regional board particularly during winter. But just my opinion and I am sure many like the regional idea.

Maybe make this a red tagger only forum and make euswx for everyone else. That way the threads don't get muddied.

It's kind of ridiculous that there are any forums here unviewable by other members. Closed to posting sure....but not readable?

[North Balti Zen]

I would be delighted with a red tagger/selected few good non-mets (not thinking of me, clearly) restricted long range type thread that could be read by all but not cluttered with IMBY posts. Of all the ideas bandied about, that is the one that would make a lot of sense. In fact, it would be nice to have that to guide/shape discussion in the inevitable IMBY posts in the regional threads.

[Ed Lizard]

I would be delighted with a red tagger/selected few good non-mets (not thinking of me, clearly) restricted long range type thread that could be read by all but not cluttered with IMBY posts. Of all the ideas bandied about, that is the one that would make a lot of sense. In fact, it would be nice to have that to guide/shape discussion in the inevitable IMBY posts in the regional threads.

Yup. I can see wxmx, Donald Sutherland and the taggers in a read only thread for most people posting quality stuff.

I don't want post limits in the main forum for non-taggers, especially for tropical threads.

[skierinvermont]

I don't think you would need to make it read only for the majority of the board, as there has never been much of a problem with weenies making imby posts in the LR threads. A number of mets have expressed concern that their thoughts aren't being read or that other mets are not posting in the general thread on LR stuff. You want other people to be able to post in the thread so it can be an interactive learning process and so people making contributions know that their thoughts are appreciated. As long as it is pinned and has a clearly defined purpose, I don't think there would be too much trouble with IMBY posts.

[QVectorman]

HM is a good example. I found some good pattern type posts of his that normally would have been on the main board buried in a Philly thread.

Agree 110% I hated having to search for good posts buried in other sub forums this winter and having to take that much more time looking for them when previously I could find them all on the main board. Same with this spring, I have to hunt through several regional forums to find a couple good posts when previously I could find them all in about ten minutes.

I think a lot of us mets think in the big picture and the whole IMBY thing in subforums has bored us and we have lost interest. Many in this thread have covered a majority of my feelings about the LR forecasts and overall synoptic discussions that use to occur between all of us as systems pasted through the United States instead of having to follow it through several subforums. I miss it

Just my 2 cents!

[Clinch Leatherwood]

Some of the biggest advocates of sub-forums...are they still even posting? How hard was it in 2010 to make a favorite or shortcut to a thread for a day or two before replacing it with another. The whole premise I never understood.

[jburns]

Totally agree that the regional subforums have taken away the thunder from the main forum, especially in the winter. I'd prefer only topics that are very regionally specific in there. Approaching snowstorms-- to have a regional discussion in each forum is exhausting. The weather expertise is diluted and hard to find. I prefer the giant thread approach for all of the approaching storms, winter and summer!

I agree and feel like I have lost the big picture. The recent NJ floods are a good example. Normally I would have been aware of that well before they occurred because there would have been a thread about it on the main page. I grew up in NJ and had the pleasure of the Passaic River flowing into my backyard quite a few times so I definitely would have followed the events leading up to and including the floods. This time I didn't know about it until it appeared on CNN and was basically over.

[famartin]

I agree and feel like I have lost the big picture. The recent NJ floods are a good example. Normally I would have been aware of that well before they occurred because there would have been a thread about it on the main page. I grew up in NJ and had the pleasure of the Passaic River flowing into my backyard quite a few times so I definitely would have followed the events leading up to and including the floods. This time I didn't know about it until it appeared on CNN and was basically over.

Which is why I hang out in the Philly/NYC forums

[QVectorman]

Perfect example...there are at LEAST 3 threads going right now of the possible 4/10-4/12 torch of the NE in at least 3 subforums. Really?? We can't have one giant discussion and have all the posts in one spot so we can actually have a GREAT discussion with everyones input instead of it being watered down over all those subs?

[NJwinter23]

I agree with your premise, but we can't force people to post in the main forum. I've tried on numerous occasions to focus conversation about those things in this forum, but 1. I'm still learning MR/LR forecasting and I'm certainly no expert and 2. except for Vawxman and wxmx, no one else seems to participate. Don S had several threads during the winter season, but they devolved into nothing more than a guy in the Pac NW and a guy in Ottawa asking how much for TBY. I'm not sure what can be done.

The existence of sub-forums is the inherent problem here. I've been quietly against it from day 1 for a number of reasons, and the biggest reason I'm against it now is the loss of several great Mets who used to post here and do not anymore (or maybe I just miss their posts because they're buried in another forum <--problem). To back up my concern, I have talked to a certain great, long-time Met on the boards who rarely even bothers posting anymore. It's a combination of the lack of discussion on the main board, the tendency for posts to go unnoticed by many in a regional forum leading to a lesser discussion, and the issue of having to sort through 6 forums to try and find good information/discussions. There just is not enough time/motivation in an already busy day for many to sort through 6 sub-forums to try and find and more importantly add meaningful content. I realize there are benefits and certain situations that the sub-forums have worked great for, but I believe the weather board was in its prime with a general discussion only. I find weather generally interesting and inter-related regardless of where it is occurring. Junk posts and IMBY posts are always going to be a problem whether with sub-forums/1 main forum. This is just the way I see it at least.

[am19psu]

For all of this talk about the main forum losing great discussion, I don't see anyone here doing a whole lot about it. Is it just because Wes and HM stopped posting (let's be honest - they were big contributors to the superthreads of the past)? I'd rather see more activity on the main forum, too, but I can't force anyone to post here.

There appears to be a number of people who would like to talk about regional or national weather but indicate that it's no longer possible. Who is stopping you? Why can't threads be started for major regional or national events here? I'll certainly contribute to them. Threads were started for every major snowstorm in the January and February to very little fanfare.

There are some smart people posting in this thread complaining about the way things used to be. You guys should be the ones that help bring it back.

[Clinch Leatherwood]

For all of this talk about the main forum losing great discussion, I don't see anyone here doing a whole lot about it. Is it just because Wes and HM stopped posting (let's be honest - they were big contributors to the superthreads of the past)? I'd rather see more activity on the main forum, too, but I can't force anyone to post here.

There appears to be a number of people who would like to talk about regional or national weather but indicate that it's no longer possible. Who is stopping you? Why can't threads be started for major regional or national events here? I'll certainly contribute to them. Threads were started for every major snowstorm in the January and February to very little fanfare.

There are some smart people posting in this thread complaining about the way things used to be. You guys should be the ones that help bring it back.

This is what happens when a vocal few over rule the quieter majority. If I recall the most outspoken advocate of sub forums to the point of interrupting threads deliberately to make a point rarely even posts.

The fact is it was never a problem. The premise of "threads being buried" was so ridiculous from day 1 when any important topic could be pinned anyway and really how hard was it to bookmark a post?

I think it's also contributed to even more gibberish because the moderation standards are so different between regions there can be much more noise versus signal.

The great discussions of the past are gone and I doubt they are ever coming back.