Speculation Tuesday is Community-Driven

Evening AU Hoops fans! I've had a hell of a day so this is going to be short and sweet tonight. Mostly because what I have to say isn't that important; per usual, what YOU all have to say is more important.

I wondered how long it would be until a message board was brought up. Well, it's been brought up (thanks Matt B). Josh and I have spoken in private about setting up a message board a la CROSSPORTS. We decided not to do it in the middle of the season, but my feeling is that's a direction things could go.

The way I envision a message board working is like this: basically all your favorite things about AU Hoops would still be there, only they'd be at the top of message threads. So your Monday PL Check-Ins, Speculation Tuesdays, Wednesday Weekly Polls, Open Letters, everything, would still be there and all. The benefit I see to this is a couple of things: right now the long comment threads aren't ideal. The comments are great, but the page just gets so long. There's also an inability to really quote other comments effectively, which I personally find annoying since I like to make them the basis of my comments. Finally, the big advantage is that this would take some pressure off of me and Josh to generate content. If Lord Baltimore, for example, finds a link he finds interesting, he can start a message thread with it and discussion can follow it. If NJJ decides he wants to talk about, I don't know, changing the mascot, he can make a thread, and discussion can follow it. That user-generated content will add a breadth of content to this community that I think will be valuable. Not that I don't love this site and what it's become, but I want it to get better. Having you folks be able to generate content would take some of the pressure off of me to find new ways to do improve the site.

My questions (speculations) which you will clear up in the comments (I hope), follow thusly:
1. Thoughts in general?
2. Are you currently satisfied with the way conversations take place in the comments? Would a message board improve or worsen things or have no effect?
3. If we moved discussion to a message board, would you follow it? I.E. Would you still post?
4. Ultimately, yea or nay on adding a message board?

Anyway, please have at it in comments. If you don't normally comment, I'd encourage you to comment on this and say whether you'd be more or less inclined to do so if we were on a message board. I'm trying to get community input here; please please please lend it to me! And thanks in advance. You guys are great.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!