Are we all just venting or is there someplace to see if they're being considered, developed, ...?

I'm pretty sure the mods and admins are discussing things, PabloS. The general procedure, as I understand it, is that someone puts the idea out, then they let people respond to get an idea of how much support is out there. After that they probably discuss the new forum, what it would entail, and how it would be run, assign moderators, etc. and then open it up. Also, as I understand it, this critique forum idea is probably gonna take a bit more time to get running, just on the grounds that it's much more prone to abuse than most. IMHO, they're probably gonna take some time to establish the ground rules before opening it for business, to avoid trouble they've had in other new forums in the recent and not so recent past. Keep in mind, this is all speculation, based on the way I've run my site in the past, but, in general, the same issues apply universally. Regards, Paul

If you really want a more solid answer to your question, btw, I'd recommend IMing either audre or spike. She's the admin who originally put the idea out there, and he's the admin in charge of forum coordination, as I understand things.

grin YUP what Entropic just said. We've opened up several new forums recently in response to member feedback. I think that was the 'first wave'... I really am not sure what to tell you as far as how long it takes to get a forum implemented, because each is different and requires varying levels of support. The Critique Forum is definitely going to take some planning and support so we are going to need a bit of time to figure out just how to make it work. Thanks audre

Thanks Paul and Audre. I've sit in too many meetings where nothing get's done and would hate to see this forum do the same thing. In other words if you're going to have an "improvement forum," do something with it. It would be nice to get some kind of feedback (like "we've decided to proceed with this" or "we can't do this because...") so folks know they're not wasting their time. I posted the question here since I figured it was probably something the general populace might be interested in. Audre, I did post an idea in the critique forum thread. Let me know what you think. Paul (too)

Oops. I just re-read my post here. It sounded quite a bit more harsh than I intended. Sorry 'bout that!

audre looks around, feeling slightly strange at finding herself surrounded by Pauls chuckle This Critique forum is something I personally want (well, after the Fractal Forum grin), but unfortunately, I am already a bit overextended with the Magazine and Convention planning, plus the forums that I already pop into regularly... So, right at the moment, I don't know what Spike's plans are. It needs very consistant and constant mangement to make it work initially. I think that is the hold up. First line staffing considerations. So, it may take a while. How long a while is, your guess is as good as mine at this point. Thanks

You mean I had the right answer?! WOOHOO! Actually, I just made all that stuff up based on something I once read put out by the Department of Transportation. If I keep this up, maybe I can go on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". And btw, Pauls are good people. So are folks named Pavel, Pablo, and !Xabbu. ( !X is pronounced with a clicking sound made from the back of the throat, and is only used in the language of the Bushmen of the Calihari ) Regards, Paul

I once read put out by the Department of Transportation NOW you are really scaring me Paul.