Can we set up a "Chances" sub-forum?

[Epictetus21]

---

Members do not see this ad.

On the premed forum there is a "What are my chances" sub-forum, so that the forum is uncluttered with the thousands of "chances" threads that invariably take over about this time of year. Do any of the moderators know how to set that up, and do you think it would be useful?

A quick link to the premed forum to see an example: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=10

 

[phantasmagoriun]

I second this.

 

[Hysteria24]

Wow... I thought for sure this was joke thread. If people get fed up with all of those types of threads, what is going to make them want to peruse that forum and give out advice to all the worried pre-dents?

 

[craigory]

Personally I would love a "chances" sub-forum!

When I posted my inevitable "chances" thread about myself, I actually felt guilty - as if I was spamming the forum! If there was a section solely pertaining to the topic however, I wouldn't have hesitated at all!

Furthermore, I love reading the chances threads to see who else out there is in a similar situation to me, so having them collected in one location would be pretty useful.

I also feel that those who respond to "chances" threads are very helpful people by nature and would probably peruse the sub-forum to dole out advice anyway.

I say go for it!

 

[dent2009]

i agree with this request

 

[cubbiesftw]

excellent idea

 

[phantasmagoriun]

Personally I would love a "chances" sub-forum!

When I posted my inevitable "chances" thread about myself, I actually felt guilty - as if I was spamming the forum! If there was a section solely pertaining to the topic however, I wouldn't have hesitated at all!

Furthermore, I love reading the chances threads to see who else out there is in a similar situation to me, so having them collected in one location would be pretty useful.

I also feel that those who respond to "chances" threads are very helpful people by nature and would probably peruse the sub-forum to dole out advice anyway.

I say go for it!

Yeah I agree with this. It's not that I feel that we are trying to deter people away, I just think it is such a hugely posted topic on this forum that it tends to overpower other information at times. And yes, people who tend to answer these types of threads I think would be more that happy to read the posts in a sub-forum.

 

[Lopyswine]

the chances sub-forum would free up space in predental for people to ask questions ABOUT the app PROCESS. I am all for the sub-forum.

 

[DrSmiles12]

This is a fantastic idea!! Wheres the mods!

 

[DentistRob]

Agreed. They'll still get their answers. I'd mosey on over there when I felt like giving that type of advice. When I want to find out about a certain school, it seems those short winded (most of them) "chance" threads always push the threads I want over to the next page.

👍

 

[armorshell]

Wouldn't matter anyway, people would still post chances threads in the main forum when they invariably got no responses in a sub-forum almost no one would read.

 

[Paca444]

I would enjoy going to the sub thread. It makes a lot of us feel better about our own stats Or, will at least make some others feel like they're not alone. Besides, it's American to say "what if" to the little guy.

 

[ucla2134]

I vote for it. 👍

 

[Epictetus21]

Wouldn't matter anyway, people would still post chances threads in the main forum when they invariably got no responses in a sub-forum almost no one would read.

There is plenty of activity on the sub-thread on the premed forum. There were 12 posts and/or responses just today. I bet the idea would take hold better than you might think.

 

[DrSmiles12]

Wouldn't matter anyway, people would still post chances threads in the main forum when they invariably got no responses in a sub-forum almost no one would read.

The premed version seems to work good!

 

[dentstd]

better yet. can we just ban those who post chance threads?

 

[drpsuedonym]

I agree. No matter how good or bad your stats, most people feel pretty insecure about their chances, so it would be nice to have a place where everyone can talk about it without bothering people that get irritated by those kinds of posts.

 

[War Eagle]

Can we make this a poll and put it to a vote? It would also be a convenient way for pre-dents concerned about chances to read what responses others are getting about thier own chances.

 

[lemoncurry]

this idea has been tossed around before and usually rejected for the reason armorshell metioned. besides, the majority of these threads only happen during a few months of the year, so while it may be annoying, it usually clears up toward the end of the cycle.

 

[MolarExpress]

I don't think many people would take the time to read through a chance forum either. However, I don't think it's bad when people post chance threads or advice threads (I like asking for advice on this site). Isn't that what this is here for? To help eachother out, to get tips, questions cleared and everything necessary to get into dental school and become dentists?
Just my opinion.

 

[ChrisM07]

It's funny because I was actually going to post an idea just like this one. I thought it might be a way of keeping topics more organized. Plus, I figured that there are already a lot of helpful people who respond to those kinds of threads that they wouldn't mind answering posts like they do now, except in a different spot. It would also give people who are curious about statistics (myself included) a place to look where all I would see is similar posts about stuff like that instead of having to do searches.

better yet. can we just ban those who post chance threads?

I think some of the posts are redundant. Like people who simply put "I am worried I won't get in...will I?" without posting any real information. But other times, I think it can kinda give someone a little hope for their situation.

Just my 2 cents.

I guess the mods have their reasoning for leaving that out 😉

 

[Epictetus21]

this idea has been tossed around before and usually rejected for the reason armorshell metioned. besides, the majority of these threads only happen during a few months of the year, so while it may be annoying, it usually clears up toward the end of the cycle.

It seems to have cleaned up the premed forum nicely, and judging by the positive response that this thread has generated I would say there is definitely support for it here. I personally think the reason that the idea has been rejected in the past is not because it won't work - the premeds have shown that it will - but rather, is because no one wants to take the time to figure out how to set it up. No one will take the initiative, and so it gets swept under the carpet each time. I doubt that it is a very difficult thing to do, if you have the administrative access. We could always try it, and if it isn't used, as predicted by some, then it could easily be dismantled.

 

[lemoncurry]

it's not a matter of not knowing how to set it up. with each new forum there has to be a perceived need beyond just annoyance of other forum members. We don't get the same traffic that the pre-med forum gets, so we can't say for sure whether it would work the same here. As armorshell mentioned, people may not want to post there because they think no one will see it, so they will just post it in here anyway. Just because we have a higher volume of WAMC threads now doesn't mean that it will continue through the rest of the year. The more you fragment/compartmentalize the forums, the greater chance that the overall volume of posts and threads may decrease. You may have noticed that there are plenty of people who post DAT stuff in the main forum, probably because they think they are more likely to get a response here.

Setting up a subforum is easy technically, but there is a lot of consideration that has to go into it. But in the interest of democracy (which technically, SDN isn't 😉) I will bring it up to the admin staff.

 

[Hysteria24]

Just because we have a higher volume of WAMC threads now doesn't mean that it will continue through the rest of the year.

This is spot on!

Soon all of the "WAMC" threads will turn into the plethora of "School A vs School B" threads. It's just the cyclical nature here on the pre-dent forums.

 

[lemoncurry]

I just went through 3 pages of threads (i.e. 150 threads) and found 9 threads that were clearly WAMC material. There were many others that were "advice" type threads but not having to do with chances. Maybe I could stretch it to 10 or 11 threads because I missed one with a misleading title something.

My point is that there really doesn't seem to be a demand for a subforum. An average of 3 per page is not enough to get our undies in a knot 🙂

 

[Hysteria24]

Side thought:

Lemoncurry & Armor- What's the deal with the black bar through your Mod icons? I've seen some other like that recently.

 

[lemoncurry]

It's in memory of Riley and Claudia, as the announcements have mentioned. You'll also notice that many of the mods/admins have changed their titles.

 

[armorshell]

It's in memory of Riley and Claudia, as the announcements have mentioned. You'll also notice that many of the mods/admins have changed their titles.

I just figured I was in trouble