re: An argument for a Technology board (8/1 update - a continuing trend)

quote:

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would much rather see a S&T Board before the others.

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I think most people would, even though they may not fully realize it. As I've mentioned, the board could have more utility than any other board on this website, in that anyone with tech issues would have a specific place to go for help.

In fact, the "off topic" forum is somewhat of an anachronism, at least in its title, since this website now has boards dedicated to numerous other topics. The list of what is considered "off topic" has been diminishing since 2003, actually. The OT was the second message board to be added to Tigerdroppings, just after the Tiger Rant. And, at the time, it truly was "off topic", since the main topic of the site was LSU sports, and discussion regarding anything else was truly "off topic". Below is what the site looked like in 2002.





Later in 2002, the Ticket Exchange board had opened. (list of boards on the left hand side...)




As shown on the left hand side of the image below, 2003 saw the introduction of the Request board (future Help board), the NFL board (future Saints Talk), and the NCAA 2004 board (future Gaming Board). For the first time, there were dedicated boards for specific subjects other than for LSU sports.



By 2005, the NCAA 2004 board had been expunged. The NFL board was bifurcated into "Saints Talk" and "More Sports Talk" (future Main Sports Board). By May of 2005, we also witnessed the introduction of Political Talk.



In 2006, it became apparent that what was once a site dedicated to discussing LSU sports was evolving into something much more profound. By December of 2006, we saw the implementation of three new boards - Gaming, Fark, and Movie/TV.




The introduction of new boards continued, and by February of 2008, another trio of new boards had been added to the site, which included the Recruiting Board, Money Talk, and Food and Drink.



2009 played witness to the introduction of the SEC Rant, which, by 2012, would develop into a stand alone sister site of TD.



In the summer of 2010, many users were first exposed to the concept of transient, situational boards, of which included the Conference Expansion board and a dedicated forum for discussion on the oil spill. However, two new boards joined the site permanently - the World Cup board (future Soccer board), and the Fantasy Sports Board.



Just three months later, in October of 2010, the Outdoor Board and Hornets board had been implemented.



And in the latter half of 2011, the SEC Recruiting board was introduced.




So, what's the point of all of this? It's evident that as early as 2003, the website has been evolving into something more than just a digital locale to discuss LSU sports. There's been a steady introduction of new boards dedicated to certain topics. Instead of a single, nondescript board to host any discussions not pertaining to LSU sports, there has been a slow, methodical installation of topic specific boards to not only offload traffic to the OT, but to foster more fervent, engaging, and specific discussion with respect to a given topic.

Yet, one monolithic topic still doesn't have a dedicated space for discussion. In fact, it's such a big industry that nearly every major news outlet has a dedicated section on their site for this one topic - Science and Technology. And the interest is there, as we've all seen - posts range from iPhones, smartphones, and HDTV help to discussions on evolution, broadband, and space. The interest is there, and the posts are there. To help continue a process that has been a part of Tigerdroppings since 2003, I think the introduction of a Science and Technology board would not only be an appropriate board to host the numerous tech discussions that continually saturate the OT, but would serve as an invaluable resource to even the most casual users who need tech and troubleshooting assistance.