[Someone Else]

What's with all the Official topics? Why can't we have numerous topics to discuss different things?

If I want to talk about how the Wii functions online, I should be able to create a different topic from the "Next-Generation of Gaming" topic, so that I may talk about a certain thing about the next-generation of gaming.

Having one topic to discuss something is pretty unorthodox. Sure, it's fine to just have a "General Topic" on a subject, actually I recommend it; but if you want to really get in-depth on a subject, numerous topics work best because you can't have more than one discussion in a single topic and still have a nice flow of conversation. If someone tries to change the subject in the Official topic (example if we had an LOZ topic: How do I gain access to the Last Piece of Heart in the Minish Cap?) they can easily be ignored. However, if that person were to create another topic, they could get replies straight away. See how flawed Official topics are?

On the occassion, there can be times where an Official Topic is okay. If the subject in question isn't so vast, such as a game such like the New Super Mario Bros. one topic is fine. BUT, if you were to make a topic about Musical Instruments, you would want to allow the members to also make numerous topics in addition for discussion, such as String Instruments, and Wind Instruments.

I'm not sure if I was clear enough, but I hope you see my point. I'm more just suggesting this to the Mod Team, but putting a rule about Official Topics into the Golden Rules as a reminder wouldn't hurt. Actually, I think the rules here are too strict in general (and in some cases, not stict enough) but you gotta start somewhere. :!: But this is really hurting how conversation works here.

[Max]

WD, I agree with you. The intention of the "Official" topics is to be a catch-all for general purpose discussion. For in-depth discussion or discussion on a very specific topic, it is perfectly fine for someone to create a new topic.

The moderators should be able to tell the difference, so I don't see a need at this point to modify the wording of the rules. In general, if a moderator or admin merges or deletes your topic, just PM them with a reason why you did what you did and they will usually restore the topic (or let you recreate it).

[Aquamarine]

Hm... I never really thought about it, but yeah, WD's got a point there. Now that Max has agreed with the idea let's hope there aren't too many "Unofficial Topics".

[Someone Else]

It just seems like for a while the mod team was staying a bit too "loyal" to just having the "Official" topics. Oh well, but I hope that the mods will consider this when they see new topics.

[Nick Presta]

When I created the Official Topics (or allowed creation), it was to grab everything that wasn't specific. If you want to create a Wii Online topic, you are perfectly able to do so and I encourage it.

The official topic would be for discussions about Xbox 360 -vrs- PS3 -vrs- Wii, not for specifics.

[Sea of Time]

The title "Official Topic" is somewhat misleading, but it had its draw when it first started. I was and still am a fan of having one topic to discuss one specific topic.

But unofficial topics are fine, as long as they aren't literally named "The Unofficial Topic". Come on, that's corny.