Please post name game threads in the Baby Name Games forum!

Recently, a lot of name game posts have been started in this forum, particularly “rate the signatures” games. [name_m]Just[/name_m] a gentle reminder that those threads should be posted in the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name Games forum in order to keep this forum free for more indepth baby name discussions. Thanks, Berries! :slight_smile:

Isn’t it more useful to have one active thread for opinions about names in our signature rather than having 10 individual threads pop up, because everyone wants to discuss their favourite names?
And isn’t a thread where people write in-depth opinions/descriptions of names more than another “CAF with a namebank” game?

I do think that “sibset the previous signature” or “name a sibling to _” can count as name games but when people share imageries and discuss names fittin those (emphasis is on discuss, there is back and forth conversation in these threads), I think it makes more sense to have them in this thread than the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name Games thread.

These threads have been very active for what they are, however, they will not be able to compete against “one minute” name games, as people take their time to write answers and descriptions, so they will end up somewhere in the depths of the Games forum where people can’t find them.
The ones playing Name Games are also quite a different group of people than those writing insightful descriptions with thought.

I can understand that you don’t want 10 games popping up in these forums every day, however, just because a thread looks like a game, doesn’t mean it isn’t (also) a discussion of names.
This forum is called “talk about names”, that’s what we’re doing in these threads.

I would have to agree with opheliaflora - I find the signature-based games very useful to see how other people would combine my names and to get suggestions for new names that fit my style. I also enjoy the space to provide feedback to other people.

I think these are very different from the multitude of ‘Name a Dance Class’ games that appear to spawn every hour, eventually burying threads that many of us find to be sources of insight and assistance when adding to our lists and making combinations.

I suppose the main issue here is the sheer number of these type of threads which are posted in this forum, which other members have complained about.

It was my suggestion to move games out of the discussion forums because I feel like I miss a lot of interesting discussions that get pushed down by threads with thousands of posts that never die and are perennially filling up the first page, so I guess you can blame me. I suppose we’re having the same problem in that the threads we find interesting are being drowned out by threads we don’t find interesting… I am sure there is a certain amount of actual discussion going on in the signature games but personally I’d rather see the 10 individual threads on specific sets of names. At least we’d see some day-to-day variety on the front page, because we all know those 10 threads wouldn’t last forever.

I think there are two forums that seem to be pretty much indistinguishable ([name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names and Talk About [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names - even the titles do not really indicate a difference) so perhaps for a compromise we could have signature-based games in one and real free-form discussions unconstrained by rules on who is supposed to reply to whom in the other.

Isn’t it more useful to have one active thread for opinions about names in our signature rather than having 10 individual threads pop up, because everyone wants to discuss their favourite names?
And isn’t a thread where people write in-depth opinions/descriptions of names more than another “CAF with a namebank” game?

I do think that “sibset the previous signature” or “name a sibling to _” can count as name games but when people share imageries and discuss names fittin those (emphasis is on discuss, there is back and forth conversation in these threads), I think it makes more sense to have them in this thread than the Baby Name Games thread.

These threads have been very active for what they are, however, they will not be able to compete against “one minute” name games, as people take their time to write answers and descriptions, so they will end up somewhere in the depths of the Games forum where people can’t find them.
The ones playing Name Games are also quite a different group of people than those writing insightful descriptions with thought.

I can understand that you don’t want 10 games popping up in these forums every day, however, just because a thread looks like a game, doesn’t mean it isn’t (also) a discussion of names.
This forum is called “talk about names”, that’s what we’re doing in these threads.

I think there are two forums that seem to be pretty much indistinguishable (Baby Names and Talk About Baby Names - even the titles do not really indicate a difference) so perhaps for a compromise we could have signature-based games in one and real free-form discussions unconstrained by rules on who is supposed to reply to whom in the other.

I completely agree with these.

I agree with the view that threads like “Rate My Signature” are more about discussing names than they are a game. People go to those threads to get advice, and to see which of their favourites are the most popular amongst others, whereas they go to the game threads to have a bit of lighthearted fun.

Perhaps this forum “Talk About [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names” could be changed to “Talk About Names”, which would mean the signature-based threads etc could be here, along with more general name discussion, such as threads about unisex names or double middle names, could be here, and threads more related to people’s future children or searching for advice could be in the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names forum.

That’s a good idea.
Most people tend to post in the Girls / Boys forums anyway, even if they’re Team [name_u]Green[/name_u] they tend to open two different threads.
Then we also have a forum for sibling names (which doesn’t seem to be very active as people either ask in the Girl/Boy forums, in [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names or even here.
Converting one of those forums to a “Signature based” forum, either for these “previous signature” threads or for people to ask about opinions on long lists/their signature could be helpful?!

I must agree with the previous posters. Threads such as the Rate the Previous Signature are very much name discussions, rather than quick two-minute games that require little thought. It would be prudent for threads such as those to be allowed on this section, since they are actual name discussions. Oh, and I love the idea of a signature based forum! That is such a good idea, and would be so appreciated.

I also would like to add that we need a better monitoring system in place. A lot of the threads that just got moved from the Talk About thread had been there for months, or even years in some cases (the Rate the Prev [name_m]Sig[/name_m] thread had been around since 2014!).

We need more active mods to patrol the threads to ensure this same situation doesn’t crop up again at another point down the road. That goes for all parts of the forum. One thing that’s bothered me for a while now is that I noticed a lot of posters take their writing advice over to the actual baby naming forums, which only kills the Writer’s Corner further.

This isn’t directed at any one person; I know the admins are only human. It still stands though, you can’t have an organized, functional forum if there’s no one in place to ensure it stays that way. A handful of the old mods don’t even log on anymore, and as far as I can tell, no one else has been added as a moderator.

I think ideally, if the forums were reorganized, it’d be nice to go with something along these lines:

Real World Advice: Threads such as “My cousin just used our #1 name, would should I do?”, “I have baby name regret. What Should I do?” “My top pick is the same name as his sister’s abusive ex, what should I do?” Any real life name questions that end with “What should I do” instead of “Which name do you like best” would go here.

Signatures, lists and ratings (feedback on any type of list): All the Top 10, Rate My Signature, Suggestions based on signatures/lists, etc. threads would go here

Name Discussion (or debates, philosophy, whatever): Threads about naming philosophies or hypotheticals. “What’s your opinion on [name_m]Jr[/name_m]'s?”, “One versus two middle names”, “Did you/would you use names that reflect your heritage”, “If you had to use a theme, which theme would you use”, “What do you consider too popular” etc.

Girls Names, Boys Names, Momberries, Celebrity Names, Name Games, [name_f]Pet[/name_f] Names, Writers’ Corner, Everything But Names, All About Nameberry and Birth Announcements could all stay just as they are. As someone else mentioned, Siblings Names is kind of pointless so that could probably just be deleted.

That’s my two cents anyway. :slight_smile:

That sounds like a really good system!

I think this would be a great idea, as well!

But really, I’d also like to say thank you to the mods and creators…those who put a lot of work in behind the scenes to keep this site a wonderful place that those of us who are name fanatics, parents looking for naming advice, writers naming characters, TTC women, persons trying to rename themselves, and any other possible group, can frequent. I apologize that we may take what you do for granted, sometimes, and I hope that this site can continue for a long time still :slight_smile:

So what is the verdict? [name_m]Will[/name_m] we get some of our discussion threads back?
[name_m]Will[/name_m] be able to use one of the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names Forums for our discussions?
[name_m]Will[/name_m] forums be less vague about what kinds of posts they are for?
[name_m]Will[/name_m] there be more admins who move threads to the place of their belonging in general?
For example, there are sibling threads in this forum, the baby names forum, the sibling names forum and the individual girl/boy forums. Shouldn’t the at least be reduced to one non-gendered forum?

From what I can tell from this thread, there really isnt a large issue of ‘Create an Egyptian Dynasty’ in the wrong place, just people with the opinion of help me with/give suggestions for signature type discussions/etc, which CAN be made into games, are seeing THREAD TITLES that may be misleading or are simply judging smaller convos as unworthy of being in a certain location.

I feel this is just the cost of a forum. Adding more categories is getting way too complex.

Why not those that have an issue finding exactly what they want use SEARCH and those that normally converse together or want ‘real’ discussions can pinpoint that way versus just waiting for the newest thread post which may or may not be relevant to them. They could even use code words to trigger the search to catch their post ‘serious discussion’, a secret real thread club password: giraffe, whatever.

I prefer notifications or recommendations from mods be temporary and deleted, otherwise really pointless threads like this one stick around and clog up the forum which bugs me way more that seeing a post that may or may not be in the ‘right’ place which i could still learn from.

i may think ‘Create an Egyptian Dynasty’ is stupid, but before i click to the next thread in hopes of finding what i am really looking for, i can scan the page and maybe even see a name or opinion i never would have otherwise if i had never left my bubble.

Update: all of this has been discussed with [name_f]Pam[/name_f] & [name_f]Linda[/name_f] and the general consensus is renaming this forum to be more specific - something along the lines of “Talk About Names” so that it’s more obvious that this forum is for more in depth discussions about names rather than asking for baby naming advice. There has been some confusion as to which forum is best for posting in given that [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names and Talk About [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names are pretty similar forum titles. So, basically, the “signature” threads etc will remain in this forum, which will be a dedicated forum for those types of threads. I hope this is okay with everyone and clears things up! Please feel free to contact myself or one of the other mods if you have any other issues/questions :slight_smile:

That’s fantastic.
Another idea: maybe the “Sibling Names” forum can be moves up in the list so it gets more frequently visited and the people looking for suggestions actually post their quesitons in there. That way, they aren’t as scattered in all the forums.