Okay, so this is meant to be a civil discussion about the purpose of private threads.

In my blunt opinion, I personally think the usage of private threads is utterly abused. Why do they exist? You don't have a "private" conversation in real life, unless it's in the privacy of your house, and even there you can be overheard sometimes. Pack lands? I don't mind seeing private threads so much, because that's your house, and you can do whatever you want. But some of the unclaimed areas? Private threads? Expecting not to be overheard? That's a little bit more unlikely.

Not only is it unlikely to not be overheard. (That's like me sitting in McDonalds and expecting people to not hear what I'm saying if I decided I want to have a Skype conversation.) But it also sways new people away from the site sometimes. If you you look down at Recent IC topics, you see maybe two AW threads, and the rest of them are private. Why? Can't your wolf grovel to another wolf in public so the rest of us can form opinions on the character? (Not saying all threads are groveling threads, that's just an example.)

Another point is plotting, private threads kill character development and plotting. I have noticed that sometimes people plan character responses OCly. (Metagaming) But what happens if you OC plan to have bob cheat on harry, and go out with sally? What happens if no one tells Harry? What happens if Harry is realistically in the same area, let's say a board, or in the same board as said cheating thread that's set private? He would have justification to join that thread, I mean he smells bob in the area, but if the thread is set to private Harry can never discover that Bob has broken his little wolf heart with Sally. See my point?

Now I saw one suggestion from Yumpy about private threads asking for clarification on the rules, and I have to agree, I don't understand the point/logic of a private thread either. If you are in a pack land in a 'private' thread, what is stopping the alpha from stepping into it? Isn't that the perk of being an Alpha, the whole territory and everyone in it belongs to you? Why can't Alpha Lulzzy walk into that thread, because it has a P set on the topic?

-rage over-

okay. so first I'm going to say. In pack lands alpha's can step into any topic they want private or not. I'm pretty sure that is stated in the rules and if not then well? it's just always been something alpha's can do because you are right it's their pack lands and they can do whatever the hell they want.

secondly. personally I do private threads because whenever I do aw threads we end up with a bijillion wolves (usually between 4-9 actually) and then you have to do a posting order and then someone disappears for a bit or is slow to reply. its not so someone doesn't run into the meeting, its more to keep the speed of the threads up for me.

I agree with you on the metagaming. personally it kinda pisses me off but thats after 5 years on a site where you could get warned then banned for breaking that rule. i dunno? I like private threads because if someone asks to hop in then you can be like 'well sure come on over!!' rather then everyone just dog piling on the aw threads. I have honestly never had a very good experience with aw threads. I do enjoy po threads but yeah? I dunno this is just my personal opinion.

P threads move faster and sometimes you just want to hash something out with one person and get it done quick.

Agree on all of Di's points.

AW threads either get ignored, get overwhelmed, or turn into private threads because people don't want to interrupt a conversation that's already started. If it's your preference feel free to do it, but I think that it tends to be less effective than saying "Hey our wolves should meet up" and having that happen.

I do not think Metagaming a whole thread is good. I think saying "Hey our wolves should meet up and maybe chat about X" isn't so bad. I look at roleplaying like writing a story, and if I agree with someone else on where that story is generally headed I will go with it, but I always leave room for change and flexibility.

As for the private threads/real life comparison, you can have private conversations really anywhere you want. Most of the time, no one is interested in hearing what you have to say. If its something you want kept quiet, you find a spot away from other people. We've all been able to do this our whole lives, even in public. You can find ways not to be overheard and odds are, no one is going to come to interrupt you unless your BFF walks by. Most people will just walk on by. So I don't really have an issue with private threads anywhere, based on that.

To add to what's been said; authors (good ones anyway) don't just add in characters where they aren't needed. I see no reason why we shouldn't be allowed to work the same way, and private threads on ala are typically that way for a reason with us as well.

Maybe we all do abuse private threads a little, but as these are the ones that typically are moving plots forwards and tend to get the most attention, pushing any of the AW ones out of the recent topics box, it moves so quickly anyway that threads don't even get to sit there that long usually.

I agree that a lot of AW threads get ignored or overwhelmed. I like throwing characters around to give them actual development, and really none of my threads have been private yet, though generally only on person replies.

I think maybe if the we had a box like the "recent threads" but for only AW threads, maybe that would help? That way they don't get drowned out by private threads that can easily be tagged in the cbox or something.

I like that private threads offer development and move a lot faster, but I do sometimes feel like it's a little hard to get to play with everyone when everything seems so plotted out. I also don't like that people chain-thread to make their characters fall in love super fast or become enemies super fast, but that is a topic for another debate. I try to be pretty open with plots (even though I'm still looking for a temporary mate for Hani) and I'd really hate for everything to be plotted out.

I do, however see a point of private threads. I don't know what would be a good solution that wouldn't limit the creative process we love on rp sites.

Iko, look to the side bar. There is a thread where you can post your all welcome thread. I mean it's not as in your face but it's there so you can take the iniative to post there and tell people where your all welcome thread is and what you want from it etc. Coding wise to separate AW and P threads in impossible as far as anyone has tried. And I have tried on my own sites :/

People plot whether there are aw or p threads. You find someone you like to rp with and shit happens. Look at Saf and I for example. We never planned to have Cat and Ky fall in love but we had so much fun rping them together and threaded so much together that shit happened. Just because people chain thread doesn't mean that they have a plot to work out or even plans for the threads. Just means they like role playing together most of the time. Look at Sea and I. We chain threaded Erion and Alpine together with no plots just cuz we enjoy rping together.... Anyways that's all I have to say.

Personally I've never had issues. Usually if someone wants to rp with me I just make a new private thread for them and away we go. There aren't usually reasons to threads, it's just socializing for me. Hope that makes sense!!!

All welcome thread link on on the side bar under member list if anyone wants to check it out!!!

I understand the link in the side bar, and I use it. I was suggesting that we make it more openly available (in your face XD) to see which AW threads are being posted. Also I agree that it would be probably really hard to code with post identifications and I don't think any of us have the experience to code something like that, or even if it's possible on this hosting, which is why I was saying something similar, not exactly like the "recent threads" thing. Like if we had a box on the side where people post their AW threads, like a shout out box, or even a "live threading" box (something like a box that shows posts on a specific topic when they are posted. I don't remember how to do this though, but I believe a Warrior Cats site had it once, or maybe it was like how when you click cbox rules, you are linked to the site again.). I know the classification of such tagged threads would be probably impossible to do, but I was just thinking that the suggestion of something like it could spur ideas that can actually be coded.

My problem with chain threading isn't that it's plotted out or not, it's when it's unrealistic that it bothers me. I loved a lot of Cat and Ky's progression from what I read, and they are in the same pack lands so that makes sense. When it's two rogues that just happen to meet twenty times a season in random lands like, "oh hey, such coincidence!", it gets a little odd. Though, to be honest, I don't know if that's as much of a problem on this site as others I've been on, chain threading in its self is a completely different discussion in my opinion, because it really doesn't bother me unless it seems rushed, forced, or unlikely, which sometimes is the result of extreme plotting.

I don't think anything else could be added to the side bar without cluttering it. -two cents-