Kevin Pacey wrote on Thu, Jan 28, 2021 04:38 PM EST:
I'd like to also note how controversial off-topic discussions have played out on Canadian chess message boards. The largest is chess talk, which had its highest traffic of visitors when hot-button issues were being (ferociously) debated, such as Global Warming or (now ex-POTUS) Trump. Some posters complained that discussions ought to stick to chess, but they kept visiting anyway (no longer reading the off-topic stuff, I guess).
The Chess Federation of Canada discussion board by contrast has a sparse number of posters (and far less visitors than chess talk). In recent years there's been a sub-forum devoted to off-chess-topics discussion, but so far I am by far the main contributor, often giving links to hot-button topics (sometimes with my sparse commentary attached). Unfortunately, chess talk is de facto the main discussion board for Canadian chess, and my efforts to generate more traffic (which includes personal CFC blog entries) have had mixed success at best.
The Chess Variant Pages by contrast to Canadian chess message boards caters to a different, and arguably larger crowd of members and (especially) regular(?) visitors (global), and has a wider choice of usual subject matter since there is more than one chess variant (besides chess or chess politics/[meetings on the CFC board]); so, there seems (to me) less need/use to spice things up with hot-button off-topics, in the name of generating more traffic to CVP.
I'd like to also note how controversial off-topic discussions have played out on Canadian chess message boards. The largest is chess talk, which had its highest traffic of visitors when hot-button issues were being (ferociously) debated, such as Global Warming or (now ex-POTUS) Trump. Some posters complained that discussions ought to stick to chess, but they kept visiting anyway (no longer reading the off-topic stuff, I guess).
The Chess Federation of Canada discussion board by contrast has a sparse number of posters (and far less visitors than chess talk). In recent years there's been a sub-forum devoted to off-chess-topics discussion, but so far I am by far the main contributor, often giving links to hot-button topics (sometimes with my sparse commentary attached). Unfortunately, chess talk is de facto the main discussion board for Canadian chess, and my efforts to generate more traffic (which includes personal CFC blog entries) have had mixed success at best.
The Chess Variant Pages by contrast to Canadian chess message boards caters to a different, and arguably larger crowd of members and (especially) regular(?) visitors (global), and has a wider choice of usual subject matter since there is more than one chess variant (besides chess or chess politics/[meetings on the CFC board]); so, there seems (to me) less need/use to spice things up with hot-button off-topics, in the name of generating more traffic to CVP.