Can you explain why you don't just hyperlink to threads of "tutorial interest" instead of uprooting and moving them?
A board with single post topics - each containing a link to another thread - probably wouldn't work very effectively or be as welcomed by readers. Whilst that approach can work well on a web site (e.g the list of photo albums on the main site), it is not common or accepted practice in a forum except in situations where someone simply refers to a previous thread/post rather than regurgitate the same answer again and again.
I fully appreciate that a forum is for its posters but it also has to be for its non-posting readers. Those who are new to knotting will often arrive at this forum looking for instructions or help. A board entitled Tutorials will attract their attention almost immediately and will, hopefully, provide them with the information they were looking for. Once they have that, perhaps they will stay or re-visit and become posters themselves or even join the Guild. Attracting a high level of new readers goes a long way towards bringing in new blood - something that every forum needs if it is to stay alive.
I've just noticed that 2 new tutorials have been posted on the new board - 1 today and the other 2 days ago. They comprise only 7 posts between them but have already been viewed over 500 times. I think, from a reading and promotional perspective, that board could prove to be very popular.
The advantages of linking are:
1. The thread is not disrupted.
There should now be minimal thread disruption on other boards. As always, the worst was during the setting-up period. Now that there's a good foundation in there, people will hopefully feel more comfortable about posting their own tutorials in there.
2. Skyout still has a list of tutorials.
This wasn't carried out for any one poster but for the unseen readers - present and future - who comer here looking for answers. Obviously a tutorial board won't help everyone but it is likely to be one of the most common reasons for new people to come here in the first place. Giving them the opportunity to find what they want quickly and effectively is all part of promoting both this forum and the Guild.
3. A directory of posts containing links only are still searchable by title.
Applying that to a web site, should a home page merely be a list of links to all the other pages on the site along with a search box? I don't think such a site would be popular and I doubt you would either. Sometimes it has to be about
how you present information - not just just about making sure it's in there somewhere.
4. Readers don't have to monitor another area.
Again the logical follow on is that all forums should have only a single board. For a while, this forum did. Then it grew and there was a need for a 2nd board, and a 3rd etc. This is quite normal and natural.
There is also a inbuilt facility that can help board monitoring. If you look within the Forum Stats panel on the front page of the forum, you should see a link entitled "View the most recent posts on the forum." Following that link should give you a display of all the posts across all boards that were posted since your last visit.
5. You can link to several threads about the same topic in one post.
Again not terribly user friendly. Remember that not everyone who comes here will be as IT proficient as you are. Many don't even know how to use the Back button in their browser, so following a link from 1 post to another can leave them stranded. In comparison, a board of tutorials means that they stay in roughly the same place and can jump back to the board index very easily and quickly using the tree-menu at the top of the page.
The only time I'd suggest having a single post containing links to many other posts is if it was a Frequently Asked Questions post that was:
- locked (ie no one could post to it)
- sticky
- dealt with issues relating directly to the board in which it was posted.
Personally, I don't think that tutorials and FAQS are the same thing at all.
6. Everyone is happy, presumably.
See above. I don't think that the approach you are suggesting would work as well - especially in terms of attracting new posters/readers or from a promotional/educational perspective.
The advantages of uprooting threads are:
1. uh.... ummmmmm......
Certain related topics are easier to find - by everyone.