How about starting Loyce's lobby, or a similar clubroom.

[Jet Cash]

How about having a clubroom here that is run by half a dozen senior members. Everybody is free to join, and all the normal board privileges apply ( sigs, merits, activity etc. ). The topics can be whatever the 'bouncers' allow, and they have the ability to delete posts and threads on that board. They also have the ability to block posters if they breach the clubroom rules.

Of course global mods and admins would still have ultimate control.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Isn't Ivory Tower and Serious Discussion enough?  The smaller you make the club, the less discussion that happens--the last few times I visited your chat board (Talk Merit), there wasn't anyone logged in.  I kind of liked that old AOL chat room feel. 

A little off-topic, but isn't there some sort of private "room" for donators here?  I thought I read something about that somewhere. 

[Jet Cash]

There are about 10 membersof the chat room, and they are based in a variety of countries. Messages get left, and get replies even if nobody else is logged in. Part of the proble could be that when two or three members are logged in at the same time, then the chat can be quite fast paced, and posts can get lost. If there was more interest, I could expand the options, but it was really just set up to chat about the awarding of merits.

The problem with Ivory Tower and Serious discussion seems to be that they aren't moderated, and that the restrictions cut down on the number of posts and posters. I think that a board that is open to verybody from newbie to staff, and has all the usual privileges would be popular. The fact that the bouncers could block posters who fail to follow the rules and guidelines should help to keep out the spammers and low value posters.

[OgNasty]

A little off-topic, but isn't there some sort of private "room" for donators here?  I thought I read something about that somewhere. 

We have our own board and staff members are also allowed to participate there. However, it is quite lonely.

[LoyceV]

I was working on my car for a few hours, and you start a fan club for me?

The restrictions sound good, but that should be applied forum-wide.

[Jet Cash]

We have our own board and staff members are also allowed to participate there. However, it is quite lonely.

Well if there is any interest, then I can see what features I can add to make my chatroom more productive.

It uses the free version of blab, and there is a paid version that is available for a one off fee of $35
http://justblab.com/blab-plus-pro-ajax-chat
I don't want to pay that if nobody is going to use it though.

[bitmover]

Wouldn't it be easier to hire a moderator for ivory tower?
I think some people would do that for free, as there are few posts there..

[Steamtyme]

The problem with Ivory Tower and Serious discussion seems to be that they aren't moderated, and that the restrictions cut down on the number of posts and posters. I think that a board that is open to verybody from newbie to staff, and has all the usual privileges would be popular. The fact that the bouncers could block posters who fail to follow the rules and guidelines should help to keep out the spammers and low value posters.

Sounds like it would be more like a "moderators in training" board than anything.

Apart from restrictions in rank, I don't see how anything else would limit the free flow if discussion. If someone went post somewhere solely because there sig isn't shown, it's a 1 in a million the post would have been worthwhile reading.

I was working on my car for a few hours, and you start a fan club for me?

Name dropped twice in as many days lol. LoyceVtalk.org for the win  

[Jet Cash]

The big difference would be the ability to ban bad posters from the board. I believe that would do a lot to reduce spam there. Especially if bounty managers made it a requirement to make at least one post per month on the board.

[Welsh]

Wouldn't it be easier to hire a moderator for ivory tower?
I think some people would do that for free, as there are few posts there..

Probably due to a lack of reporting that the lack of moderation. Judging by the section it doesn't need to have a dedicated moderator like other sections in the forum. I don't think there's too much of an issue there personally.

[Jet Cash]

Name dropped twice in as many days lol. LoyceVtalk.org for the win  

I wanted a click bait title. I thought of TMAN tea room, but that didn't seem right, Vod's vault sounded like a prison, and I gave up completely with The Pharmacist. I quite liked Welsh RareBits, but I wondered if that would have international appeal.

Probably due to a lack of reporting that the lack of moderation. Judging by the section it doesn't need to have a dedicated moderator like other sections in the forum. I don't think there's too much of an issue there personally.

It's the infrequency of posts, and the fact that newbies and juniors can't post there that reduces activity. I hoped to create something that had a more general appeal.

[bitart]

The big difference would be the ability to ban bad posters from the board. I believe that would do a lot to reduce spam there. Especially if bounty managers made it a requirement to make at least one post per month on the board.

If you can force bounty managers somehow to make a rule (about posting in the new clubthread regurarly), you could also force them to check the quality of the posts for their sig.spammers...
I think bounty managers don't care anything but quantity, so this solution could work for "normal" signature campaigns and their managers, but for bounties...

[Welsh]

It's the infrequency of posts, and the fact that newbies and juniors can't post there that reduces activity. I hoped to create something that had a more general appeal.

Yeah, unfortunately Serious Discussion doesn't really appeal to half the population here on the forums so the activity is pretty low. In terms of spam though I only see a couple here, and there which when reported get dealt with quite quickly.

[Jet Cash]

I'd have though that half a dozen legendaries running a crypto discussion board would be an interesting experiment. As long as they are broadly in agreement about politics and crypto, it could be quite an interesting board to read. Keep the ICOs, bounty and announcements away from it, and it could be a nice clean board.