I would love to periodically discuss some loud and post a few ambient tunes but hey, I think I can manage.
If you have friends you want to follow, user the follow function on their profile page. So, if someone shares similar musical taste you can easily keep up with what they post in the music forum that way.
You can also post links to OTHER THREADS in here if you want. I don't really mind that.
pssh, im confident this thread doesn't last too long now that ya:
can't ask for music or post any (music thread)
can't discuss sports ( sports thread)
can't discuss phones (iphone & android threads)
There are valid reasons for worrying about this thread (impact on the forum at large) and there are invalid reasons for worrying about this thread (personal grudge, pet peeve, etc.)
If this thread continues on and enhances, rather than detracts from, the community at large, you shouldn't begrudge that and if you intend to sit around and heckle this thread then you'll be the first one on the restricted list.
I think it's fair to say that your attempts to turn General into 'A Current Affair' this week didn't exactly blow anyone away. Some new random topics were added, however, and the world certainly didn't end just because "the thread about nothing" was suspended. What that tells me is that we should be able to make the majority of users happy with a little fine tuning. It shouldn't be "a board within a board." It shouldn't detract from discussions that already exist or prevent worthwhile topics from being created.
Some users, it seems, were self-conscious about creating a new thread of their own for fear that it wouldn't get a great reception and decided to float the idea here, instead, where having a post ignored is like having a Tweet ignored. We don't solve that by shutting down this thread, we solve that by removing all the wannabe comedians and jerks who feel the need to try and attack anyone who posts something they don't like. (e.g. all the "cool story, bro" crap.) If the forums were friendlier, people would risk hitting "new topic" a bit more.
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Rather than complain, everyone can help on those fronts by better supporting users who contribute positively to the forums and by reporting users who don't contribute.
There should be a clear cost associated with heckling. If users didn't feel that it enhanced their status and amused others, they wouldn't do it. Support users who do positive things. Discourage negative behavior. It's not rocket science.