[Lent]

In concurrence with the closing of threads in the Everything Else section, let me mention something that's been bugging me about the 'Other Downloads' section for quite some time now.

In the Drama CD section there's one thread where uploads are requested and people fulfill the uploads in the respective Drama CD threads. That system has always more or less worked for people familiar with that forum section, but for newbies this is rather confusing, because it works different to all the other sections in 'Other Downloads', like AMVs/OST and 'Other Requests' where people are supposed to open a thread for each request.

Consequently, people repeatedly open up threads in the Drama CD section, requesting uploads, because that's how it's handled in those other sections, not knowing this is not the way it works there. (The Live Movie section aside, where people are not supposed to open dl threads w/o permission, as we know)

Now those request threads in the Drama CD section often just get closed without explanation and without reminding people of the rule that they're supposed to post their request in that one thread only. Sure, there's the Rules sticky in the Drama CD section telling them to, but still it's confusing, since it's handled differently to the other sections. Now why in those other sections people are supposed to open new threads for each request is beyond me, to be honest. It just clogs up those sections and makes them very hard to keep order in.

My suggestion would be to change the request processes in the 'Other Download' section, maybe break that section into four seperate ones (AMVs/OST, Drama CD, Other Requests and Live Movies), with a request thread at the top and a structured download section with links below that. (The Live Movies one should of course still be restricted to only those movies that were allowed to be posted there).

By that, the forum would have four extra sections in 'Download Central' instead of four crammed into one and that requires some work, but the positive effect would be that those sections would be easier to handle and basically all would function the same way, unlike it is handled now, and that would make it easier for members to find their way around in them than is the case now.