I would like to propose a forum

[lekh2003]

I am a relatively new user here on Physics Forums and I absolutely love the website. It is organized better than any other forum and the user base is equally as good.

However, I want to touch an issue which is clearly a great problem on this forum. The issue of censorship. I am fully aware that new theories cannot be introduced and I agree with this. When someone asks a simple question, they deserve a simple answer. No one wants conspiracy theories flooding the forums.

Nevertheless, I believe there should be a separate forum which allows for speculation and new theories. The guideline that only mainstream theories are allowed does not apply to this sub-forum. This makes sure that if someone really wants to discuss something new, they can do so by going to this forum without flooding the other forums. If there are truly any terrible threads, a mentor can surely monitor the forum.

I really want to see what other users and the staff think about this. I think it is a good idea to solve a problem which keeps many users around the internet away from Physics Forums.

 

[phinds]

Nevertheless, I believe there should be a separate forum which allows for speculation and new theories.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHH ! This is the 487th time that suggestion has been made and it is an absolute non-starter.

 

[lekh2003]

AAARRRRGGGGHHHH ! This is the 487th time that suggestion has been made and it is an absolute non-starter.

Why is it a non-starter? If so many people have asked, then there must be a need for it. Could you please explain?

 

[phinds]

Why is it a non-starter? If so many people have asked, then there must be a need for it. Could you please explain?

It was actually tried once. Nothing but crackpots and a huge amount of wasted time for the mentors. I think there's even a FAQ on the subject somewhere on the forum but I forget where.

 

[lekh2003]

It was actually tried once. Nothing but crackpots and a huge amount of wasted time for the mentors. I think there's even a FAQ on the subject somewhere on the forum but I forget where.

I was not aware of it being tried. I didn't think it would be so terrible. Thanks for explaining anyways.

 

[lekh2003]

I found the link: https://www.physicsforums.com/help/speculation/
That seems like a traumatic experience with crackpots. Its nice to know the idea was tried and not shot down.

 

[ISamson]

I am a relatively new user here on Physics Forums and I absolutely love the website. It is organized better than any other forum and the user base is equally as good.

I like and share your opinion!

 

[OmCheeto]

I found the link: https://www.physicsforums.com/help/speculation/
That seems like a traumatic experience with crackpots. Its nice to know the idea was tried and not shot down.

I see you've been here about a month now.
Check out this thread, when I was only a month old.
Good advice. Great advice.

ps. It took me 9 more years before I finally figured out how to formulate my question on the feasibility of my W-boson powered warp drive engine. Shot down by mfb and Garlic. Yay! Saved me a lot of time. Imagine if I had done a "kickstarter", built the thing, only to find out that the basis of the idea was flawed. That would have been quite embarrassing.

 

[anorlunda]

Check out this thread, when I was only a month old.
Good advice. Great advice.

Thanks @OmCheeto , that was an interesting thread. One point brought out in that thread was that the appeal of PF is linked to the number of true experts who come here. So, you have to ask yourself, "How would allowing speculations affect those experts?"

So let's say you are an expert. You can spend your life focusing on the things you believe to be correct. You can spend time teaching others about those things. Or you can spend your life explaining to others why their speculations are wrong. Make no mistake about it, there are an overwhelming number of people who would like to propose their own imaginative ideas. If that is unappealing to the experts, they go away and PF would die.

It is the same with teaching at any level. For example, a chemistry teacher does not begin his chemistry course by asking students, "What do you think chemistry is?" No, the teach has a prepared lesson plan, and he insists on using the plan.

A respected PF regular said it best.

Thinking outside the box is an admirable activity, BUT ... first you have to learn what's IN the box.

The trouble is that many imaginative people would like to begin speculating before thoroughly learning what's IN the box. PF's mission is to help students by maintaining focus on what's IN the box.

 

[Stephenk53]

Also if we created a speculative forum we would get so many people asking problems that can easily be disproven that many people would say it is true even if it is completely false. I was just on Quora and have since stopped using my account due to the sheer number of ignorance I found being insane. I love going outside the box but it is best to have limits and not let people freely speculate like that. I am going to read a article of some kind to make me feel intelligence in still in this world after seeing the posts on Quora

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

We tried this for 7-8 years and it didn't work, we won't revisit.