New Forum for Speculative Discussions?

[stevendaryl]

The charter for the forum "Beyond the Standard Model" specifically disallows posts in which people discuss their own pet theories, or speculations that are not in peer-reviewed journals. That's probably a good policy, both because it keeps down the "noise", and also because it helps readers to keep straight what is serious physics, and not just someone shooting his mouth off.

However, I actually think it would be fun to have a new forum where it was okay to talk about ideas that are very speculative, and only half-formed. The name of the forum could be something that makes it clear that nothing in it should be taken too seriously.

 

[Doc Al]

However, I actually think it would be fun to have a new forum where it was okay to talk about ideas that are very speculative, and only half-formed. The name of the forum could be something that makes it clear that nothing in it should be taken too seriously.

Been there, done that. We used to have a forum called "Theory Development" for speculative discussions, and even an "Independent Research" forum where folks could present their independent research. We found them to be havens for crackpots looking for a soapbox and a huge waste of our resources.

 

[micromass]

We tried this before. It didn't work out. The posts in the forum were completely rubbish (as expected), and furthermore, the crackpots didn't stay themselves to the "speculative" forum but rather began spreading out to other sections of the forum.

You have to realize that once a rather large physics site starts allowing speculative discussions, then this immediately becomes a magnet for crackpots.

This excellent blog by ZapperZ is a good read on the issue as well: https://www.physicsforums.com/blog.php?b=2979

 

[Astronuc]

The charter for the forum "Beyond the Standard Model" specifically disallows posts in which people discuss their own pet theories, or speculations that are not in peer-reviewed journals. That's probably a good policy, both because it keeps down the "noise", and also because it helps readers to keep straight what is serious physics, and not just someone shooting his mouth off.

However, I actually think it would be fun to have a new forum where it was okay to talk about ideas that are very speculative, and only half-formed. The name of the forum could be something that makes it clear that nothing in it should be taken too seriously.

It has been tried a couple of times, the last effort being a form on Independent Research. The overwhelming majority of ideas were ill-conceived to pure nonsense. It required too much effort. Many, if not most, submitters failed to comply with the guidelines, and most threads were rejected and/or deleted.

And as micromass indicated, we successfully developed a crackpot magnet.

 

[micromass]

Also, please read our FAQ before posting: https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=4046502&postcount=5

 

[Vanadium 50]

On the very page on which you posted this is this thread: How about a Crackpot Forum.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

However, I actually think it would be fun

We had one for several years and it was anything but fun :)