[Daithi]

Where do you start threads like the following?

College textbooks -- are current readers inadequate
An idea for book publishers
Illustrations in ebooks
A list of great ebook related sites
A proposal to modernize copyright laws
The case for digital piracy

The Lounge doesn't seem like the place to start the serious kinds of topics I listed above. To me, the Lounge is the place I would go to read about MR gatherings, or elect Zelda as Sovereign of Mobilita Republica, or discuss the weather where I live, or just go have fun with online friends.

However, sometimes (usually) I want to discuss or read the opinions of others in regards to ebook issues, like the sample topics I just provided. These kinds of threads quickly get lost in the Lounge and I'm sure that when new members want to create a topic, like the ones I just suggested, they too wouldn't know where to start the thread. We could easily solve this problem by adding a "General Discussions" forum.

I don't expect, or even want, a thread to remain serious with no deviation from its stated intent. I don't mind threads drifting, or people joking, or occassional inside jokes. In fact, I find these idiosyncrasies are part of Mobileread's charm. I just want a forum that I can start a thread that discusses a serious topic.

One last thing, please don't call it the Salon as that is where my girlfriend gets her hair styled and doesn't help people trying to figure out where to post general ebook related posts. I'm afraid that people seeing Salon will see it as another Lounge forum, or someone wanting to discuss Copyright/Intellectual Property Issues will look for a "General Discussions" or "Miscellaneous" forum and their thread will never get started when they can't find the place to start it.

I've made the best case I can for my position, so I'll shut up now and let you guys decide. Thanks JSWolf for getting this started -- I just gave you some karma.