Should we restructure the Length-Specific Threads?

[cookies]

It is a bit of a mess, isn’t it!

I don’t have time to do the figuring out, but keep discussing and make detailed specific suggestions and I can merge, rename, and update the index as needed once folks are happy with their ideas.

One suggestion, if new separate threads are more useful than merging, we can lock the older thread(s) and put links to the new both as a new post and as an ETA in the old so when folks who had previously participated in those threads turn up they can find the redirects to the active threads.

Upon reading and thinking some more, here’s what I’d do:
- make sure there’s a thread for each milestone, no skipping (WL to HL might be a month or two of growth for me and redundant, but it might be a six month journey for someone else and therefore not; also we all have different goals, so by skipping/merging milestones in threads would leave some of us hanging);
- leave the threads already corresponding to that as they are (for example APL to MBL and MBL to WL);
- archive threads that merge milestones (for example WL to TBL);
- make new threads or revive old ones for the missing milestones (for example Buzz to Ear and Ear to Chin);
- update links in the thesaurus.

Time and distance to grow between milestones is too personal to have a consensus on which to merge, so if we’re updating, might as well do ‘em all

[lapushka]

Quick question. Are *all* of those threads on the "mane" forum, or are some on more restrictive parts of the site; also something to consider. I don't suddenly want stuff "out there" that was private before (if that's the case).

No. No. Sorry. I think it's a bad idea!

[MusicalSpoons]

[/COLOR]Classic to Knee Length
^ 695 pgs. Horrible category. Covers 18" and skips two markers.
Knee To Calf
^ Seems badly needed
Calf To Ankle
^ Seems badly needed
Ankle To Floor
^ Seems moderately needed
Knee Length and Beyond!
^ 428 pgs. ICK!!! Covers infinity and skips 3 markers. Split merge kill death die!

I disagree that new threads are needed here. All of my growing was in the existing threads, and honestly especially the knee and beyond there are not enough growers to sustain separate threads, AND seeing others at longer lengths in those threads while you're still actively growing is such needed motivation, precisely because the milestones are so far apart. The haircare and styles don't all uniformly change at those milestones in between, it's only really classic-FTL where a lot of people find they have to change how they handle or style their hair. Every other length beyond that, people hit their tipping points at different lengths and having people active in the thread who've already trodden that path and can give insight is really helpful.

You'll have to prise the Knee-length and beyond thread out of my cold, dead hands

[MusicalSpoons]

Oh also, for classic to knee, some people have a big distance between FTL and mid-thigh, some have little or no gap, and some people reach FTL after mid-thigh. Bodies can be fascinatingly unique. If the concensus does turn out to be to split the thigh abyss, then really it needs to split at FTL or MTL, separate threads for both won't work for everyone.

The thigh abyss is when you most need the motivation of people already at knee, though, and the same with the calf abyss. And especially in the calf abyss it's unusual for growers to have to change things up and learn new styles/new ways of doing styles, so there's usually really much less to talk about than at the shorter lengths when people are still finding their routine and adapting to ever longer hair. Yes there are some unique experiences and challenges that only come with hair past knee/calf/etc. but people encounter those at all different lengths depending on how thick their hair is, their texture, their existing routine, etc. Splitting into separate threads after knee would be utterly pointless, I think. The Floor+ thread is pretty dormant most of the time, it's a valuable thread but just doesn't have the activity. I fear splitting the knee+ thread into milestones between knee and floor would result in similarly dormant threads.

[Sorry for the double post but I think these points were too important to edit in and risk getting missed.]

Edit: also knee to calf is literally 2-3 inches. By the time you've grown to knee, six months to the next milestone is kind of … nothing. Same with ankle to floor, although by then those extra few months really are nothing, for some the least certain part there can be whether your hair will actually reach it floor or not (and those few months will fly by whether you get there or not), and for others who are certain they'll be able to grow then those 4-6months are almost irrelevant in terms of hair growing. It can take longer than that to decide to trim!

[lapushka]

My gosh, if we would only have to create threads because they are "needed". No, I don't even know where the heck the idea suddenly busted out from but man, I almost feel offended. I would be even more so if I were at greater lengths and did not have a "home" to go to.

[Vara La Fey]

I think I would leave well enough alone. Oh gosh, why the upheaval? These threads are "ingrained" into the LHC by now. Changing things up will bring *so much confusion* about that it's not going to be "nice" and will actually (IMO) scare people off from posting. You can't police something that has grown into what it has grown into. It's just MHO, I don't know how anyone else feels, as I just browsed the first post. It seems a whole lot of effort to just get some "structure" into something that can't be structured, but that's me.
I mean, I applaud your efforts, but I fear they are in vain.

There's a definite and necessary structure to the Length Threads themselves: the markers we all know and constantly refer to. The Length Threads obviously need to reflect those, and at present they only partially do.

There are redundant threads, missing threads, and threads which exist but aren't in the Resources List. Some of these are very easy fixes, others not so much. And in most cases we can't just create new threads without introducing more redundancy.

Can't imagine the proper structure would scare anybody off from posting, since every post intended for a Length Thread would have a clear unambiguous home.

[Vara La Fey]

It is a bit of a mess, isn’t it!
I don’t have time to do the figuring out, but keep discussing and make detailed specific suggestions and I can merge, rename, and update the index as needed once folks are happy with their ideas.
One suggestion, if new separate threads are more useful than merging, we can lock the older thread(s) and put links to the new both as a new post and as an ETA in the old so when folks who had previously participated in those threads turn up they can find the redirects to the active threads.

That might be a good way to do it, as a thread like the current Waist To Tailbone will contain posts which should go into WL To HL, others into HL To BCL, and still others into BCL To TBL.

Can posters quote from the old locked thread when posting into a new thread? And can the poster get a multiple-choice option of which new thread the quote should go into?

[Vara La Fey]

I would have rather there been a Waist -Hip and a Hip-Tailbone thread myself, but I have posted photos with my WL hair in the latter along with many others and it would be out of the place if the name is changed. Since the waist-hip thread is very quiet I don’t post there even though I would rather be able to graduate another length thread eventually. merging the two would probably be easier than attempting the split the waist-tailbone thread, I assume!

Sorry, I don't understand. Here is a length chart. It really makes it easier to visualize the length threads and proposed changes.

Did you post your WL hair photos into the Hip To Tailbone thread? They'd be out of place there with or without a name change.

I personally don't propose changing the Waist To Hip thread anyway - it's one of the few which is already perfectly categorized.

Hip To Tailbone skips BCL, which might not be a big deal because those milestones are close together, but a Hip To BCL thread already exists (50 pages) and just wasn't mentioned in the Resources List. I see no point in skipping it when it's needed and is already right there.

Are you saying we should merge Waist To Hip and Hip To Tailbone threads? That's what we already have with the Waist To Tailbone thread, and it skips both Hip and BCL and is a looong growth time between markers.

[Vara La Fey]

Upon reading and thinking some more, here’s what I’d do:
- make sure there’s a thread for each milestone, no skipping (WL to HL might be a month or two of growth for me and redundant, but it might be a six month journey for someone else and therefore not; also we all have different goals, so by skipping/merging milestones in threads would leave some of us hanging);
- leave the threads already corresponding to that as they are (for example APL to MBL and MBL to WL);
- archive threads that merge milestones (for example WL to TBL);
- make new threads or revive old ones for the missing milestones (for example Buzz to Ear and Ear to Chin);
- update links in the thesaurus.
Time and distance to grow between milestones is too personal to have a consensus on which to merge, so if we’re updating, might as well do ‘em all

Generally agreed with all that. Only difference is that I'd be ok with skipping some markers which are really close together for many/most people, such as skipping FTL and just using MT. I tend to think that if markers are less than 3" apart for most people, they prolly don't need their own thread. (I'm ok with doing all markers, but I understand if some of them wouldn't be worth the work.) 3" is 6 months of avg growth time, which seems like a good interval before graduation and also like it's enough time for setbacks to occur as well. So I think ideally markers should be every 6 months whenever the human body allows it.

Currently a couple of our Length Threads have intervals of three years for a taller person like me. Waist To Tailbone. Classic To Knee. Three years is just absurd.

[Vara La Fey]

Quick question. Are *all* of those threads on the "mane" forum, or are some on more restrictive parts of the site; also something to consider. I don't suddenly want stuff "out there" that was private before (if that's the case).
No. No. Sorry. I think it's a bad idea!

Good question, so I just checked them all. Every Length Thread I've mentioned is either on Mane or doesn't yet exist and is intended to be on Mane.