Considerations.

think about how many empty threads where nobody leaves replies there would be if we got rid of the youtube thread

There would still be an increase in threads, and threads with replies.

I suppose I wouldn't hate merging things with no replies after a week or so into the Youtube thread which would be floating around. Nothing better for me to do, anyway.

I'm really doubtful that a video having its own thread will yield more replies. In my opinion, if you're going to post a new thread just for one video then there should be a topic of discussion and a paragraph or two in the OP, not just a one-liner. Use your judgement and think if a video is really worthy of discussion and not just a funny or strange clip someone may or may not even bother to take a glance at. An example of the latter clip would be the one you put in the OP. I literally can't think of one thing to say about it and cannot imagine what kind of discussion could possibly stem from it. On top of that the actual text of the post is two sentences and would be best summed up as "I think this is awesome."

Videos that might actually warrant their own thread and get people to comment anything more than a quick "lol" are scarce with this forum, and that much is noticeable after a quick scroll down the last few pages or so of the YT thread. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just the style of this place. No amount of threads will change that and it comes down to finding better, more discussable content. Trying to force a discussion on something not very discussable is a bad idea and our inactivity problem won't be helped by it. Let's not clutter up the place trying.

It's probably paranoia, but I get the feeling nobody really looks at the Youtube thread.

Based on that, even thought it won't increase the number of posts or discussions, I think it's worth a try, because the steady course we're going down is just making us flicker out. If there are no reasonable options left, then all you have are unreasonable options.

If we had some kind of easily-accessible fanbase that we appealed to, that would be nice... Whether anyone likes it or not, you need to have customers/supporters, or you'll end up with your ideals, alone, rather than compromising with friends.

I guess I'm just grasping at straws, but it really does hurt me to see this.

I'm not sure about the rate at which this number increases but based off of that viewcount I'd wager this means a hell of a lot of people look at the YouTube thread, even if they see the video and choose not to watch it.

The inactivity isn't happening for no reason. People have things to do and everything comes to an end at some point. I don't think this forum will totally and completely die out unless the forum provider ends their service or we're all dead. I don't see the logic in taking an unreasonable action that will further lower the quality of the board just on the 0.01% chance it sparks some new life into the place.

Yes, Viki, your logic is undeniable.

I actually pay attention to the Youtube thread, but I try not to blow up the place with "lol" posts any more than I already do. That and I feel that it annoys people when they click on the Youtube thread, only to find that there's no new video, just someone posting a very basic response.

I'm all for videos having their own thread if they have sufficient discussable worth.

That's a good one - Only if they can be discussed.

Thanks much, Triggy.