New "visiting" thread; I-5 corridor?

I'd say yes. We've been getting more and more South Sound questions lately along with random "heading to Canada what's on the way?" questions.

 

All the "Visiting..." threads have someone local with a desire to maintain them. The area suggested is likely too spread out for someone to feel knowledgeable and "local" to the places to keep it up for long.

 

This. Not to mention that the "I-5 corridor" extends into Oregon, and could include the south Portland 'burbs, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, Medford, Ashland, etc. I think it could quickly get unwieldy and difficult for one person to maintain.

 

It'd be great to have a collaborative thread based on regional sections of the I5 corridor. No one person will be well-versed in the entire section, so why not crowdsource it? Could break it up into major regions based on quantity (quality?) of breweries and solicit input from the forum. One person wouldn't necessarily need to "know" the entire corridor; just maintain it.

I could see the following regions:

North Sound (Shoreline to border?)
South Sound (Seatac to Vancouver)
North OR (Portland to Eugene)
South OR (Eugene to Ashland)

Or something.

 

What about the Kitsap Peninsula and everything west of the Puget Sound? There's plenty of breweries out there, I know because I used to live there until a month ago.

 

You could create that thread.

 

Yeah, I should. Is there a specific format these types of threads follow?

 

I'd steal the template used in the Seattle/Portland/Bend threads.

 

At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, I'd like to expand on my thinking about this...

The "Visiting Portland" thread was originally created in an attempt to curtail the abundance of threads posted by people from outside the area who were prepping for a trip and asking where to go. If you've been around here for a while, you'll remember those threads used to happen with significant frequency, sometimes while there was still a similar thread a few posts down the page. It was pretty clear there was a need for a "compendium" thread, if you will, so we PNW BAs weren't constantly answering the same questions over and over again. The Seattle and Bend threads followed, as those cities experienced the same type of issue pretty regularly. In addition, those cities have a ridiculous amount of beer-centric spots, and those threads have proved to be helpful in steering visitors with limited time to the best/most highly recommended spots.

So, two part question: First, how often are visitors posting threads asking about some of these other, less populous areas? I don't see them that much. Maybe I'm missing something, but it's not as if they are clogging up the front page of the NW forum. Second, is there such an abundance of beer destinations in these other areas that the best/most highly recommended spots need to be called out? From what I can tell (and from some experience), these areas don't "suffer" from the overwhelming amount of choices that Portland, Seattle, and Bend do. So I think the threads for the smaller/less visited areas basically become a list of all the beer establishments in the area, rather than a curated guide to the best spots. Maybe I'm wrong?

Ultimately, my main concern is the mods will see the abundance of "visiting" threads clogging up the forum and just decide to nuke all of them. After all, there is the Beerfly directory (and, you know, Google), so people can do their own research.

I don't mean to disparage anyone who has created, or wants to create, one of these threads for their area, but are they really necessary? I just see them getting away from the spirit and intent of the Portland/Seattle/Bend threads. Again, just my two cents. Please feel free to tell me to fuck off.

 

You raise good points, but I've started seeing more and more threads started regarding Tacoma recently, and the occasional Peninsula or Bellingham question. Can't hurt to have the threads and just provide people with links when they pop up again.

We're also not very good at adding beers or reviewing beers or places out here in the PNW, so I'm not sure if Beerfly would be helpful for those people.

[shrug]

 

Is that a blanket invitation, or do I have to tie it to this discussion somehow?

I think we'll all have a different threshold for how many solid breweries or forum questions there needs to be in a given area before it justifies a "Visiting" thread. I also think the only way to determine the line is to have a few start up and sputter. You mentioned Seattle/Portland/Bend as the core; I'd consider the Bellingham and Eugene threads robust enough to have justified their existence too. Newer versions like South Sound, Olympic Peninsula, or I-5 Corridor? Maybe they'll last, maybe they'll fall off (no offense meant to those behind the threads), but the proof will literally be in the thread. If there's not enough new info to keep them near the top of the forum regularly, the mechanism of newer posts in other threads will solve that issue without interference. I hope mods will allow some time for the "market" to decide rather than feeling the need to step in.

I nominated myself for the title of unofficial spokesman for Central Oregon on this forum, and will continue to update my "Visiting" thread for the foreseeable future, if only to document the scene from my perspective. If it was only me commenting, though, the thread would spend far less time on the first page and I feel like that would be a pretty obvious indicator of the thread's relevance to others, and maybe time to call it a day. It'll all work itself out in the end.

 

I at least try to add and review beers, but there's so much only one person can do. I did clean up the Silver City BA page from old outdated beers that haven't been brewed or reviewed in years.

 

I think there's no harm in creating such a thread. I think there's sufficient interest, from both visitors and natives of the region. To use Tacoma as just one example, we're talking about a city that, while being a relatively large city with it's own beer scene, its barely known compared to that of Seattle, Obviously, it would have to be collaborative, as it's a larger area than the other, more city-specific threads, but I think that's not that great a problem. It's also more likely to atrophy without others asking about places in the area, so it will probably be more dependant on outsiders asking questions to remain relevant.

 

I wanted to create the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula thread, regardless of how many people will use it. My point of its creation was to advocate for the breweries and help people be aware of places they might not have previously known of before.

 

Amen. And hats off to you for actually putting in the work and doing it. If I ever see an unanswered question in the forum (which, sooner or later, I know I will) asking about these parts of our fairly sizable state, I will be sure to dredge up your thread for their benefit. You did good, as far as I'm concerned. Thank you.

 

I think it makes a lot of sense to create one, from bottle shops to breweries there are some big differences in the regions (distro, prices, etc). I'd say North Corridor (Lynnwood to Blaine), South Corridor (Tacoma to Vancouver WA), Seattle and East (Eastern side of the State) would make the most sense. I know East is a big region, but simply if you are heading East, odds are you are committed to most of that side of the state on your route anyway. There's enough updates that it would clog a visiting WA thread, but provide meaningful info on each region.

Also, any thread not worth it's weight will simply disappear down the page rankings anyway. It'd be good if someone from each region could concierge each thread too.