I've noticed a definite trend: many more people are switching from threaded to linear boards. Unfortunately, with this change, we are getting lots of message boards that have virtually no posts and are essentially useless. I think threaded boards can actually increase popularity if you are just starting out. Unless you feel confident that you can average, say, at least 5 replies per thread without ANY problem, you should go threaded. The problem with linear boards for less popular communities is that it makes popular boards look more popular and unpopular boards look REALLY empty. This turns away users more than the style does. If they were to use a threaded board, a few posts would seem like much more and attract users. And once they truly build a large community, they can upgrade to a linear board. What do you guys think of this?