We're nearing the 500th page of a niche Halloween event during a time that sizable population won't even risk attending because of a pandemic. The threads have gotten out of control because things move at such a speed that there is literally a risk that my initial page count will be irrelevant by the time I finish typing this reply. I think the real issue is that things have been moving so fast there was never the organic old-board transition from the early year 'I hope/see this house coming' to actual clue finding speculation.
I'd love to see Speculation have its own thread next year, maybe with a pin'd explanation for those out of the loop, with the addition of a separate General Discussion thread. I think it's wonderful how many people are excited for the event and I'd love to see a revitalization of speculation it its more original form. There is a way to absolutely do both but currently its wasn't possible for mods to predict how rapidly discussion would expand. To expect newcomers to understand a board culture that's transitioned site-to-site over many, many years is a tall order in this current environment. There's absolutely a point, there's been hints, but at this point can anyone be faulted when 5 pages pass in minutes? There's a way to preserve what drew people to speculation in its initial form and maintain and encourage excitement for the event.
I'm not an expert though - I just really like riddles, clues and spooky stuff.
