As a webdesigner, let me map this out for you all:
"1. We'll probably loose some of the trouble making members"
Many members will move, however. Yes, some trolls will not move, but no matter where you go, you will get trouble-makers.
"2. We'll loose all the one timer, won't post again members that inflate the member count"
Yet more will come. It is a temporary fix for this, mainly. This is not really a "Pro" because they will return and more will come.
"3. We'll have a realistic, serious member count"
Ok.
"4. We'll get rid of all the fights, arguments and off topic threads we have"
Again, more will come. Temporary fix.
"5. We'll have no fluff to start off, aka a clean slate and a new beginning"
True. Unfortunately, the reputation of PsiWorld will continue in the psion community. There will always be two groups of psions. Those who like PsiWorld, and those who want to kill it.
"6. The site will be better organized with less fluff and off topic posts."
Same as #5?
"7. We'll have a LOT more options like different themes, more admin powers, less hackable"
Indeed. ProBoards is [you]extremely[/you] exploitable and ugly. This is a big "pro". It will look a lot prettier and better.
"1. We'll lose our 1000 member count"
Who cares? Look at your #3 in "Pros"
"2. We'll lose some good posts that won't be transfered over because they are in a thread that isn't worth moving"
They will be started again. If it is really a good thread, I am sure someone will take the time to move it.
"3. I'll have to move a ton of threads"
Welcome to my world. The world of copy and paste
"4. We'll gain members a bit more slowly due to the fact we won't have a high member count or an active looking forum"
Nah. They will come at the same pace. You will, however, gain trolls and fluffies at the same rate.
"4. Activity will be slow for the first month and we'll really have to work to make the forum work"
(BTW, this should be #5). Activity will be slow because a lot of people are inactive here. Those who are regulars will just go to the new forum and register and continue to talk.
"5. We'll lose some good members"
You will only lose them if they are inactive. Therefore, you will not lose them at all.
Now addressing some member concerns:
"also, what about protecting our logins? someone could easily use another persons user name."
That is almost the same concern of someone pretending to be you on another forum. There is not much you can do about it - its the internet. If someone registeres as your name, just email JediKaren or another mod/admin that knows you. I'm sure they would help you.
"I think this would be a great idea. While your at it you could maybe think about restructuring..."
Indeed she is.
"-All members start over again with post count of 0"
Who cares about the number of posts? Its a number. It doesn't depict your intelligence or your knowledge.
"-Might take weeks or months of updating to get a new forum how we like it"
I am assuming that JediKaren would create the new forum 100% before shutting this one down.
"Well, if we move the forums, you will more likely than not lose me as a member. (Or at least as an active member.)"
Then you are not a loyal PsiWorld member. It would take 5 seconds for you to register and it would be the exact same community.
"Also, I see your point about "meaningless numbers", but search engines and everything else group sites by their popularity"
Do you really know how search engines archive websites? They cross check the URL among other websites and rank them in the order of how many sites link to it. Google started this trend in 1996. Larry Page came up with the idea and that is what let Google take off. Now other search engines do the same.
"Not that I really care about how popular we are, but people who otherwise would have liked to join might never even SEE the new site."
Because of the famous cache that search engines have, they will still see this forum which will still redirect them to the new forum. If you google "psiworld", the main site will come up anyway. Not the forum. Therefore, your assertion is incorrect.
"Yes the fluff problem is extremely bad and is earned us a bad name with other sites."
While the reputation may get mended a little, there will always be those out there that remember PsiWorld for this current website.
Now I am curious. What forum are you going to go to? It depends if the forum is worth it. I am all for a forum move if it is worth it. But, you know me. I have been pushing for a massive PsiWorld redo for a loooong time