I am a regular at another forum called 'Rotten Tomatoes' and they have a rule against what they call 'Thread hijacking.' If a discussion lends itself to meandering - like 'Heath Heath Heath' which is all about Heath no matter what it is - then the discussion is going to range widely. However, if the discussion is about a particular political matter in Current Events and someone chimes in with a completely unrelated topic which derails the point that was under discussion, then that is a hijack - an interruption that may very well be intended to stop discussion or debate and make the topic fall apart as a result. It depends a LOT on the topic - and I do think that the current events area should remain more focused than say the fan discussion or the blogs or other places.
Either one of two solutions needs to be adopted:
1) clear rules involving off topic comments need to be established and enforced on all forums all of the time,
or
2) the OT rules need to be ignored and only personal attacks or hate speech needs to be restricted.
I agree darlin', but if a topic is taken over by another, then what should be done? Nothing?
Well, it is possible to ignore a would-be hijacker and just carry on the conversation. ... ::)
Do bad we don't have an "Ignore" button anymore. 8)
It's going to make its triumphant return soon
Did you just tell a secret "out of school"?
Probably...so shoot me...LOL
Either one of two solutions needs to be adopted:
1) clear rules involving off topic comments need to be established and enforced on all forums all of the time,
or
2) the OT rules need to be ignored and only personal attacks or hate speech needs to be restricted.
As someone who occasionally posts OT comments myself, I'm not averse to some OT discussion. My biggest objection is when an OT conversation is interesting enough to deserve its own thread. If it's kept in the original thread, people who might like to comment on the subject, but who aren't following the original thread, won't find it.
Otherwise, OT posts bother me only when they're SO unconnected to the topic at hand, or even the forum they're in, but draw enough other comments or counterargument as to distract people from the subject under discussion, that the original conversation gets completely derailed.
But moderating to eliminate these would require case-by-case judgment calls.
Well, it is possible to ignore a would-be hijacker and just carry on the conversation. ... ::)
Do bad we don't have an "Ignore" button anymore. 8)
I like the ignore idea, and I don't know how the "Ignore" button functioned, but you certainly don't need a button in order to ignore.
So far, most voters seem to prefer some happy medium between rigid adherence to topic and total free-for-all. So if the preference is for something in between, what might such rules entail? "Off topic comments are allowed/prohibited unless ..." what? I'd like to hear any suggestions anyone might have.
Maybe figure out a way to phrase it positively--"You are encouraged to stay on topic"--something like that--rather than negatively--"Off-topic comments are not allowed"?
Frankly, I think that the off-topic rule would not be applicable in Our Daily thoughts since it is the owner of the individual blog to determine whether the discussion is welcome there or not.
speaking just for myself, I HAVE no "topic", so just about anything goes, at any time of day, including personal commentary by the friends who post there, so I really don't see how it applies. I have never minded people sharing their own stuff in my blog and it has never been a problem as far as I can see.
OK then, assuming other bloggers agree, I take that one back.I definitely agree with this. I've never minded folks visiting my blog and sharing the information and sentiments of their choosing.
How would y'all suggest distinguishing between posts that are OK-OT and not-OK-OT? Can anyone suggest any guidelines for determining whether a conversation has diverged too much from the topic? Or do you think it should be left up to moderators to judge -- with members obviously being able to contact moderators to express an opinion if they think a thread is getting too derailed?
The question is not disingenous. I think it is tricky to come up with rules about this.
True. What I was thinking was more the temptation I know I sometimes have to go onto someone's blog, take the subject under discussion, apply it to my own life, and launch into a lengthy anecdote about myself. Then I realize that if I'm going to do that, I should get my own damn blog.
But you're right, some bloggers may welcome the contribution.
I am a regular at another forum called 'Rotten Tomatoes' and they have a rule against what they call 'Thread hijacking.' If a discussion lends itself to meandering - like 'Heath Heath Heath' which is all about Heath no matter what it is - then the discussion is going to range widely. However, if the discussion is about a particular political matter in Current Events and someone chimes in with a completely unrelated topic which derails the point that was under discussion, then that is a hijack - an interruption that may very well be intended to stop discussion or debate and make the topic fall apart as a result. It depends a LOT on the topic - and I do think that the current events area should remain more focused than say the fan discussion or the blogs or other places.
99.9% of our bloggers welcome visitors to post on their threads...so feel free to stop by and visit anyone.
Just to get things rolling:
"You are encouraged to stay on topic, or to confine your comments to topics closely related to the original topic."
Again, I just throw that out as a starting point.
I think we don't want to ask our Moderators to turn themselves into police officers, or to expect them to allow their Moderator duties to take over their lives, but I also think they must be left with some leeway to deal with situations as they arise. I don't think we should try to make this an exact science or something automatic, because it isn't.
-rules can sometimes be a tough word...
-Maybe the true topic oriented threads (forums?) could have some sort of announcement at the beginning - please try to be focused, if it comes to moderator's attention that thread is wandering, don't be offended if you get asked to get back on track.
Agree. On another board I go to, to keep a semblance of continuity, if a thread goes too OT, the mods get a consensus amongst themselves before making a decision on whether to start slapping wrists, that way there can be no accusations of favoritism or lack thereof.
Now they also send PMs to warn those offenders. And some boards I go to will ban someone for a specified number of days after so many warnings if they do not cease and desist.
What does BM plan on doing to enforce such rules if someone simply refuses to believe they're OT and keeps going after it?
Well, even I didn't mean to suggest that people shouldn't visit or post at all on blogs. I just meant I thought perhaps they shouldn't go on to a whole different subject than the blogger him/herself was discussing, or make it into a thread that's all about me instead of all about the blogger. But I hereby officially withdraw the suggestion that blogs can't go OT.
Well-meaning folks who address OT posts/questions wind up adding to the problem; that's how a whole thread gets derailed. In other words, the best way (for non-mods) to handle an OT post is to ignore it.
How about guidelines?
Agree. On another board I go to, to keep a semblance of continuity, if a thread goes too OT, the mods get a consensus amongst themselves before making a decision on whether to start slapping wrists, that way there can be no accusations of favoritism or lack thereof.
Now they also send PMs to warn those offenders. And some boards I go to will ban someone for a specified number of days after so many warnings if they do not cease and desist.
What does BM plan on doing to enforce such rules if someone simply refuses to believe they're OT and keeps going after it?
*lines up on wall and waits to be shot* ;) :laugh:
I am reasonably certain there will be no shooting...there'd be too much dumb-ass missing. ::) :laugh: :laugh:
For me it depends on what the Thread is about. If it is a Blog area, then it should be open to anything.
It is about BBM specifically then it shouldn't stray far at all.
Some threads are more open in theme. Common sense should be used.
But nobody should hijack another persons thread on a specific matter. That is just rude.
I voted that some are OK while others, because of their subject matter are irksome.
I voted this because I have seen OT subjects become just a conversation between two or three select people and any posts put in by others are completely ignored. I have seen this on other boards, I don't mean necessarily here. It is irritating and kind of isolating.
If it is a Blog area, then it should be open to anything.
It is about BBM specifically then it shouldn't stray far at all.
Some threads are more open in theme. Common sense should be used.
But nobody should hijack another persons thread on a specific matter. That is just rude.
I feel a little shy about saying this, but the kind of off-topicness that can shut me out of a thread is when two or three or four or more buddies take over a thread to tease and play around with each other, ignoring both the topic and the rest of the people on the thread. Some of the threads here have pages of that.
I know what you mean. I'd forgotten about those, but in a way they're the worst. Those make others feel not only distracted from the thread but out of the clique.
I feel a little shy about saying this, but the kind of off-topicness that can shut me out of a thread is when two or three or four or more buddies take over a thread to tease and play around with each other, ignoring both the topic and the rest of the people on the thread. Some of the threads here have pages of that.
I'm not talking about blog threads where people visit each other and have chat-type conversations, I'm talking about threads with real topics that turn into that goofy bantering post after post that is better saved for those chat-type threads.
I totally agree with you. There are lots of threads like that on here. Whilst it doesn,t make me feel "left out" as such, it,s just irritating, that the entire thread, (and I just KNOW I,ll get shot for this ;)) gets taken over with inane drivel, to put it bluntly.
Like I said, it doesn,t matter if it goes slightly off topic, if thats needed to make a point, but when you get pages and pages of stuff that has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual topic, it,s annoying. If users want to discuss things at great length that have nothing to do with the topic in question, they should start a seperate thread. Thats my input, for what it,s worth. Right, shall I line back up against that wall now ready to be shot? ;) ;)
I am sure nobody will be doing any shooting here, Souxi. :)
What about the "Anything Goes" forum? Can posts in there be really OT when anything goes? ;)
What about the "Anything Goes" forum? Can posts in there be really OT when anything goes? ;)
The "Anything Goes" refers to the forum, not the posts. That is, you can start a thread on anything there. But once a thread has started on a given subject, people might be annoyed if someone starts talking about some whole different subject. After all, they can always start a thread on the different subject right there in the same forum!
The "Anything Goes" refers to the forum, not the posts. That is, you can start a thread on anything there. But once a thread has started on a given subject, people might be annoyed if someone starts talking about some whole different subject. After all, they can always start a thread on the different subject right there in the same forum!
I know... It was meant to be a silly question.. ;D
I know... It was meant to be a silly question.. ;D
Maybe we should have a forum called "Uncontrolled Mayhem."
Maybe we should have a forum called "Uncontrolled Mayhem."
.but hey, at least no one is posting 'off topic' or engaging in too much jocularity!!
Awww that's a little harsh Souxi .... we're just people getting together and having some fun ... isn't that what it's all about? And I remember the two of us getting sidetracked with a little bit of Hugh Jackman oogling once ... it was very nice, ;D and I don't think it did any harm. :D
You see, now that makes me sad Tampatalon. If everyone starts worrying about posting Off Topic, we're all going to end up hiding away in our own blogs ... that's no fun!! :-\
(Just a bit of common sense is needed that's all ... not rules)
Susie :)
I totally agree with you. There are lots of threads like that on here. Whilst it doesn,t make me feel "left out" as such, it,s just irritating, that the entire thread, (and I just KNOW I,ll get shot for this ;)) gets taken over with inane drivel, to put it bluntly.
Like I said, it doesn,t matter if it goes slightly off topic, if thats needed to make a point, but when you get pages and pages of stuff that has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual topic, it,s annoying. If users want to discuss things at great length that have nothing to do with the topic in question, they should start a seperate thread. Thats my input, for what it,s worth. Right, shall I line back up against that wall now ready to be shot? ;) ;)
So I don't stress over what I post is too off topic, I usually just hang out in my blog now
so I don't offend no one.
it just takes a bit of common sense.
well I can see this thread is going to make hurt feelings and people that won't want to talk to each other. I think everyone has pretty much said what they have to say....I dont think it is necessary to continue but if ya'll prefer...
I tried a little experiment this morning....posting where two people who on THIS thread complained about being left out were posting. Did they respond to me?
No.
Souxi, you dont like reading 'drivel'? well I consider this obsession with Hugh to be drivel...yet here we are talking about him....and it is ok with you. So your drivel is ok....just not everyone elses?
Cameron, Thank you for sharing that. Nice to know how you feel. Sometimes all it takes is to let people know how you feel.
I want and demand FREEDOM!! Since we are in democratic countries, and for humanity!!!!
With free speech we, all of us, can advance further and further such as thruth, democraties, life, love...
You mean: wherein??
Perhaps the best solution to this is to drop all OT restrictions. I am convinced that OT monitoring can not be done in a fair and equitable fashion. So lets just drop the idea that there should be any restrictions on posting content.
I have been pmd by a mod over something i had said. Then someone else said to me. I then thought I
was making what was a goodnatured response. That unleashed the gates of hell. It was the biggest
storm over a silly thing i have ever dealt with...
I tried to get the name of the person making the complaint. Which i was not given. Therefor unable
to talk directly or even indirectly to the person that made that complaint. Personally I thought that the
mod definately pushed me as the attacker, when i wasnt even making any kind of an attack.
I dont think that people should make some report like that and then remain anonomous..
The same thing goes for the way all the troubles here are handled.. Behind closed doors, with no
access made to us ordinary peons..We are handed decrees. More like it is from the gods on Mt Olympus.
I dont think that is a very fair way to handle these situations. Its not just you Elle...its the system...
There should be some sort of arbitor. and a confrontation on unbiased terratory.
Its not just you Elle...its the system...
There should be some sort of arbitor. and a confrontation on unbiased territory.
We all need help!!!
To be understood is the most important!!
To be helped too is of importance!!
Mutual help is great and needed by all too!! WE all know that no one is an island!!
Keep on doing good work all moderators and all members!!
Hugs!!
On this I am going to launch a new poll to see if there would be an interest in an independent Ombudsman for BetterMost. This would be an -elected- position and would be able to independently examine and provide an unvarnished opinion (minus any personal attacks) of the administration of the community, as well as be a contact point for people who feel their needs or problems have not been addressed and allow the Ombudsman to consider the matter and report back to both residents and the "town council."
Question? How would this affect us in our indiviual blogs? I look at my blog like my house. Except
for breaking of the obvious no attack rule and other legal no no's, I would not want the "homeowners
association" telling me how "decor" the inside of my house. This may be an invalid question since
there is no "on-topic" in a blog.
TampaTalon^">