Off topic chunterings

[rutty]

I've noticed that Roger has requested that the Lookey-Likey thread stay on topic (ie lookey-likey-related stuff) but I was wondering what other people think of that? I know that Roger is only following the site rules, and doing a good job of it by the way, but my own personal view is that all the best topics disappear off on a tangent at some point.

When you have a conversation in real life, how often does the topic stay on what you started out with? Maybe it's just me, and it probably is, but I often find that one thing leads to another, and where you might have started off talking about how Gail off Corrie has no chin, all of a sudden you're talking about the price of Kiwi Fruit and why are they so hairy?

This forum is even called "Random Chat and off Topic..". Wouldn't it be better to let the posts carry on whereever they may wonder in here? The other forums, sure, make sure the topic doesn't stray too far, but this one, in my honest opinion, would benefit from little to no moderation on topic deviation.

Just my thoughts, not a criticism at all.

 

[HBB]

I totally agree - but I would, I'm probably the biggest "off-topic-er" on here

 

[Heather]

I agree, well sort of!
I think the thing that should be avoided is when there are lots of personal messages between players of the same band or neighbouring bands about how many pints they drank at the last contest etc.
I'm not interested and I'm sure I speak for others.
But , I do agree that sometimes the 'off topic' chat does turn into another interesting topic for conversation.

 

[Straightmute]

I'm with Roger on this one. I try to be selective about what I read so will ignore some threads precisely for the reason made by Heather above.

If the subject changes then surely it should form part of a new thread - that shouldn't stifle anyone's creative flow and will make it easier for all of us to identify which threads we want to follow.

D

 

[Roger Thorne]

Thanks for your comments Rutty. Its very interesting to hear peoples opinions.

The reason I posted an ''Off-topic'' was simply because we had started to go down the 'limerick' road again. Its not as if we had digressed onto a completely different thread which had not yet been discussed. If that had been the case I would have let it continue.

We have eight pages dedicated to 'limericks' so it seemed sensible to redirect the limerick theme back its original thread and get back on topic (or near as damn it) with the 'Lookeylikeys'.

Hope that explains my actions.

:wink:

 

[rutty]

Hi Roger,

I totally understand the reasoning behind it, and I'm sure that so far we haven't seen moderation gone mad. Some people like a nice, ordered forum, whereas others like a free reign.

I know that some threads have disappeared off at a tangent and are difficult to follow, some jokes have been repeated about 12 times and on occasion, the same news has been posted a number of times. That's where the mods earn their way.

My point is that some people might be disuaded from posting if they think that they're going to get moderated, and in a forum like this (Random chat and Off Topic) I don't see the problem with allowing threads to wonder off in all directions, whether they're repeating other topics or not, because that's the way that people talk in real life.

Just a thought - I know, I'll start a poll! 8)

 

[PeterBale]

I'm with Roger on this one. I try to be selective about what I read so will ignore some threads precisely for the reason made by Heather above.

If the subject changes then surely it should form part of a new thread - that shouldn't stifle anyone's creative flow and will make it easier for all of us to identify which threads we want to follow.

D

I'm with straightmute on this one. If a topic gets too far off-topic it can develop into what amounts to a private chat that may be of little interest to general browsers. Far better to open up a new thread and then we can follow what we want.

PS For the first time I've managed to get the quote to work the way i wanted to - bet I can't do it again!

It is easy to go off on a tangent - I know I've done so myself a number of times - and I think we have to rely on the moderators to judge when enough is enough. So far, they're proving to be quite a benign dictatorship, with the balance about right. Long may it be so.

 

[Keppler]

I don't have anything against occasional topic-wandering in the "Random & off Topic" section.
Where I'd be tempted to step in, is if a thread changes sufficiently to
a) be a new topic
b) be a new topic potentially of interest to other members
c) warrent a return to the original subject

purely from a navigation point of view

if I'm a new user interested in a discussion on the Brandenburg concertos, I'll never find it if a topic on mouthpieces mutated into a Bach discussion half way through..

Oh, and I agree with Roger above..

 

[hornblower]

I agree with heather, I don't mind peeps going off topic but silly one line chats with another person is tedious and it means trawling through lots of pages to see if someone has answered a point you were interested in...

 

[twigglet]

Up the anti-moderator revolution!!!

No, just joking, i agree with Roger in that limericks seem to be appearing everywhere and he was right to relocate people to the right thread! Threads can change and develop into new things, fair enough but when the place is being taken over by limericks, however funny, roger was right to intervene.

:lol:

 

[rutty]

I see there aren't too many cheese fanciers then :cry:

 

[PeterBale]

I see there aren't too many cheese fanciers then :cry:

I was afraid that if I owned up to being a lover of cheese the moderator might decide it was too strong and feel they had to delete it - especially if using their mouse!

 

[frisp]

Up the anti-moderator revolution!!!

No, just joking, i agree with Roger in that limericks seem to be appearing everywhere and he was right to relocate people to the right thread! Threads can change and develop into new things, fair enough but when the place is being taken over by limericks, however funny, roger was right to intervene.

:lol:

I also agree with Roger, despite being a bad limericking offender. But, in defence of some of the bad (and good) poetry writing that goes on in unrelated threads, it can be very easy to hammer it out and hit the 'submit' button before you think about the purpose of the thread. I know it's not a great excuse but it's why there's now a Limericks thread...and hopefully I, and others like me, will disappear off there to post our nonsense.

 

[Valvecap]

I think that the occasional sarcastic comment or humourous remark is ok on a thread - often amusing, but feel that the thread should continue on as per the title - perhaps it would be possible to "write in" a method of running (or starting) parallel threads if it starts to wander off topic. Or just leave it to private chat...

Ill get me pipe and slippers then....

D

 

[rutty]

So far the moderation on this forum has been very good. Sometimes we all need a rules. I've only brought this up because it's easy to get over-moderated - I've seen it on other forums, and it stifles the conversations.

The mods we have here aren't the sort to get all power-mad and start snipping postings willy-nilly (translation = higgledy-piggledy or, er, a lot) so I'm not worried about that. Well, I'm not so sure about Rach :wink:

Keep up the good works guys :thumbs up:

 

[You wanna blow my what?]

Randomality is great. If we're not allowed to go off topic this forum will be boring.

 

[Keppler]

"Randomality"
What a great word! Can I steal it?

 

[TheMusicMan]

Randomality is great. If we're not allowed to go off topic this forum will be boring.

do you mean the whole tMP forum would be boring, or just the specific category within the forum? because if it's the former, then that concerns me... :shock: Are you saying that theMouthPiece.com would be a boring place to visit if topics in the "Random" category are not allowed to go off topic?

 

[one_careful_owner]

It's a common problem on all internet forums of how much freedom to give users. There is no definative answer but the way I see it goes like this:

Forum Name: Random Chat & Off Topic
Entire Forum Topic: Brass Bands
Off Topic = Anything not connected with Brass Bands

The argument of people not being able to find relevant information they seek can be answered by saying that any Brass Band chat should be found in the Rehersal Room, not in Random Chat, which can be more structured than here.

Anyway, that's my thoughts.

 

[rutty]

Exactly.

So strictly speaking people talking about brass bands in this topic are off-off-topic and should be immediately directed to the Rehearsal Room forum. 8)