Ok guy and gals. What is the deal with certain individuals constantly going into a topic and saying the same diatribe over and over even if it has NOTHING to do with the topic.

Darcaine

The topics are usually interchangeble and related. It's a little difficult to discuss war on Iraq without quoting history and morality and all sorts of other things to back up why one believes war on Iraq is right or wrong.

Discussing affirmative action can easily lead to topics like slavery and immigration and domestic policy. These subjects may have valid points to explain ones position on a subject.

Good luck in keeping everything on topic all the time.

You know the REAL irony is that I had to move this thread because it was started in the wrong forum

Jaime - LOL


Danya, has a point. It can be frustrating both ways, because no issue exists all by its lonesome. But I am going to try really hard. However, I think I will start off by going and baking some molasses cookies.

(uh oh, am I off topic?)

Sometimes people mention something that relates to the topic & then another poster responds by putting something a little different, and so on

It can't be helped...we're only human

I disagree (with the can't be helped part. I'll assume without question you are human )

When someone says something off topic, I appreciate it when other members tell them not to or ask them to pursue it in a new thread. That is exactly what should happen. Do not feel compelled to further sidetrack a topic just because someone else did (but, mom, everyone is staying out late, why can't I?)

When people repeatedly go off topic in a thread I must close it or delete the off topic posts. I must do this or it renders our search feature completely useless.

I recognize the need to have ideas cross and be shared in multiple threads. I feel we do a pretty good job at moderating this. Your help is always appreciated. Please report off topic posts to me. Invite people to start new threads when you see them get off topic or start it yourself.

Damn...I was hoping you would miss that!!! I was gonna use that to make a point...crap!

Darcaine

Ouch...that's low

I'll let it pass

Some of you may notice on rare occasions that a post of your disappears. That is because it was off topic and I deleted it. We warned everyone that we would be doing this in our Stay on Topic thread but some of you persist (I'm not talking a little straying which is understandable - I mean WAY off topic).

If it is questionable, I will leave it and ask the person to clarify. If it is from left field, consider it gone. The forum is getting REALLY busy lately and I just don't have the time to copy the off topic post and send it to the offender in a PM. Stay on topic and this won't happen to your posts.

I would like to re-express for some of you new folks here why it is SO important NOT to go off topic.

Let's take an easy example, the Best Presidents thread. I understand the desire to want to share who you think is the worst president but that is not thread in which to do it. This is because it would render our search feature useless. Imagine if you are searching for this topic, find it, only to find out it is all full of people's opinions about who the worst president was.

Another example, the Powell's Address to the UN thread. Some people couldn't help themselves and have gone off talking about a wide variety of things not even closely related to the topic. Again, imagine you do a search for this topic, open it and find it has somehow turned into a discussion on religion or why liberals and conservatives can't get along. This results in dissappointment, frustration or confusion by the searcher that could have been easily avoided had we all stayed on topic.

These same scenarios apply to people looking for us through search engines. If a person sees a link to an interesting thread, goes in and find it has NOTHING to do with what they were searching for, they will be dissappointed and leave. It would be a shame to lose potential new members because of this.

As we get bigger this will become more important.

I know some of you think I'm some sort of nut about this and I hope this helps explain my reasoning. I will continue to delete off topic posts and put reminders in threads that appear to be going off track but at least you now understand why.

Not about this, no.

The one problem I have with sticking to a topic (and I don't know that there's any solution) is when someone posts something which strays from the issue at hand, but which deserves some sort of response and doesn't really merit its own thread. What do we do with those?

What I have done (once) is start a new thread about the subject that was brought up. You could always bring a quote over to start the new topic. Perhaps the original poster will not find it but I expect most of us would.

hey jamie, I could inderstand you wanting debates to stay on topic for newbies and such, but I thought about something. I propose we let the discussions develop as they go along. maybe have a rule, stay on the topic for three pages or so, if it keeps going beyond a set limit, we let the debate take the direction it goes, as long it remains civil of course. I have noticed that the discussion on powell and the un wants to go in a different direction, such as discussing other reasons to or not to go to war. un resolution violations for example. it would still be kinda on topic, and new people wouldn't be completly lost either. (they would probably see the first pages first anyway) they would see the direction it was heading, and could chime in if they wanted. if you don't want to do this way that is fine (you are a moderater after all) I will adapt, but the way you run it now kinda stifles the conversation. just my opinion.

How would your suggestions solve the search feature and search engine issues I have addressed, unabomber?


I see it this way - if it's not worth starting a new thread over it's probably not worth addressing.

you know more about how this runs better the I, like I said. it is up to you. I forgot about the search problem too. it was just a thought.

Thoughts are good. Keep 'em coming

How about a 'free-for-all' topic? A place where you can go when that 'special someone' has said something a bit OT and you feel you just GOTTA reply.

It would help keep everything else on course by eliminating one of the main reasons things go OT.

Seems like it'd be worth at least a try.