One Man's Opionion on Off Topic Posts

[Scott]

What is the deal with this "All Off Topics Posts" BS? I am a member of many forums and I have never seen behavior like this from the moderators. Who really cares if someone makes a comment that is "Off Topic"? If the post is insulting or inappropriate, sure, I can see the post Nazis getting involved. On occassion, it may be necessary to start a new thread due to the fact that one topic leads to another, but dang, this is out of control. It is hard to follow what is going on when you have to go to the Off Topic Posts threads just to see what you missed. It takes it all out of context.


My question is, Is this necessary? Were are here to TALK are we not?

Lighten up people.

[mfish]

From my perspective, if a post in a particular thread gets way off topic, it should simply be deleted for going way off-topic, not "re-directed" to "post limbo." But, that's just my opinion.

[pdc]

What is the deal with this "All Off Topics Posts" BS? I am a member of many forums and I have never seen behavior like this from the moderators. Who really cares if someone makes a comment that is "Off Topic"? If the post is insulting or inappropriate, sure, I can see the post Nazis getting involved. On occassion, it may be necessary to start a new thread due to the fact that one topic leads to another, but dang, this is out of control. It is hard to follow what is going on when you have to go to the Off Topic Posts threads just to see what you missed. It takes it all out of context.


My question is, Is this necessary? Were are here to TALK are we not?

Lighten up people.
Your answer in 3-2-1...

"This is a private business.... blah... blah...."

I agree with you about the impact of the ham-handed editing

AND

I agree that the owner(s) of a private site can edit/moderate in any way they choose

But the latter does not, in any way, justify the quality, or lack thereof, of the actual editing/moderation - just because one has the right to do it does not make any particular exercise thereof useful, functional or advisable....

[Scott]

I agree that they should have the RIGHT to do it. I just don't understand the need to exercise the right to such an extreme. Obvioulsy if someone is spewing hate or posting up pornographic pictures......

[Billy Wood]

What I am hearing is there is no need to have thread topics.

Example:

A topic about how to cook apples. I am very interested in different ways to cook apples so I start reading. After about 10 posts it turns into how to cook pears, but I have no interest on how to cook pears. Then about 8 posts later, it turns into to how to cook peaches and again I have no interest on how to cook peaches. Then the thread gets back on topic about how to cook apples. This would be true about cars, motorcycles and boats all in the same thread where I only wanted to read about cars not boats or motorcycles.

Or say that I'm new to the forum and am looking for a thread about camping. I find one that is titled camping, but when I go to the most recent post, it isn't about camping at all - the posters are discussing all kinds of other things, so I have to search back until I find where the camping posts are. That's just too much trouble, so I give up.

Given the above examples how would you want me to edit / moderate the thread? Or better yet, if you were a moderator, how would you handle it and still maintain thread topic continuity?

As for deleting a thread just because it goes completely off topic, that's a waste of a lot of good posts that were actually on topic. Putting off topic posts in the All Off Topic thread works well because people can still respond to those posts. That particular thread has had over 3,000 viewings - people seem to like reading it.

A forum is setup in the same way a dictionary is setup A,B,C,D .......... if you are looking for cars I don't think you would like to start with page 1 and read everything until you find cars. You would go to the "C" then find the word "car".

By the way, we are looking for people who have experience in many forums and are professional moderators so that our non-professional volunteer moderators can learn from them.

[Lebo]

Scott and pdc, I'm with the two of you on this. I feel like I'm back in school and getting rapped on the knuckles with a ruler all the time. I can't keep up with where everything flies off to when I blink.:nerves:

[Billy Wood]

Lebo did you read the post just above your post? If so can you give me some input as to how to keep the threads straight and on topic?

[Lebo]

This is my first experience with an online forum (so that makes me a virgin poster).**laugh**

Wish I had some wisdom to impart here, but obviously I'm not qualified in that department.:no:

Just an observation on my part: People want to be able to carry on a conversation as if they were doing so in person. When people do have conversations with one another in person, they normally have a topic to discuss at the moment but usually surround that topic with other items of spontaneous thought which may or may not have anything to do at the exact moment of what they were originally discussing. I think people on the forum want to have normal conversations and have a difficult time in keeping to the ever present constraints of not being able to say anything at all except what the topic of the thread might be. To make another/additional statement, which may be loosely tied to the subject matter but not deemed as qualifying by a moderator, one needs to go look up another thread to post their thoughts on... and that's where everyone starts getting lost and frustrated because the whole point of their conversation started with the original thread and then they're supposed to shop around for other places to put additional things which might come about because of the original conversation, and which they think still has bearing on what was first discussed. So then a conversation ends up in two or more places and the whole flow is lost.

But what do I know?... I'm just a duck.

[mfish]

The bottom line is simple:
We all have opinions regarding most everything (including evidently, how this forum is moderated). And if we don't agree with some policy, or mode of operation, you can do one of two things. You can comply, however begrudgingly in some cases - or, you can quit reading and posting on the forum.

To those who feel they can do this better, good luck to you and I hope your endeavor to operate your own forum is successful and can garner the level of followers and credibility this one has in the past few years. To those who decide to comply, this is a closed topic.

[Daisy]

I think I see where the misunderstanding is coming from. Some people may be confusing a forum with a chat room. When I first joined this forum, I had never been in a chat room or a forum, so I didn't know the difference either.

A chat room is a place for people to talk back and forth on any subject in a totally unstructured environment. These chats happen in real-time and are kinda like instant messaging. Anything and everything can be discussed by as few as 2 people or as many as 200. If you want to carry on a conversation as if in person, a chat room is where you want to be.

A forum is a much more structured form of communication. It is set up for discussions about certain topics and all forums have rules in order to keep the flow of the discussions civilized, organized and structured.

Awhile back, one member stated that the rules on this forum are very lax compared to others he was a member of. Some forums give only one or two warnings and then ban members for repeated infractions.

As for myself, I really appreciate Billy for creating this forum for us - Roswell has never had anything like it before and I think it's awesome! Okay, so you have to follow a few rules in order to keep the forum threads organized and on topic. Is it really such a big deal? Apparently it is to some...

I thought the All Off Topic Posts thread was a great idea - I personally don't have the time to open new threads for all the posts that are in the wrong thread. The alternatives to the All Off Topic Posts thread are the trash can where no one can reply to those posts and/or deletion of the posts - then they are gone forever. If you don't want to wonder where your off topic post went, the solution is simple..........stay on topic.

Remember, if you don't want to stay on the topic of a thread, you can open a new thread yourself to discuss whatever you want to discuss. It's very easy to do and if there is something you don't understand, any of the moderators are happy to help.

[pdc]

In normal adult conversation and communication, it is common that while following a topic, there will be some side-tracks; this is especially true when discussing complicated topics.

I agree if someone arbitrarily introduces a totally new "topic" withouut any precedence within the thread, that some moderation might actually be helpful. But when the variation flows out of the discussion, I recommend tolerance - especially when the participants in these meta-discussions, or other readers, are NOT complaining within the thread. In almost every instance, the posts removed from a discussion (and placed into the idiotic
Off Topic" thread) have been logically related to the discussion, even if not specifically on the topic (narrowly defined)....

For example, it's hard to discuss health care reform meaningfully without drawing on issues of political philosophy, data regarding health care systems, etc....

We have a very small community of discussants here, so it's not like there's a need to monitor so closely.

I see the complaints in this thread as an expression that users find the current style of moderation to be a problem with the site, not a strength.

[Daisy]

As a moderator, I actually have a method to my madness. I wait until the number of off topic posts gets to five or more before I move them. (unless it's a blatantly off topic post) That method works well and gives a bit of leeway. You'd be surprised at how quickly a thread deteriorates when several people latch onto a topic different from the titled thread and run with it - it's like a grass fire on a windy day.

I see the forum moderation here as a strength for those who enjoy an organized place in which to discuss certain topics in certain areas. For those who would rather have a garbled up mess with absolutely no structure, this may not be the place for them. And that's okay, there are many forums out there to choose from. :smk3:

There were actually only 2 or 3 people complaining about this out of the 54 that have been on in the last 24 hours. That's not too bad, when you think about it. As the saying goes, you can't please all of the people, all of the time.

If anyone else has constructive ideas or ways you think we can improve the site, please post and let us know.

[Scott]

While moderation is necessary and forums are designed to be opic specefic, I would like to see it toned down just a bit. Obviously we don't want to see every thread hijacked with some talk about a used car for sale, however, digression many times is where the action is.

I too appreciate this forum and all the work that goes into it. Please don't take my comments as a "##### session". That wasn't my intent. I was simply hoping for a little more lattitude. When participating in TrueStreetCars.com or RacingSouthwest.com I often think about how the TalkRoswell.com moderators would go nuts reading this garbage.......

[Daisy]

I checked out the two sites you mentioned, just to see what you were talking about.

You are right about streetcars. com - it really is a bunch of garbage, in my opinion.

Racingsouthwest.com wasn't bad at all, though. The few threads I read were all on topic and I also saw some edited and moderated posts, so they also have rules which must be followed.

Thanks for mentioning those sites - it reaffirms to me why structure is needed to have a readable, organized and easily navigated forum. :smk3:

[Billy Wood]

This is just one example of the kind of discussions forums I belong to with over 245,00 members, see if you can tell how many different topics there are in this thread that is not part of the thread topic.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?324611-Deny-disposable-email-address-on-registration&highlight=Spam+Prevention

I can search on this site for something I need info on and almost 99.9% of the time I will locate the threads that only have what I am looking for.

It saves me allot of time reading threads on info I am looking for and not having to read through several discussions in the same thread that is not on thread topic and not what I am looking for.

With the help of all members we can get Talk Roswell structured is needed to have a readable, organized and easily navigated forum to located only info that we are interested in.

I ask you the members of TRC PLEASE help make this happen. I know it will take a little work on your part when posting but again please help.

Thank you,
Billy Wood

[Daisy]

Thanks, Billy - that was interesting and totally on topic. :eek:

You know what else I noticed? There were no insults to other members and no whining or complaining when one disagreed with another.

Of course, the subject matter was over my head and almost put me to sleep, but I enjoyed seeing how another forum was done.

I never knew how much goes into keeping a forum like this operating smoothly until I started helping with this one. The things that have to be done and the things that have to be watched for are amazing. It has to be maintained, and it cost money to operate. That's why we really appreciate those of you who contribute to the operating costs.

I agree that all it takes is a little cooperation from all of us to keep this a well organized, easy to read community forum. I personally don't think that's too much to ask for the priviledge of having a site such as this to discuss whatever issues are on our minds. :smk3:

We just need to remember, it's NOT a chat room.

[Alfdom]

This is one of the few threads that did stay on topic without being edited. If people would discipline themselves to stay on the thread, the site would be very useful to someone who was new to Roswell and this site. One could research how the City awarded contracts and have a history of what contracts were approved. One could understand the collective barginning process with the RPD, without reading nonsense about other topics. If people would stay on topic this site would be of use in changing how things are done, instead of a collection of garbage posted, with no thought to how this site should work.

[Daisy]

Well said, Alfdom.........thank you. :smk3: