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Socoder -> Off Topic -> Following rules
Thu, 19 Feb 2009, 10:03
Teasy
 		For some reason people like posting a lot of off-topic stuff in threads

I don't know whether I should follow the trend, completely ignore the off-topic post in the middle of a thread, or send PMs instead.
I guess I will do a little of both

Some people like following
(written, but mostly unwritten)
"rules"
(which seem to be vague and flexible by definition, especially in law)
and forcing rules upon other people
(for example minimizing postcount,
eliminating signatures or animating avatars,
and me saying off-topic is 'undesired')
while these same people (like me) do not realize they are breaking these rules themselves too (like me), in different ways or varieties,
(such as not sending PM's but posting off-topic messages, like I'm doing right now too in another thread)
which negatively influences the signal to noise ratio.

For every rule I can think of a million reasons why it is good and why it is not good.
The only real way I have found in which to deal with rules is by finding the path of least resistance
(for example to use what is most convenient for myself)
or by finding what feels good/right/nice.

What do you think/feel?
Thu, 19 Feb 2009, 10:45
Hotshot
 		LOL The Green man is still there and welcome to 2009
I think if people go off topic in the middle of treads or topic then it is best go pm or email the person you know.
Thu, 19 Feb 2009, 10:50
Jayenkai
 		I don't think that Off-Topic is that big of a deal when we're still a relatively small community.
Although keeping on-topic obviously makes a topic easy to follow, if there's a few stray posts it doesn't really damage things, and as a reader you can typically skip over those posts, and get back to the original topic again.

But, if we had a larger community, and each topic turned into a crazy weaving mismash of topics, then that's a problem, and that's kinda the point where you have to put a stop to things.

Aside from that, there's "That other problem" where a certain person would randomly post random, completely off the wall posts into every post, here there and everywhere. There's Off-Topic based upon the flow of the general conversation, and then there's Random Off-Topic Posts that oughta be stopped..
Two different things..
Conversations flow, that happens. We can roll with it!

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Fri, 27 Feb 2009, 04:37
garand
 		For some reason this reminds me of DNA's Hot Girl topic back at Coders Workshop.....Good times....
Fri, 27 Feb 2009, 18:22
JL235
 		I don't think it's bad if a topic strays off the original topic, if it's a result of the natural progression of the topic.