General > General Technical Chat
IMPORTANT POLL: Should there be an off-topic section?
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CatalinaWOW:
The last few pages have at least partially crystalized my thinking on this subject, and may provide a useful suggestion for moving forward.  There are two very different objectives for me (and I suspect many others on this board).  One is to find and/or share technical information on a variety of subjects.  The other is to chat, share and jest with others who are in some sense "birds of a feather".  As these last two pages have shown this latter objective tends to creep in and dilute the original content of the thread.  It isn't malice, it is just human nature and it is a generally good thing.

With that background it would seem appropriate to define any topic which discusses a specific repair, electronic topic, theory, coding and the like is "on topic" and to make it easier to access that information later should be kept very close to the original subject.  It is difficult enough to find some obscure bits of information without wading through pages of some interesting side discussion.

All else is "off topic". 

The forum already has many threads that meet this definition of "off topic" so the question is whether to allow more and if there should be any limits.

Both areas should be self moderated (as usually happens on this forum and is one of the great things about it), but that self moderation and any formal moderation would have very different character in the "on topic" and "off topic" areas.  In the "on topic" area it would be reminders to stay on subject, while in the "off topic" area it would be generally focused on civility.  The header or rules for such an area probably should also suggest that since the forum members are in many ways a homogeneous group threads and topics should be chosen with that in mind. 
AVGresponding:

--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 01:39:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: AVGresponding on September 09, 2022, 12:17:31 pm ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 12:12:33 pm ---People's stated gender when registering no doubt bears as much relation to reality as their username or location.

--- End quote ---

Mine is accurate, as is that of everyone I personally know here. Ascribing levels of truthfulness/disclosure to people you don't know is pure and irrelevant speculation.

--- End quote ---

You really are Mr AVGResponding? Or is that your first name?

--- End quote ---

Closer than yours is, at a guess. It's fair to say however, that I should have clarified that I was referring to location and gender, more than real name.
m k:
(should I, or should I not)

First like minded are gathering and later more will come.
Finally the group is big enough to have a sub group of like minded of something else.
This has happened.

Much later the situation can be a web of like minded sub groups with crisscrossing members.
This has not happened.
For reason or another many are also against that kind of evolutional possibility.

A web of sub groups can have a bubble for gladiators and another for origami artists.
If and when gladiators then are beating each others up it's just business as usual but if origami artists are doing the same then that bubble is clearly boiling.
Of course making an origami can be very stressful but then one can join to gladiators and release their stress all day long.
Maintaining that kind of environment successfully is obviously possible only if participants are supporting it.

My off topic here has clearly been very different to what many others have thought.
Here General Technical Chat has actually been pretty much without the technical part.

Opening a truly off topic section will probably initially work since the original group is ready and is a collection of more or less like minded participants.
Later truly off topic becomes a primary reason and it would still be fine if more general posters could outnumber disruptors but finally that wont be the case.
It's also pillaging, despite the ignore functionality.
So that kind of change will finally require much more maintenance.

Community moderation is functional only when community is actually moderating.
This has not happened, what has happened has been something else.
My guess is that before TEA this place has not been a primary environment.
Important yes, but more like a some sort of a mental sanctuary outside of mostly everything else, so secondary at best.
Then TEA turned the thing upside down and community moderation failed.
Gladiator bubble and origami bubble must be moderated differently.

Moderation being actually moderation and not cleaning must be less pragmatic and more personal, not emotional but still personal.
I watched a clip once, it was for racial USA today, sort of.
There black guy shouted "black power" and white guy interrupted his interview and shouted back "white power" and continued his interview with "sorry about that" apology, this happened several times.
What I remember is that the white guy wasn't a racist in any special way, maybe even more like ef you J. Edgar, next time I'll want my lawn mower back.
Since we have only letters we should be much more cautious what can be passed over.

If multi page thread has couple of last pages full of off topics, what should be done?
Tone of off topics is clearly relevant.
Is OP somehow obligated or responsible?
Should a thread be locked when possibly outsiders are doing bad things?
All threads are not irrelevant for everybody.

What are severity levels of moderation actions?
Banning is obviously highest but what's next?
Sensoring is high for some but there are different contents.
Locking is not removing anything but behaving parties may feel differently.
Have I missed or forgotten all moderator splitted threads?
PlainName:

--- Quote from: AVGresponding on September 09, 2022, 05:49:36 pm ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 01:39:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: AVGresponding on September 09, 2022, 12:17:31 pm ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 12:12:33 pm ---People's stated gender when registering no doubt bears as much relation to reality as their username or location.

--- End quote ---

Mine is accurate, as is that of everyone I personally know here. Ascribing levels of truthfulness/disclosure to people you don't know is pure and irrelevant speculation.

--- End quote ---

You really are Mr AVGResponding? Or is that your first name?

--- End quote ---

Closer than yours is, at a guess. It's fair to say however, that I should have clarified that I was referring to location and gender, more than real name.

--- End quote ---

Are you, perchance, ascribing a level of truthfulness to my info despite knowing nothing whatsoever about me or that info? Isn't that irrelevant speculation?
AVGresponding:

--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 05:52:56 pm ---
--- Quote from: AVGresponding on September 09, 2022, 05:49:36 pm ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 01:39:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: AVGresponding on September 09, 2022, 12:17:31 pm ---
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on September 09, 2022, 12:12:33 pm ---People's stated gender when registering no doubt bears as much relation to reality as their username or location.

--- End quote ---

Mine is accurate, as is that of everyone I personally know here. Ascribing levels of truthfulness/disclosure to people you don't know is pure and irrelevant speculation.

--- End quote ---

You really are Mr AVGResponding? Or is that your first name?

--- End quote ---

Closer than yours is, at a guess. It's fair to say however, that I should have clarified that I was referring to location and gender, more than real name.

--- End quote ---

Are you, perchance, ascribing a level of truthfulness to my info despite knowing nothing whatsoever about me or that info? Isn't that irrelevant speculation?

--- End quote ---

As I said, it's a guess, and informed by how close I happen to know my forum name is to my real one. And yes, it is irrelevant speculation; I was however merely trying to clarify my position to you.
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