There is nothing that wrecks a good swimming related thread faster than getting into a discussion about message board etiquette. So here is a thread that people can use discuss topics related to what should and should not be posted on the message boards while allowing the other threads to stay on topic.
It seems to me that there is a spectrum of opinion on off-topic posting. On one end of the spectrum people think that threads are a mechanism specifically designed to allow people to carry on discussions on different topics and that we would all be well served if changes in topic were just done in new threads. On the other end of the spectrum people think that people should be able to post anything they want anywhere they want and that any suggestion to the contrary is censorship, a personal attack, or simply control freakish.
Pretty much everyone falls somewhere between these two extremes. Very few people object to a humorous quip inserted here and there in an otherwise serious discussion. Very few people would actually advocate that people be able to liberally sprinkle potentially offensive posts randomly through all the threads.
Have you ever been at a party where someone has decided that this is the right time and place to have a big argument or screaming match with someone? Has it ever contributed to the general enjoyment of the rest of the people there?
I would argue that posts that are essentially expressions of anger and/or are essentially personal attacks have no place on the board. They don't contribute anything positive and generally turn off 99% of the people reading the boards. Even if it seems that someone else has attacked you, does it really help anything to post an angry response?
I personally don't see the problem with starting a new thread when one wants to make an off-topic comment, a little cut and paste and/or a link makes it easy enough to carry the context into the new thread. Why is it essential to be able to carry on an unrelated discussion in a thread where some people are trying to carry on a discussion on a particular topic?
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Former Member
I would have thought it was clear that I am not a moderator and that I am aware of that fact. If it isn't clear yet, let me explicitly say that I am aware of that fact. Everyone is as free to ignore my posts as they are arguing that I should ignore theirs. I don't think that it logically follows that I can't give my own personal opinion on how I would like to see the boards operate. And I don't think that in doing so I should be seen as attacking people with other preferences.
I think Rob already pointed out the issue with rampant off-topic posts, it makes it hard to find the on-topic posts, which are the reason that the board was set up. And now, to prove that I am totally anally retentive, here is a summary of the on-topic posts on the swim camp thread:
1-5 on topic
12 original poster attempts to get back on topic
13 on topic
22 on topic
29 on topic
98 very informative on-topic post
104 post from USMS president
119 semi-hypocritical post with some on-topic content
up to 126 with continued postings as though the pres had never spoken up.
If I gave up on the thread after the first dozen posts I would have missed posts 13, 22, 29, and especially 98.
As a software engineer I would offer that since separate threads are too inconvenient for people, it would be really cool if the board software had an on-topic/off-topic tag for posts so that a reader who was interested in swimming topics could click on a button and view just the on-topic posts. It seems like a common enough issue that someday the bboard developers will do something along those lines. I am not suggesting that the USMS staff spend time on this, just saying it would be nice.
Also, for the record, both Fortress and SwimStud have, in my opinion, contributed a lot to the board and sparked a lot of discussions that I have found interesting. Anyone who is under the impression that I dislike them or am intending to attack either one of them is mistaken. I am just attempting to convey my own preferences.
Gull was one of my favorite posters, I think he has suffered unjustly simply due to association with Geek. And actually I don't have big issues with Geek either, it's just that I don't want to suffer that same guilt by association effect. ;)
Edit: Thanks Rich, I wrote this message before seeing your post.
I would have thought it was clear that I am not a moderator and that I am aware of that fact. If it isn't clear yet, let me explicitly say that I am aware of that fact. Everyone is as free to ignore my posts as they are arguing that I should ignore theirs. I don't think that it logically follows that I can't give my own personal opinion on how I would like to see the boards operate. And I don't think that in doing so I should be seen as attacking people with other preferences.
I think Rob already pointed out the issue with rampant off-topic posts, it makes it hard to find the on-topic posts, which are the reason that the board was set up. And now, to prove that I am totally anally retentive, here is a summary of the on-topic posts on the swim camp thread:
1-5 on topic
12 original poster attempts to get back on topic
13 on topic
22 on topic
29 on topic
98 very informative on-topic post
104 post from USMS president
119 semi-hypocritical post with some on-topic content
up to 126 with continued postings as though the pres had never spoken up.
If I gave up on the thread after the first dozen posts I would have missed posts 13, 22, 29, and especially 98.
As a software engineer I would offer that since separate threads are too inconvenient for people, it would be really cool if the board software had an on-topic/off-topic tag for posts so that a reader who was interested in swimming topics could click on a button and view just the on-topic posts. It seems like a common enough issue that someday the bboard developers will do something along those lines. I am not suggesting that the USMS staff spend time on this, just saying it would be nice.
Also, for the record, both Fortress and SwimStud have, in my opinion, contributed a lot to the board and sparked a lot of discussions that I have found interesting. Anyone who is under the impression that I dislike them or am intending to attack either one of them is mistaken. I am just attempting to convey my own preferences.
Gull was one of my favorite posters, I think he has suffered unjustly simply due to association with Geek. And actually I don't have big issues with Geek either, it's just that I don't want to suffer that same guilt by association effect. ;)
Edit: Thanks Rich, I wrote this message before seeing your post.
