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?
Parents
Former Member
A little late to the party, but as a relative newbie, I wanted to comment on these:
Please understand why we have the discussion forum available. First is to provide our members and friends an opportunity to learn about and discuss the sport we love. It is also a marketing tool for USMS. If your first encounter to this board was to come in wanting to know about swim camps and you opened up the thread that is currently going on, would you think the value of reading that thread was enough to draw you back? I don't have the time to waste and I doubt most would. If you view this forum as a service as well as a marketing tool, does it make sense to continue to run it if it is not fulfilling its goal.bolding mine
I said I wouldn't post here again, but I'm curious about the marketing question. I think someone posted in another thread that numerous new people have joined the discussion forum and that posts were way up. I would assume that some of these new joiners are also new to USMS? Maybe some have now registered. From reading the posts, it appears that there are a lot of people new to swimming seeking advice. So to the extent they have been recently reading and recently joined, it seems that the forum as a marketing tool is working. Even Rich just swam in his first meet and is planning more. Rich himself has probably inspired people who might not want to compete to compete. So I'm not convinced that the forum is not serving the marketing purpose just fine. But I'd be interested to know if I was wrong.
Threads like the swim camp thread were what pulled me in to USMS. I lurked a few times, but was so overwhelmed by the technical level of some of the posters I ran off with my tail between my legs. I didn't think I had anything to contribute or that I could ever get back to a level where I might have something worthwhile to contribute. It wasn't until I stuck with a few threads long enough to see them "derail" and reveal the personalities behind the posters that I thought USMS might be worth another look.
Like Venus I needed to see that there were other people like me participating in what USMS has to offer. The high level swim info isn't what keeps pulling me back (I could buy a book for that). The promise of better times, or a respectable performance at a masters meet isn't what brings me here several times each week. The thought of participating in a long term (injured hip friendly) activity with a group of fun-loving, witty, interesting people is what keeps me in the pool and on these forums. Getting to know the personalities behind the user names here is what pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me to make contact with my local USMS club. When I recommended this site to a few friends I told them it was a great place to get questions answered and that the people who participate there are interesting and fun.
As a marketing tool, I think the boards are doing just fine. The techie info is here for those who need it, and the social side is alive and well for those of us who need that.
A little late to the party, but as a relative newbie, I wanted to comment on these:
Please understand why we have the discussion forum available. First is to provide our members and friends an opportunity to learn about and discuss the sport we love. It is also a marketing tool for USMS. If your first encounter to this board was to come in wanting to know about swim camps and you opened up the thread that is currently going on, would you think the value of reading that thread was enough to draw you back? I don't have the time to waste and I doubt most would. If you view this forum as a service as well as a marketing tool, does it make sense to continue to run it if it is not fulfilling its goal.bolding mine
I said I wouldn't post here again, but I'm curious about the marketing question. I think someone posted in another thread that numerous new people have joined the discussion forum and that posts were way up. I would assume that some of these new joiners are also new to USMS? Maybe some have now registered. From reading the posts, it appears that there are a lot of people new to swimming seeking advice. So to the extent they have been recently reading and recently joined, it seems that the forum as a marketing tool is working. Even Rich just swam in his first meet and is planning more. Rich himself has probably inspired people who might not want to compete to compete. So I'm not convinced that the forum is not serving the marketing purpose just fine. But I'd be interested to know if I was wrong.
Threads like the swim camp thread were what pulled me in to USMS. I lurked a few times, but was so overwhelmed by the technical level of some of the posters I ran off with my tail between my legs. I didn't think I had anything to contribute or that I could ever get back to a level where I might have something worthwhile to contribute. It wasn't until I stuck with a few threads long enough to see them "derail" and reveal the personalities behind the posters that I thought USMS might be worth another look.
Like Venus I needed to see that there were other people like me participating in what USMS has to offer. The high level swim info isn't what keeps pulling me back (I could buy a book for that). The promise of better times, or a respectable performance at a masters meet isn't what brings me here several times each week. The thought of participating in a long term (injured hip friendly) activity with a group of fun-loving, witty, interesting people is what keeps me in the pool and on these forums. Getting to know the personalities behind the user names here is what pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me to make contact with my local USMS club. When I recommended this site to a few friends I told them it was a great place to get questions answered and that the people who participate there are interesting and fun.
As a marketing tool, I think the boards are doing just fine. The techie info is here for those who need it, and the social side is alive and well for those of us who need that.
