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?
I've been very hesitant to wade into this discussion but as a long-time forum user (over 5 years), I felt a need to weigh in. First of all I'd like to say that I've had no problem with any inappropriate topics. Born and raised in urban NJ, it takes alot to offend me. I also feel like I've gotten to know alot of you through some of the non-swimming discussions that have taken place. I've made a point of seeking out some posters at swim meets such as Skip Thompson and even the infamous Ion long before his postings went over the top. I had hoped to meet tjburk and She-Man at the Auburn meet a few weekends ago but a month of prolonged illness prevented me from attending.
But I must say that I've noticed a marked decline in the overall quality of postings in the past several months. With the exception of Ande's outstanding threads, there are just not alot of good things happening on the forum on both a swimming and non-swimming level.
I think one of the problems may be that frequent posters don't understand that the forum has a much wider audience than they imagine. When I entered the forum just now, there were 116 viewers. Of the 116, only 17 were members of the forum. The remaining 99 were guests. These are viewers that are unable to post. Additionally if you look at our member directory, the vast majority of members rarely, if ever, post. I would be one of the members that fall into that category. So while we have about a dozen posters who chat back and forth with one another, there are a multitude of us who have no interest in the chatter.
That doesn't mean we have to be all swimming all the time. The response to Coach T.'s first masters meet is an example of the forum working at its best. As were the answers to Ensignada's questions about the swim meet. Slight diversion, no big deal. A bit of humor, no problem. But the silly banter regarding who's eating what for lunch, what kind of wine is chilling in the fridge, etc. that corrupted the swim camp thread was at the bottom of the barrel as far as threads go.
Have you noticed that alot of our best posters have disappeared? Mr. Swim Encyclopedia, Skip Thompson, is nowhere to be found. How about Terry Laughlin? Or Gull with his good medical advice? There may be other reasons why we haven't heard from them but could it be the quality of the recent postings?
So in addition to the obvious suggestions to improve the threads that have already been made, may I suggest that you try to keep the majority of viewers in mind. Not just the small handful that post back and forth. There are much better venues for that such as PMs or a NSR thread.
I've been very hesitant to wade into this discussion but as a long-time forum user (over 5 years), I felt a need to weigh in. First of all I'd like to say that I've had no problem with any inappropriate topics. Born and raised in urban NJ, it takes alot to offend me. I also feel like I've gotten to know alot of you through some of the non-swimming discussions that have taken place. I've made a point of seeking out some posters at swim meets such as Skip Thompson and even the infamous Ion long before his postings went over the top. I had hoped to meet tjburk and She-Man at the Auburn meet a few weekends ago but a month of prolonged illness prevented me from attending.
But I must say that I've noticed a marked decline in the overall quality of postings in the past several months. With the exception of Ande's outstanding threads, there are just not alot of good things happening on the forum on both a swimming and non-swimming level.
I think one of the problems may be that frequent posters don't understand that the forum has a much wider audience than they imagine. When I entered the forum just now, there were 116 viewers. Of the 116, only 17 were members of the forum. The remaining 99 were guests. These are viewers that are unable to post. Additionally if you look at our member directory, the vast majority of members rarely, if ever, post. I would be one of the members that fall into that category. So while we have about a dozen posters who chat back and forth with one another, there are a multitude of us who have no interest in the chatter.
That doesn't mean we have to be all swimming all the time. The response to Coach T.'s first masters meet is an example of the forum working at its best. As were the answers to Ensignada's questions about the swim meet. Slight diversion, no big deal. A bit of humor, no problem. But the silly banter regarding who's eating what for lunch, what kind of wine is chilling in the fridge, etc. that corrupted the swim camp thread was at the bottom of the barrel as far as threads go.
Have you noticed that alot of our best posters have disappeared? Mr. Swim Encyclopedia, Skip Thompson, is nowhere to be found. How about Terry Laughlin? Or Gull with his good medical advice? There may be other reasons why we haven't heard from them but could it be the quality of the recent postings?
So in addition to the obvious suggestions to improve the threads that have already been made, may I suggest that you try to keep the majority of viewers in mind. Not just the small handful that post back and forth. There are much better venues for that such as PMs or a NSR thread.
