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?
you should keep reading Dorothy to get a full sense of what happened rather than rush to judgement off of a few posts. The fighting was shortlived and possibly a catalyst for the comedy that ensued.
Actually I think this is actually Lindsay's point. Reading the first page made me not want to read the rest. I perused a couple more pages, and it indeed had good information, although I am not going to any camps, which is probably why I did not open it in the first place.
As this thread continues, I notice some folks talking about "many" and generalizing that most people here want........
I think that "most" is actually a small group, and if there were truly a poll of the 800 posters on February 1, you would find that the more vocal posters are in the minority.
Still, I find this a useful board, and amusing board, and I always take certain posts, and posters with a grain of salt. I am quite certain that I would like all of them if I met in person. It is the nature of internet boards, to go off topic and to sometimes get snarky amongst the good material.
And now my dog is glaring at me, so I MUST get her out.
you should keep reading Dorothy to get a full sense of what happened rather than rush to judgement off of a few posts. The fighting was shortlived and possibly a catalyst for the comedy that ensued.
Actually I think this is actually Lindsay's point. Reading the first page made me not want to read the rest. I perused a couple more pages, and it indeed had good information, although I am not going to any camps, which is probably why I did not open it in the first place.
As this thread continues, I notice some folks talking about "many" and generalizing that most people here want........
I think that "most" is actually a small group, and if there were truly a poll of the 800 posters on February 1, you would find that the more vocal posters are in the minority.
Still, I find this a useful board, and amusing board, and I always take certain posts, and posters with a grain of salt. I am quite certain that I would like all of them if I met in person. It is the nature of internet boards, to go off topic and to sometimes get snarky amongst the good material.
And now my dog is glaring at me, so I MUST get her out.
