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
Second issue: Morgan pointed out that he felt many good SR threads and postings were going unanswered while NSR threads and postings were thriving. While I agree that a thread needs to stay MORE on topic than the swim camp thread (and we are going to work on that problem now...right folks?), I think this other issue Morgan mentioned is a different issue. My opinion is that people should have total freedom to choose what thread discussions they want to join and what postings they want to respond too. I try fairly hard to respond with support and enthusiasm to many of the newbie postings that clearly ask for help with swimming advise for the most part....But why should I feel a special obligation to join in a particular SR discussion if I'm simply not interested? If people don't want to discuss a topic and a thread dies...well then I say so be it....It is an infringement on the freedom to discuss what we want to discuss to say that we should feel a special obligation to reply to this posting or that....or join a thread b/c it is SR. I responded to Morgan's thread about the underwater MP3 player almost out of obligation (I felt) after reading his posting....truth is I don't know anything abut the topic....Sometimes I'm just not interested in some of the SR topics.
her
and I didn't mean my post to say...look at all my topics going ignored...I'd rather people post that actually know about the topic or that are interested in the topic instead of just post out of feeling of obligation. I just meant overall I think there are some topics that quickly die out, not because no one is interested or no one has insight, but because there are other topics that have some NSR banter going on that quickly pushes the new thread down on the list. I know that I normally just look at the most recent page of threads, and typically just the top portion since those are the most active ones, but occasionally I will scroll through the first few pages and find threads that I completly missed and that only had like one or two comments on...
it was just an observation. didn't want to make anyone feel like they HAD to post on every topic or anything, that wouldn't be helpful either I would imagine.
but yes. Morgan = a her.
Second issue: Morgan pointed out that he felt many good SR threads and postings were going unanswered while NSR threads and postings were thriving. While I agree that a thread needs to stay MORE on topic than the swim camp thread (and we are going to work on that problem now...right folks?), I think this other issue Morgan mentioned is a different issue. My opinion is that people should have total freedom to choose what thread discussions they want to join and what postings they want to respond too. I try fairly hard to respond with support and enthusiasm to many of the newbie postings that clearly ask for help with swimming advise for the most part....But why should I feel a special obligation to join in a particular SR discussion if I'm simply not interested? If people don't want to discuss a topic and a thread dies...well then I say so be it....It is an infringement on the freedom to discuss what we want to discuss to say that we should feel a special obligation to reply to this posting or that....or join a thread b/c it is SR. I responded to Morgan's thread about the underwater MP3 player almost out of obligation (I felt) after reading his posting....truth is I don't know anything abut the topic....Sometimes I'm just not interested in some of the SR topics.
her
and I didn't mean my post to say...look at all my topics going ignored...I'd rather people post that actually know about the topic or that are interested in the topic instead of just post out of feeling of obligation. I just meant overall I think there are some topics that quickly die out, not because no one is interested or no one has insight, but because there are other topics that have some NSR banter going on that quickly pushes the new thread down on the list. I know that I normally just look at the most recent page of threads, and typically just the top portion since those are the most active ones, but occasionally I will scroll through the first few pages and find threads that I completly missed and that only had like one or two comments on...
it was just an observation. didn't want to make anyone feel like they HAD to post on every topic or anything, that wouldn't be helpful either I would imagine.
but yes. Morgan = a her.
