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
I'll take that bet in a heartbeat. The few on this forum who find themselves humorous derail most threads, use language not even suitable for a locker room, continuously toot their own horns and have driven many of the serious posters either away or hard to find. There are about four serious regular swim posters left these days (ande, knelson, lindsey, scyfreestyler). It's unfortunate what this forum has become these days, a far cry from six months ago.
It's obvious the ones that find themselves humorous have won out, both in quantity of posts and tone of the forum. I hope they are satisfied with the results. I miss the serious posters, but, to be honest, don't blame them one bit for leaving.
Geek, you are without doubt one of the superior athletes here. I respect you for that. You also chose to hurl abuse, I don't respect you for that.
You are nobody to point out about lowering tone IMHO. Not that I have anything against you at all.
However, some things you have said in text you might not say face to face either. I'm not talking about anything you said to me either so pls don't read this as me puffing my chest out.
If by derail you mean a quip here or there then yeah, most other than that I disagree. First it was complaining about NSR threads in their entirety, now it's we derail every serious thread. It's just not so. What's with "we've won?" I wasn't in a fight as far as I was concerned...
Re-read what I've been saying in this thread. We've admitted fault and have said how we intend to to try and rectify that.
Lastly anyone who posts on a forum obviously thinks they have something important to say, good, bad, silly or informative.
I'll take that bet in a heartbeat. The few on this forum who find themselves humorous derail most threads, use language not even suitable for a locker room, continuously toot their own horns and have driven many of the serious posters either away or hard to find. There are about four serious regular swim posters left these days (ande, knelson, lindsey, scyfreestyler). It's unfortunate what this forum has become these days, a far cry from six months ago.
It's obvious the ones that find themselves humorous have won out, both in quantity of posts and tone of the forum. I hope they are satisfied with the results. I miss the serious posters, but, to be honest, don't blame them one bit for leaving.
Geek, you are without doubt one of the superior athletes here. I respect you for that. You also chose to hurl abuse, I don't respect you for that.
You are nobody to point out about lowering tone IMHO. Not that I have anything against you at all.
However, some things you have said in text you might not say face to face either. I'm not talking about anything you said to me either so pls don't read this as me puffing my chest out.
If by derail you mean a quip here or there then yeah, most other than that I disagree. First it was complaining about NSR threads in their entirety, now it's we derail every serious thread. It's just not so. What's with "we've won?" I wasn't in a fight as far as I was concerned...
Re-read what I've been saying in this thread. We've admitted fault and have said how we intend to to try and rectify that.
Lastly anyone who posts on a forum obviously thinks they have something important to say, good, bad, silly or informative.
