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?
hey guys
I tend to avoid bickering and do not read or participate on all threads
but I encourage folks to support each other.
I'm a fan of Kristin Armstrong's blog
I loved her Beyond Compare December 17, 2006 post
where in one section she wrote:
"I noticed during our conversations yesterday that we are totally free to talk about our lives, the good and the bad, without judgment. As far as I can tell, no woman feels compelled to talk herself up or down, meaning there is no need to play it up, or downplay with useless (yet often typical in other social arenas) remarks of self-deprecation. A running group can be such a unique and supportive group of friends. One woman may be grieving a miscarriage or venting about sour office politics, while another is thrilled about a new client, date, adoption, or upcoming trip. But no one, and I mean no one, steals anyone's joy or minimizes anyone's pain. And this is within a diverse group of women who would have every possibility to be competitive...partners in law firms, business owners, authors, married, wish-they-were-married, wish-they-weren't-married, children, infertility problems, healthy, injured, financial success, or struggling to make ends meet. Some of us huff and puff up the hills, and others are "3 oh! something" marathoners.
My point is this,
I wish women could be more like this in other areas of life.
I wish we could always support each other without comparing.
I wish we could always allow others to be sad without trying to fix it.
I wish we could always be happy for someone else without seeing the holes in our own lives.
I wish we could always share in another's gratitude for good fortune instead of poisoning it with our own regret.
I wish we could always laugh together without mirth coming at the expense of someone else.
I wish we could always lift each other up without having to be on top.
I wish we could always applaud other's gifts without pining.
I wish we could always freely celebrate our own gifts without feeling the need to play small.
Until then, I will appreciate my running friends for being consistently and undeniably real."
from:
rodale.typepad.com/.../beyond_compare.html
I encourage us to be that way here.
Each one of us has gifts and flaws, wounds and scars, successes and failures, I ask each person to:
be nice
make friends
write the truth
encourage
have fun
swim fast
laugh out loud
Ande
hey guys
I tend to avoid bickering and do not read or participate on all threads
but I encourage folks to support each other.
I'm a fan of Kristin Armstrong's blog
I loved her Beyond Compare December 17, 2006 post
where in one section she wrote:
"I noticed during our conversations yesterday that we are totally free to talk about our lives, the good and the bad, without judgment. As far as I can tell, no woman feels compelled to talk herself up or down, meaning there is no need to play it up, or downplay with useless (yet often typical in other social arenas) remarks of self-deprecation. A running group can be such a unique and supportive group of friends. One woman may be grieving a miscarriage or venting about sour office politics, while another is thrilled about a new client, date, adoption, or upcoming trip. But no one, and I mean no one, steals anyone's joy or minimizes anyone's pain. And this is within a diverse group of women who would have every possibility to be competitive...partners in law firms, business owners, authors, married, wish-they-were-married, wish-they-weren't-married, children, infertility problems, healthy, injured, financial success, or struggling to make ends meet. Some of us huff and puff up the hills, and others are "3 oh! something" marathoners.
My point is this,
I wish women could be more like this in other areas of life.
I wish we could always support each other without comparing.
I wish we could always allow others to be sad without trying to fix it.
I wish we could always be happy for someone else without seeing the holes in our own lives.
I wish we could always share in another's gratitude for good fortune instead of poisoning it with our own regret.
I wish we could always laugh together without mirth coming at the expense of someone else.
I wish we could always lift each other up without having to be on top.
I wish we could always applaud other's gifts without pining.
I wish we could always freely celebrate our own gifts without feeling the need to play small.
Until then, I will appreciate my running friends for being consistently and undeniably real."
from:
rodale.typepad.com/.../beyond_compare.html
I encourage us to be that way here.
Each one of us has gifts and flaws, wounds and scars, successes and failures, I ask each person to:
be nice
make friends
write the truth
encourage
have fun
swim fast
laugh out loud
Ande
