What Do People Think About Topic Regulation In Forums?, And When Are Y


Monk

Caveman Ninja
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While staying "on topic" or at least in the neighborhood is a definite goal, this board's thread closures take it to an extreme level. Seriously draconian - it is VERY difficult (for me, at least) to get any sense of "community" when it feels like stepping outside a topic for a micro-second will cause a thread closure.

In the one instance where I've stepped out of topic for more than a post and the thread was moved by a moderator (rather than being closed) so that the new "off-topic" conversation could continue, another moderator comes along and closes it because the original topic cannot fruitfully be continued! Bizzarre.

I guess I'm just used to a lighter more community-minded / peer style forum rather than this constant bashing posters on the head approach. I rarely get even a "quiet warning" elsewhere to address any forum behaviour of mine.

QUOTE
When I close threads it is because they have no conceivable value other than the self-amusement of the posters.


Who exactly SHOULD we be amusing in order to have our threads unmolested?

It DOES feel sometimes like the on-topic rule is being used to make the Pandora forum a usable manual written by the users rather than any actaul community thing, because IMHO communities just aren't that... mechanical I guess is the word.

As for whether a thread MAY be postivie OR productive in the future - you know what, think about the US space programme for a moment. The biggest reason they have been able to give for spending millions (billions?) of dollars in advance is "because we don't know what we'll find, but we find stuff worth the money we've paid on a regular basis". Human interaction and exploration is often like this. We're not digitl, pre-programmed and completely predictable - we are the analogue nubs of the forum, the bits which MIGHT go one way but COULD go a completely different way and surprise everyone. Conversations - true community behaviour rather than being herded - is like that. It wanders, it meanders, it produces wonderfully off-the-wall (yet related) results.

I'm not saying we should dissolve all the groups and just leave "off topic", but herding forumites this much seems very totalitarian. It's certainly more offputting than what I've seen of PoinsonedV. Mostly...

PoisonedV said:
1. i wasn't trolling at all 2. i hate 4chan
that said, i created the thread fully expecting it to be locked. thats half the reason i made it
May I humbly suggest that if you made a thread expecting it to get locked/in order for it to get locked, that could in fact fall well within the definition of "trolling"? It FEELS like it, to me. Maybe half-trolling then?

u9i said:
I find it funny that people are bitch slapped for not using the search function and creating duplicate threads, yet when they do, they are bitch slapped too. There is just no pleasing some poeple.
I must admit I've found it hilarious too - not searching, duplicate threads (oops I could be in toruble here) and gravedigging are all frowned upon. Maybe they only want new topics... sounds more and more like an unofficial user's guide!



Thanks to gp2.eXe for pointing me at the original thread, sad to see it got closed.

Ta.
 
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Wow, I never even noticed my topic was closed. And without an explanation post either. That's just unacceptable.

I find this very annoying :|
 
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'Monk' said:
While...
[snip!]
...sounds more and more like an unofficial user's guide!
Thanks to gp2.eXe for pointing me at the original thread, sad to see it got closed.

Ta.



Umm... glad it was helpful... i just didn't expect you would start your own thread :p ...

And I agree with most of what you said.

@Exophase
Really you didn't notice? At least it was painless...
But how do you lock an off-topic thread because it's getting off-topic? Makes no sense.

wait...

>> :ph34r: << My soon-to-be-locked-thread sense is tingling! Run!
 
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:) What do you mean Orkie? We never said that Chip was the one that locked the thread, nor we have anything against him(at least I don't). The fact that there's no explanation post makes me think the opposite, that another mod locked it. And even then, we respect the mods decisions, but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Or were you referring to something else?
 
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'gp2.eXe' said:
but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Looking at the thread, it seems that the thread has drifted from it's original title. I was no longer about topic regulation. Read the thread from the bottom up and see how many on-topic posts you notice.
 
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'Squidge' said:
'gp2.eXe' said:
but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Looking at the thread, it seems that the thread has drifted from it's original title. I was no longer about topic regulation. Read the thread from the bottom up and see how many on-topic posts you notice.

Again, I agree, but isn't that the real purpose of the Off-topic forum? So that people can talk about anything they like? :)

Anyway, the thread was locked, there's nothing we can do, and I don't wanna sound like I am complaining. So, sorry to bother you. ;)
 
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'Monk' said:
u9i said:
I find it funny that people are bitch slapped for not using the search function and creating duplicate threads, yet when they do, they are bitch slapped too. There is just no pleasing some poeple.
I must admit I've found it hilarious too - not searching, duplicate threads (oops I could be in toruble here) and gravedigging are all frowned upon. Maybe they only want new topics... sounds more and more like an unofficial user's guide!
As I explained in the other thread, that was just Sony gravdigging to amuse himself. He does that sometimes. He didn't have anything to add to the long-dead discussion, he was just gravedigging for the sake of gravedigging. There is no reason for him to have done it, and there was no reason for the thread to stay open.
For the record, I didn't close the other thread. As I've said before, I always give my reasons for a thread closure unless the original poster has requested a lock or because it is a duplicate thread and the other thread has been linked. I actually go out of my way to not close threads that are critical of me personally (even when they are, as Squidge pointed out, deserving of a close for other reasons) because of conflict of interest.
 
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gp2.eXe said:
'Squidge' said:
'gp2.eXe' said:
but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Looking at the thread, it seems that the thread has drifted from it's original title. I was no longer about topic regulation. Read the thread from the bottom up and see how many on-topic posts you notice.

Again, I agree, but isn't that the real purpose of the Off-topic forum? So that people can talk about anything they like? :)

Anyway, the thread was locked, there's nothing we can do, and I don't wanna sound like I am complaining. So, sorry to bother you. ;)

You may begin your thread off-topic, but you are forbidden to let it go off-topic henceforth
 
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'Squidge' said:
'gp2.eXe' said:
but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Looking at the thread, it seems that the thread has drifted from it's original title. I was no longer about topic regulation. Read the thread from the bottom up and see how many on-topic posts you notice.
Yes, so you locked a thread that was questioning the need for things to remain "on topic" in the first place. Way to miss out on the sentiments of the people who posted there. The entire purpose was for people to actually justify why threads need to remain strictly on topic, and if enforcing this actually serves a pragmatic purpose or is just people sticking to the letter of the arbitrary law. By coming in and locking the thread in the manner you have you've just demonstrated more blind regulation, as Monk put it "draconian" in fashion.
 
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'Monk' said:
PoisonedV said:
1. i wasn't trolling at all 2. i hate 4chan
that said, i created the thread fully expecting it to be locked. thats half the reason i made it
May I humbly suggest that if you made a thread expecting it to get locked/in order for it to get locked, that could in fact fall well within the definition of "trolling"? It FEELS like it, to me. Maybe half-trolling then?
oh noes, someones finally calling me out as the big internets meanie.
uh... trolling, no. im sorry if you web 2.0 lmao digg lol!!! enthusiasts have entirely skewed the meaning of trolling, but trolling is neither insulting people or being extremely facetious and satirical. that topic fell in the latter category- not one responder thought it was an honest thread. may i humbly suggest you stop being so smug?
 
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This thread is clearly heading for the same fate. I mean, the discussion has now turned to the definition of trolling. It certainly must be closed then as it has deviated from it's original title?
 
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'Exophase' said:
Yes, so you locked a thread that was questioning the need for things to remain "on topic" in the first place.
All I'm saying is that if you really want to read about zombie games, gerpies (OMAP, Henital, or otherwise), other handheld consoles, etc, then there's better places to do it than in a topic about Topic regulation. Create seperate topics if you wish, but unless it's discussion cube, please keep it on topic with regards to the topic title.
 
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'Squidge' said:
'Exophase' said:
Yes, so you locked a thread that was questioning the need for things to remain "on topic" in the first place.
All I'm saying is that if you really want to read about zombie games, gerpies (OMAP, Henital, or otherwise), other handheld consoles, etc, then there's better places to do it than in a topic about Topic regulation. Create seperate topics if you wish, but unless it's discussion cube, please keep it on topic with regards to the topic title.


But like I was arguing in the original thread, having to create new topics out of nowhere is disruptive and kills the dynamic element that makes discussion successful.

For that matter, locking a topic doesn't do anything to revive the original topic. Quite the opposite, it prevents anyone from partaking in that topic in its rightful place anymore, at best causing a copy of the original topic to appear which is nothing but redundant. Makes it seem like locking is more of an arbitrary punishment than a real solution to a problem.
 
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'Peter R' said:
This thread is clearly heading for the same fate. I mean, the discussion has now turned to the definition of trolling. It certainly must be closed then as it has deviated from it's original title?

CLOSE IT. We really don't need it. Or any of these other topics. Why is it such a big deal when topics are closed?
 
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'gp2.eXe' said:
Umm... glad it was helpful... i just didn't expect you would start your own thread :p ...
I was...somewhat surprised that I had to, to be honest!

'Squidge' said:
'gp2.eXe' said:
but we feel like there was no real reason to lock the thread.

Looking at the thread, it seems that the thread has drifted from it's original title. I was no longer about topic regulation. Read the thread from the bottom up and see how many on-topic posts you notice.
You're a Monty Python fan, aren't you?

'Chip' said:
'Monk' said:
I must admit I've found it hilarious too - not searching, duplicate threads (oops I could be in toruble here) and gravedigging are all frowned upon. Maybe they only want new topics... sounds more and more like an unofficial user's guide!

As I explained in the other thread, that was just Sony gravdigging to amuse himself.

Actually, I've noticed SONY's apparent behaviour and wasn't referrring to any specific instance at all, including "that one". Or any specific thread, for that matter. Just the general situation.

'Pickle' said:
You may begin your thread off-topic, but you are forbidden to let it go off-topic henceforth
So it would seem!

'PoisonedV' said:
uh... trolling, no. im sorry if you web 2.0 lmao digg lol!!! enthusiasts have entirely skewed the meaning of trolling, but trolling is neither insulting people or being extremely facetious and satirical. that topic fell in the latter category- not one responder thought it was an honest thread.
I don't believe I know the specific thread and didn't call out insulting, facetiousnes, or being satirical as trolling - just staring a thread deliberately intending to get it locked.

'PoisonedV' said:
may i humbly suggest you stop being so smug?
Certainly! Best of luck with that (I have great difficulty varying my voice from, well, being me).

'Peter R' said:
This thread is clearly heading for the same fate. I mean, the discussion has now turned to the definition of trolling. It certainly must be closed then as it has deviated from it's original title?
It certainly looks like the thread is going to have a short half-life, even with no malice intended :(

It's certainly interesting to me that threads in off-topic about whether off-off-topicness should be allowed or nipped in the bud can get closed so apparently quickly for being off-off-off-topic (I may have put an incorrect number of "offs" there, it's a bit of a mind-bender.
 
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'Username' said:
'Peter R' said:
This thread is clearly heading for the same fate. I mean, the discussion has now turned to the definition of trolling. It certainly must be closed then as it has deviated from it's original title?

CLOSE IT. We really don't need it. Or any of these other topics. Why is it such a big deal when topics are closed?
Let it stay open. What defines which topics are "needed"? Is your preference important in ascertaining this? What has a bigger negative impact, keeping open a topic you find unnecessary and can ignore or closing a topic that people were participating in? Why is it such a big deal when threads are off topic???
 
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'gp2.eXe' said:
Aye, although (as with most words) there are variations on use (a Troll could be an instance of a post BY a Troll, for example) I would generally recognise:

QUOTE
An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.


and I had, perhaps hastily, assumed that starting a thread with the intent that a moderator would close it would fall under the "provoking an emotional response" category, myself. whether serious or not I assumed a degree of controversial content would have been likely. this was, however, very smugh off-the-cuff stuff so the thread in question could easily have had considerably more merit than I assumed :) (I had only assumed the "other half" of the content to be meritous).

'Exophase' said:
For that matter, locking a topic doesn't do anything to revive the original topic. Quite the opposite, it prevents anyone from partaking in that topic in its rightful place anymore, at best causing a copy of the original topic to appear which is nothing but redundant. Makes it seem like locking is more of an arbitrary punishment than a real solution to a problem.
In other forums that I frequent the moderators have a tendency to say things like "Puts his moderator hat on" or "Let's keep it civil guys" and so on. I'm sure the moderators here could extend that with comments like "We're straying a bit too far off-topic here people" or somesuch if it was really warranted and the purpose was to curtail off-topic conversation and not the original conversation. At least, where I'm from a gentle remind that the rules are "yay strict" seems to work pretty well for most of the posters.
 
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'Exophase' said:
'Username' said:
Peter R said:
This thread is clearly heading for the same fate. I mean, the discussion has now turned to the definition of trolling. It certainly must be closed then as it has deviated from it's original title?
CLOSE IT. We really don't need it. Or any of these other topics. Why is it such a big deal when topics are closed?Let it stay open. What defines which topics are "needed"? Is your preference important in ascertaining this? What has a bigger negative impact, keeping open a topic you find unnecessary and can ignore or closing a topic that people were participating in? Why is it such a big deal when threads are off topic???
I'm trying to say it doesn't really matter. Why argue about mods closing threads? It's not like the mods are going to go around and re-open threads that were unfairly closed.
 
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