Is It Important To Stick To The Thread, And If So Then Why?

conversation flows

a topic might morph into something else or it might get momentarily derailed, i don't ignore anyone, but i usually know a few words in if an off topic post is something i want to skip or pursue

some posters bring everything back to a political topic, if the topic is the gulf oil spill someone might say the gulf oil spill is happening because Clinton got his dick sucked, at the same time others are posting on the topic, like you would in a large discussion, you have to learn to filter out the stuff you don't want to participate in

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@djjd62,

a-yup

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@djjd62,

djjd62 wrote:

Clinton got his dick sucked

Good lord! When did that happen? You'd have thought his political opponents would have tried to make something of it.

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(I shot the sheriff.) - the sheriff.
(But I swear it was in selfdefence.)
Oh, no! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!
I say: I shot the sheriff - Oh, Lord! -
(And they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!

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@DrewDad,

DrewDad wrote:

djjd62 wrote:
Clinton got his dick sucked

Good lord! When did that happen? You'd have thought his political opponents would have tried to make something of it.

Nah....too aware of the issue of public vs private life to use it.

It was a noble moment in US partisan politics.

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@dyslexia,

dyslexia wrote:

(I shot the sheriff.) - the sheriff.
(But I swear it was in selfdefence.)
Oh, no! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!
I say: I shot the sheriff - Oh, Lord! -
(And they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!

Dysorderly conduct.

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I liken it to someone belching in the corner of a large room. If two or twenty folks are having a conversation and someone starts repeatedly belching on the other side of the room then chances are one or more people who were part of the conversation are going to want to talk about the person in the corner. Others will want to stay on topic. If the belching goes on long enough, or if it's loud enough, then the conversation will most likely become about the appropriateness of belching in the room. Those who want to continue the original discussion will likely leave the room and take it elsewhere. Those who have moved on to the topic of belching may take that elsewhere as well, but the net effect is that the original discussion is over.

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@msolga,

msolga wrote:

It isn't necessarily about being "a proprietary person" at all.
It is more about respecting the nature of a particular discussion. Repeated irrelevant digressions can sometimes kill what might otherwise be a good discussion for those participating. Whereas some humorous topic-related relief from deep seriousness can sometimes be most welcome! (Hello, djjd! )

True, it's not as proprietary, but in most cases in my posts I'm not that serious about the issue. And having 6 sisters, I can weave and bob through many simultaneous conversations, carrying on the main one, so for me, it's not an issue. I can see how others find it so, though.

Quote:
Surely you jest - when does this ever happen?? Here?? on A2K???

Nay, I speak the truth!
Perhaps we have been frequenting different threads, Mame?

I was teasing you, hon Wink

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@JPB,

JPB wrote:

I liken it to someone belching in the corner of a large room. If two or twenty folks are having a conversation and someone starts repeatedly belching on the other side of the room then chances are one or more people who were part of the conversation are going to want to talk about the person in the corner. Others will want to stay on topic. If the belching goes on long enough, or if it's loud enough, then the conversation will most likely become about the appropriateness of belching in the room. Those who want to continue the original discussion will likely leave the room and take it elsewhere. Those who have moved on to the topic of belching may take that elsewhere as well, but the net effect is that the original discussion is over.

At least we have a cone of silence for the belchers available.

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After almost a year out of print, I'm thrilled to be able to announce that the first The Order of the Stick book, Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, is available again.

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@panzade,

panzade wrote:

After almost a year out of print, I'm thrilled to be able to announce that the first The Order of the Stick book, Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, is available again.

Now, THAT'S a Digression!!!

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@margo,

I sooo agree. In fact, I think it was you who sent me a disc of them.

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@mark noble,

I think he meant thumbing down the posts that bother you.

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@ossobuco,

Hi Osso!

I don't thumb down or ignore posts (topics occasionally). I believe everyone has the right to express themselves freely. If it clutters or kills a thread - Que sera.

Thank you Osso, glad you got your SOH back!
Have a lovely day!
Mark...

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Good question, Mark. Despite my desire that every thread proceed according to my idea of a polite, relevant discussion, I agree with your que sera approach to whatever happens. Here's my mind map to help me interpret what is or is not happening in a thread so I can wind my way through the maze of what I find good, bad or ugly. In my opinion, hijacking a thread is deliberate and therefore unacceptably disruptive, whereas morphing just seems to happen as the thread searches for its own direction... www.gpsbilly.com/mind-map-threads.gif

--Bill

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I was once at a forum where sticking to the original post subject was strictly regulated by the moderators. If a person moved away from that topic a public reprimand was made, if several did the thread was locked for 24 hours, if it happened again it was locked for good.

This place annoyed the heck out of me, and it is now much less active as people got fed up and took themselves someplace else.

Conversation flows, places that do no allow conversation are not useful to me.

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@Mame,

Quote:

I was teasing you, hon

And I obligingly rose to your bait, Mame. Always willing to please. Smile

I guess my rock bottom position on digressions is that we have any number of chatty, "community" threads here. And I enjoy them. But every now & then I really enjoy a meaty, "serious" thread which explores a subject which I'm interested in, in great depth. Sometimes I don't even participate in such threads, content to learn more from people who know a lot more than me about the subject. And sometimes it's been disappointing to see participants in such threads struggle to continue their discussions with constant, deliberate diversions from the subject. That's all.

As for the "tag issue" it doesn't bother me at all, though I know it bothers some others here. It certainly doesn't influence whether I participate in a thread or not. That decision is mostly based on the thread topic or the thread instigator. (Some posters are always good value & I always check out their new threads.) Those I've come to perceive as "malicious digressors" or "deliberate thread derailers" often don't instigate any threads at all themselves, or very few. They seem to get their enjoyment from frustrating others.

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Its sometimes frustrating to come across a thread whose original post I'd like to talk to; only to find that the last two pages of responses have digressed to 4-word quips about someone's doggy-pooh, or some such.

But its all good - conversations in this forum outta tide and ebb all over the place where people want to take them. Back in the Philosophy Forum it was a different matter; while they too meandered along various paths, we all made a conscious effort to always come back to the topic/theme, thereby keeping a consistent thought-thread for the many who came there to research or learn about those issues.

I wouldn't stress it too much; besides, what are you gonna do about it in this setting?

Thanks

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@Khethil,

Khethil wrote:

Its sometimes frustrating to come across a thread whose original post I'd like to talk to; only to find that the last two pages of responses have digressed to 4-word quips about someone's doggy-pooh, or some such.

I would suggest that you quote the portion to which you want to reply and then just post your response.

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@djjd62,

djjd62 wrote:

conversation flows

<snip>

like you would in a large discussion, you have to learn to filter out the stuff you don't want to participate in

precisely

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Is It Important To Stick To The Thread, And If So Then Why?

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