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BitaTruble -> RE: Thread Drift (5/28/2010 5:42:18 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyPact
I'm stealing this from another thread:
quote:
ORIGINAL: VideoAdminAlpha
Is there any way to get this train wreck back on topic.....or should I just lock it, it can morph from links to donation sites to the dogs it was originally about, but that would be on topic, the rest of this, is not. I contributed originally to thread drift, can we drift it back please ?
I'm kind of curious on how the Mods as well as the folks who are on the boards see this subject. I get the 'no hi-jack' premise and all that. Still, I wonder at the same time about the supposed 'drift'.
Better yet, how much drift is too much drift?
Let's say somebody starts a thread about blueberry pie. (I'm reaching here because I don't want to point to any thread in particular.) By response four, somebody chimes in that they like blueberry pie, but they really do prefer apple. Response number eight comes in, quotes response number four and says that they love apple pie too, especially with vanilla ice cream. This brings people talking about ice cream of all flavors and what other kinds of deserts they like. Point being, they aren't especially talking about blueberry pie anymore, but they've broadened the subject and it's become a discussion.
So, I guess what I'm asking here is, what is really considered too much drift and if an associated topic comes up through a thread, can it still be considered on topic?
The evolution of a thread is going to depend, a lot, on the opening salvo. Is there an actual question or is there room for discussion? That's the reason OTW topics don't generally fair so well. They don't turn into train wrecks.. they start as train wrecks. Closed minded OP's are going to get the crowds chasing them with pitchforks and then we end up with 30 or 40 page threads full deaf mutes using sign language on the phone. Opening posts in which the OP comes across like a child of 12 when they are an adult of 50 can be equally bad. OPs with a general purpose, open ended questions and room for enlightment, teaching etc tend to be shorter but of higher quality. Those are the ones I like best. As a general rule, I don't generally participate in a thread that already has 10 or 15 pages because dollars to donuts, it's a train wreck. There are exceptions if it's a subject about which I have a great deal of passion, information or insight that I believe may contribute in a meaningful way or if I've been in it from the beginning and pretty much any thread that has to do with the Constitution is going to be of interest to me regardless of how long going it is. I do try to stay on topic, will tongue-in-cheek on occasion but mostly treat people the way I hope to be treated and if I find that I'm too immature to do so, I'll use my block button so I'm not tempted. Mother Theresa I ain't. :)
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