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Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:56 pm
by Rob Thomson
Hi All,

Can we all as a general rule aim to keep to the topic of the thread we are posting too.

I too am guilty of this - it is very easy to stray off onto other areas; even more so when actively bouncing messages between participants.

e.g. If a topic is about installing a Smartie board. Then there is little point in straying on to a topic of where one can buy the board. That question is better asked in a different thread dedicated to the topic in hand.

The reason I raise this is simply to try make the forum easier for new-comers to navigate and find information.

8-)

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:02 pm
by cre8tiveleo
Or if you have a specific question, you can pm the poster. If the that poster gets a lot of pm's on the same subject, then mayhe he/she should add to their original post ... I've been getting a lot of rquest.. blah blah blah, here's the scoop.. blah blah blah.

Keeps it clean too.

Just my two cents. Or less, depending on currency conversion. :mrgreen:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:58 pm
by Rob Thomson
Worth noting.

If there is a thread that is going out of Topic or needs to be split into multiple topics. let a moderator know so that they can do something about it!

Rob

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:29 pm
by michaelclyde
hello rob,
"... a non policed rule",
uhm... in my first post in the "welcome" thread, i made a feeble attempt @ some humor. it got the desired response, a couple shots at me and a lite-hearted flow of banter between the "core group", the same bunch that have been involved in this much appreciated endeavor for what seems like a decade. my only reply to the 8 or 10 responses to my original posting was the word "mmmMMMmmm", a word that was used in 3 or more post in front of it. my post was deleted because it was "off topic". the prior post's, all by moderators, developers and er9x core group people were not deleted, we were all on the same topic, i'm just not in the core group.
rob you stated in the title of this thread "not policed". in my "deleted email" all it said was "management"
if it was a moderator that was posting and joking along and then deleted my short response, that could do with an explanation, if it was you (rob) then i could use an explanation from the man who made the rules, if possible. now i'm wondering if this will get deleted. it is 100% on topic and i didn't multi-quote as i'm sure you can find thr thread. i feel like my one cybil liberty has been stepped on and my pretty little dress has a big stain on it. i might have even been violated. have to wait for the results of the rape kit to know for sure. do you happen to know a good ambulance chaser.
at least if this gets deleted before someone with integrity can read it, i have a bunch of electronic copies available.
for a non policed rule a lot of muscle got flexed. and you are right, at the moment i have nothing better to do but fixate on this perceived injustice.

only 2 big words were used in the making of this whining,
michael clyde

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:06 am
by Crucial
I don't know if Rob will want to take this to PM's but I can say that I deleted your second post as it was a duplicate of the first. I assumed you weren't aware of the need to have your first couple of posts approved and posted again not knowing why your initial post didn't show up. The other disapproved post can be discussed with the people involved with that event. I can tell you that it is a rare occurrence for posts that aren't duplicates or spam to get deleted.

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:23 am
by erazz
michaelclyde wrote:hello rob,
"... a non policed rule",
uhm... in my first post in the "welcome" thread, i made a feeble attempt @ some humor. it got the desired response, a couple shots at me and a lite-hearted flow of banter between the "core group", the same bunch that have been involved in this much appreciated endeavor for what seems like a decade. my only reply to the 8 or 10 responses to my original posting was the word "mmmMMMmmm", a word that was used in 3 or more post in front of it. my post was deleted because it was "off topic". the prior post's, all by moderators, developers and er9x core group people were not deleted, we were all on the same topic, i'm just not in the core group.
rob you stated in the title of this thread "not policed". in my "deleted email" all it said was "management"
if it was a moderator that was posting and joking along and then deleted my short response, that could do with an explanation, if it was you (rob) then i could use an explanation from the man who made the rules, if possible. now i'm wondering if this will get deleted. it is 100% on topic and i didn't multi-quote as i'm sure you can find thr thread. i feel like my one cybil liberty has been stepped on and my pretty little dress has a big stain on it. i might have even been violated. have to wait for the results of the rape kit to know for sure. do you happen to know a good ambulance chaser.
at least if this gets deleted before someone with integrity can read it, i have a bunch of electronic copies available.
for a non policed rule a lot of muscle got flexed. and you are right, at the moment i have nothing better to do but fixate on this perceived injustice.

only 2 big words were used in the making of this whining,
michael clyde

Hi Michael,

First, let me apologize. I was the one to delete your message. You see, the first 5 messages of any new member must receive approval before being allowed on the forums. This is done to prevent spamming. You would not believe how much spam we had to deal with. On average I deal with 20 or more new messages by new members a day. I believe that the other moderators do this as well. I can't speak for the others but I find it hard to follow each conversation and determine if it was spam or not.

In your case it was simply a case of mistaken identity. So, please accept my apology. No disrespect or harm was ment.


On topic. I'm at odds with this. On the one hand, we would like this to be a place where people can get answers to their questions. On the otrher hand, I don't want this to turn out to be like RCG (the Borg). I guess this forum has grown so fast it's hard to keep up. :)

We need to find the golden path between regiment and total chaos. I think that the OT nature of the forums is liberating (and fun!) but can cause confusion. I for one want the OT attitude to continue but it must be so we do not loose people nor answers. I suggest something like this: if you do take a subject OT, make sure you return it to topic after youre done. Have the screwed up fun but make sure to end it at some point and return to the conversation. Is this a plausible idea?

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:45 am
by Rob Thomson
This is a tough one...

When the forum started the first thing that we tried to do was to create a more categorised system to enable noobs to better find the help and support they needed. By and large; this is still what happens. The categories do work.

Much like real life conversations can take their own direction; sometimes ending up in a complety different point to the subject in the thead. To this end a small degree of moderation is needed. Nothing major. Just the occasional splitting of topics and moving things to a better location. Sometimes it it might be necessaty to stop a thread being posted to; people can be touchy... tempers can fly.. and in these cases locking the thread can be better for all involved.

I guess "non policed" is a term to be taken lightly. Moderators do keep an overvue on everything - but do not stamp all over people when they go off topic.

Michael... dont take things personally. I dont believe anyone involved in removing your post is intentionally targetting you. As Erazz rightly pointed out. All new comer posts are subject to moderation and liable to be deleted if the moderator feels they are potential spam. Occationally we get it wrong! :mrgreen: I would rather have a few times where we get it wrong.. than a forum filled with spam.

Regarding your comment regarding the email that you received saying 'The Management'. This is actually the stock email that gets sent by the PHPBB forum software. I have never looked for where to change it!

I hope you do choose to participate on these forums. You will find that the community spirit is superb. Recently I have been involved on some other forums (no names mentioned) and found the development teams and support staff to be plain arrogant and stand-offish. Really left me with a sour taste. I am please to say that on these forums I have never picked the same attitude up! :D

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:01 am
by michaelclyde
for safety reasons let me say, "don't slip in that pile of tears i left"
erazz, absolutely no need to apologize to me for anything. my panties aren't wadded up quite as tightly as they were. you guys are doing just fine, i should just lighten up a bit so yaw can do your thing.

embarrassingly sorry,
michael clyde

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:49 pm
by jhsa
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: so.. let's all have a beer.. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:01 pm
by erazz
I'll drink to that....


Oh no. We're going OT again!

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:12 pm
by cre8tiveleo
Do we need to warn people?

:mrgreen:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:41 pm
by kaos
More beer for Jhsa, so we still can get the parts we want. :lol:
NO more beer for Erazz, or we may find our PIPO boards stabilizing at 20 ft below sea level. :mrgreen:
For Leo, it doesn't matter, he is so twisted either way. :lol:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:46 pm
by cre8tiveleo
Depending on where you are, you may already be below sea level...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pl ... _sea_level

:mrgreen:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:46 pm
by erazz
:evil:

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:33 pm
by kaos
Ok! OK! OK! just a little sip. ;) or we end up with a MAD board. :D

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:56 am
by Jimmckeown
Is there a policy on numbered lists, like to explain the steps taken, that result in a problem that requires some help from the group. I notice most if not all of the correspondence is in the wrap around format. This is of course much easier to edit. But for some more difficult to follow. Following the general rule of sticking to subject may be great for the well seasoned, but something software, often in my experience leads to something hardware.

Re: Keeping to Topic - A general and non policed rule

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 12:58 am
by Daedalus66
This isn’t a policy issue. It’s up to the individual poster to choose a style and format appropriate to the purpose. Numbered lists are sometimes very helpful but often not required. Policing is not helpful.