Brigby said: *Removed Off-Topic posts. Please keep all comments relevant to the topic in the original post. Thank you!
madwren said: Also, with all due respect, occasional off-topic digressions are what makes an enjoyable community.
Brigby said: The reason the moderators and I try to remove as much off-topic content from threads as possible is to make sure the original purpose of the thread is retained. An example is the original thread where the above comments came from: What was originally a constructive thread discussing the stale event schedule had deviated into the last 1/3rd of the discussion talking about off-topic posts. (Hence why I created a new thread)This is even more important to monitor when the topic being discussed is of high importance to the community. A thread talking about a desired feature or a controversial change can easily get derailed by an off-topic quip, and potentially snowball from there, losing out on any future constructive feedback.The more off-topic comments within a discussion, the harder it becomes to identify the key points of feedback among all of the sarcasm or irrelevant content.
gruntface said: If sarcasm was a violation I can think of a few perma-bans long overdue.On an related note, is being on topic regarding a post about off topic content in itself off topic? And would that then become appropriate again or need to be deleted?My head is hurting thinking about it so I'm off for a little lie down and probably a solid kip.
You guys are getting way off topic of the topic of off topic
THEMAGICkMAN said: All of what @madwren and @Laeuftbeidir said. If there was more to talk about, yknow perhaps some posts from the devs, then we'd talk about it. If JC or Will commented on Stale Content then I guarantee you that we'd keep on topic and continue talking about the topic.
It does seem to me that feedback is rather OT being posted in General Discussion anyway, given that there is a specific sub-forum for it.
bken1234 said: gruntface said:* a lot of things* You make a fair point, fine sir. Especially since we (the non mod people) cannot flag something for being off-topic anymore.
gruntface said:* a lot of things*
I like deploy the gatewatch. That's perfectly suitable for this discussion as it's about off topic posts... But then that means that's not off topic... So it's on topic but this discussion is for off topic posts, but if all off topic posts are on topic then what? I think I need to lie down as well.
shteev said: So, wait, you guys reckon I could post something like this, without being slung in jail?"If you get 5,000 likes, you can buy a LOL pack, which will give you a 3% chance of opening a 25 LOL badge."I dunno, it seems like we might be making it harder it becomes to identify the key points of feedback among all of the sarcasm or irrelevant content.That's one way of looking at it.Although... I think you can still read this thread, and see what AngelForge and Madwren and Laeuftbeidir and bken1234 have posted, can't you? All this OT content doesn't somehow negate or cover up the points they have to make.The fact is that if you want feedback from this thread, you're going to have to read each post, and judge whether it's useful or not. Even if it is on topic, some of it is probably going to be ill thought out, and no use as feedback anyway. And... er.... you're going to have to read each post anyway, since if it IS off topic, or contravening forum rules, then it's hardly going to moderate itself.
Laeuftbeidir said: THEMAGICkMAN said: All of what @madwren and @Laeuftbeidir said. If there was more to talk about, yknow perhaps some posts from the devs, then we'd talk about it. If JC or Will commented on Stale Content then I guarantee you that we'd keep on topic and continue talking about the topic. maybe not a guarantee for that, but the percentage of sarcastic posts like shteev said: It does seem to me that feedback is rather OT being posted in General Discussion anyway, given that there is a specific sub-forum for it. or bken1234 said: gruntface said:* a lot of things* You make a fair point, fine sir. Especially since we (the non mod people) cannot flag something for being off-topic anymore. would decline.also, they wouldn't switch that fast from "beeing relevant for the topic", like @THEMAGICkMAN was in his first statement, to the medium-relevant sarcastic statements also quotet above to..well, as regarded in this forum, there is not much of sarcastic statements left: they become all cynic or passive agressive - or both, since you can use the one very well to express the other.THEMAGICkMAN said: I like deploy the gatewatch. That's perfectly suitable for this discussion as it's about off topic posts... But then that means that's not off topic... So it's on topic but this discussion is for off topic posts, but if all off topic posts are on topic then what? I think I need to lie down as well. BTW: what happens with such kind of posts?Sarcasm on topic by using a sarcastic example that itself is off topic(well played, Sir!) shteev said: So, wait, you guys reckon I could post something like this, without being slung in jail?"If you get 5,000 likes, you can buy a LOL pack, which will give you a 3% chance of opening a 25 LOL badge."I dunno, it seems like we might be making it harder it becomes to identify the key points of feedback among all of the sarcasm or irrelevant content.That's one way of looking at it.Although... I think you can still read this thread, and see what AngelForge and Madwren and Laeuftbeidir and bken1234 have posted, can't you? All this OT content doesn't somehow negate or cover up the points they have to make.The fact is that if you want feedback from this thread, you're going to have to read each post, and judge whether it's useful or not. Even if it is on topic, some of it is probably going to be ill thought out, and no use as feedback anyway. And... er.... you're going to have to read each post anyway, since if it IS off topic, or contravening forum rules, then it's hardly going to moderate itself. As far as I can tell, the moderation improved, compared to the situation some months ago, but is still far away from what it should be. Is the moderation of the forum implemented in any job description? If no: oooookay....if yes: don't forget that a forum like this needs a bit of guidance to work properly: you can't just expect the users to behave optimal if you don't take care for it (and "cleaning up" everything that doesn't "fit" every once in a while is not "taking care"). A bit of guidance in the threads would be very productive. Answering questions is helpful : asking questions is way more valuable! An answer to a question shows: We've read it, here you go!..but in most of the cases this leads to more questions. A question concerning a topic shows: We've read it - we took the time to think about it - we want to hear more of *whatever it is about*Also, a well-thought implementation of the board in the job descriptions of the developers wouldn't cost them much time and make them appear hear..not for hours everyday, but on a regular base. And since Brigby is already collecting the feedback of us in the forum - why not highlighting some threads to them to answer?