Talk-Polywell.org

Off topic posts make interesting technical threads very hard to read and follow. Readers often (At least, I do) give up after an off topic page or two, and there-after mark the forum as "Read."

People who make off topic posts probably don't realize that they are degrading their own credibility as technically knowledgeable, certainly their credibility to work successfully within a professional group, the credibility of the whole BB, and by extension, the Polywell concept. Is there any way to determine who makes the most off topic posts in a way that the affected parties would recognize without taking offense?

Maybe a poll, starting today, so that the thread herders could vote? I won't make such a poll, for three reasons.

1 - I don't know how to add names to a poll, without offense,
2 - I don't know how to make it fair. Ten votes because of a single off topic post is not the same as 10 votes because of 5 different posts.
3 - Any motion needs a second, in order that it be brought up for debate.

Any "Seconds?"

I believe M. Simon goes off topic more than any one and he is a bulldog about it. You just can't make him give up.

I'd have a talk with him but I just don't think it would do much good.

MSimon wrote:I believe M. Simon goes off topic more than any one and he is a bulldog about it. You just can't make him give up.

I'd have a talk with him but I just don't think it would do much good.

Yes you have to admire his tenacity!

I used to own a bulldog once. Chewed up all my wife's shoes.

LOL, ! ! ! !

These off topic posts are exactly why I would like to have this forum ported to a sub-threaded system. If one subthread goes off topic, the real thread can still be followed.
I would support (monetarily) such a porting. Would you?

Aero makes a good point. I think sometimes the thread drift is over the top. And it maybe I kinda like Kitemans idea. It would be easier to read each thread separately.

Now lets grab that Simon guy and yank his arm up in back of'im until he says uncle.

I don't mind thread drift much myself. Sometimes they wander interesting places, and skimming over what doesn't interest me isn't too onerous.

If you really want to avoid it, you need a Slashdot-like system of hierarchical comments. That way subtopics can march along their merry way and you're free to ignore them.

TallDave wrote:If you really want to avoid it, you need a Slashdot-like system of hierarchical comments. That way subtopics can march along their merry way and you're free to ignore them.

I think that is what I meant by "sub-threading".

Roger wrote:Aero makes a good point. I think sometimes the thread drift is over the top. And it maybe I kinda like Kitemans idea. It would be easier to read each thread separately.

Now lets grab that Simon guy and yank his arm up in back of'im until he says uncle. :-)

The Simon guy once told me that he is relatively immune to that kind of negative reinforcement. He said he had four wisdom teeth extracted without benefit of anesthetics.

MSimon wrote:

Roger wrote:Aero makes a good point. I think sometimes the thread drift is over the top. And it maybe I kinda like Kitemans idea. It would be easier to read each thread separately.

Now lets grab that Simon guy and yank his arm up in back of'im until he says uncle.

The Simon guy once told me that he is relatively immune to that kind of negative reinforcement. He said he had four wisdom teeth extracted without benefit of anesthetics.

I don't know which is scarier, that or the fact that you keep talking about yourself in the third-person?

Just trying to keep it light.

gblaze42 wrote:
I don't know which is scarier, that or the fact that you keep talking about yourself in the third-person?

Its a standard literary vehicle. Now it may be that Simon doesn't have a license to operate said vehicle, if so he should be arrested.

Roger wrote:

gblaze42 wrote:
I don't know which is scarier, that or the fact that you keep talking about yourself in the third-person?

Its a standard literary vehicle. Now it may be that Simon doesn't have a license to operate said vehicle, if so he should be arrested.

Well it was Christmas and he might have been drinking, maybe he should be let go with a warning, this time.

Did ya notice?

This thread *itself* went off topic!