Thread drift

Burnsy2023

Burnsy2023

Burnsy2023

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Joined
17 Nov 2003
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As a whole OcUK is very lax on the way we deal with off topic posts. The mere thought of reigning this in, especially in motors caused an uproar.

However, there are other forums that are a lot stricter than us, and so I feel the pain of feeling constricted during discussions.

[Corsa]Fox, made the very poignant point of saying that thread drift is key to having good discussions and a community feeling. (I am paraphrasing and just adding bits as they fit, but the spirit of his point stands)

I'm not suggesting the modding here will change at all, I'm saying this as a normal member, not a Don.

So, my question is: if we stopped all off topic posts why would it annoy the hell out of you and why would it be detrimental to the forum?
 
I expected some pro drifting, disappointed.

And the answer is yes. Some of the best threads to come out of GD/Motors are derailed threads.
 
I like orange squash ;)

Yes, it would be annoying if all off-topic posts suddenly vanished, but then, it also grates when a thread is started and it goes off on a tangent about string entanglement etc
 
Yes. Some of the best and more interesting threads have gone on a complete tangant from the original post.

I would miss this if off topic posts were deleted.
 
Depends entirely on the subject.

Some threads get annoying if there is a decent discussion that goes wandering off. Some threads are fantastic when it happens. Can you moderate it in a place like GD? No, because you would kill it. A few threads being derailed for the worse is a small price to pay for some of the comedy gold you get around these parts.

In the technical/hardware subforums a derailed thread can be really, really irritating. I find it generally doesn't happen much though.

If you want to change the moderating, ban such threads as "I shot myself in the leg, what do I do?" or "Spec me a woolly hat" or "I have some steak that smells like a thousand rotting sheep's heads. Is it safe to eat?"
 
Do you think that people get irritated if the thread goes off topic? What if you were made to make another thread for each tangent?
 
I agree with the above posters that the off topic posts tend to be a good thing in general and I do think it helps to achieve the community feel ...

But if it's done in a mean spirited way as an attack on the OP, to drag up something unrelated from a previous thread just to annoy them, then maybe it should be looked into ...
 
This is like asking why should I take a newborn away from its mother.

It doesn't matter if people get irritated as long as there are some sensible answers, which there usually are.
 
People would get a lot more irritated if there was too much modding and they felt they didn't have as much posting freedom as they wanted.

Leave things as they are.
 
It's natural progression as thread drift can often relate more to the intended topic than instigated. Intended or not; Thread drift can be used to make points. It's a point that has to be managed carefully so as not to alienate and, is often subjective.
 
Some people obviously do, but then it's very circumstantial.. as mentioned a thread about "Your greatest drunken achievement" can probably benefit from a little drift, as someone will inevitably post comedy gold, however a thread about "Spec me a sausage" can get annoying when you enter and find the discussion has changed from "Brackwurst or Frankfurter" to "911 is a conspiracy" because of 1 rogue poster.

Also, I feel thread merges or moves can be jarring. If threads were broken out or split everytime they deviated, we'd never get past the first page of GD... or you'd enter a thread about something, post, and find your suddenly over in another.
 
Provided efforts have been made to help the OP if its a reasonable request, I see no issue.

If somebody asks what XYZ does, 3 people answer, then 100 people have a discussion about something vaguely related, whats the problem?

If I was to ask which hard drive is best and the first reply is about monitors which then drifts the entire thread, this is irritating.

If I was to ask about which hard drive is best, 15 people tell me the answer, then somebody mentions something else and off the thread goes, no problem.

If I was to ask GD which toilet paper is best and the first reply takes it off topic, again, no problem.

So I think it depends on the context :)
 
Thread drift may get annoying if the thread is technical or if you actually want to read thoughts on a subject, like the occasional annoyance of having gamers fondling each other in a thread about a game you're actually considering buying, but I can't imagine it being a problem in GD...

Ever.
 
What if an aeroplane was in a wind tunnel o.O

To be honest, the way it is seems fine from my viewpoint as a newcomer, generally the technical forums tend to stay very much on topic and I only ever see GD go massively off topic
 
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