diy solar

diy solar

Hijacking Threads

Should Threads Stay on Subject, or at least close to it?

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 66.7%

  • No

    Votes: 6 33.3%
  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .
stienman said:
That's the nature of the beast. You have to weigh the length of the thread (and thus the time you'd have to spend "mining" it) against the possible value - which you can't know ahead of time.

So, for me, when I don't know a subject well it's worth going into a forum like this, reading through the biggest issues to find answers to my questions and learn the questions I should be asking but didn't know about, then present my questions as new threads.

The reality, though, is that this is a DIY forum, and like most similar forums you aren't going to get a straight answer to any question. That's the reason threads meander - people have a little to contribute, or the conversation lit up one of the areas of their expertise they do know about and might be relevant, if only tangentially, so they contribute what little they can.

If a thread doesn't go off topic, it's because no one is paying any attention to it - at all.

This is one of the things Discourse forum software was meant to help solve - calving off a portion of a thread into its own topic is trivial for moderators and long-term "trusted" users. So thread management is built in as a primary goal and feature. Forums like this have features to support this sort of use, but not very good, and they require a lot of tending from, usually few, dedicated moderators to perform the same work. Not that I'm suggesting we change forum software, simply pointing out that this is a problem endemic to forum style social networks, and you ultimately need to come to terms with it, and determine your own techniques for dealing with it.

Of course, the reality is that if you're looking for answers and not conversations, then forums will forever be frustrating for you. Maybe quora, https://diy.stackexchange.com/ , or https://sustainability.stackexchange.com/ would better meet your needs - where going off topic is a capital offense, and quickly squashed.
Click to expand...
Why are you talking about going off topic is a football thread? Isn't that, off topic?
 
The dilemma for me is when someone jumps on a thread and asks an unrelated question. Do I give them a simple answer or tell them to start a new thread?
I am not a moderator but on some forums that are heavily moderated, the Mods move those type of hijacks to a new or related section. That may be a lot to ask of volunteer Moderators. Also some forum software may make that process easier for the Moderators. I am appreciative of the work that the Mods do and am not making a suggestion.
 
OTOH, heavily mod’d forums are a bore, annoying, offensive, and people go elsewhere.

Some will use the excuse of search indexing, but really it’s usually a few anal-retentive nannies with a heavy hand or an ax to grind.

I left an enthusiast owners forum some years ago cuz the mods decided my build thread was too long. After an indeterminate number of pages they thought threads should just end. F-them. :devilish:

Just let people post, talk, comment. If you don’t like it ignore them, block them, or go elsewhere.

If a member really should start a new thread then a polite suggestion is warranted. This happens quite a lot here and it’s fine, it works. We are adults here, not children, or your whipping boy.

This forum is pretty easygoing, lots of talented folks here. Sometimes there’s some sparring and that’s ok too - let them work it out.
 
I'm coming to this thread just to check on what new directions its going...

Can we relabel it "therapy"?
 
I agree with Browneye 98%. But only because agreeing 100% might reduce my cognitive processes' cycles ;·)
-
 
So I am thinking of getting a new mattress, does anybody have any experience with those memory foam beds?
I would prefer one that has all those movement sensor things so that it can confirm in the morning that I had a bad nights sleep. I just can't trust that super tired feeling and the smashed alarm clock, I need confirmation.
 
Last edited:
robby said:
So I am thinking of getting a new mattress, does anybody have any experience with those memory foam beds?
I would prefer one that has all those movement sensor things so that it can confirm in the morning that I had a bad nights sleep. I just can't trust that super tired feeling and the smashed alarm clock to confirm it.
Click to expand...
Go with the "pillow guy"
 
nodoze said:
Any good new cat videos to watch?
Click to expand...
I don’t do cat videos but I had toe fungus once. Even after killing the fungus it took almost a year for my nail to grow out to where it was no longer visible.

Really makes you think. :p
 
Ampster said:
The dilemma for me is when someone jumps on a thread and asks an unrelated question. Do I give them a simple answer or tell them to start a new thread?
I am not a moderator but on some forums that are heavily moderated, the Mods move those type of hijacks to a new or related section. That may be a lot to ask of volunteer Moderators. Also some forum software may make that process easier for the Moderators. I am appreciative of the work that the Mods do and am not making a suggestion.
Click to expand...
during the football game (ok nobody knows im talking off topic now) one forum has like 20 reaction types, ranging from "friendly" to "agree" and "disagree", "gold star", "informative", "good idea", "useful", this forum's 6 options are pretty decent, but sometimes people need to write a reply post to express what might be achieved with a simple reaction. maybe we could add more options for polite type reactions. maybe it could alleviate the need for as much hijacking and then they overtook the other team and won with a goal ball. 5-0.
 
Ampster said:
The dilemma for me is when someone jumps on a thread and asks an unrelated question. Do I give them a simple answer or tell them to start a new thread?
I am not a moderator but on some forums that are heavily moderated, the Mods move those type of hijacks to a new or related section. That may be a lot to ask of volunteer Moderators. Also some forum software may make that process easier for the Moderators. I am appreciative of the work that the Mods do and am not making a suggestion.
Click to expand...
?????*loud cheering sounds in background* maybe we could have a friendly "new thread plz!" reaction button and when a mod sees a post with like 10 new thread plz reactions it would be easy to identify, but not before there was an amazing interception downfield and gooooooooalll⚽⚽⚽⚽???
 
One enthusiast forum I occasionally post on turned “likes” buttons off. Instead of a quick agree or support vote they wanted members to actually post. Something about post counts and ad revenue. Dear lord…

Another forum blocks photo links - you have to upload them so the image can’t go missing, for their “archives”.

This level of control and self serving motives are pathetic.
 
robby said:
So I am thinking of getting a new mattress, does anybody have any experience with those memory foam beds?
I would prefer one that has all those movement sensor things so that it can confirm in the morning that I had a bad nights sleep. I just can't trust that super tired feeling and the smashed alarm clock, I need confirmation.
Click to expand...
The memory foam ones are HOT. You’ll sweat your ass off. :giggle:

I like the one that pours you out in the morning. Climbing out of bed at my age is such a chore!

It has to be BIG - after 30 years she needs to stay on HER side of the bed. Lol
 
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