Thread "Ownership"

It's no secret that I have a petpeave with topic threads turning into red herring threads that go all over the place, derail the threads and so on.

Sometimes the issue or nature of the topic allow for 'open season', but hardly always.

For example you have Hypothesis #A.
#A contains several elements needed for it to work, and some elements require their own focus in determining what caused them to be able to determine if they apply to #A, for example Topic #X.

Do we have the right to start a focus thread on #X, and specify that we don't want arguments that support #A (in general; basically to prop up the #A in general while deflecting from #X) so that we can focus on #X to determine if it applies to #A to begin with?

Do we have the right to try to keep the topic focus, say in "my thread", on track while deflecting the generalized irrelevent arguments back to the topic arguments back to the general thread on #A? Should we be chastized as a dictator and tyrant because we're trying to keep a focus thread in context so that it can be used as a reference thread? Should we be lectured for refering to it as "my thread" or "my topic thread" in these circumstances? It seems you can get hammered in here even when you sacrifice points in trying to deflect irrelevent arguments from your own threads into the generalized threads.


EDIT: After having a thread derailed anyways -with the notion of it being a focus thread as a primary issue to nuke the thread with with- I just had to ask.


[edit on 8-5-2007 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

I see this a lot, where members will get generally upset because they start a thread and it turns for the worst. It's an unfortunate situation, especially when the thread becomes so lost that it warrants closure. It is the last thing I think any of us want to see happen, and I can say that we honestly work to try to prevent this from other happening.

My advice to you and every other member is to please, please, please send in a complaint via the Complain/Suggestion box located in your Member Center. We don't always see every post in every thread, and bringing something to our attention is a good thing. We take these complaints seriously, and try to resolve the issue as soon as we can piece the puzzle together. At the same time, some situations may not warrant an immediate response to the complaint. but be assured, they are read, and we do our best to follow up on every single on of those that come in.

I hope that can help answer your question, as someone that only recently became a Moderator, I can tell you that there is a lot of work that goes into helping make this place run smoothly, and we appreciate the heads up immensely.

^ What he said!



In all honesty though, the staff can not stress enough how much can actually get done through submitting a Complaint. There are times when an infraction of the Terms And Conditions Of Use will go unnoticed for an hour or two. With a board of this magnitude, that is a harsh reality that we must face. So if you find that your threads are going off-topic with mindless bantering of other members, submit a Complaint for us to review.

Most times, the complaint will be reviewed within a few minutes, and dealt with immediately. This way, the thread can be restored to the topic it was intended to discuss, and the author's efforts are not wasted.

If you notice a few "off topic posts" and fail to submit a complaint, it might be some time before a staff member comes across this. By the time we become aware of it, we may have two or three pages of useless jargon. At that point, the thread is not worth saving. Threads like this are closed, and the author is punished for the actions of others.

So, when the situation presents itself, submit a Complaint to the staff and have them deal with it.

Be sure to submit a link to the thread as well, and when possible, a link to the specific post that is causing the problem.

Thanks. Just trying to keep the info smooth and reference quality. I've found the protest of such effort then become the tool of disruption, thru much of said effort. It's not good for 'popularity' I've been learning. My own issues with snitching and authorities has kept me from knowing how to use that complaint link

I don't understand how you can "own" a conversation. You want to be able to choose the members of the thread and everyone agrees to stay on topic as a rule by joining and to be kicked off indiscriminately if someone has a feeling they are breaking the one rule.

If I'm talking to someone in a thread, moving the discussion to a new thread will destroy the train and some people will not find it at it's new location. It also won't make sense to others if you start a conversation in the middle, or waste time re-explaining what the point of creating the new thread is and what points people had made and so on.

Just follow the very simple rules put forth in the T&C, be civil stay ON-TOPIC, and if you don't have anything to add to the conversation then don't post. If someone disrupts a thread in progress, there is always the Complaints/Suggestions button.

What could be more simple than that.

my two and a half cents.

Originally posted by Columbus
...

Many topics have many potential subtopics that an be mentioned, and then those subtopics can go on for pages and pages and pages completely stamping out the original topics. It happens all the time, especially with issues like 911, and i see it happening it seems like everytime.

So in my efforts I try to discourage it, and when I can I start a new thread to bounce the subissue over to it's own spot to be delt with, and then I link in the link to deflect that side conversation / intentional red herring so that it can be sorted out on its own, as well as the original topic, but still be referenced.

Some people seem to use the issue of the deflection itself as the means for disruption, so it sometimes casts doubts as to what their intentions were to begin with.