Would you like to see a separate forum for Off-Topic posts?
- Yes, Dale
- No, Dale
0
voters
I’d like to know if there is a consensus on this topic.
Thanks.
Dale
While the amount of OT is enough to drive anyone up the wall I am not sure separate forum would be the solution. SOmething should be done though to get a better balance though.
Thanks, Peter. Any ideas? I don’t want to discourage OT posts in general. I think that’s a part of the fun of the community. I don’t know that there is anything that can be done to INCREASE the number of On-T posts. So, I’m having trouble with the vision thing on any choices other than maintaining the status quo or a separate OT forum.
Dale
No ideas, sorry. It’s because it’s part of ithe board that I don’t think the separate board would work but as it is the OT is way OTT.
Yeah, I understand. That’s the dilemma. I’m thinking about breaking down and starting a blog to use as a medium for some of the impulses that cause me to go way OT.
IMO, the permanent “Political and sometimes religious” thread is a pretty good solution for those specific topics.
I wonder if there’s another topic or two that might go into another permanent thread (or two or three) so we could check on what’s being discussed on those threads whenever we’re in the mood.
That way they would still be on the same page, which I think is important, but wouldn’t fill the board so much. And of course, other OT posts on different subjects that don’t fit the topics of the permanent OT threads could still be posted on their own.
It would just be a matter of trying to figure out what umbrella topics might lend themselves to permanent OT threads and then trying the idea out.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Considering this is an “official” poll:
a) is there a minimum voting age on C&F?
b) do we have to register ourselves at the county office place?
c)which of the options is considered liberal and which one is conservitive?
d) do we get to have those really ugly striped curtains around our computer as we submit a vote? 
Honestly, I really feel both ways about this. I kinda think we should all really try hard to mark OT posts. (I know I’m guilty of not including the OT.) Those who do not want to read OT posts can just ignore them.
Strikes me that there may not be enough ON-T threads to sustain a dedicated forum.
Also,the most frequent OFF-T posters are very knowledgeable about whistles and related matters but have they got the time to frequent two distinct forums to reply to the usual newbie questions and/or have the OFF-T banter?
Tough call…
I’m saying leave things as they are.
Slan,
D.
I’m with dubhlinn.
Carol
I know I’m guilty as charged for way too many OT threads, and/or participating in them.
Personally, I love the board as is…the wide variety of things that come through here truly brightens my day. However, I can understand that it may be frustrating for those who are really wanting Whistle Talk. For myself, I have a hard time feeling confident enough to talk whistles because I know there are so many more here with a greater knowledge. Even though I’ve been playing an instrument and singing for most of my life, I’m a little intimidated when it comes to talking intelligently about whistles, whistle-playing, and ITrad. But I love participating in the community… so I just chime in on other things.
Maybe a seperate OT board would help, but I wonder if the overall atmosphere would lose something. I don’t know. I’m not much help, because I can play this two-sides-of-the-coin thing for days on end.
I’d say: give it a try, it might work. Would advocate having a separate whistle forum, just like the flute & stepped-on cat forums. When I joined on-topic whistle threads were rarely more than a page long and you got all you needed in 5 to 10 replies. Wouldn’t be a bad going back to that.
Would it be possible to combine the two forums if the experiment fails after a month or three? We wouldn’t want to lose any OT threads…
At one point in time, that’s what this was!
Would it be possible to combine the two forums if the experiment fails after a month or three? We wouldn’t want to lose any OT threads…
Yep, definitely. A new forum would need some herding to begin with, and in the same way that OT threads could be moved over there, the whole bunch could be moved back if it flops.
I’m increasingly inclined to give it a try. It doesn’t have to work perfectly. But, let’s let the poll run a bit longer.
Thanks,
Dale
I’ve been in forums that had separate sections set up for OT post. They were never used. Like a sinkhole, the unused section grew larger and larger, until the entire forum fell into it, never to appear again. Is this some kind of corrupt infiltration from within trying to end chiff and fipple as we know it?
I think we should do away with all the sections and have everyone use one section of the forum.
Me too.
Redwolf
IMHO, this would only work if the moderators would move OT threads to the new forum.
Right now it’s kind like a bunch of ongoing conversations between friends with the common interest being whistles. I like it the way it is.
Best,
Paul
It seems like it would be worth a try, at least.
Some forum sites call their OT forum the “Pub”. That seems especially fitting for a site like this. You might even be able to find an artistic C&F member who’d be willing to draw a “Chiff & Fipple Pub” sign to hang at the top of the OT forum.
Cheers,
John
I’m with the separate OT forum idea. The whistle forum would become a lot thinner, but by being more focused I think it would encourage more sharing about playing the whistle and the music, which is what I come here for. Heck, we might even become better whistle players.
I sympathize with the people who want a community to be part of and the fact that these OT threads build community, but how about a focused whistle/irish traditional music community for those who want that, and an OT forum for people who want a more complete community to share in? An experiment would be worth a try, me thinks.
I’m in almost complete isolation as far as knowing other people who play the whistle and love the music, so that’s the need this forum fills for me, and it does a great job of it (thank you all, and thank you moderators). But I’ve got a large community of friends I’m a part of who I can communicate with about all the OT things, so I don’t really need all the OT stuff. I think some people are isolated, though, and need the OT part of this community, which is great. Is it selfish for those of us who don’t need that to want a more focused whistle forum? Maybe.
I have to agree with Bloo. The whistle advice threads don’t tend to be multi-paged, unless a debate begins over inexpensive v. expensive 
They also are becoming less in number compared to OT threads. A separate forum for whistles, just as we have for flute, pipes and ITM makes more sense.
Loren had a good point about the more seasoned players not wanting to wade through the OT to offer advice to beginners. Questions tend to roll off the main page quickly and I can understand not wanting to scroll through 2, 3, or 4 pages to find on-topic posts. Plus, most of the seasoned players are involved with other instruments—those that take up more of their time and interest compared to whistles. A check of the whistle forum would allow people to address questions more quickly and would probably cut down the redundancy. As Loren mentioned, the search function isn’t always helpful for a newbie so we get the same questions over, and over, and over… That in itself can wear on those wanting to help.
Admittedly, I left the board for about a year and a half because of all the OT. Realistically, there is just so much you can discuss about whistles in one forum and not everyone is striving to be the next Micho. There are a number of members who view whistles and the music as just an entertaining hobby.