A very good observtion Herb and a good suggestion for minimising it. I don’t think we can ever get rid of the ‘digression that sinks the thread’ phenomenon completely because it’s hard to tell in advance how big a digression something is going to be. Often big digressions start out as little asides. Also, although I don’t think this happens very often, some people probably deliberately derail threads. But who can say, after the event, that the derailing is deliberate rather than merely the natural offshoot of stupidity.
There’s a related thing that really annoys me. (I wonder if this is too much of a digression to stay on this thread? No, I don’t think so. ) Quite often I notice two groups of people having a dispute over which of two exaggerated extreme views is correct. Occasionally someone interupts the fight to point out that both views are a bit silly and that the truth lies in some subtle, thoroughly unexciting, middle position. Then, without even a pause to reflect, the fight simply resumes as though nothing at all had been said to unmask its vacuity. It’s as though, amongst the simple-minded views, one simply has to be best. The point that all such views are actually false is just a spoilsport’s quibble.
[quote="herbivore12
It came from nowhere, and the fact that pelicans are one of my favorite birds, and fly so beautifully just inches abve the water on the faces of waves (they use the lift generated in the updraft over a wae’s face), and remind me of pteradactyls with their broad wings and long heads. Raising baby pelicans is one of my favorite tasks, when we get orphans. They are delightful and playful creatures, young pelis . . .
But now see? See where this thread is going? Aaaahhhhh!!!
That’s my point. Sort of. More or less. Thanks, everyone.[/quote]
Herbi: Helping to prove your point even more, I’ve decided not to start a new thread but to take this one on yet another tangent?
You raise bably pelicans? That sounds fascinating. Pelicans are fabulous birds to see flying. I also love the way they dive bomb into the water to get their lunch. Just spectacular creatures.
A wonderful bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his bellycan
He can hold in his beak enough food for a week
But I don’t see how the hellican.
Let’s keep all threads on topic.
If the thread is OT, let’s point out at the geek who brings it back on whistles. Better, let him realize being (OT)2 is not square.
(takes Robert Mitchum’s voice, shoves alternately his L O V E and H A T E tattoed knuckles at a mesmerized chifFlippant community…)
Y’know, it’s like these people who’ll start “Chicken’s reel” in a session, when everybody knows it’s Merikun, not ITM.
OK, let’s be tolerant. But if we let him do this, what’s next?
What comes next, my beloved brothers and sisters?
I’ll tell you in truth: it’s Blues, i.e. SEX, i.e. ANARCHY.
Next comes WRITTEN MUSIC and tenor banjos!!!
The maverick in the, er… flock, should be chastized for breaking the LINEARITY. Where does he pretend to be? Some god-forbidden HYPERTEXT?
And when our sacred linearity is gone? We let the commies and the Antechrist and even Frenchmen in! Are you gonna let this happen?
No, you won’t! You will DONATE to the Church of Holey Topic and its Warriors of AntiOT!
Visa, Mastercharge accepted–cash gets bonus one-year membership of the Thought Police.
I think that, like a conversation, a thread can shift naturally into various tangents. When it goes off into arguments about politics or religion, that’s bad. When it goes off into harmless discussions of whatever, well, it’s just par for the course, in my opinion.
But what about all of us who don’t think talking about politics and religion is harmful? I don’t necessarily think a post going off into political or religious debate is a bad thing. If I thought talking religion and politics was somehow harmful, I’d stop it. And I’m sure all the other folks who also participate in the threads would, too.
For example, Tyghress, brewerpaul, Mack.Hoover and others rarely ever get into political talk, and that’s fine, but some posters like myself, The Weekenders, jim stone and others apparantly like to participate in these conversations. We do it all the time, no matter what the original topic of the post was.
I have a solution - if you don’t like the particular post, don’t read it.
While I tend to agree that I don’t mind the OT stuff, I can see the other point here. If the thread is supposed to be about something on-topic than a reader interested in the topic shouldn’t have to stop reading it because we’ve taken it far afield. A new post on the new OT subject would be better, easier for dis-intereseed folks to ignore.
While I tend to agree that I don’t mind the OT stuff, I can see the other point here. If the thread is supposed to be about something on-topic than a reader interested in the topic shouldn’t have to stop reading it because we’ve taken it far afield. A new post on the new OT subject would be better, easier for dis-intereseed folks to ignore.
Just my view.
But not necessarily for the folks who are following both conversations and like to have them in one place. In effect, both sides would tell each other to ignore them, and in the end neither will.
In all honesty, some of us would not start a political thread but have the capacity to veer into such a discussion. We’re all a bit bruised from Just Curious, among others.
To me, the meat-eating was not political, but social. Hey, Clinton or Bush weren’t mentioned once! It helped that the dolphin slaughter was by Japanese. Nobody saw fit to mention their outrage at the excesses of their Prime Minister, because he must be behind everything bad about his country like here.
I don’t mind a thread that veers off to the left or right, or takes a natural turn for the better (or worse), esp. after the natural lifespan of a particular topic is waning. What’s hard to accept is when some of the same old flaming topics arise within a new topic. For those who would like to concentrate on exploring a new topic a little deeper, eclipsing it with the interjection of the old unfinished flame simply becomes a nuisance.
We all like the digressions. It’s when a thread is utterly hijacked that it becomes frustrating, or when a thread just becomes a forum for two or three people to yell at each other without any real discussion going on (many of us have been guilty of that, sure, but it doesn’t have to continue).
It’s especially too bad when it happens in a thread that’s actually about the music. Two very good session musicians I know tried the board, and both chose not to participate in it after music threads they were reading veered into off-topic silliness. Not just flames, but even veering wildly from rolls to sexuality is frustrating for someone who is really into the tunes. Good threads about the music have been abandoned completely as a few participants go on and on about politics or sex or what have you, and the good input we might have had from these real and talented practitioners is just lost, because the thread is no longer about what the subject implies.
It’s less irksome, but still a bit frustrating, when an OT thread veers about, and especially when the yelling starts, with no one listening. OT is OT, but it’s just too bad when a good subject dies because it’s hijacked by a couple very vocal folks. If the subject is worth talking about that intently, start a new thread. It’s sort of rude to kill someone else’s just so we can use it as a ready-made soapbox.
Yes, TomB, pelicans are very cool, and surprisingly playful and intelligent. Great animals.
This is truly a very thoughtful and enlightening thread.
The veering of topics is really very much like real life, and who better to share real life with other than other people with a common interest namely: chocolate ice cream!
If it wasn’t for common interests think how alone we all would feel! No one to feel a bond with, a solidarity, no one to comiserate about the soggy end of the cone when all the ice cream starts to melt and drip down to your elbow.
I mean, of course, ther is only one way to eat ice cream, and thats in a cone with sprinkles. Anyone else who feels differently must play re*order and must seek electro-shock therapy.
Wait, did I say Chocolate?? I meant to say Mint Chip!
or, was it Rocky Road.
Anyway, you all appreciate what I’m trying to say and agree with me 100%, right?
Political/religious/moral/etc threads seem to come in waves. There were hardly any for the last few weeks, since the last little explosion.
I hope that after this farting contest dies down, that people here will come to have some respect for new people coming across the board, and keep a lid on it. I have noticed that there are far more threads like “hi, i’m new..” when we are NOT sitting around being a bunch of arrogant intellectual snobs and extremists.
These digressions can be fun, but they’re not good for the quality of the board. If people want to show off their intellect (or lack thereof) in political or religious matters, there are myriads of other websites to do just that.
Yeah, but also remember, the board has gone down this road many times in the past. It always ends up that the majority of the folks like it the way it is.
) Quite often I notice two groups of people having a dispute over which of two exaggerated extreme views is correct. Occasionally someone interupts the fight to point out that both views are a bit silly and that the truth lies in some subtle, thoroughly unexciting, middle position. Then, without even a pause to reflect, the fight simply resumes as though nothing at all had been said to unmask its vacuity. It’s as though, amongst the simple-minded views, one simply has to be best. The point that all such views are actually false is just a spoilsport’s quibble.
