New forum section that's not the lounge - Page 5

JSWolf · 03-22-2009, 08:32 AM

Is there a way to filter out message based on the prefix? Can we filter out the silly messages? The only way right now to get rid of them is to go to the last page and then display new messages again and this is only a stop gap until someone else posts in a silly thread. if I was to ignore the Lounge, I'd ignore it all. That doesn't work. However if there was a forum section where the silly threads could go or the non-silly threads, then we could ignore the silly threads as we want. We won't have to have them mixed in. Right now, we are forced to have them.

Dr. Drib · 03-22-2009, 09:10 AM

Interestingly, I post - or used to post - a lot of silly comments in areas that were supposed to be silly and stupid, and I loved doing so. However, when I wanted to post comments of a serious nature, I found my comments hijacked and silly, stupid comments from some members undermined the integrity of my comments. (Sometimes, I made mistakes, of course, and I here offer my apologies to anyone who posted seriously and then had their comments undermined by my insensitivities.)

I believe that my posting of stupid, silly comments has "hurt me" in some way, although I cannot be certain of this.

My mind is a crazy network of silly connections, and I like expressing that aspect of my personality here on MobileRead; but I will no longer create stupid, silly threads due to the fact that a few people on this site simply have no manners (when I decide to make serious comments), and when it comes to appreciating any serious comments from any number of members.

In my opinion, many of us need to understand when it is appropriate or inappropriate to be serious or humorous in a thread. There is also the matter of being courteous and respectful to one another as we learn to appreciate differing opinions about whatever we may be discussing. One can "see" the difference between a supercilious tone and one that is respectful.

Don

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 09:26 AM

As one who is guilty of hijacking some threads, I agree that there may be a need for rational compromise.

Interestingly at least one thread in the Lounge would be classed as 'silliness', yet has no label to that effect.

Most of the comments here are from Mods, despite a post that said the mods had already discussed the issue and 'voted' in favour of the status-quo.

In a free discussion forum like MobileRead, I wonder how anyone would be able to 'police' a policy that states 'silly comments only in threads marked as such'.

Making a personal decision, I will now refrain from making inappropriate comments in a thread that does not have a 'Utterly Silliness' tag. This does not mean that I will not make witty remarks where content/context allows, which I feel is quite different to a hijack.

tompe · 03-22-2009, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Is there a way to filter out message based on the prefix? Can we filter out the silly messages? The only way right now to get rid of them is to go to the last page and then display new messages again and this is only a stop gap until someone else posts in a silly thread.

Yes, something like this is missing. The only efficient way to read this forum if you want to read most of it is using search. But getting a lot of hits on threads marked "silly" makes this less efficient. One way to make it better would be if there was a link to press to mark the thread as read.

An even better thing would be that you could specify that you wanted to exclude certain tags in the search condition.

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 09:30 AM

It may not be as simple an issue of the 'silly' threads though? Surely it is more likely the hijacking that is the problem?

montsnmags · 03-22-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

It may not be as simple an issue of the 'silly' threads though? Surely it is more likely the hijacking that is the problem?

This thread has moved from talk of differentiating (sometimes with varying degrees of perjorative) the self-declared-and-tagged "Unutterably silly" threads, to referring to thread-hijacking, which is a seperate topic from the one the OP raised. I think it reasonable to declare that "hijacking" is most often a negative action in any area of the forums, rather than use "hijacking" as a possible reason for any kind of subforum.

Cheers,
Marc

tompe · 03-22-2009, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

In a free discussion forum like MobileRead, I wonder how anyone would be able to 'police' a policy that states 'silly comments only in threads marked as such'.

In some forums moderators try to split off off-topic parts of a thread. But this has some disadvantages also.

There seems to be two different issues discussed in this thread. One is how to be able to efficiently select the threads you want to read. And the other is that it might be good if some threads stays more on topic.

The off-topic things have only bothered me occasionally but if the effect is less general discussions then this might be a problem. The first issue is the one that I have noticed most.

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

This thread has moved from talk of differentiating (sometimes with varying degrees of perjorative) the self-declared-and-tagged "Unutterably silly" threads, to referring to thread-hijacking, which is a seperate topic from the one the OP raised. I think it reasonable to declare that "hijacking" is most often a negative action in any area of the forums, rather than use "hijacking" as a possible reason for any kind of subforum.

Cheers,
Marc

True; the original post by Jon was specifically with reference to the preponderance of silliness threads in the lounge.
Equally hijacking also takes place in the Lounge in threads that have not been designated as 'silly' - at least it doesn't spread too far elsewhere in the forum.

pilotbob · 03-22-2009, 10:19 AM

My only additional comment here without re-hashing what I have already posted.

I don't think there is any way to expect a thread, no matter what forum it is in, to stay on topic. Threads drift... it is just what happens.

Then, more on filtering:

As far as filtering OUT a pre-fix... I wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to do it. But, I don't know how. I just tried it and don't see a way. The URL when you filter has something like prefix= in it. I tried to put a blank space in it thinking that would give posts without a pre-fix, but it didn't work.

BOb

HarryT · 03-22-2009, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't think there is any way to expect a thread, no matter what forum it is in, to stay on topic. Threads drift... it is just what happens.

They do, but it is flat out impossible to start any thread in the Lounge which doesn't degenerate into off-topic "humour". That is why I would like to see a separate sub-forum for people who want to enjoy "serious" discussions with less risk of that happening. I have absolutely nothing against the Lounge, for those people who enjoy such things, but it has to be recognised that there are many people who do not.

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 10:29 AM

I still fail to see how such a 'new' sub-forum would achieve that.

HarryT · 03-22-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I still fail to see how such a 'new' sub-forum would achieve that.

One would hope that the people who enjoy injecting "witty" remarks into every thread in the Lounge would have the courtesy (and I'm sure they would) of not doing so in a sub-forum specifically earmarked as being for more serious discussions. I see no reason to suppose that this would not be the case. After all, it does not happen in every thread on the other parts of the board.

pilotbob · 03-22-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I still fail to see how such a 'new' sub-forum would achieve that.

My feeling, and I am certainly guilty of this is that the description of the Lounge is "friendly banter". The definition of banter is:

noun
the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks : there was much singing and good-natured banter.

verb
talk or exchange remarks in a good-humored teasing way : the men bantered with the waitresses | [as adj. ] ( bantering) a bantering tone.

So, threads in the lounge seem more prone to this happening. I know I have done it.

That said, would a "Serious" pre-fix perhaps be an idea? This would not be a hard fast rule that you couldn't have FUN in that thread, but just would indicate to folks that the OP wasn't kidding and didn't mean to "banter".

A new prefix would also allow for an inclusive filtering for that pre-fix.

BOb

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

One would hope that the people who enjoy injecting "witty" remarks into every thread in the Lounge would have the courtesy (and I'm sure they would) of not doing so in a sub-forum specifically earmarked as being for more serious discussions. I see no reason to suppose that this would not be the case. After all, it does not happen in every thread on the other parts of the board.

Yes you are right, the silliness does not (often) move out of the Lounge (except perhaps into the Writers area).
A question would be what becomes the sub-forum : Silliness or Seriousness?
I would actually favour the former - into the Playground, perhaps.

GeoffC · 03-22-2009, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

A new prefix would also allow for an inclusive filtering for that pre-fix.

BOb

Surely the default is for seriousness ?

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03-22-2009, 08:32 AM	#61
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,983 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Is there a way to filter out message based on the prefix? Can we filter out the silly messages? The only way right now to get rid of them is to go to the last page and then display new messages again and this is only a stop gap until someone else posts in a silly thread. if I was to ignore the Lounge, I'd ignore it all. That doesn't work. However if there was a forum section where the silly threads could go or the non-silly threads, then we could ignore the silly threads as we want. We won't have to have them mixed in. Right now, we are forced to have them.

03-22-2009, 09:10 AM	#62
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Interestingly, I post - or used to post - a lot of silly comments in areas that were supposed to be silly and stupid, and I loved doing so. However, when I wanted to post comments of a serious nature, I found my comments hijacked and silly, stupid comments from some members undermined the integrity of my comments. (Sometimes, I made mistakes, of course, and I here offer my apologies to anyone who posted seriously and then had their comments undermined by my insensitivities.) I believe that my posting of stupid, silly comments has "hurt me" in some way, although I cannot be certain of this. My mind is a crazy network of silly connections, and I like expressing that aspect of my personality here on MobileRead; but I will no longer create stupid, silly threads due to the fact that a few people on this site simply have no manners (when I decide to make serious comments), and when it comes to appreciating any serious comments from any number of members. In my opinion, many of us need to understand when it is appropriate or inappropriate to be serious or humorous in a thread. There is also the matter of being courteous and respectful to one another as we learn to appreciate differing opinions about whatever we may be discussing. One can "see" the difference between a supercilious tone and one that is respectful. Don

03-22-2009, 09:26 AM	#63
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	As one who is guilty of hijacking some threads, I agree that there may be a need for rational compromise. Interestingly at least one thread in the Lounge would be classed as 'silliness', yet has no label to that effect. Most of the comments here are from Mods, despite a post that said the mods had already discussed the issue and 'voted' in favour of the status-quo. In a free discussion forum like MobileRead, I wonder how anyone would be able to 'police' a policy that states 'silly comments only in threads marked as such'. Making a personal decision, I will now refrain from making inappropriate comments in a thread that does not have a 'Utterly Silliness' tag. This does not mean that I will not make witty remarks where content/context allows, which I feel is quite different to a hijack.

03-22-2009, 09:30 AM	#65
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	It may not be as simple an issue of the 'silly' threads though? Surely it is more likely the hijacking that is the problem?

03-22-2009, 10:19 AM	#69
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	My only additional comment here without re-hashing what I have already posted. I don't think there is any way to expect a thread, no matter what forum it is in, to stay on topic. Threads drift... it is just what happens. Then, more on filtering: As far as filtering OUT a pre-fix... I wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to do it. But, I don't know how. I just tried it and don't see a way. The URL when you filter has something like prefix= in it. I tried to put a blank space in it thinking that would give posts without a pre-fix, but it didn't work. BOb

03-22-2009, 10:29 AM	#71
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	I still fail to see how such a 'new' sub-forum would achieve that.

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