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Which is why I gave an example that involved myself, where I knew my motives were bad.
And, if you'd written, "My motives are bad," at the top of the post, maybe we could have gotten that one.
Quote:
Are you saying this never happens, or just that it is hard to detect?
I am saying that the cases where it happens are not generally distinguishable from normal conversation that will be constructive and informative.
We would have to base moderation not upon what was said, but upon the mods' guesses as to the poster's motives. Mods are human. Given little information (like a single threadcrapping post), we'll often guess incorrectly. Each incorrect guess will result in an angry poster and potentially good conversation tossed out the window.
I'm sure rules-oriented game players can come up with some plausible excuse as to why that is helpful, but in everyday real world conversation that sort of behavior isn't really acceptable. If a group of people are talking about a sports team and a particular game, and some guy came along and interrupted the conversation just to tell everyone how much all sports sucks and that particular sport sucks, I doubt anyone would consider it appropriate behavior. Nobody would be nodding along that such a contrarian view fostered more in-depth conversation on the merits of organized sports in general. Instead, it would be seen for what it is - some jerk trying to tell everyone else that the things they like are not valid.
And in my opinion, the best way to deal with someone who is truly threadcrapping is exactly the same way most people handle this in conversation; you ask them to stop, go away or just ignore them (I've found ignoring the person tends to get the best result because the person is usually looking for attention). You cannot force the person to leave (assuming this conversation is in a public space as these forums would be considered to be), you cannot ban them from the conversation, you have to try and control the situation as best you can through your own actions.
__________________ "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." - Albert Einstein
Some people seem to go into threads that discuss a topic they actually don't like, just to tell others why they are wrong for liking that topic. If someone brings up a topic about how they like the Book of Nine Swords, and things you can do with that book, it is inevitable that someone who does not like that book will enter the thread and tell everyone how that book sucks. And I just do not see how that is helpful to anyone else in the thread.
I don't see how that is helpful either, and on occasions when I've noticed this kind of thing happening, I've asked people to stop it.
I see it as part of the civility that we like to see. If someone wants to talk about how they think BoNS sucks, the place to do it is in a thread they create for the purpose, not a thread where where people are talking about how much they like it (or how best to accomplish something within the rules of that book).
__________________ Plane Sailing
(Enworld Admin)
If you need to email me click here
"It makes as much sense as having Batman kill his parents and then go on to fight mutants from another dimension." - Rykion
Around here, it's live and let live as long as you go by granny's rulz. If you don't like a post, skip it and respond to something else. If someone does seem to be disruptive, call the moderators and let em handle it. That's what they are there for.
__________________ Growing old is inevitable. Growing up is optional. Mercy depends greatly on both sides ability to listen to reason. Redemption is an easy path indeed, however Atonement is a more difficult road to travel down.
I think this forum is moderated enough as it is, the Mods going around and looking for posts to declare thread craps would really suck.
and take too much splainin' via email afterwards
__________________ Story Hour
OMG! The SKY IS FALLING! --JoeGKushner
Myself, I plan to masturbate less -- der_kluge
I know that I've never really liked d20. I think it was designed by a bunch of hacks --- Monte Cook
I am sickened beyond belief. The half-orc wizard is obviously the best possible PC, and I only had to read 10 pages of the book to figure it out. D&D is dead to me! -- Mike Mearls
FWIW, I'm on the design team and I pretty much find WoW as fun and interesting as banging my head against a brick wall. -- Mike Mearls
you happen to say that 4E reminds you of the reasons you decided against a career as a special-Ed teacher--noted rpg author Darrin Drader
i only say things in threads in which i have an interest.
whether it be to relate my opinion on the way things were done previously, currently or in the future. i still have an interest in the topic of that thread. and thus why i post.
others will disagree. as i have often been told by posters in topics to stop threadcrapping.
but instead of argue with them. i place them on ignore.
This is an important point: one man's discussion is another's threadcrapping. One person's "deleted for threacrapping" is another's "deleted for having a contrarian viewpoint to everyone else". Where do you draw the line?
I've reported people in the past because I thought their contributions to threads were entirely unhelpful. In particular, posters who have a single topic and will turn everything around really annoy me. You know, like that friend you have who is really into a certain TV show or sports team, and any question somehow gets twisted back around until he can drop in his favourite episode or the poor choice of the current coach? I consider these tenuous leaps to be threadcrapping, especially if they post more than once when there's no positive responce to them. Still,, the mods can't be expected to appear in every occasion since often the line is blurry: because often it's connected enough that a proper moderator warning would seem silly.
The best you can do is report people and then put them on ignore if they regularly get in your way.
I'm sorry, diaglo, but if someone posts a thread about understanding AOOs in 3e, and you respond by saying how superior OD&D combat is/was -- that is not helpful. I'm not sure that it's full-on threadcrapping, but it's just annoying.
I'm sorry, diaglo, but if someone posts a thread about understanding AOOs in 3e, and you respond by saying how superior OD&D combat is/was -- that is not helpful. I'm not sure that it's full-on threadcrapping, but it's just annoying.
Just thwap Diaglo on the head and move on. It's become something of a running gag around here. Like with Crothian's alts.
__________________ Growing old is inevitable. Growing up is optional. Mercy depends greatly on both sides ability to listen to reason. Redemption is an easy path indeed, however Atonement is a more difficult road to travel down.
You say "running gag", he says "worn-out gag". Sometimes it's not as funnier to passers by as it is to you, you know?
Welll. There is that handy, dandy, nifty, keeno, thingamagumi, whatamajigi option thing called um... I dunno if it's appropriate for this forum though....
Ignore? Yeh. That's it.
Ignore.
One must follow one's own advice occasionally, yes?
Although, I think this entire thread is silly and approaching "but mommy said!"
Durned, I miss rollseye!
Oi! Oh moderator ones, could ya'll introduce the banana man and Mr bow smilie to the forum?
__________________ Growing old is inevitable. Growing up is optional. Mercy depends greatly on both sides ability to listen to reason. Redemption is an easy path indeed, however Atonement is a more difficult road to travel down.
Last edited by kirinke; 30th March 2007 at 06:33 PM..
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It's become something of a running gag around here. Like with Crothian's alts. 
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