OT News Threads

[BrooklynKnight]

Would it possibly make any sense, to discourage people from posting generic news on boards, as upposed to news that in some way affects gamers?

Doug H's post on fruad for example, is a perfect news thread for this board. (In fact i think it belongs on the front page).
But the forest fire thread doesnt. This isint CNN....
Unless an ENworlder is directly or very closley but indirectly affected by some news event i think stuff like that should be discouraged along with politics and religion.

And yea i've made my share of OT news posts (the hologram thing isint really OT tho, not IMO.), and OT posts in general, and i've been reamed for it.

Well i'm tired of seeing stuff on the first page that somone can just as easily see if they go to cnn.com.

Its great we're a community and its great we share informaiton, but like i said, unless it affects someone in the community i dont feel news posts like that should have a place here.

Unless of course, someone puts an RP twist on it

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Oh, the Larp thread and the one on Gary Gygax are also appropriate IMO, since they are connected to gaming and gamers.

 

[ergeheilalt]

Doug H's post on fruad for example, is a perfect news thread for this board. (In fact i think it belongs on the front page).
But the forest fire thread doesnt. This isint CNN....
Unless an ENworlder is directly or very closley but indirectly affected by some news event i think stuff like that should be discouraged along with politics and religion.

Sorry, AQ, I disagree. Saying that the fires ravaging Southern California are an “irrelevant" post, or a post that does not directly affect ENworlders doesn't quite resonate well with me. I know a number of ENworlds who are in the LA area or San Diego. I'm in Pomona (east of LA) and we're getting falling ash all over he campus here at Cal Poly Pomona. In San Diego (my hometown) my Uncle and Aunt have been evacuated and my mom and siblings are being kept indoors by the copious sums of ash.

So, yes - the fires both directly and indirectly affect me. I agree that some threads are a bit "out there - the only one that I can remember being news-related is the Sweedish Foreign Minister thread. The other big news threads have been hurricanes, massive blackouts, and things of a similar nature – things that affect ENworlders.

I see no reason why a big news story that does not violate the religion/politics rules should be banned or removed. Of course, if you can bring up some other examples I would be more inclined to support your opinion, but with the facts you have stated I see no reason to agree.

Signing out from Smoldering SoCal,
Erge

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I should have read that thread first before using it as an example. heh.

That thread has someones personal interactions and experiences with the fire and stuff. So yea, its ok. Im sorry.

But my original point stands. If mods are cracking down on OT threads, crack down on news ones too.

And maybe instead of just locking them. they should be deleted. (which will also save on bandwith).

 

[LightPhoenix]

Well, I happen to agree with ArthurQ on this. If I want generic news, I'll check out a news site, switch to one of the news channels, or read a newspaper. Gaming-related news like the LARPing one is okay, because it really is on topic - this site was built first and foremost as a 3E (and later d20) rumours and news site. The fraud one is alright but pushing it IMO - it probably belongs in Computers. Still, revealing fraud is important, and it reaches the most people in General. The CA fires one is, IMO, completely gratuitous. One of my good friends lives in that region of California, and I'm concerned for him, much like I'm sure everyone is concerned for their friends and loved ones there. But this really is a news item that doesn't belong in General. I feel the same way about the sports posts - they belong at a sports message board, not an RPG one.

I understand that there's a sense of community about these boards, and it's the main reason I still read the boards since I first came to Eric's site way back when. However, as much as the community members might want to talk about other common interests they share, it's really not appropriate for this message board, in my opinion.

Though I would be amused at an OT biochemistry thread... then maybe I could contribute something of use.

 

[Skade]

I really have never noticed a problem with the number of OT posts as many do, but I accept that it bothers some. However, I think it is very difficult to decide which OT news posts are relevant and which are not. Take the fire and Swedish politician threads for instance. The fire might be considered alright because posters are affected by that incident, but as many Swedes would tell you they were deeply affected by the death of their Foriegn Minister. It's pretty difficult to say which is acceptable, and which is not.

I don't have a good answer to the problem, I can only suggest why I think the solution is not easy in the making.

I think the better question would be "is there a way to put the OT threads on the second page or something?" *

*I'm sure most of you get this.

 

[alsih2o]

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=61186

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=61186

Score one for alsih2o

 

[Mistwell]

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=61186

When I was a kid...oh, around 25 years ago...we would call this a "Scratch and Burn!"

Someone mentioned Sports threads. The only Sports threads I recall are EnWorld Fantasy Sports threads. Those are EnWorld events...not general sports discussions.

 

[Umbran]

Score one for alsih2o

Yeah, well, perhaps it's a bit of "use a thief to catch a theif" or "use a pot to identify the color of a kettle" logic