Too many OT posts in General

[Barendd Nobeard]

Can we get another moratorium/not-so-gentle-reminder about OT topics in the General Discussion board? It's very annoying to have 7 /25 threads be off-topic on page 1.

 

[AGGEMAM]

I concur. And I see things are being taken care.

 

[Darrin Drader]

So is it safe to say that Meta is becoming the forum for OT? And if so, doesn't that defeat the purpose of Meta?

 

[AGGEMAM]

No, think of meta more as a dumping ground for OT threads, once they are here generally very little posting will be done in them. That could be because that people either don't bother to scroll down here or because those that do caome knows it's the OT threads final resting place.

Btw, most OT threads could be nicely encompassed by the Hive, use it.

 

[Piratecat]

We're actually talking about the practice of moving "community" threads over here - birthdays, that sort of thing. The real problem is that right now we're not doing it consistently.

So far, the consensus is that we'd rather not move them, because (a) they get more views in General, which is kind of the point, (b) considering them Meta is kind of a stretch, (c) Baraendur's point about an OT forum is a good one, and (d) the less work we have to do the better.

Unfortunately, only 25 threads per page means that a few OT threads become very noticeable, very quickly. We'll continue to slide threads to their correct forum where necessary, and feel free to give us a heads up when you think there is too much OT.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I would recommend an OT forum and then go on my merry way, but I know the reason why it isn't done. I've heard the horror stories from the different messageboards that have actual OT forums and I feel sorry for anyone who would have to moderate such forums. Nevertheless, OT discussions won't go away, especially as the sense of community here grows. Its an interesting conundrum. I know what my solution would be, but alas, fortunately, it is not me in charge of the boards.

 

[Piratecat]

Interestingly enough, the sense of community has been pretty steady for several years. Some OT posts are okay; a lot are a problem. We try to encourage a self-regulating balance.

 

[reapersaurus]

We're actually talking about the practice of moving "community" threads over here - birthdays, that sort of thing. The real problem is that right now we're not doing it consistently.

I heartily endorse this idea.

I've never felt that personal threads belong in General Discussion - it is NOT about gaming in any way, shape or form.
It is simply one person trying to get validation or feedback/congrats on something.
That's way more Meta territory than GD.

I don't believe that those threads truly 'deserve' the extra attention they get in GD. If someone wants to give feedback/congrats, there's enough trafiic in Meta to provide it, I'd wager.
Let's be honest - those threads are mostly started for selfish reasons, let's not ignore/sugarcoat that. At best, they are about "The Community" - If they need to be allowed, than I believe they should go the same place that threads that discuss "What does the ENWorld Community mean to you" does - in Meta.

 

[alsih2o]

Let's be honest - those threads are mostly started for selfish reasons, let's not ignore/sugarcoat that.

there are too many ot threads.

i may be one of the worst about it.

but selfish is far off, many are silly to me but just as many make my day.

 

[Umbran]

That's way more Meta territory than GD.

Hardly. Meta is supposed to be discussion about the boards themselves. I don't see how discussion of a birthday is any more akin to discussion of the boards than it is discussion of rpgs.

Let's be honest - those threads are mostly started for selfish reasons, let's not ignore/sugarcoat that.

Let's not overstress it either. It isn't really all that accurate to call it "selfish", unless you don't ascribe to the idea that we've got a community here. People in a community like to share what's going on in their lives. It isn't "selfish" to want to share the joy of having a new baby, or a birthday.

While tabs must be kept on the number of OT threads, it will hurt the friendly and homey demeanor of the place to start pushing the very things that make it homey off into a corner.