Kinda takes all the fun out of it, doesn't it? Waaay down near the end of the AOLer thread is my suggestion to solve the problem.

#70

Well since some changes may be in the works for the messageboard (there is a thread on that here) perhaps we can have a "Rants" section and those OT posts that qualify can be booted over there. And perhaps we can have subsections, Serious rants, Silly Rants, and maybe in the spririt of the great Monty Python an "Arguments" section too.

not my type of playing

mutter:need to make people take tests over the rules and regulations of the boards before they can post

#6:

I'm seeing a few threads getting used as a means to say hi to certain other people. It would be better if they just sent email.

strange tradition at that. I think some practices just need to be revised.

This thread is just a way for me to vent my frustration.

I'm ANGRY! >
[Message Edited]
[Message Edited]

I suppose we're just lucky it doesnt happen more often.

yep its those long winded digressions that anger me.

If anyone is to blame it should be me for changing the subject. I was offended by the remark that Tech Cat made. I apologized to DT for the change of topic and said that I would not post anymore toward it. Kona, was not to blame, we where just finishing a argument from another post.

....again, one that I started and from now on will try not to.


My Apologies
Keith

I hate both AOL and MSN. Both ISPs are for stupid people who don't know how to use the internet.

No apologies for that statement. That's just how I feel and I am not going to be politically correct for anyone. Hijacking the thread? I'm not sure since the topic was an AOL translator and the low intelligence level of AOL users evident in their inability to type correctly. I didn't say much after that statement. The whole ugly mess was mostly Kona and Meyend Tripp arguing with each other back and forth.

A lot of this material is connected. 'Third party filters' are within the realm of 'wallpapers'. Copyright is related to the well being of commercial sites, and the costs of running them. Perhaps the author didn't clearly relate what they were saying to the original post? Perhaps they saw the connection as obvious?

I've seen conversations here and elsewhere wherein someone politely and astutely said something like "Ah, yes, you make a valid point there, but how does that effect [insert real topic here]?" Maybe we need the admins to be good conversationalists and just ask what makes us feel so strongly that our tangent is relevant to the original concept?

Granted, sometimes a heavy hand is necessary. To "Moderate" isn't a good term for stolidly holding people within a fixed point, though. It more related to 'mediate' than 'enforce'. The final, heated reaction we often see here has very little to do with 'moderation' and much more to do with 'authoritarianism'.

**

Moderate:

Main Entry: mod·er·ate
Function: verb

1 : to lessen the intensity or extremeness of
2 : to preside over or act as chairman of
intransitive senses
1 : to act as a moderator
2 : to become less violent, severe, or intense

One of my thread got hijacked, a request for a Nemo fish for DX... it's still a request!

On a serious note, I'm a moderator of a forum (nothing to do with skinning), and I've notice that ANY topic will go offtopic if not monitored carefully, including the serious topics.

#22 by Jafo... I agree. A "light-hearted" topic going off-topic shouldn't be an issue. Can't say the same for the more serious topics. Admins/moderators.... damned if [we] do, damned if [we] don't.... so true. Complaints creates more stress than solutions, including backhanded suggestions.

Join me?