Off-Topic Discussion area removed

just say there ok , put thegames back on

choises ot yes or no
never ending story -- he went to

word association -- friend pal

When i logged on, I would always go to the Aircraft, GMD and then OT. I could be having a bad day and after reading some of the OT posts, I would leave with a smile on my face and feeling much better. Some topics I stayed away from and others I would read from page one to the end. Many of the members let out their true feelings and we got to know them better. We saw them for what they actually were. I would occasionally shoot an arrow, in fun, at another member and would in turn get several shot back at me, again all in fun. That did not mean we were blood enemies but had different opinions. We left the forum still good friends.

I have a rule at my house. If you want to fight, go outside. I have seen many old members call for restraint and to step in as a ref. They have taken control of a topic and steared it back on course. That way we were helping to control and monitor for any gross violation of the rules. They were self governing and were doing a pretty good job at it.

I say keep the OT, but if the printed rules are broken, then lock it out or step in. The word games were fun in the begining but got drawn out too long. In that case close it out and lock it.

Just my

Wow. I've been away for several days, and the world turns on its head! I am saddened by the deletion of the OT forum, and even more so with members like Shermie, Sean and Woody leaving. Though, I can sympathize with what Woody said about deleting the OT forum was like burning books and pictures filled with memories. I used to visit the first post/topic i ever had in the Introductions Forum, and i'm reminded that i share this space with such fine individuals... I think Woody was one of the first people to welcome me here, but i can't remember any more, because the old posts there have been deleted.

I didn't always agree with everything that was said in the OT forum... but then if i didn't like it, I just didn't read it. If i had an opinion about something, i didn't have to go share it with the world. And when I did, it was usually expressed as "In My Honest Opinion". I think there are other people in the forums who think the same way.

I have made many fine friendships in FSM. I mean, where else on the net would you find a guy who would airmail a complete stranger a missing canopy (thanks again, Liam!), or a set of replacement decals?!? It is because of this that i choose to stick it out here with you guys. Man... How are we going to explain this to courtney when she goes back to school?!?
-Shrikes

P.S. Oh, and for the guys in charge, you guys moderate the forum and i will respect your decisions, but next time, find out what our thoughts are (i.e. poll us, because we're the ones that use the forums) in what goes on in what some of us concider our "home"page... because this site is mine.

In case anyone missed it, here's a clarification regarding games.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Lawrence Hansen Forum games: ID this aircraft/tank/helicopter/dirigible, military history, etc. = OK Neverending stories, word association games, choices, jeopardy, Family Feud, and even the dialog on the bridge of the starship Enterprise will be pulled pronto.

My two cents I added afterwards was that perhaps if something like Jeopardy was made into something more specific like "Modeling Jeopardy" or "Military History Jeopardy" that should be okay. Would be challenging, but I'm sure it could be done.

Thread size (ie. number of pages) isn't really an issue. I wouldn't consider closing any threads until they reached beyond 200 pages. Although a thread that long becomes pointless to some degree -- I mean who's going to read all the way through it. So for games or long ongoing discussions, it might be good to break it off and continue it in a new thread at some point -- perhaps by month?

I kinda thought a month too maybe.......

I am saddened by the loss of o.t. too. I can see the point of barring religous/ political threads, but the games? I guess it's the wants of the few or the one outweigh the wants of the many. Like has been mentioned, if ya don't agree, don't read it. We should be able to get along even with diffrent opinions on things. I really liked ot, it helped me to get to know people beyond just building. I can respect otheres even if I don't agree with them.
Lee

hmm, i really enjoyed the off-topic discussions, mostly the games i guess they were always a lot of fun especially word association and neverending story, pity you took them away. as you can see there is quite a bit of controversy

I must say that I'm really disappointed to see the demise of the O.T. Forum. It was the one place were you could really get to know your fellow modelers. Birth annoucements were made, joys and concerns were shared, and for the most part the political debates, altough heated at times, were an incredible insight into what others across this planet thought and felt. Lord knows I didn't always agree with some of the things posted but I'm grateful that I live in a country were people are (or were) free to express their thoughts and ideas.
It's sad to see that we lost so many great members. I'm gonna stick around though.

As we used to say in the Army. "The beatings will continue until morale improves."

I think it's time we retire this topic. I'm moving it to "Suggestions and Feedback" and locking it. I've read all the posts here; as always, I'm impressed at how articulate the members of this forum are. You've made your points constructively and with spirit--that's what makes these forums so fascinating. Now, I'll try to answer some of the questions various members posed:

The Off-Topic forum was removed because of the volume and increasingly negative tone of posts on largely or completely extraneous subjects. The bad feelings and negative tone were spilling over to other topic areas, and we wanted to stop it before it got out of control. We could have tried a piecemeal approach--removing problem threads, chastising via forum mail members who made inappropriate posts, "steering" discussions back on (or closer to) topic. Those methods would be time-consuming, and since OT was not part of the site's core purpose anyway, we concluded the swiftest, surest way to take care of the trouble was to remove it's breeding ground. It wasn't punishment. We weren't singling anybody out for punitive action. It was a course correction before the ship drifted too far.

QUOTE: Originally posted by upnorth I suppose since we can still post about the wherabouts of missing members, there's no problem posting congradulations to milestones when members hit them.

No problem at all. Birth announcements are OK, too.

QUOTE: Originally posted by renarts There is no reason that Odds & Ends cannot accomplish the more personal or side posts that will allow a familiarity with other members with out causing anyone to feel that they have to defend a personal position, faith, ideology. Much of this negativity is rather churlish and melodramatic in my opinion. But if it means a choice between quitting and a peaceful more friendly forum.....adeiu guys. I hope you find satisfaction elsewhere. I am happy to alter or curtail the sociological debates and move on. Besides my interest in this site was modeling and figures. It was why I signed up.

Thank you, renarts, well said.

QUOTE: Originally posted by ausf Is an absurd post about PE problems considered frivolous? If a thread degrades into some jokes about anti-mime-mines does it get removed?.... Is the Cretin gone for good?

No, on all counts! Banter is part of an online discussion group, especially as a particular thread winds up. It's rarely a problem; usually people lose interest and move on.

QUOTE: Originally posted by M1abramsRules Your saying that this is the OT, except for politics and religion, and heated debates, and totally senseless posts??? does that mean we have free rein in this forum as long as we don't touch any of those hot button issues?

Add "posts soliciting stuff for sale" to your list, and the answer is: Yes, pretty much. We didn't really abolish Off-Topics as much as we cleaned house and changed its name, hopefully, to something that is less encouraging of way-off-topic posts. I'm sure we'll still get 'em, but hopefully fewer of them. Frankly, if it's something you want to say, and you think other members of the community will benefit from hearing it, post it.

J-Hulk is on-target with this assumption:

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk Perhaps the "Odds and Ends" forum will incorporate the best of what the OT forum offered, without the harsh bits. No matter what it becomes, I strongly urge any member thinking about cancelling his or her account because of all this to deeply reconsider. I don't want to see anyone on either side of this thing leave the forums.

QUOTE: Originally posted by lilBEAR The off topic forum shouldn't have been counted towards our stars in the first place!!!

Agreed, but that was not a factor in the decision. We have the capability to shut off the post counter in a particular topic area.

QUOTE: Originally posted by echolmberg I want to get info on models then I'll come to the FSM web site. If I want to discuss issues on guns then maybe I'll check out the NRA site. If I want info on Harley Davidsons (does anyone remember how that degenerated into some bad mud slinging?) then I'll browse for sights about motorcycles. I don't think it's about free speech or censorship. I think it's about producing a site about models. Hence the "M" part in FSM.

Exactly. We know that people who come here to talk about modeling are sometimes going to talk about non-modeling subjects, too. What we don't want is people starting to come here just to talk about non-modeling stuff.