Well, to start, I'm not a big fan of restricting people's natural expression unless it seems really necessary, and there's been times enough where I felt like cries of "off-topic" were made when I just saw a normal conversation. There's being off-topic where it's satellite-related, and then there's way off-topic.Languorous Lass wrote:Yep. And your problem with that idea is . . . ?
Really, I think getting something a little off-topic should not only be allowed, but expected and welcomed. It's the natural course of conversation that we meander.
Anyway, I wouldn't think it fair unless everything considered off-topic in the strictest sense went too, and I don't think that would actually happen if a romance-specific section were made. I think we'd inevitably see that it couldn't be upheld, simply because there'd be too much and it would be too demanding on the mods to drastically increase the number of judgment calls they'd have to make.
The video or plot element up for discussion is presumably what's prompting those responses, in which case those thoughts are related to that specific topic, no?Languorous Lass wrote:It's not at all obvious to me -- at least with regard to the posts that throw shipper comments in on a random basis.
The difference is that the videos aren't politically-oriented and likely don't inspire a whole lot of political commentary from most of us. The other examples you mentioned are also markedly different from someone responding to a character's appearance in that specific video or the potential romantic implications of certain events within that specific video.Languorous Lass wrote:I don't see how making a section to "share thoughts" about who should hook up with whom, and asking posters to keep those thoughts to the proper section, is more objectionable than asking posters to keep political remarks to the "Off the Cuff" section, or speculation about The New Girl to the "New Girl" section, or questions from newbies like "Who is this Bree chick anyway?" to the "New to LG15? Start Here!" section.
In those cases it's a direct response to the video even if it's not in the same vein as "So does this mean the Epogen was good?" Those other posts I linked to involve something that's still related, whether it's "Damn, I went to bed a little while before this showed up" or "I'm having trouble seeing the video."
To some of the people making those responses, it's likely not off-topic in the least. If they feel that way, then they're inevitably going to feel that their thoughts are unwelcome if their stuff's getting moved. Feeling that way is only normal.
Yet, to be fair, there are some who have said they'd like to see those of us who want in-depth discussion to keep our discussions in their place. You know I myself have been the biggest target of those comments. I'm just trying to think of this from multiple angles because not everyone goes into the threads looking for the same thing.Langurous Lass wrote:On the contrary, I would hope that it would cause forumites to realize that shipper talk belongs in its place, just as other OT conversation belongs in the appropriate place(s), and to respect other forumites by keeping their shipper discussions where they belong.
That's obviously drastically different and not in any way related to even the series, much less a certain video or plot element.Langurous Lass wrote:After all, I don't recall seeing people -- regardless of how passionate they are about politics -- posting messages like "God, I really hope the Senate manages to pass that vote of no confidence against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and that he steps down even if Bush doesn't fire him. Oh, and hey, how 'bout that latest video?"
What are you suggesting?Languorous Lass wrote:I'm not advocating that the mods be required to keep up with the discussion in real time. In fact, I can't imagine that being a workable procedure for mods to follow in any case -- even in extreme cases like the whole Glenn Debacle.
Maybe that should be moved back to GTKEO...