Stick to the subject

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Thomas_Casey

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Effective immediately. If your post does not address the original post, it will be deleted as soon as I see it or someone reports it. I have too many threads that are going off in other directions, because people feel the need to insert their comments, rather than simply answer the question.

If you don’t want to answer the original question or another question that arises in the discussion, that’s fine. But please keep your opinions to yourself, unless they are on topic.

There are many wonderful opinions out there, but they’re not on topic. Some people seem to be waiting for a subject to come up so they can run with their own agenda.

Remember, if your opinion is off topic, I will assume that you are agenda posting and will act accordingly.

Do not follow someone else down a rabbit hole, no matter how tempting. This only derails threads.

If you have questions, please PM me.

Thank You
 
Thomas_Casey said:
Effective immediately. If your post does not address the original post, it will be deleted as soon as I see it or someone reports it. I have too many threads that are going off in other directions, because people feel the need to insert their comments, rather than simply answer the question.

If you don’t want to answer the original question or another question that arises in the discussion, that’s fine. But please keep your opinions to yourself, unless they are on topic.

There are many wonderful opinions out there, but they’re not on topic. Some people seem to be waiting for a subject to come up so they can run with their own agenda.

Remember, if your opinion is off topic, I will assume that you are agenda posting and will act accordingly.

Do not follow someone else down a rabbit hole, no matter how tempting. This only derails threads.

If you have questions, please PM me.

Thank You
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Dear Mr. Casey

If I may respectfully observe, a strict adherence to the policy as stated would have eliminated many, if not most, of the most interesting threads that I have followed (and occasionally participated in) over the past several years. I understand and share your concern when threads get completely derailled. However I would offer further that while most of the posts (at least on this forum) tend to be an individual’s personal opinion, albeit often predictable, intense, and presented as absolute fact, reading these are what hold and attract my daily interest.
 
Conversations always evolve. If you want to see a wonderful example, you’re invited to my home for Sunday dinner. 😃

There is a problem when people pick on one point and derail a thread. That’s not evolution. Evolution occurs when a point made by one person often leads to a question by another, which then leads to an answer.

However, when the OP asks “How many people eat their peas with a knife?” He’s not asking for people to opine on whether or not it’s OK to eat peas with a knife. To respond with such a post is to derail. The question was very clear. The OP is not interested in whether or not people should eat peas with a knife.
 
This is my rule for this forum. Other mods have different rules according to the nature of their forum. That’s because not all forums have the same issues or the same constituency.
 
👍
Thomas_Casey said:
Effective immediately. If your post does not address the original post, it will be deleted as soon as I see it or someone reports it. I have too many threads that are going off in other directions, because people feel the need to insert their comments, rather than simply answer the question.

If you don’t want to answer the original question or another question that arises in the discussion, that’s fine. But please keep your opinions to yourself, unless they are on topic.

There are many wonderful opinions out there, but they’re not on topic. Some people seem to be waiting for a subject to come up so they can run with their own agenda.

Remember, if your opinion is off topic, I will assume that you are agenda posting and will act accordingly.

Do not follow someone else down a rabbit hole, no matter how tempting. This only derails threads.

If you have questions, please PM me.

Thank You
Click to expand...
Thank you so very much.
 
Thomas_Casey said:
This is my rule for this forum. Other mods have different rules according to the nature of their forum. That’s because not all forums have the same issues or the same constituency.
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good reminder for any thread in any area anyways.
 
Lotsa rules here. Just saying this coz I’m guilty of it (going off tangentially)… this site has the dubious distinction of being my 1st msg-posting (understood posting concept, but confused it with ‘chat’ in that I thought everyone saw any/all posts at a given moment). Ok I got it now. I’m a new member, so… :confused:
 
Alen said:
Lotsa rules here. Just saying this coz I’m guilty of it (going off tangentially)… this site has the dubious distinction of being my 1st msg-posting (understood posting concept, but confused it with ‘chat’ in that I thought everyone saw any/all posts at a given moment). Ok I got it now. I’m a new member, so… :confused:
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Moderators often find ourselves in Catch-22 situations. If we post something, “Too many rules”; but if we simply give someone an infraction from doing something inappropriate, such as derailing a thread, then we get hit with, “Where does it say that?” Some people had a hard time accepting a consequence if they can’t find a rule posted somewhere.
 
Look! A squirrel!!

😉

Lighten up. Most of us do our best to follow the rules. Such heavy-handed expressions are distressing for forum visitors. The same message can be conveyed without vehemence.
 
Boy_Wonder said:
Look! A squirrel!!

😉

Lighten up. Most of us do our best to follow the rules. Such heavy-handed expressions are distressing for forum visitors. The same message can be conveyed without vehemence.
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I’m sorry, but I do not see Tom’s OP as heavy-handed or in any way vehemous. What I have found to be distressing in the forums is when posters go off on a completly different tangent from the original topic. He is only asking that we stay within the topic of discussion. I am sure that people seeking answers to their questions would be appreciative of this. Thank you.
 
I understand that. My only concern is the tone of the post. I understand being a moderator is a thankless task no matter what stance one takes. It just seemed a bit heavy-handed.
 
Boy_Wonder said:
I understand that. My only concern is the tone of the post. I understand being a moderator is a thankless task no matter what stance one takes. It just seemed a bit heavy-handed.
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When you wear his shoes and walk his walk for as long as he has, then I would gladly entertain your comment. Whether he is heavy-handed or meek and mild, his suggestions over the years have not been followed. It would discourage anyone.
 
Boy_Wonder said:
I understand that. My only concern is the tone of the post. I understand being a moderator is a thankless task no matter what stance one takes. It just seemed a bit heavy-handed.
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No one is forcing anyone to be on a forum that is run in a way that is “heavy-handed”. We all have the choice to stay and participate or not.
 
Thomas_Casey said:
Effective immediately. If your post does not address the original post, it will be deleted as soon as I see it or someone reports it. I have too many threads that are going off in other directions, because people feel the need to insert their comments, rather than simply answer the question.

If you don’t want to answer the original question or another question that arises in the discussion, that’s fine. But please keep your opinions to yourself, unless they are on topic.

There are many wonderful opinions out there, but they’re not on topic. Some people seem to be waiting for a subject to come up so they can run with their own agenda.

Remember, if your opinion is off topic, I will assume that you are agenda posting and will act accordingly.

Do not follow someone else down a rabbit hole, no matter how tempting. This only derails threads.

If you have questions, please PM me.

Thank You
Click to expand...
👍
Mr. Casey,
Thank you for your leadership and gentle guidance in this forum! You have corrected me via PM on various occasions, I am very grateful for your personal guidance and instruction.
 
Boy_Wonder said:
I understand that. My only concern is the tone of the post. I understand being a moderator is a thankless task no matter what stance one takes. It just seemed a bit heavy-handed.
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Tom Casey’s post was not at all heavy handed. Too many threads go off tangent and it gets tiresome. Again a number of threads are poorly written and thought out questions which don’t help when posters are trying to respond. Tom has probably one of the most contentious areas to monitor which is traditional Catholicism. (that is of course after world events). I always appreciate it when there is clarification and direction from moderators which keep all of us on track.
 
Like a child of divorcing parents, I immediately thought I had done something wrong and this was directed at me. Good to know I have nothing to do with this and my recent posts on the Traditional forum are fine and on topic. Phew!
 
Maybe I will sound sexist for saying this. Or maybe I’ll just sound like an old biddy. But I’ll say it anyway, and hopefully Mr. Casey and other men will keep it in mind.

Women tend to talk all around a subject. Men don’t do this, and they get crazy when women meander through a conversation, jumping from subject to subject, going off onto tangents, analyzing everything to death, stating the same points over and over again, travelling up hill and down hill, swimming through an ocean, climbing up a mountain, sliding into a valley, and FINALLY, after what seems like hours to a man, the woman returns to the original topic and makes it clear that she hasn’t forgotten after all, but has been thinking about the topic during the enter conversation.

Many men ask a woman, “So where do you want to go out to eat?” The women will answer, “I don’t care. What do you think of what President Obama said about gays today?” And the man will think, “Whoa, what does that have to do with going out to eat?!”

That’s the way most women think. 🙂 We think with both sides of our brains at once–the logical and the emotional side, and sometimes the emotional side needs to explore different topics in order to understand and deal with the original topic. I totally get why a woman would answer the question, “Where do you want to eat?” with a question about Pres. Obama. There is a connection there. Really!

The other day, we were finished with our workload in the lab where I work, so we were just chatting. The conversation started out about Christmas, and meandered through at least ten changes before finally ending with a gloomy discussion about the dead bodies frozen to death on Mount Everest! Yes, I see the connection between dead bodies on Everest and Christmas! Do you?!

A wise man, especially if he is a husband, fiance, or boyfriend, will learn to deal with this trait in the woman he loves. If he tries to make a woman think and converse like a man, on topic, one topic at time, and finish the topic before moving to the next topic, he will not only fail, he will make the woman cry, and then he will spend the next few days feeling totally miserable until he spends way too much money on a bouquet of flowers and a nice dinner out. And during that dinner, the woman’s conversation will do the same thing that drove the man crazy to begin with, only hopefully, this time, he will just sit back and listen to the stream, and enjoy the woman he loves.

I guess that online, there are no men and women, just “members.” If I want to be able to talk like the woman that I am and not get “deleted,” I’ll have to seek out “real” people in the “real” world. I can do that.

.
 
Cat said:
Maybe I will sound sexist for saying this. Or maybe I’ll just sound like an old biddy. But I’ll say it anyway, and hopefully Mr. Casey and other men will keep it in mind.

Women tend to talk all around a subject. Men don’t do this, and they get crazy when women meander through a conversation, jumping from subject to subject, going off onto tangents, analyzing everything to death, stating the same points over and over again, travelling up hill and down hill, swimming through an ocean, climbing up a mountain, sliding into a valley, and FINALLY, after what seems like hours to a man, the woman returns to the original topic and makes it clear that she hasn’t forgotten after all, but has been thinking about the topic during the enter conversation.

Many men ask a woman, “So where do you want to go out to eat?” The women will answer, “I don’t care. What do you think of what President Obama said about gays today?” And the man will think, “Whoa, what does that have to do with going out to eat?!”

That’s the way most women think. 🙂 We think with both sides of our brains at once–the logical and the emotional side, and sometimes the emotional side needs to explore different topics in order to understand and deal with the original topic. I totally get why a woman would answer the question, “Where do you want to eat?” with a question about Pres. Obama. There is a connection there. Really!

The other day, we were finished with our workload in the lab where I work, so we were just chatting. The conversation started out about Christmas, and meandered through at least ten changes before finally ending with a gloomy discussion about the dead bodies frozen to death on Mount Everest! Yes, I see the connection between dead bodies on Everest and Christmas! Do you?!

A wise man, especially if he is a husband, fiance, or boyfriend, will learn to deal with this trait in the woman he loves. If he tries to make a woman think and converse like a man, on topic, one topic at time, and finish the topic before moving to the next topic, he will not only fail, he will make the woman cry, and then he will spend the next few days feeling totally miserable until he spends way too much money on a bouquet of flowers and a nice dinner out. And during that dinner, the woman’s conversation will do the same thing that drove the man crazy to begin with, only hopefully, this time, he will just sit back and listen to the stream, and enjoy the woman he loves.

I guess that online, there are no men and women, just “members.” If I want to be able to talk like the woman that I am and not get “deleted,” I’ll have to seek out “real” people in the “real” world. I can do that.

.
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Cat,
sorry I am a women and I get real tired of long posts like this and the lumping of all women as talkers and we need to get it out. I don’t think so. keep it short, on topic and to the point. Beside what you are describes is not me at all and this is sexist generalization in reverse.
 
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