request about forum posts and tangents

[imthenachoman]

I love this site. A lot of useful information on virtually any Apple topic -- that is after you can weed through all the bickering and tangential posts.

Why is it so hard for us to stay on topic? For example check out http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1415571 -- a lot of good information on Amazon's Scan and Match service but the discussion is riddled with arguments unrelated to Amazon and tangent discussions that just make trying to obtain relevant information a pain. It's like a game of phone tag.

I am sure my request will stumble upon deaf ears but can we please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, stay on topic. Or maybe add some functionality to the sites where users can mark replies as relevant or irrelevant to the discussion at hand?

(I'm wondering what this discussion will be about 200 replies deep.)

 

[miles01110]

Shrug. I like Amazon.

...

As long as MR is populated by humans, things will drift now and then.

 

[MacDawg]

Moderators generally rely on users to report posts that are off topic, over the line, etc. since they are not able to be in every thread

I will confess I have not opened that thread so I would have no idea what is in it

People love to hear themselves talk and want to have their say
You will always have superfluous discussion and comments
But if it is out of hand, use the report function and a moderator will take a look at it

 

[GoCubsGo]

Moderators generally rely on users to report posts that are off topic, over the line, etc. since they are not able to be in every thread

I will confess I have not opened that thread so I would have no idea what is in it

People love to hear themselves talk and want to have their say
You will always have superfluous discussion and comments
But if it is out of hand, use the report function and a moderator will take a look at it

I think some people like to be heard. I don't think that "all" people care as much as you think.

 

[annk]

...

I am sure my request will stumble upon deaf ears but can we please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, stay on topic. Or maybe add some functionality to the sites where users can mark replies as relevant or irrelevant to the discussion at hand?

The functionality you want exists in post reports. Off-topic comments and bickering are things we moderate, so send a post report when you see it happening and we'll take care of it.

 

[snberk103]

Our cat did the funniest thing last night... I'll post a photo..



Seriously - I agree that in some cases the discussion can get sidetracked... and I may have been guilty, on occasion, of contributing to that. But I feel that this is a community where people join and participate as much for the sense (and enjoyment) of belonging to the community as getting information. And when you have a bunch of people having fun discussions can sometimes take weird turns.

However, I have noticed that for the most part it's not really that hard to get the discussion back on track, without resorting to the moderators. It just takes a little humour and a little patience. Thought to be fair, I may have had some posts of mine, um, 'excised' on occasion. And I didn't mind.

 

[imthenachoman]

Our cat did the funniest thing last night... I'll post a photo..

Still waiting on the photo.

And I guess I didn't know/think about the report option. I'll keep that in mind for next time but I would prefer to avoid that. I woul dthink people would be their own champion and try to stay ontopic. Thanks guys.