Off topic posts in Resident Answers

At current, I am counting 7, perhaps 8 posts which don't really fit well with the purpose of this forum. I know I've been guilty of contributing to this (by responding to some of them) but now I'm really starting to worry this will approach a "tipping point" where the Lindens will decide to drop the forum.

How do we get out of this before its too late?

1) We resist the temptation to participate in inappropriate threads. This is the most difficult thing for forum blabbermouths such as myself, but it is far and away the most effective way.

2) See #1, above.

You can't keep every thread totally on topic, as human conversation does tend to drift, as ideas are developed. I think the Mods do a fine job of letting us say our piece and stepping in when things go to far astray. . I always feel the removal of off topic and general discussion is never good for a forum community.

Welcome to the new general forum.

In practice, this is a general forum where LL can getsome insight into what the residents are thinking and experiencing, and where they have an excuse to lock a thread when it becomes really pointless. Seems to be working, I'd say.

I agree with this, and strife has all but confirmed it in another recent thread.. but it does seem to be getting out of hand. That assessment on my part is subjective, of course.

I think it's okay for conversation to drift among the answers to someone asking for help in Resident Answers.

Some answers ARE rather debatable, and explanations can unravel a topic or open up new questions.

But I strongly think that NEW THREADS should adhere to the purpose of Resident Answers, so, I guess the proper answer, unfortunately, is:

Abuse Report any new RA thread that doesn't follow RA's guidelines.

I'm certainly guilty of being a little to much of a naggy-mom type in RA, when I should just silently abuse report the thread instead. I'll work on it.

Hmm.

I wonder if it would be inappropriate to point out new off-topic RA threads in this thread as they come up... you know... to "help raise awareness" to the problem of off-topic threads.

this thread is ot

What should one expect?

Come on Jopsy, lighten up! AR people, is that really necessary? This is the only place we can express ourselves. Strife does a pretty good job of keeping us in order, but sometimes its good for someone to let off a little steam.

Just my opinion of course.

Love Suzi

This thread is itself inappropriate for Resident Answers. But you know what? Neither this nor any of the other "off topic" threads bother me.....at all.

Please. Leave Moderating to the Moderators. No thread spins that wildly out of control before they lock it.

I'd answer that smugly with the link to 3rd party sites that Torley and Strife use, but I don't have that link handy, and I doubt the environment is nearly as high quality as this one, and I doubt the captured audience is either.

Convince the Lindens they were in error to close the general discussion forum.

To those that are saying this thread is off topic: Maybe it is.

But at least the original poster made a serious effort to respect the guidelines for RA and posted a question... seriously asking for help, not just asking a question to which he/she already had their own sufficient answer. That's more than anyone can say for a lot of other new RA threads.


I miss the general forum as much as anyone, but we abused it.

This is what we have left. Treasure it or trash it as you like.

On second thought....

There's no stopping the inevitable demise of RA at this rate.

I don't want to see that fate... so, better that I just stop watching.

If I show up in RA without offering specifically useful advice or asking for help, kindly remind me I'm self-banned from this sinking life-raft.

--
!unsubscribe !unsubscribe !unsubscribe.

When this forum first started, some people came on and started acting smart-mouthed and trouble-making just to almost test it, it seemed. I was against that and told them to shut up before we lost this, too.

That was different, though, from conversations now, about larger problems people are having and may be confused about - landbots, for instance, or the closing of Live help. Without those kinds of discussions, people can't figure out what to do, or know what is going on.

There are other examples. To insist that nobody can ever ask something or want to talk about something besides smaller topics, such as,"how do I get this box off my arm," is . . . rather inhumane, I think.

In fact, some of the threads are necessary precisely because there IS no commentary coming from LL on the topic. Geez, the Metaverse Messenger got something out of Robin that was helpful regarding the recent money mess-up - she said that they would be very careful to make sure no one lost their land due to it - which I had worried myself over on the blog, with NO ANSWER. We were all left to drift on that blog entry, while the Metaverse Messenger was given more information. We're supposed to read about it later and elsewhere, I guess.

Ditto the no live help thing - we are working that out here, because there has been very little comment on the blog.

Ditto the other things that go wrong, logging in, and whatnot, because the blog doesn't get around to reporting it till after the fact.

Ditto the landbot thing; witness LL's silence there.

I find this forum most useful for things like the box-on-the-arm question. I have posted questions like that, and I think we should still have it for that. But I also think it's reasonable to expect some discussion of these major, major issues, particularly when LL isn't willing to discuss them much, and won't answer questions about them on the blog when they do discuss something.

Third-party forums are exactly that - they are run by third parties, mostly individual residents, with the rules of those residents, including who can participate. They are useful, but not a substitute for official forums.

If this forum gets shut down, it won't be our fault for wanting to discussthings, because I don't think you CAN keep telling people they can't talk about things. People will talk about things! It will be a combination of no answers from LL, no ability to ask LL anything, and no place to ask each other and talk about it but here.

The only way they can do get this to stop is to take away all the forums entirely, which I'm sure is on their to-do list anyhow.

Still, I understand the concern some people have, and I don't believe I have started any threads which don't fit nicely under this heading. But I most certainly have availed myself of threads more daring others have started, to discuss the things I would like very much to discuss.

Also - if we keep calling attention to how people aren't being careful enough, then you can be sure they will listen and close it, so it will be a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy in that way, if we're not careful.

coco

Resident Answers can be many things. It can be informational, as I have maintained that the entire issue with Lucreza Ah is. I believe it raises awareness, and if it keeps one honest person from losing honest money - doesn't that belong in Resident Answers?

Well, I think so.

This isn't Jeapordy in my eyes, where things have to be in the form of a question. Now, if I am wrong and I overstep my bounds somewhere - I understand that a moderator can and will put me in place. If I overstep my bounds and am told I am doing so, I will honor the moderator. I will not, however, bow to anyone attempting to hijack a thread and I *will* not be steamrolled by someone who is not a moderator. I will, and have, and will continue to express my opinions civilly and even with restraint.

I expect the same of others.

However, I will dance on the line here. If what I post is so much of a problem for you, then by all means - do not read it. Ignore me. You are not my intended audience. I am not holding a gun to your head and telling you to read what I write.

And.

So what if they close Resident Answers as a forum? Yes, they are removing Live Help. Yes, they are changing things. They will *always* change things, and it isn't because of something you or I do. It is simply a matter of what their resources are used on.

Now we can go back and forth on this - I see no reason to continue - but here's what I will leave this thread with. I will leave it by saying that no one here but the moderator has the right to assert what should or should not be posted. I stand by that, especially as a former professional moderator on technical boards such as CramSession.com and BrainBuzz.com (when these sites were worth something). It IS a tough job, but it is one which requires patience and professionalism. If one wants to pretend to be a moderator, one should act like one. Patient and Professional.

'Nuff said.

It's all part of LL's attempt to raise customer satisfaction scores by removing the ways we give feedback, one by one. That way they don't need to hear customer complaints.

The old land and economy forum may have been full of rubbish related to the land/economy of SL... but that keep other forums clear. If that was still around it could happily hold all teh landbot threads, and no-one else would need to read them. There was a general forum for general SL stuff, and am off-topic forum for all the real junk posts. Now this is the only real discussion forum in SL... ergo your post is most on-tpic here.

Looks like LL would prefer their blog as the only way for us to speak, and we can post comments only if they decide to put a blog post up on a topic. MAkes me sad to watch them screw over the community like this.

Of those 7 to 8 posts, do you see a more appropriate forum for each of them than Resident Answers? Resident Answers is the closest forum we have left which can be used for Open/General Discussion.

I wonder how difficult it is to create a new forum with vBulletin?

I'll answer that myself: it's a doddle. =)

Ermnm.... This thread is off topic?
*Sees no resident question directly related to SL*



Morwen.

I've seen this happen on other sites that have nothing to do with SL.

Whenever you have a forum site like this, the people who frequent it on a regular basis start to get a sort of community spirit as they recognise the other regulars. Some other posters will seem almost like friends.

And people like to talk to their friends, that's human nature.

Also, people resent being censored. Being told not to talk to your friends about something goes deeply agaisnt the grain. That's also human.

This forum is by no means the worst I've seen - we have no totally OT threads about whose cat has had kittens.

But let me tell you this - if this forum were closed as "a place for residents to seek help from other residents", people would just colonize another forum, and it would become the new discussion area. That's what happens. The only way there isn't going to be a discussion forum is if LL close the entire board, and I doubt if they would want to do that.

Really, this is becoming so much like living in a communist country. "Oh, you mustn't talk about this, you mustn't talk about that, mustn't criticize the Party." And you get these self-appointed commissars who are the first to try and knock you down even though they have no authority.

So let's stop the whining, please. Be grateful that there are no huge threads about Iraq.

Perfectly Stated!!! People who are so f'ing uptight that they acually AR when they feel a thread is in the wrong catagory need to get off the forums and go acually enjoy an SL, or what the hell even a RL! You arn't a moderator, your a tattle tail on the lowest level. I suggest getting involved in real issues, pull the stick out of your ass and acually make some friends instead of turning people away from you with these ridiculous actions. Or you know what try Gore they like control freaks. This is not a real issue, and I think it's really sad that this is how you choose to devote your efforts into making sl a better place, by AR'ing when you feel people list in the wrong catagory. Jopsy, you are NOT a moderator.