- Duck duck DEATH
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
When I grow up I want to be bitter and spiteful.
"i liked the reality where everything was on fire better"
-legato on remedial chaos theory
I feel my previous post was not satisfactory in explaining my position on this idea.
The greatest issue I have with this idea is not the trouble of implementation but rather the purpose behind it. While shuffling off-topic threads is certainly a gallant undertaking, the wording of "unwanted threads" used in the OP has dangerous implications. Certainly unwanted would fall to violations of the rules, but already members are extending this beyond obvious spam.
dazarobbo has already proposed the addition to a suggestions section, indicating that his definition of 'unwanted' reaches to topics which have already been discussed. The question is, if a discussion already exists, perhaps debated long ago, should a user be dissuaded from creating a new topic on the matter? Said issue is not clearly defined by the standing rules, and thus it is left to the discretion of moderators. Should the filter be designed to follow a select moderator viewpoint, or strictly to follow the rules? Or perhaps should it simply recommend appropriate forums?
While I am clearly opposed to the idea as a whole, if it were to be implemented, I would hope that it's functionality be restricted to the rules. Whether this means a clarification of rules, or simply off-topic alterations, it is not for me to decide. While many users believe it is normative to advise people to post discussed issues in the larger sticky thread FAQs, my views contrast.
I do not feel discussions outside of the sticky FAQs (or as I have come to call them, "Duardo Super Threads"(ie: Script/Title threads)) are unwanted. I do not like that people wish to redirect discussion to them. In one manner, it belittles the topic posted, as there is a more 'official' thread on it in existence. Additionally, posting, reading, and navigating these Super Threads is a daunting challenge. Often essential points of discussion can become lost in the sea of the topic's general discussion, and key hyperlinks are often dictated by several sole users managing the OP and subsequent directory pages of the thread.
Ultimately, I want this concept of 'unwanted threads' to be limited to that of off-topic forum posting, and not to deter any more discussion than it would encourage. Also, I have nothing against Duardo, it's just that his General FAQ threads seemed the most ubiquitous when I coined the term.