LadyRushia (post: 1415964) wrote:LOL I derp'd, but I just woke up not too long ago. Y'all knew what I meant, XD.
I guess if a thread didn't want to take itself seriously, it would have to be really obvious about the fact that it's a joke. I'm thinking of one Goof-Off thread that happened not too long ago about existentialism or nihilism, or one of those philosophical "isms." Then again, that thread was supposed to be a joke and it still turned serious.
Other than that, I think a lot of what we consider silly spam threads would be just fine on the other boards. We'd probably have to implement a stricter policy on posting threads with substance. For example, a thread that just says "i liek cheese lol" should be deleted in my opinion, and the OP should be encouraged to try again by adding more substance to the thread. There's a huge difference between "i liek cheese lol" and a thread about the person's favorite kind of cheese and why it's their favorite, and then asking the other members what kind of cheese they like.
This is a very insightful point blkmage, and I would like to tarry here for a bit. Most of what follows will be only slightly related (but nonetheless, related) to the thrust of this thread.blkmage (post: 1415944) wrote:...we've ended up with sort of a sub-community that's grown [in Goof-Off]...
And it may be my own experience in learning the ropes of forum communities, but I've found that encouraging good posting in regular subforums is a far better way to introduce and encourage people to participate than giving them a forum where they can mess around indefinitely. The problem with branching out from Goof Off is that the style of posting there is extremely different from the other subforum that there is no way to reasonably ease into it except to have been posting on those subforums already. In that case, it's kind of redundant to me.
Furen (post: 1415986) wrote:For the goof off section being for new users (which I am) how would we know when we would "graduate" in that sense, your post count doesn't go up so that would be one less way of knowing when you have finished.
I agree in the comfort level being too set. I generally post in the general or goof off sections although I like the other sections but general/goof off seem to be more diverse.
The way the doctor explained it you also see different parts of this site as their stand alone area, which more or less becomes like a club, so it starts what the CAA has said they didn't want to go to with the clubs/groups of people who don't usually intermingle (unless on the chat).
Exhibit A.Rusty Claymore (post: 1416033) wrote:Goof Off tends to be a little less consequential if you make a mistake. In General, a slight misinterpretation of wording can get you hammered pretty hard by some of our well-meaning but more feisty members, because it's "serious." I've seen this, though for obvious reasons I'm not going to name instances. The same misinterpretation in Goof Off will be pointed out, usually with a joke, and folks laugh about it, and no one gets burned. XP
Indeed, or at least I would like to think so.mechana2015 (post: 1416038) wrote:The whole site should be a novice safe zone.
Furen (post: 1416049) wrote:We should figure out a way to correct someone in general without cracking a joke to break it nicely without the thread heading straight for the goof off area.
mechana2015 (post: 1416055) wrote:The easiest way is to remind yourself that you're talking to a real human being with feelings and emotions, then correct them in the manner that would make sense if you were talking to them in person. Usually the best way is quick, quiet and to the point without calling names or blowing things out of proportion.
TheSubtleDoctor (post: 1416047) wrote:Exhibit A.
Rusty Claymore (post: 1416130) wrote:Now I'm confused.
But if it's an irony, I think I see where you are coming from, so please read it, "result in a sudden increase in the attention of some of the forum's-"
That brings up the point of reginal and sociologic differences, but I think that's a whole different kettle of fish.
mechana2015 (post: 1416055) wrote:A hypothetical example would be a thread about... cats. Too many pictures were posted from LOLcats on the thread so it gets moved to Goof Off, and suddenly the thread is hijacked and turned into a catgirls thread, then a random images thread, then an RP about one of the random images springs up. Meanwhile the OP has given up on talking about cats, including the post they were getting ready that answered a question about one of the types of cats in a picture that was posted when the LOLcats showed up. They won't start another cat thread because they jsut made one and the discussion will get killed for at least a few weeks, and more likely than not that user won't post another thread about cats. Hypothetical? Yes. Far off base? I don't think so (but I wrote it).
The end result of the move is the destruction of the thread and discouragement of the discussion, at least for a time. It's not intended to be punitive, but it ends up that way anyhow, both punishing the OP and the users who tried to bring a little on topic levity to the thread.
Radical Dreamer (post: 1416176) wrote:I think what he's saying is that your post just proved his point, which was that Goof Off feels safer for new members when it shouldn't be. The whole board should feel safe, and new members shouldn't be intimidated from posting by older members, whether intentionally or not. Thing is, that's how it is right now, just because a lot of us that post on the rest of the boards don't often realize how hard we're coming across when we make a correction or point something out to a newer member. XD
shooraijin (post: 1416177) wrote:But what was the real problem, moving the thread or the fact the thread was already LOLCATted?
mechana2015 (post: 1416417) wrote:In my example I personally would say that moving the thread was the problem since posting pictures of cats in a thread about cats (even if they have some funny words written across them) is still on topic, and doesn't prevent the thread from having text posts about cats after them that are perfectly serious.
I think part of the concern is that there is no easy line that says 'if x many posts are images an a row, whether they're on topic or not, this thread is now unable to be recovered as a conversation and will be moved'. The lack of clarity means that even the best intended attempts at humor, especially based on images, suddenly become labeled off topic when they hit some sort of unknown point. Should there only be 3 images related to the topic allowed in a row before an on topic text post is required? 10 images? One page? We as users don't know so we don't know where to step back and steer the topic back before it gets instantly moved. Acts of moderation are perceived as punitive when users don't know why it happened. They presume something went wrong somewhere, even if they can't see it, and in peoples minds moves become punishment for being 'too silly'.
This gets back to the original concern I had when I answered the opening post, of how we aren't really clear, as users, what Goof Off should be for, and that there's a disparity between the purpose for it and the perception of it. It seems that it's taken as a catch all for humor, off topic threads and forum games, but the way it's structured means that threads with legitimate content don't survive well there and aren't likely to recover any discussion once placed there, and the on topic content is lost for good as the thread is sunk under ten or so game threads that update once every ten minutes.
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