Please make "Why is this here?" posts infractable in Off-Topic

[Lovestar]

As a poster who really enjoys the Off-Topic area and the colorful/diverse discussions that pop up there (when mods don't irresponsibly flamebait threads, but I digress), there's an annoying trend going on which I tried to be patient with at first but I'm becoming increasingly frustrated by.

This is individuals who pop into an off-topic post and say something along the lines of:

Why is this on a video-games forum? This doesn't belong here. I am offended to the very deepest core of my Cowper and/or Bartholin glands by the existence of this thread. Please remove it and never discuss anything except hating Gnomes and using Worgen as 2-person mounts ever again.

At first I was like, "OK, it's their opinion, that's cool. Everyone's entitled to an opinion." But it really craps up threads and temporarily derails them as other posters patiently explain helpful points like:

• It says Off-Topic in the breadcrumbs at the top of the page
• If you dislike the thread's existence, you do not need to participate or read it
• You can uncheck the "Show off-topic" button in the front page thread feed

Since the reason for the threads existence is so bloody obvious if people would think or look around a second before posting, it feels like such a waste of everyone's time. At the same time, I don't want to report these people since they're not doing anything that bad and I'm not sure if it's even justified. Do the sheriffs and deputies have a stance on this?

Legal disclaimer: if there is a real user registered as CaptainObvious, they did not actually post that.

[Arcilux]

I just think people need to be reminded that there is a checkbox on the home page that allows you to ignore off-topic forums. That is an excellent feature and if people would use it it would solve a lot of problems.

[Fuzzzie]

I usually just remind them that it's an off topic forum. There's not a lot you can do really. If they spam it in every thread though...

[Lysah]

(when mods don't irresponsibly flamebait threads, but I digress)

Who does this?

And as you acknowledged, it's not really ban worthy if they only do it once.

[Lovestar]

And as you acknowledged, it's not really ban worthy if they only do it once.

Oh, I would never endorse summarily banning someone just for asking an unnecessary but ultimately harmless question. I was talking more like a slap-on-the-wrist "Think for 30 seconds before you post, dammit!" sort of thing. But honestly, the more I think about it, the more that's not really addressing the issue.

I think a better solution for everyone's time would just to be somehow make the existence (and admin-approval) of Off-Topic more clear to the many posters who seem totally unaware of it. That should hopefully reduce the shocked and confused people stumbling into threads not about video gaming and acting like deer in headlights.

I'm partial to a pop-up which says, "You're entering Off-Topic. This is about RL topics, not WoW. Your fragile heart may explode if you proceed." the first time people cross over to General OT. Preferably with an optional audio recording in C'Thun's voice for the visually-impaired. But someone smarter probably has a more elegant solution.

[Lysah]

I wouldn't be adverse to making the checkbox that disables the off topic forum from showing in the latest posts feed "on" by default, which would probably solve your problem.

[Lovestar]

I thought of that, but it would actually hurt OT threads more than it would help them, I suspect. A lot of the posters who wander in and contribute really great stuff probably do so because the title interested them on the little feed box.

[Lysah]

That's true. It's a give and take, then =p

[Lovestar]

I think if the broader community was just made aware of three things, somehow (since apparently Boubouille's news posts about it wasn't enough...), it would pretty much solve everything:

• There are Off-Topic forums now where non-WoW/RL subjects are both allowed and approved of, and they're not going away
• You can avoid having these OT threads in the news feed by unchecking the little box
• You can click "What's New" to see a list of all the recent posts beyond the front-page feed

OK the last one isn't related to this at all but it'd be a good PSA anyway.

[Lysah]

People are just oblivious. They look on the front page, read "LGBT thread," and click it with their rage hats on. Not a lot we can really do about it unless there was a way to show subforums along with thread titles, but that would be a lot of work for a little problem.

[GeaMyaLor]

I thought that it used to say (Off Topic) in parentheses before the topic on the homepage so even if you weren't 100% sure it was on or off topic you'd know for sure. Now, I do not see the off topic warning on the front page.

[Sunshine]

Hmm.. I think the plan was to put icons next to each of them, but I'm not sure what happened to that. I'll look into it.

[Lovestar]

Making the "Show Off-Topics" checkbox more obvious (yeah, I know, but... ), like... I don't know... a neon-yellow border and a flashing red arrow (hyperbole, but the idea) might help clarify people's options, too. Perhaps phrasing it as, "Only show topics related to WoW" would be more obvious to people.

Then again, maybe it's better to just force people to get used to it. That's worked pretty well in alot of more important social situations historically. Either way thanks for taking time to listen and discuss my concern, I appreciate it

[Deleted]

I was reading and contributing to your wonderful thread about feminism and suddenly there was a whole page about Transgender and sex issues. Don't get me wrong, it was rather interesting, but I felt as though the thread itself lost its weight and meaning somehow, since the responses thereafter contributed to the very detailed offtopic post.

I was going to say, "this is offtopic can it be moved to..." just like entire threads can, but I guess thats not possible?

[Lovestar]

I was reading and contributing to your wonderful thread about feminism and suddenly there was a whole page about Transgender and sex issues. Don't get me wrong, it was rather interesting, but I felt as though the thread itself lost its weight and meaning somehow, since the responses thereafter contributed to the very detailed offtopic post.

I was going to say, "this is offtopic can it be moved to..." just like entire threads can, but I guess thats not possible?

Yeah I'm sorry about that. I mentioned in my response to the OT back on the first page that I was trans just to set the tone for my own interpretations of the topic. Pages later, someone responded to me quite angrily about it, and it became a tangent between them and a few posters trying to clarify my feelings for me and getting it sort of wrong in a lot of ways.

That left me in an awkward position to either risk thread derailment or not address an issue which was being assessed a little wrong and which is, admittedly, a topic of real concern to me. I chose risking derailment although, since it's kept going and going, I'm starting to wish I hadn't. I asked Lysah to move the posts to her LGBT thread, but I guess she didn't want to.

I'll probably make a thread specifically for that discussion when I get a good chance in the next few days, then beg a mod to move posts into it. Until then, sorry, I do understand how it somewhat diluted the topic.

Although I'm not sure what this has to do with this thread. In the future you should probably PM me when you have a concern such as this.

[Deleted]

You know what, I completely misread the topic of this thread! How embarrasing!

[Sunshine]

move the posts to her LGBT thread

PM me, I'll take a look, unless she actually said they shouldn't be there?

[Lysah]

PM me, I'll take a look, unless she actually said they shouldn't be there?

Whether they should or should not be there is of little matter, in my opinion. If merged they would be out of order with little context to make sense in the LGBT thread. It didn't seem necessary either, since the topic had returned to its original purpose in the feminism thread.

In short, all is well.

[Sunshine]

Ok! I like when all is well! Carry on!

[Simca]

The Off-Topic Forum Guidelines have been updated by Alram to now include "Why is this here?" posts as prohibited.