genestarwind21122 wrote:Define what you think should or shouldn't be allowed in the Off topic, Way off topic and It's all about me section.
the ubiquitous MOD359 wrote:Off Topic is for serious discussions about things which may not fit as a topic into the rest of the forums. For example, a discussion about Art or the Sims online would fit into the Off Topic forum as the threads actually have a constructive purpose and are meant for (at least semi-) serious discussion.
Way Off Topic is for silly stuff and primarily conversational threads with no set topic. If Spam is going to happen (and I'm not saying that it will), it will happen in this forum - no where else. Thus the plethora of "Merry Christmas!" messages get put in Way Off Topic (it's up to debate whether they would be better off in All About Me) along with stuff like "I like pie" and threads which are simply pointing out some weird link like "Most disturbing present EVAR!"
All about me is for shoutouts, self plugs, and whatever other ego-stroking activities the trolls may be inclined to post.
Personally, I think if there is to be an off-topic section, it would only consist of one Off-Topic section. No WOT and no IAAM. Those were only superfluous categories and, in retrospect, very bad ideas since they promoted spam posts. Off-Topic should consist of serious, or at least
viable discussions. None of this "What word are you thinking of?" or "Let's make this the longest thread EVAR" crap. Also, just because the name of the topic is "Off-Topic", that doesn't mean that your goal is to make the threads off-topic. The OT sections should have merely caught all the threads that would not logically fit the other areas, but instead it became the dumping ground for whatever stream-of-thoughtlessness people felt like inflicting on everyone else.
Does this mean that there were no good threads in OT? No, but the shit threads far outweighed the worthwhile ones when they were removed. It became an environment where you were considered "cool" if you posted frequently, regardless of the quality of the content, and new members saw this and decided to emulate this style of posting with increasingly ridiculous posts. I don't mind threads where people joke around, but if you're just posting "+1" or smiley faces or one word posts and catch phrases that don't advance any sort of conversation, you're just wasting the reader's time.
Yes, I concede that there could be some benefit to an off-topic forum, but not if all you're going to do is maintain the status quo of stupidity that they degenerated into last time. If you all could guarantee that the OT would remain a positive influence on the rest of the forums, then maybe it might be put back, but if all you're going to do is whine about it and then spam somewhere else here, don't expect to be taken seriously.