New forum area

[Droth]

Even in the rants forum everyone(for the most part) makes an effort to stay on topic. while this is all fine and good some thoughts and conversations branch out to a much larger issues than the topic of the thread. take for instance a thread i was just in about grammar. this thread start as a post about grammar and within a single post opened up paths to internet security,legal issues of internet wire tapping,freedom of speech,privacy on the internet,hacking and our rights in general. now the other chap and i both decided to take our thoughts to pm to avoid fogging up the good mans thread but people dont stay on topic when talking, it's just not how words flow when people talk with eachother(if they have something to say anyway).

many other forums i've lived at over the years had a forum section were you didnt have to stay on topic and the words flowed as water. The rules should still apply(no personal attacks no profanity ect) but it should be an area for open ended conversations. There are many great thinkers on this forum with many many thoughts but they only come out in small limited doses due to the limitations. sure i could start 6 seperate threads but the entire conversation would be in pieces and that just doesnt work.

Thinking back the only forums i visited just to visit(not game releated) had atleast one area set up like this. staying on topic is very good for some thoughts but for a forum to be alive there has to be a place with open air above.

[Tantalyr]

You might try a whirl at the Off Topic forum here . . .

[Droth]

even though the subjects there are "off topic" you have to stay within the posted topic. it's not the same thing

[AA0]

woot! Thread hijacking forum, can't wait.

[Droth]

not hijacking just allowing a little more breathing room. thoughts float around and so the topic evolves. a post may start off about why it rains but end up about space,satalites,the sun and then the univserse but this cannot happen if it must remain about the weather. but if no one here can even understand what i'm talking about perhaps it would be wasted

[Dravatar]

Some deviation is allowable, Droth. There must be a limit, however. If unlimited rambling were allowed, posts would quickly become impossible to categorize. One would have to read everything to find anything about a particular subject because no one would be able to determine when a particular thought would present itself to a writer. The best information in the world is useless if you can’t find it or use it when you need it.

Communication is both a science and an art. It takes practice to make writing ordered and concise. There are practices that do as you say, brainstorming and free writing, where you plot down what comes into your head. These are processes to create a finished product, not the final draft itself. A lot of folks write as you describe, but by spending a little time with some thoughtful editing, they create organized, on-topic posts.

If I may suggest, save your writings in an intermediate file somewhere. Then go back and put the thoughts about a particular topic together. This becomes easier with practice. We are not asking for college level term papers here by any means.

You will find that how something is presented is every bit important as what is presented. Take any piece of good writing and remove all punctuation and capitalization. Introduce some spelling and grammatical errors into it. It will not have the same effect on readers it once did by any means, even though the ideas and concepts behind the writing did not change.

[Droth]

"Some deviation is allowable, Droth. There must be a limit, however. If unlimited rambling were allowed, posts would quickly become impossible to categorize. One would have to read everything to find anything about a particular subject because no one would be able to determine when a particular thought would present itself to a writer. The best information in the world is useless if you can’t find it or use it when you need it."

Yes thus why i suggested a new area for this type of speaking. i'm not suggesting all topics in all the areas be free to chaos. just to have a place for free flowing converstation and thought. structured post are very important as without structure you would indeed never find anything but some subjects are far to deep and varied to be put under one lable and thus are impossible to categorize, which is the whole point.

"Communication is both a science and an art. It takes practice to make writing ordered and concise. There are practices that do as you say, brainstorming and free writing, where you plot down what comes into your head. These are processes to create a finished product, not the final draft itself. A lot of folks write as you describe, but by spending a little time with some thoughtful editing, they create organized, on-topic posts."

yes unless the topic is to small to hold all the connecting thoghts and ideas. if the topic is nadia sure keep it on topic and about nadia but this is not the same type of post as what i've been talking about. a post about nadia in the normal forums does indeed need to stay on the topic of nadia and things directly releated to her but for instance if a thought was somehow weaved into the thread about economics past present and future you couldnt discuss it without going beyond the confines of the topic. it would outgrow nadia and even this game and age but that is to "big" of an idea and would clutter up the thoughts and information about naida so it never happens.

"If I may suggest, save your writings in an intermediate file somewhere. Then go back and put the thoughts about a particular topic together. This becomes easier with practice. We are not asking for college level term papers here by any means."

i do this often but even then if say i finished my data on what blood mage spells techs and abilities worked well together the post would be limited to that, which is all fine and good for things like that but once again someone may have a thought or idea that discussion triggerd that may be many levels beyond blood mages,magic,classes and even the game itself but the thoughts wouldn't belong there as they are to big for the topic and would clutter the post to no end and therefore would be lost.

"You will find that how something is presented is every bit important as what is presented. Take any piece of good writing and remove all punctuation and capitalization. Introduce some spelling and grammatical errors into it. It will not have the same effect on readers it once did by any means, even though the ideas and concepts behind the writing did not change"

Agreed but also remember some people have the same releationship with grammar and spelling that ninjas have with psychics .

now i just use these as examples. i wouldnt suggest making a post about something like game mechanics or things like that if your intention was to have a collection of finite data. that isnt what this is about.

an example would be "so how do you think the nadia changes will affect the economy of istaria?". Where this topic would lead would be up to the thoughts that gatherd there. sure there would be some thoughts about the game and nadia but perhaps from there it would branch to economics in general then to the world economy and where we are headed as a race or it could just simply remain about nadia but the option would be there for it to sprout wings.

perhaps however i have misjudged and i would be better off finding a new place to discuss anything of substance instead of trying to bring it with me to my new home. if the idea behind what i'm saying cannot be grasped here i'm sure the topics that would arise would be of little instrest.

:edit: and please note that none of that was directed "at" you. i have a good deal of respect for you and your post

[tramsan]

Thread hijacking forum?


Bring.

It.

ON.

[Ophelea]

Off Topic, General Community, As You Like It...

They all mean the same thing.

The issue is flat forum posting. When forums are threaded then sub-topics branch. But in a flat forum it doesn't flow well.

I can default the forums to threaded, but somehow, I just don't see ya'll liking it too much (even though it's my preference).

Sorry, there won't be a new forum. But consider making your own preferences threaded and see if that helps.

[LaughingOtter]

perhaps however i have misjudged and i would be better off finding a new place to discuss anything of substance instead of trying to bring it with me to my new home. if the idea behind what i'm saying cannot be grasped here i'm sure the topics that would arise would be of little instrest.

On the contrary, I think the concept can be apprehended by all and sundry; I happen to be one of those that feels this sort of meandering discussion is at best inappropriate and contrary to the forum policies. If your topics of 'substance' are not Horizons-related, they belong in the Off Topic forum at best.

As a side note, petulant statements do not a convincing argument make.

[Droth]

*lets out a deep sad sigh and wanders back out into the void of cyberspace from which he came*

[Ophelea]

*lets out a deep sad sigh and wanders back out into the void of cyberspace from which he came*

I still wub you!

[Dravatar]

Easily fixed, then Droth. Make your "Off-Topic" topic as vague as your posts warrant. You can't get nailed for going off topic, then.

[Tantalyr]

Easily fixed, then Droth. Make your "Off-Topic" topic as vague as your posts warrant. You can't get nailed for going off topic, then.

Babble threads!

For you oldtimers I'll start with "Dryness face. ******** fine Cobrettis!"