I basically agree with you richardve. Woohoo! And a big thanks for the well thought-out and written argument.
I just think all the “instant-flame-replies” are hurting the forum as much as the OT posts.
And, hasn’t anyone noticed that it hasn’t actually stopped the flood of OT posts?
I think a better solution would be either (1) a new forum here for OT posts (which I’ve requested) or (2) absolutely zero replies to OT posts. (they’ll go away on their own when they get no responses). I’ll be happy to abide by either.
Has anyone else written to the boardmaster their ideas?
actually didn’t call anyone immature or unprofessional
Yes you have - you’ve used the word ‘unprofessional’ twice in both this and a previous thread. Someone else used the word immature. I wasn’t aiming specifically at you - I hope this doesn’t disappoint you.
As for my question about you being called ‘stupid’, I was attempting to be playful - I should use more smiley faces, I suppose. Don’t let it make you angry.
Anyway, this will be my last contribution to this thread (and any future threads on this subject), as it seems to be going nowhere, and I really should get back on with my work (any excuse to skive, that’s me!).
You may have the last word
Originally posted by painterb:
[b]I just think all the “instant-flame-replies” are hurting the forum as much as the OT posts.
Agreed. Apart from anything else, flamefests keep the OT posts up at the top of the board, making the problem look even worse than it really is.
I think a better solution would be either (1) a new forum here for OT posts (which I’ve requested) or
Wouldn’t work, at least not on its own. They don’t post Beginner questions in the Beginners forum; what on earth makes you think they’d post OT questions in an OT forum?
(2) absolutely zero replies to OT posts. (they’ll go away on their own when they get no responses).
Better, but I still don’t think it would work. People do reply (helpfully) to obvious “bad” posts, either because they’re just naturally helpful or because they feel embarrassed on behalf of the board that previous replies have contained so much flamage. There isn’t enough consensus on the board to maintain a real embargo on bad questions.
It’s the right idea - we need to make sure that repeated “bad” posting is unproductive for the poster. The embargo is worth a try, but I suspect it’d take moderation to really achieve this.
MikeC, you hit the nail on the head there. Just look at the amount of replies these OT and ranting posts are attracting?! Perhaps people here need an outlet to vent their frustration or something, and see these “annoying” posts as a way to do so.
The solution is SIMPLE!
DO NOT reply to OT posts. When ppl realise their posts are going to be ignored they will stop posting stupid stuff, and IT STOPS THE POSTS BEING BUMPED BACK UPTO THE TOP! As soon as 1 person replies, it shoots straight to the top, and then someone else jumps on the bandwagon! Before you know it the board is full of OT posts with about 30 replies each with everyone just slagging everyone off.
Just ignore OT posts, and DO NOT EVEN REPLY! Then they will drop off the bottom of the board quickly!
IF ppl can’t do this, then I suggest a moderated board where moderators can remove/move posts that dont belong here.
Nutty is absolutely right. Don’t flame people for posting way-OT – just don’t reply. Replying makes things worse by keeping the thread at the top, and encouraging a flamewar (which will keep the threat at the top even longer).
For reasons which should be obvious, I reply selectively.
It’s impossible to differentiate between advanced and beginner threads, certainly when starting out - it’s such a subjective thing to say. And knocking someone for posting in the wrong forum is blatantly unfair.
I assume everyone in here wants to promote OpenGL … why knock someone else for trying to learn it? Eventually a newcomer will be able to decide what’s advanced and what’s not. A few friendly pointers will go a long way to HELP them - not hinder.
BTW - I think the NV guys actually make this place. At least we get the ‘facts’ about certain questions rather than opinion.
Humus … I missed your post - but I think you are right. A seperate forum for rants like this. And if enough people visited it, this topic would be redundant.
How about this suggestion, if a person posts an OT topic in the advanced forum, reply to that person via email instead of in the forum. Or just not reply at all if you aren’t the overly helpful type.
>> just don’t reply. Replying makes things w <<
unfortunatly like communism it doesnt work like that in the real world. having more forums IMHO is the best solution (cause OT posts aint gonna go away) and they dont have to be just about opengl there are a lot of marinally related topics (yes i know this is www.opengl.org)) eg my major computer interest is AI (seriously) having specialized forums like AI/algorithms etc will cut down the offtopic posts (+ will prolly create a more community feel here)
as spock would say ‘this is logical’ unlike some utopia of ‘keeping the status quo + not replying to OT posts’. surely we have some say in these boards
btw i would luv the option of seeeing ‘new’ posts since i last visited to opengl.org. the guesswork way like now dont cut it im afraid
i’m reading parts of this topic, scrolling over most of it. its just very annoying to see that much talkin ABOUT the offtopic and newbie posts.
i don’t have much problems about such questions and try to answer them, too…
its in fact a nice expirience to do so. why?
newbie-questions:
try to explain the stuff in a way that even the newbie understands it means you really have to know what you’re talkin about. newbies don’t want a “call glDoItForMe()” but an explanation why. at least, the ones that are willing to learn
offtopic-questions:
great, lets see if i know this, too… even if its win32-related, or its math-related, or grafics-related (meshes,data-structures, what ever)
my suggestion: add a love-hate button. so everyone who sees the post can press either i [LOVE] the post or i [HATE] the post. and on the mainpage you see how loved the post is. that way you can easily move over posts no one likes because they are annoying anyways
and for the social thinkin people:
[LOVE] and [NOT LOVE THAT MUCH] instead of [LOVE] and [HATE]
i’m pissed off of one thing: the angry posts. is it an angry reply or even an angry topic like this. that should not be allowed anymore…
Okay, a topic should be closed in my eyes when the initial question has been answered. I would like best to have ONE forum for everything where something is still happening, and then close all topics when the initial question has been answered and archive them according to their content, possibly putting them into multiple archive forums. Then users can vote in the archives to get something like a top-ten for example. Useless topics can be deleted immediately and topics that nobody posts to anymore can also be deleted. All that done by some volunteer moderator.
And a big thanks for the well thought-out and written argument.
richardve: 