Please read - possible solution to ' off topic ' disagreements

First topic message reminder :

Afternoon, fellas.

A problem which has repeatedly blighted the forum in recent weeks has been the question of how to address ' off topic ' discussions, and if you'll all bear with me for the few minutes it will require to read this I believe I can offer a workable solution.

It has never been my intention, nor that of anybody else, to discourage ' banter.' On the contrary, banter is invaluable in the cultivation of community spirit, and some of the light hearted stuff yielded by Union's ' Prediction league ' threads ( by way of example, ) is a joy to read and can be very, very funny. Nobody would wish to interfere with this. Similarly, originally serious boxing conversations will, sometimes, fly off at a tangent , though it is hoped that the conversations might, eventually, return to the subject which the author intended.

Herein lies the problem.

You would surely agree with me that if a discussion involving a fantasy fight between Aaron Pryor and Julio Cesar Chavez should evolve into a discussion about the desires of one or two to service Megan Fox then certain folks are going to be pretty disgruntled. The old solution, which was to split off the ' off topic ' posts and dump them, arbitrarily, into the ' off topic ' section, would invariably put noses out of joint since the discussions had no exclusive identity, and multiple mergings would produce utter chaos.

By way of solution, I propose the following :

1. We delete, with immediate effect, the ' Non - boxing chat ' sticky.

2. We open a brand new sub section ( just like ' The boxing vault ' ) entitled ' Trash talk.'

3. This ' Trash talk ' subsection will enjoy multiple threads, each of which will retain the title of the parent thread from which it was derived, but will contain the ' off topic ' posts split from said thread, these serving as a starting point for each discussion. By way of example, parent thread ' Pryor v Chavez - who wins ? ' which spawns a conversation about Mexican food, will have all Mexican food comments split off into a thread in the ' Trash talk ' sub section entitled ' Pryor v Chavez - who wins ? '

In this manner, the principle problem inherent in the merging of threads is eradicated.

Obviously, offensive language, etc., will still not be permitted but, other than that, members will be able to chat to their hearts' content about a given sub topic while those who wish to stay ' on topic ' can do so unfettered.

This is a concerted effort to solve a serious problem at the boxing section, and I have already presented the idea to the other members of the admin team, who have given it their blessing.

We propose to set up the sub section later today, but I felt it right and proper to give you all a chance to air your views before we do.

Over to you.

Bottom line, fellas, is that any group of individuals, whether in cyberspace or real space, can only function together if each member of the group has a degree of sensitivity to the needs of each other member.

This new section is an honest attempt to be sensitive to the needs of those of you who love the off topic stuff, and perhaps even more than you love the boxing stuff. All you are asked, in return, is that the needs of those less inclined to take pleasure in the off topic stuff might enjoy equal priority, and that in each case the fundamental House Rules are observed.

In my opinion, this is as close as we can get to everybody deriving from the forum that which he wishes to.

Fists of Fury wrote:

Union Cane wrote:

Strongback wrote:Letting people jibe each other was always a fun part of the board.

Silly Irish git.

Exhibit A.

Don't worry about him, he's a lightweight. His hobby is solving anagrams.

The first time he hit a boxing bag he broke his hand.

Strongback wrote:Don't worry about him, he's a lightweight. His hobby is solving anagrams.

The first time he hit a boxing bag he broke his hand.

Great thread. A day after his 'Where should I hang my heavy bag?' thread.

Strongback wrote:Don't worry about him, he's a lightweight. His hobby is solving anagrams.

The first time he hit a boxing bag he broke his hand.

Strongback = Track Bongs



That proves how hard I hit, surely?

Too hard

How High Should I Hang my Heavy Bag http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A61712705

Some of the comments are gold, TRUSSMAN:

"You should forget about the bag and just hang yourself............."

Ha, vintage Trussman.

What ever happened to salford viking, and whilst I'm at it another great poster from the old 606 - rapidDanManchester.

Scottrf wrote:How High Should I Hang my Heavy Bag http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A61712705

Some of the comments are gold, TRUSSMAN:

"You should forget about the bag and just hang yourself............."

Is hard to understand sometimes why Truss antagonises people

Fists of Fury wrote:Ha, vintage Trussman.

What ever happened to salford viking, and whilst I'm at it another great poster from the old 606 - rapidDanManchester.

Salfordviking worked for the debt colletcors. Just disappeared without a trace. Makes you wonder if some people just die?

Scottrf wrote:How High Should I Hang my Heavy Bag http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A61712705

Some of the comments are gold, TRUSSMAN:

"You should forget about the bag and just hang yourself............."

I thought Truss owning Union was just a recent thing. It's obviously been going on for years......

HumanWindmill wrote:
2. We open a brand new sub section ( just like ' The boxing vault ' ) entitled ' Trash talk.'

3. This ' Trash talk ' subsection will enjoy multiple threads, each of which will retain the title of the parent thread from which it was derived, but will contain the ' off topic ' posts split from said thread, these serving as a starting point for each discussion. By way of example, parent thread ' Pryor v Chavez - who wins ? ' which spawns a conversation about Mexican food, will have all Mexican food comments split off into a thread in the ' Trash talk ' sub section entitled ' Pryor v Chavez - who wins ? '

In this manner, the principle problem inherent in the merging of threads is eradicated.

Obviously, offensive language, etc., will still not be permitted but, other than that, members will be able to chat to their hearts' content about a given sub topic while those who wish to stay ' on topic ' can do so unfettered.

This is a concerted effort to solve a serious problem at the boxing section, and I have already presented the idea to the other members of the admin team, who have given it their blessing.

We propose to set up the sub section later today, but I felt it right and proper to give you all a chance to air your views before we do.

Over to you.

~ Mr. Winds, sir, Boxing has the 2nd most "hits" to Rugby Union, so apologies for my poor efforts to populate the board so as to put it over the top, but a one man cannot fight every battle in this great universe of ours. You will just have to do with my infrequent efforts from time to time.

Could we just have a subsection for sub-boxing fans who are only interested in making big noise with their Barney Preschool Rattles? In that fashion you retain your "hits" and allow real boxing fans to converse with meaning and allow the sub-boxing fans to rattle their Barney Rattlers to their hearts content.

Regardless of your decisions to improve the place, whatever improves your moderation efficiency should feature prominently, so well done sir(s).

That schtick ceased to be amusing the moment it began.

Hi Windy,
I think it is a good idea, and I can appreciate the balance you are trying to achieve, but I think the actual moving of certain threads (or part of them) to the 'Trash Talk' section will need to be done with a lot of discretion.

Taking this thread as a perfect example - a question was posed, you had sensible responses, and on the way a lot of funny comments and random junk. But essentially the thread stayed on topic. A similar thing happens with the boxing threads; they can stay on topic even though maybe 40% of the comments are nothing to do with the original post.

As a suggestion, perhaps you can gauge how quickly bits of a thread moves
to 'Trash Talk' based on the original topic of the thread? So if an article is about, say, Jack Johnson's early career or the defensive abilities of Roberto Duran most non-boxing comments get moved off the threads straight away, whereas if the thread is about how Tyson would whoop the overrated Johnson or that Duran was rolled like a drunk against Hearns a bit more leeway would be allowed.

must point this out i did come up with this idea like a over a month ago and could have saved a lot of time for you all if you decided to go with it... snob mode over great to have you back windy we all missed you want a cyberhug? you might wanna wear protection you dont wanna know where ive been...

Perfessor, Chelski and Alex, thanks for your collective input.

Chelski we would, of course, need to be sure that a thread had progressed beyond the point where it could reasonably survive without intervention before moving contributions. This, of course, would be discretionary, but I believe that most of us can normally discern the point at which a thread has gone so far. There comes a point when the humorous stuff has its own momentum and no longer requires the stimulus of the boxing discussion. It is at this point where, thus far, one or other group has been required to lose out, which has led to a certain amount of resentment.

Nobody need lose out any longer.

Relocation of contributions provides for no loss to those who are enjoying the banter, but also provides the means by which the thread can be rejuvenated so that the boxing element can be developed.

Nobody loses out and everybody gets to enjoy the discussion he would like to.

Alex, I apologize for not having twigged when you suggested something of this ilk. Thanks for the welcome back, mate.

Thanks Windy

For what it's worth I think you do a great job modding and I felt I was stating the obvious a bit, but thought I may as well add my 2 cents.

Thank you very much for the nice compliment, Chelski.

Your ' 2 cents ' are as welcome - and as important - as everybody else's.

I think you're rubbish, Windy, and the boxing section improved immeasurably on Thursday afternoon or whenever it was you disappeared.

Alas, upon your return it is now firmly back in the doldrums.

Well, we all knew that, Fists.

I'm just trying to offer some mild compensation.........................................

aww, i think someone wants some attention...