Stop the Off-topic Discussions!

oops.  sorry.  newby mistake.  did not understand the focus was limited to Libronix mechanics.

Thanks, Richard:

I've been "wedded" to Libronix since 2.0 ... back in the 80's I used to have a couple thousand printed books and have given almost all of them away to a Bible College and some missionaries.  So, Libronix is a big part of my life ... teaching is my primary gifting, and Libronix certainly does help "redeem the time" in preparation, making the process much more of a blessing for me, and hopefully richer for the students as well.

I've been to several of Morris' classes, and went on the Alaska Cruise (had a great time!), but previously had been frustrated by the lack of a forum.  Oops - a touchy subject these days I guess - my barrier was that I refuse to use Outlook since it is essentially a portal to viruses, and all my email, etc has for years been via Yahoo.  So, when I recently discovered a forum was in place, I was quite enthused.

Maybe you could tell me - is there a Files area somewhere that we can share our WorkSpaces and Resource Associations, etc that is part of this Forum?  I've developed a somewhat unique approach to workspace and RA organization, which I'd like to share with others in the next few weeks ... and hopefully learn some new tricks and workarounds for various nuisance-items in the current engine.

Anyways, thanks for your timely and gracious words!

Jim,

I know that your "excursion" into the scientific was OT (off topic), but it was SO refreshing. My family is going to the Creation Museum's Creation College in a couple of weeks. Many of the topics you discussed will be taught there as well. I'm looking forward to any further comments you might make...offline of course.

Send me something at bshewmkr at netins dot net

JoanKorte said:

having a list of what is permissible and what isn't permissible

Yes, I agree with this.  It would be wise to have a set of rules.  As pointed out, some OT discussions end up quite helpful and sometimes end up connecting with the software in some way and thus can be useful.  But a set of rules that can be pointed to (not when the rules are broken necessarily, but when the rules are abused) I think would be helpful.

Hi, Bill -

On its way to you!

Keep looking up!

In thinking about this, there is one good solution that has not been mentioned.



When I was building and running my own discussion forum several years back, I had an option to "Split" a thread. This way, when folks got off topic, I could simply take all the Off Topic posts, split them into a new thread, and let people post away.



Here is my suggestion then. Why not create a Forum for "Off Topic" debate and discussion. Then allow someone with the power to moderate, to split off distracting discussions and move them to the new forum.



This way everyone wins.



Folks who are annoyed, don't have to read.

The original thread is kept on topic for those who want to stay on topic.

Those who want to argue or fight can have their own new sandbox to play in :-)



Can we make that happen Logos?



Tell you what, hire me and lets get it done :-)

I also agree that the off-topic conversations would best be served in a forum devoted to that. With that said it would be "extremely" helpful if that the conversations carried out in this forum were discussed in the "Love of Christ" instead of some of the firey darts tha thave been going on in recent weeks.

This goes for the old-timers as well. There is no excuse for brothers and sisters in Christ to be slamming others because they do not have the same theological leanings as others. God places those called by His name into the body as HE desires (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

For too long the body of Christ has been good shooting ourselves in the foot while our real enemy sits on the sideline and enjoys the show. Let's unite and discuss things on topic with the same love, grace, and mercy our heavenly Father affords us each and everyday.

In Christ,

Ken

Apparently, from all the responses in such a short time, we have found common ground on a subject everyone is an expert; what not to talk about and how to say and prove you are "in the spirit".

I would tell you what I am really thinking; though, it would be off topic and not PC!

Yes, Split the threads. It is also possible to lock down a thread so no new posts can happen. But it is pretty clear more than a few enjoy some of the off topic stuff.

Matthew C Jones said:

Logos is probably gleaning the wheat from the tares.

I am sorry - when all I see is the tares among the wheat, I stop looking for the wheat!

Blessings,

Floyd

That's why God doesn't let us do the gleaning. (Mt.25:14-30).[C]

Brad

 

I have another question. Why did my blank lines not appear in my post? It ran it all together in one paragraph.

JackCaviness said:

I have benn a member of forums in which the moderators clamped down on posts to keep everything on target, even to the point of suspending some of the most helpful members of the community. The forums quickly became so boring that posts dried up and forum attendance faded away.

One of the things that I really liked about the news groups was the way that discussions developed around Logos and the OT elements were an important part of the groups character. The forum has inherited some of this and I personally see this as good my only problem is that the way the forum presents the messages it is sometimes difficult (impossible) to follow the multiple discussion threads.

+

Dave Hooton said:

Joe Miller said:

I got confused and thought this post from you Phil  (on page one) came after my suggestion (on page two). I may still be off base in posting the suggestion though, so I will assume my current post above reflects your wishes about off-topic comments unless I hear otherweise.

Maybe Logos can't split posts with this forum software, or simply do not wish to be burdened with the task. Phil's reply was rather lame (lacking authority/finality/decisiveness) given the total history of Off-topic posts and requests through the newsgroups and this forum.

Phil's response wasn't really lame. It just wasn't what some wanted to hear. Perhaps some wanted no response from Logos. Perhaps some wanted Logos to permanently ban certain users and rescind their license agreements. Perhaps many wanted some type of moderate accomodations for all posters. But it really should not surprise us that a box full of preachers &/or academics should get  a little rowdy. If you've ever introduced a new parakeet to your birdcage social network you know the next morning you will find blood & feathers everywhere.  [6]   [^o)]  [8o|]  [:@] [+o(]  [:#]  [:'(]  [:$]  [:(] 

And now my blank lines worked too! Cyberspace is smiling on me!

Graham Owen said:

The forum has inherited some of this and I personally see this as good my only problem is that the way the forum presents the messages it is sometimes difficult (impossible) to follow the multiple discussion threads.

Very true. This forum is in desperate need of some improvements to make it more manageable in more ways than one.

Scott

As far as I know, there are no rules, just a recommendation of Phil. I like it this way.

Richard DeRuiter said:

alanleerosenaur said:

Like others have said, if you have a problem with a topic just ignore it. We are all adults here and hopefully if we find something offensive we will either bring it up in a discussion politely or we will ignore it. Logos doesn't need to police us. As others have said, when clamping down starts people leave. Look at the commentary thread, more than 100 responses and for the most part its been polite and beneficial. If Logos minds then they will close such threads and make a sticky. Otherwise I think we can continue to post things that interest us and for those who choose not to take part they don't have to.

It would be easier to ignore if the discussions were threaded, rather than as now: each topic is one continuous ramble.As it is now, one has to wade through off-topic stuff fairly regularly to get to the substantial stuff.

This is Logos' bandwidth and they get to set the boundaries. Frankly, for those who would come just to promote their cause, views, etc., let 'em leave and go find a forum where someone wants to debate them. I am grateful when those who will not listen stop talking.

Be assured, Logos will clamp down if discussions get out of hand, and if too much off-topic posting goes on. In fact, it is one of the arguments against a forum, and for a return to the newsgroups.

I have to respectfully disagree. To say that if someone desires to discuss their views, cause, etc... let them leave and find another forum, why? Logos is a digital library program built and centered around the Bible, Therefore everyone here is interested in the Bible in one way or another. Many of the other forums are a bunch of raving lunatics who just want to yell and scream. I have yet to see that here. Sure, some topics may get heated however I have yet to see it get out of hand. What I have seen are people who disagree come together and at the end of the day agree to disagree. That in itself is a reason TO KEEP the off topic discussions. I am personally interested to hear what others have to say as I find myself learning even if I may disagree with their views. I find it sad that people here only want to talk about "books" rather than the content that makes these books. And again, like others have said, if Logos finds these discussions to be offensive then they will act. They don't need to have others policing these forums for them. We are all adults and until we cease acting as adults we should be treated as adults.