HOW ABOUT ADDING AN 'OFF TOPIC' SECTION? [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

In2Photos

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 08:44

The problem with "off topic" conversation is that it can lead to heated arguments about things like religion and politics. I believe that is why Pekka does not want that kind if chatting going on here. That being said I would love to chat about things like football, specifically fantasy football.:D

tommykjensen

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 10:10

The general states that conversation needs to be about photography.

Have a look in general chat and see what kind of discussions take place there. If there is one rule around here that is enforeced very loosely it is the "keep it related to photography in general chat". Besides it dosen't take much imagination to tie photography into the discussions.

CyberDyneSystems

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 10:31

General Chat I think even used to be called "off topic" years back.. ?

This is the forum for anything and everything so long as it is not (as Mike mentions) Politics, religion etc.

Ronald S. Jr.

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 11:10

I think that a completely off topic section would probably be a waste of bandwidth, and it may make things slower, and more expensive (for pekka).

Claire

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 17:29

As Tommy said, the General section already has various topics. Not everything tied into photography or the forums, but sometimes I'll add something photo related at the very end, just for the sake of it. :)

I agree there aren't many deep conversations in the General section, but I guess that's partly cos we are avoiding the politics, religion and similar topics...

sando

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 20:25

Furry muff, I just thought that I had to talk about photography even in the general section. :)

cdifoto

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 20:27

Furry muff, I just thought that I had to talk about photography even in the general section. :)

You do. Just add "And then I took a photo of it." to the end of each original post. :)

Becca

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 20:39

You do. Just add "And then I took a photo of it." to the end of each original post. :)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Now that's clever!

sando

12th of July 2006 (Wed), 21:03

:lol:

I could just add it to my sig.... :) thanks for the tip!

lakiluno

16th of July 2006 (Sun), 14:20

"ARGH, I've got a lump on my testes...What should I do?

I took a photo of it..."

maybe not :o

condyk

16th of July 2006 (Sun), 14:27

"ARGH, I've got a lump on my testes...What should I do? I took a photo of it..."

At your age you probably still need a Macro for that :p and we have a section for Macro shots already.

Anyway, I reckon if people wanna chat about non photo stuff then get some real friends and/or do it by IM. Why do people wanna 'share' in public?

joayne

16th of July 2006 (Sun), 14:39

At your age you probably still need a Macro for that :p and we have a section for Macro shots already.

Anyway, I reckon if people wanna chat about non photo stuff then get some real friends and/or do it by IM. Why do people wanna 'share' in public?

ROTFLMAO :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

cdifoto

16th of July 2006 (Sun), 15:14

At your age you probably still need a Macro for that :p and we have a section for Macro shots already.

BUUURRNNN! :lol: :) :p

lakiluno

18th of July 2006 (Tue), 19:25

0000000000ooooooooooooooooooooooohhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not going to take that...come on, get those fists up!!

condyk

19th of July 2006 (Wed), 03:25

0000000000ooooooooooooooooooooooohhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not going to take that...come on, get those fists up!!

That sounds like the drink talking fella :p

lakiluno

19th of July 2006 (Wed), 06:36

:rolleyes:

:evil:

Belmondo

19th of July 2006 (Wed), 10:48

There will be no fist fights on POTN. How about a duel using private messges?

Let us know how it turns out.:p :p

cdifoto

19th of July 2006 (Wed), 13:28

That sounds like the drink talking fella :p

Warm milk? :)

lakiluno

20th of July 2006 (Thu), 07:30

I won...28 virtual punches to 7 - I had an emptier inbox!

Alissa Morris

10th of August 2006 (Thu), 17:52

Very good idea. Photocamel has an Off Topic Section that's kind of nice.

Funny story about that site. I've been going there since a few months after it started. When they put the Off-topic section up, in response to user demand, lots of usage was seen, but the conversation soon drifted to politics and religion. Some of the most prolific posters got really steamed and left the site forever. I think there's your danger. The OT section remains there, and it's nice, but you always run that risk.

Belmondo

10th of August 2006 (Thu), 17:59

Funny story about that site. I've been going there since a few months after it started. When they put the Off-topic section up, in response to user demand, lots of usage was seen, but the conversation soon drifted to politics and religion. Some of the most prolific posters got really steamed and left the site forever. I think there's your danger. The OT section remains there, and it's nice, but you always run that risk.

Good point. Of course, we prohibit discussions on politics, religion, ethnicity, etc.. Those are real mine fields, and invariably seem to bring out the worst in otherwise friendly people. We don't need it here---we're all lovers, not fighters.;)

peacock

10th of August 2006 (Thu), 19:15

we're all lovers, not fighters.;)

And to prove the point ,check out those "come to bed eyes" in his avvy:lol:

sando

10th of August 2006 (Thu), 23:15

"Come to bed... NOOOOOOOOW!!!!!" :evil:

:lol:

GyRob

11th of August 2006 (Fri), 07:19

Off topic would be good then i could tell you all how i hate my Mother in Law and bore you to death with all the moaning she does day in and day out nothing is good enough for her she want's this she want's that - ME ME ME all the time the most selfish person i have ever known Always want's atention day and night if my Mrs does not ring her ITS oh did you forget me ! YES we did give us a break .
anyway you get the picture lol
Rob.

tommykjensen

11th of August 2006 (Fri), 07:20

anyway you get the picture lol
Rob.

No where is it? :lol:

GyRob

11th of August 2006 (Fri), 07:21

No where is it? :lol:
lol
i would not waste sensor time on her not even 1/8000 sec ;)
Rob.

sando

14th of August 2006 (Mon), 21:43

lol
i would not waste sensor time on her not even 1/8000 sec ;)
Rob. I have one of her... let me just dig it out my archive...

*10 minutes later*

Here you go, found it:

:evil:

Alissa Morris

21st of October 2006 (Sat), 09:04

Good point. Of course, we prohibit discussions on politics, religion, ethnicity, etc.. Those are real mine fields, and invariably seem to bring out the worst in otherwise friendly people. We don't need it here---we're all lovers, not fighters.;)

They are mine fields, and they present a lot of work for moderators. If you want to see how they go, just check out this thread (http://www.photocamel.com/index.php/topic,15343.0/all.html) on photocamel. I try to steer clear of those discussions, but really I have to admit that it is quite fun to watch.

And to add another point, in having a policy to steer clear of such discussions or subjects, the ultimate mention of them just makes them even more volatile. In other words, I think one of the problems in societies today--especially the U.S.--is that people have forgotten how to discuss politics, religion, and other issues. So the reaction has been "let's not discuss them." But then when they're finally discussed, the conversation is immediately juvenile--because people essentially are juvenile in their skill-level regarding discussing sensitive subjects.

So I'm not sure it is a good idea to forbid discussion of those topics.

condyk

21st of October 2006 (Sat), 11:04

But then when they're finally discussed, the conversation is immediately juvenile--because people essentially are juvenile in their skill-level regarding discussing sensitive subjects.

I believe George WW Bush would take exception to that generalisation around political debate, however true :evil: ;)

Radtech1

23rd of October 2006 (Mon), 20:28

General Chat I think even used to be called "off topic" years back.. ?

This is the forum for anything and everything so long as it is not (as Mike mentions) Politics, religion etc.

Actually it was called "Just Talk" - remember, "The Word Is Free - Something to Say? Say It Here"

Also, remember the Share section before it got so fragmented - so you either shared - no critique, or you posted in CC for critique.

Rad

PacAce

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 21:14

Now that's a trip down memory lane. We've come a long way, eh? Check that out, 5 guests active and 0 users. :shock:

Belmondo

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 21:17

Now that's a trip down memory lane. We've come a long way, eh? Check that out, 5 guests active and 0 users. :shock:

That screen shot must've been taken long before I joined. Although I can't remember for sure, I'm sure there was never a time that I saw 0 members online. POTN was already a going concern when I logged on for the first time in July of '03.

PacAce

24th of October 2006 (Tue), 21:26

That screen shot must've been taken long before I joined. Although I can't remember for sure, I'm sure there was never a time that I saw 0 members online. POTN was already a going concern when I logged on for the first time in July of '03.

Actually, it was still relatively quiet (compared to today) when I joined in Feb 2003. I think it really started to pick up, traffic volume wise, sometime on or after April 2003. It may just be a coincidence but that's about the same time the POTN world first met CyberDyneSystems (and who can forget that gaudy graphics in his signature line. ;) :mrgreen: ). POTN hasn't bee the same since! :shock: :lol:

thomascanty

25th of October 2006 (Wed), 03:53

Actually, it was still relatively quiet (compared to today) when I joined in Feb 2003. I think it really started to pick up, traffic volume wise, sometime on or after April 2003.

I think it was somewhere around late February or early March 2003 that people started to flock this way. That's when the 10D was announced. I found the forum in March, just a few days before (or after?) I got my 10D, and I was one of the first to get one. I remember a lot of 10D talk going on at the time.

Cybnew

25th of October 2006 (Wed), 10:17

Hmmm...the 10d :) (reminices....wait..I never had one...just really wanted one :))

Belmondo

25th of October 2006 (Wed), 10:23

I think it was somewhere around late February or early March 2003 that people started to flock this way. That's when the 10D was announced. I found the forum in March, just a few days before (or after?) I got my 10D, and I was one of the first to get one. I remember a lot of 10D talk going on at the time.

That would certinly apply to me. I got my first 10D in July, 2003. I'd never even heard of the 30D or 60D at that time.

Anyway, that would have been the first spurt in membership. The next (and continuing) came shortly after the release of the 300D (Digital Rebel). The sub-$1000 DSLRs have really opened the field up to a lot of new people.

It's only going to get better, too.

PacAce

25th of October 2006 (Wed), 13:46

That would certinly apply to me. I got my first 10D in July, 2003. I'd never even heard of the 30D or 60D at that time.

Anyway, that would have been the first spurt in membership. The next (and continuing) came shortly after the release of the 300D (Digital Rebel). The sub-$1000 DSLRs have really opened the field up to a lot of new people.

It's only going to get better, too.
Well, that's understandable since the 30D didn't come out until early this year and the 60D...well, who knows what Canon is going to call any of their future models. ;)

But speaking of a model with the number 60 in it, I do remember some people who had gotten the D60 just prior to the 10D being announced getting all huffy about it. I think those posts were as exciting as it got here back then. :lol:

Belmondo

25th of October 2006 (Wed), 13:53

Well, that's understandable since the 30D didn't come out until early this year and the 60D...well, who knows what Canon is going to call any of their future models.

But speaking of a model with the number 60 in it, I do remember some people who had gotten the D60 just prior to the 10D being announced getting all huffy about it. I think those posts were as exciting as it got here back then. :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

CyberDyneSystems

28th of October 2006 (Sat), 12:39

Actually it was called "Just Talk" - remember, "The Word Is Free - Something to Say? Say It Here"

Also, remember the Share section before it got so fragmented - so you either shared - no critique, or you posted in CC for critique.

Rad

Oh my.. there it is! The Old homestead :) I remember DaveUK :)

thomascanty

28th of October 2006 (Sat), 13:32

You've already changed to the Christmas kitty avatar, Matt? That is just so wrong!

CyberDyneSystems

28th of October 2006 (Sat), 18:54

At least wait until Halloween is over, but personally I take my holidays in proper order, X-mas is not even discussed until post Thanksgiving :)

Radtech1

28th of October 2006 (Sat), 19:08

You've already changed to the Christmas kitty avatar, Matt? That is just so wrong!

Back in my cashier at Costco days, we would be pullind down the Christmas stuff in prepiration for Easter about now!

Actually, I just found it in My Documents and I thought "why not?"

COKE CAN

2nd of November 2006 (Thu), 03:18

General Chat I think even used to be called "off topic" years back.. ?

This is the forum for anything and everything so long as it is not (as Mike mentions) Politics, religion etc.

I posted a video link on a gorgeous Mercedes and it was removed. So that is not the case. I guess I should have stated; "I would love to shoot this car in real life..." and added the link.