Threadless....

After posting a thread on a subject why do we always end up wandering off the subject and filling the pages with unrelated chatter.

If the forum is just about chatting why not reduce it down to the tea room and have done!

It realy annoys me that when I look at a thread and there are a few comments at the start about the subject then it quickly reduces down comments that are off topic or how 'nice' something is or how 'sorry' people are! Can't people do a little self editing and ask themselves if they really want to be the first ... sixth... or tenth repeat of a 'nice' or 'sorry' comment!

Wood Troll wrote:

After posting a thread on a subject why do we always end up wandering off the subject and filling the pages with unrelated chatter.

If the forum is just about chatting why not reduce it down to the tea room and have done!

It most certainly is not, this forum is about living simply and setting examples through living and more importantly about contributing either though posting about experiences or though asking and answering questions. We do not have enough active members to have the majority just logging on, reading and logging off. We do not have enough contributing members to fill up the forum with idle chatter.

I am too busy to be constantly reviewing and monitoring this site, even though I maintain a constant online presence, I have moderators for that - I hope that they take that responsibility seriously and moderate..

The other role of the mods is to help recruit new members and generate new content - both being sadly in short supply at the moment. I appreciate that everyone has lives and I am still/always looking to fulfil my goal of one mod per section and anyone who wants to, is welcome to message me to run a section. I reiterate my usual recruiting message that if you run a section, then you are responsible for generating new content for it and moderating it...!

My life is currently taken up with a very important personal project, if my moderators and other members cannot police themselves and help me out then thats up to them, but this forum lives and dies on the way its members use it.

In other words - its up to you folks, make of the forum what you will - I'm not going to tell you what you can and cannot say...

Perhaps we do need to be more focussed sometimes (I admit that I can be flippant). My view is that we're dealing with some big and far-reaching issues, but that in trying to live a more simple lifestyle we have to embrace living in community at some point (however we choose to interpret that.) It seems to me that community is made up of individuals who go through joys and trials, and that by getting involved in the minutiae of life we're in some way sharing this.

I don't think its too bad on this forum to be honest, I've seen a lot worse. This forum we must remember is all run voluntarily and is free to use.
I'm happy with the way the forum runs and its a pleasure to visit

I agree absolutely with you Dandelion.

My personal view? We are a community and people in a community do chat, they talk about "side issues" - it is the conversational oil which smooths things along.

I, personally, would rather there was a bit of chat, which tends to naturally stop and the topic returned to, that to see postings reprimanding those who have gone slightly off topic.

I have found the latter to be unfriendly sounding/ looking and rather off putting tbh.

I agree with you CW.

I can never understand why people can't self-edit their reading. If it angers you to read conversational posts within a thread, why not just use your browser's back button and read something else? Why should I not comment on how nice i think a recipe sounds just because someone else has done so before me?

Hear hear Billy.

Having had a quick peruse of various threads where "chat" has occurred I can't see it was either particularly intrusive OR particularly off topic.

In the Stir Up Sunday thread as an example of possible chat, there was a small amount about 4(? I think?) of us who keep hens and how many eggs we might/might not be getting at the moment, which were going to be used in making puddings/cakes on SUS...so chat? Yes. Off topic? Not especially...

And AFAICS it all seems pretty much along these lines.

I also would like to point out that every one has their own writing style and not everyone either wants to, or can, post in a sucinct, to the point, on topic manner all the time. Nor should they feel they have to.

As I said

Badger wrote:In other words - its up to you folks, make of the forum what you will - I'm not going to tell you what you can and cannot say...

Badger, I feel the very fact you don't do this is one of the reasons this forum is so different and enjoyable to be a member of.

As Gail said...

Thank you

I also see no problem, if I do not want the chat bit I just skim over it & read the bits I want. I think this is the best forum for being casual & still being informative.

Many people in society comment on the fact that people are loosing the art of conversation & are now too busy to pass the time of day.

IMO I think one of the strengths of this forum is the friendliness, & the way we show it, one of the ways is taking the time & effort to comment in each others postings, although not necessarily on topic all of the time, I think that most things regain their original track reasonably soon.

I think it is helping to develop a sence of community instead of just a cold information exchange...

I'd be interested to find out what Wood troll wants from the forum....

I've found generally that forums are just a tiny part of the intenet where people with a common interest share ideas and have a chat. No different to attending a club or group. If its purely information that is required the last place I would look is a forum! The rest of the net is full of info sites that stick to facts and figures.

I've been following internet discussions since before the WWW was invented, and there seems to be a natural tendency for them to degenerate either into argument for the sake of argument or idle chatter.

The antidote is surely an injection of relevant practical, knowledgeable and informative posts, rather than supression of the chatter. I've very much enjoyed/been inspired by Badger's recipies, and garden related posts from Compostwoman and Zoe, to name a few. But a bit of appreciative comment is really needed so that those contributers know someone is actually interested ! I find nothing more discoraging than posting something you hope will be interesting and useful to get no response at all ...

Absolutely spot on CH, and not just because you very kindly mentioned me!

If we simply post into a vaccumn, what is the point? How do we know that our post is valued, if no one "chats" about it? or says " I like that idea", "I did it this way", "Me too..." etc.

I think, if you don't like the way a thread is progressing, you don't need to read it. Unless it is a personal attack on you or in some way offensive etc and you feel the need to comment.

Actually if there is a personal attack made, then I would rather that a mod (or me) be contacted before a response is made...

True, very true. Wasn't thinking too clearly there. Have a head full of cold
at the mo!

I think that this is as good as time and place as any to review the sites ethos.

The Homemadelife is, when you get down to the bare bones of it, about Voluntary Simplicity, that is, about doing it for oneself. It is not a "Green" site it is not a Smallholding site, it is not a Craft site it is not a Survivor site, it is about doing things ourselves, relying on our skills and learning new ones.

In learning new skills, we share and discuss, in sharing and discussing we talk and confer and chatter - it is human nature to do so.

We are coming from a unique perspective, we do not exist because of a TV show or a magazine or a book, we are a self selecting group who exist as a online community, we are fortunate that we also interact to some extent in real life.

There are no right and wrong, no verboten topics, no forbidden lifestyles.. I and some others are fortunate enough to have land enough to do what we want, that however does not set the agenda here.

There is no virtuous way of living, the only acceptable life is the one that you choose to live. I, for instance, happen to thoroughly enjoy electricity and my coffee machine - I plan to start enjoying Halo night again at some point.. There are degrees of lifestyle change that suit us all as individuals.

So, there you have it.

Choose the way of life that suits you, make what you can, if you can, share and enjoy.

-B

I think that says it all, really

OOOOOOOooooooo Halo, Badger!! I love it!! I do tend to keep blowing meself up, mind you...