Resolved Can we get a [SERIOUS] tag for posts?

[Pun Damage]

I'm not suggesting to turn this place into another Reddit, god no. I understand the need for the NSFW tag because many of us now have demon spawn who like to be nosy.

Just... It would be easier to keep a thread on topic if the participants knew the point of the thread was serious discussion rather than a free-for-all.

I feel like I'm not explaining this correctly.

 

[Mark]

I'm not suggesting to turn this place into another Reddit, god no. I understand the need for the NSFW tag because many of us now have demon spawn who like to be nosy.

Just... It would be easier to keep a thread on topic if the participants knew the point of the thread was serious discussion rather than a free-for-all.

I feel like I'm not explaining this correctly.

That’s going to happen in the more relaxed forums, whether we like it or not, and the only real way to alter the organic progression of discussions is to control them with prefixes, much like what you’re suggesting, which is something we’d like to avoid doing.

The implementation of the NSFW tag globally is intended to flag any content that might get someone into trouble with an employer or to alert parents of the content so they don’t accidentally scroll past something they don’t want their children to see. That’s a lot different than a topic deviating through organic progression.

The best solution I can think of for this particular problem is moderation. If you post a thread that deviates into another discussion, a staff member will not object to splitting out the off-topic posts into a separate thread. Just be sure to clearly state at which point the discussion deviates to minimize the possibility of a mistake when moving those posts to another thread.

 

[Pun Damage]

I can deal with that.

 

[A Maybe Baker]

I think we can also operate under the "we're all adults, please call each other out on things" mantra here. If you post a thread that you want to stay serious and on topic and someone posts something ridiculous, just quote it and say something "I know you're just doing the normal behavior here, but I'm trying to keep this a serious discussion about the topic" - hopefully we can be respectful enough to each other to listen.

 

[Mark]

I can deal with that.

We just don’t want to make things too stuffy in here, so we’re towing the line between necessary rules and unnecessary. Like @A Nipple said, there’s no reason whatsoever where you can’t call out anyone for deviating a thread, regardless of whether or not they’re a member or staff member. We ask that you do it respectfully, of course, but… like he said, we’re all adults here. If you feel uncomfortable telling someone to bring the thread back on topic, there is always the option of contacting a staff member privately and asking them to split out the off-topic conversation into a new thread and we will oblige without making a spectacle of it and making you look like a snitch. I’ve split out my own deviations in threads into new threads, it’s no big deal. It’s just something that happens, and when it does, we deal with it. Maliciously derailing a thread, on the other hand, with the intent of not allowing a conversation to take place… in the example of SPAM or just trolling the thread off-topic, will be handled differently, of course.