Ot: Ot

[54ny77]

It'd be really handy to have an OT / non-cycling section, so as to not clutter the general subforum.....especially going into the cold bitter winter months....

[William]

....but we've been over this one before and it's not in the cards.






William

[esldude]

Not sure why it isn't in the cards. Those running the forum may have good reason.

It is a very sensible suggestion. OT sections tend to be a little more freewheeling and do reduce clutter. Other forums with them seem to be better for it.

I second the suggestion for what it is worth.

[FlashUNC]

Not sure why it isn't in the cards. Those running the forum may have good reason.

It is a very sensible suggestion. OT sections tend to be a little more freewheeling and do reduce clutter. Other forums with them seem to be better for it.

I second the suggestion for what it is worth.

I would think the flip side would be lots of small sub forums that operate on two ends of the curve -- either heavily active or ghost towns.

Why compartmentalize when there's no need to? But this horse has been beat to death already.

[MattTuck]

This topic comes up every year, and ultimately it is a question of what kind of forum we want to be. I think most of us come here for the bike related content, and based on that common interest have created a nice little community that is full of smart, experienced and kind people. That collective experience extends beyond bikes and is a fertile field that we sometimes draw from when we post OT threads.

That is great in moderation when the main focus is on bikes. yes, in the winter, people get stir crazy and rely on this place to pass the time, but creating a special OT section will mean 2 things. One, that the focus moves off of bikes and cycling (as people will have to leave the general forum to see the OT threads) and two, people will feel that it is more acceptable to post OT threads, further diluting the focus on bikes and cycling. (there's an interesting example of a child care center that had a problem with parents picking up their kids too late. So they began charging a fee when parents were late. The result: more parents started picking their kids up late. Before the fee, there was a community standard that said don't be late because it is rude, but when they created the fee, parents understood that to legitimize their lateness as long as they paid the fee. The analog here is that by creating a special area for it, it takes away from the community goal of staying bike related.)

If you get sick of OT threads in the winter, the best thing to do would be to go for a ride and post a ride report about it. You folks in the warmer climates need to sustain us cold weather folks through the winter.

[54ny77]

yes, the collective wisdom on vitamix users, watch winders, propane/gas conversion, white trash sports, dog rescue, u of calif. logos, mac storage devices, free phone # listings, pappy van winkle, gimp users, and undiscovered tv (among many other great topics) is enough to sustain us cold climate folks thru winter....

:rolleyes:

seriously, i appreciate some of the ot discussions, and heck i've started some, but it would simply be nice to have a separate nook of the forum to go for that kind of thing rather than wade thru 'em. i've participated on some forums where the ot sections are often the most fascinating, with a wide ranging swath of academic interests far beyond the primary subject matter of that particular forum.

yes i know i could not click on ot threads, just as those who complain on a particular thread that's cycling-specific doesn't have to read it and complain in the first place. goes both ways, right?

is it really hard to create or manage? rather than a, "no, this topic has been discussed before, yadda yadda yadda," how about a simple answer as to why? is it more logistics or bandwidth and, therefore, more hard costs (or time)?

[eddief]

never mind

yes, the collective wisdom on vitamix users, watch winders, propane/gas conversion, white trash sports, dog rescue, u of calif. logos, mac storage devices, free phone # listings, pappy van winkle, gimp users, and undiscovered tv (among many other great topics) is enough to sustain us cold climate folks thru winter....

:rolleyes:

seriously, i appreciate some of the ot discussions, and heck i've started some, but it would simply be nice to have a separate nook of the forum to go for that kind of thing rather than wade thru 'em. i've participated on some forums where the ot sections are often the most fascinating, with a wide ranging swath of academic interests far beyond the primary subject matter of that particular forum.

yes i know i could not click on ot threads, just as those who complain on a particular thread that's cycling-specific doesn't have to read it and complain in the first place. goes both ways, right?

is it really hard to create or manage? rather than a, "no, this topic has been discussed before, yadda yadda yadda," how about a simple answer as to why? is it more logistics or bandwidth and, therefore, more hard costs (or time)?

[esldude]

Dammit 54ny77 things are the way they are because otherwise they would be different. If they were different they wouldn't be the same. And if they weren't the same, they would be different. Furthermore, apparently different is worse than same. Some part of that you don't get? (to be read dripping with sarcasm)

Maybe there are good reasons as I wrote already. Haven't been lurking here more than 3 years, and don't recall the topic coming up in that time, though maybe I missed it being 'done to death'. Sure hope there are better reasons than 'is your finger tired?'.

In response to keeping it bike specific, other side of the coin is OT is by definition not bike specific. Having a separate section for that could sure be considered a way of keeping all except that one section most biking specific. And for what its worth I like the comments in the classified section tired finger and all.

[AngryScientist]

is it really hard to create or manage? rather than a, "no, this topic has been discussed before, yadda yadda yadda," how about a simple answer as to why? is it more logistics or bandwidth and, therefore, more hard costs (or time)?


have a look here, where we actually took a poll on this:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=104304&highlight=section

[William]

We've got nine forums of bike content here (and more coming).

Only one is a mix of OT and bike related topics. Of that one, more than 3/4's of the threads on that page (at this moment) are bike content.

This issue has come up a few times and every time it has it's been voted down. This place is what it is because of what it is and the way it's structured. We appreciate comments and suggestions but at this time, this is not one that is high priority.





William

[eddief]

of late? what up with that?

[jds108]

of late? what up with that?

calm and civil? Check out the thread here in General about closing down the Serotta image forum. The negativity expressed is quite surprising.

[eddief]

as I would have rather read a good ot topic.

calm and civil? Check out the thread here in General about closing down the Serotta image forum. The negativity expressed is quite surprising.

[BumbleBeeDave]

If it's labeled OT and you don't want OT, just don't read it!

BTW, tubulars suck . . . :rolleyes:

BBD

[AgilisMerlin]

i 2nd the idea

of keeping OT in the header/title

just a thought

33:11 link below

[Pete Mckeon]

I third the suggestion of BB Dave and AgilisMerlin (my 2 cents or a glass of red:beer:) Pete

[victoryfactory]

It'd be really handy to have an OT / non-cycling section, so as to not clutter the general subforum.....especially going into the cold bitter winter months....

Nothing is OT in a family.

VF

[William]

Nothing is OT in a family.

VF

I like that!:cool:


William

[William]

i 2nd the idea

of keeping OT in the header/title

just a thought

33:11 link below


Some times we get a little Close To the Edge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNkWac-Nm0A), but we're still family!;)




William

[nighthawk]

I'm in favor of keeping the OT in general discussion. Too many subsections can start to feel like a big mansion with a lot of empty rooms (which is why I don't spend much time ATH). I know creating an OT forum separate from General Discussion is only a small step toward too many subforums (food, clothes, guns, dogs, cats, watches, etc. etc. etc.)... but it's still a step in that direction. Let's not break it by trying to fix it.