From kilby316@abts.net Sun Nov 26 00:28:52 2000 Path: news.bu.edu!newsxfer.eecs.umich.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!HSNX.atgi.net!feeder.via.net!news.he.net!sn-xit-03!sn-post-01!supernews.com!corp.supernews.com!not-for-mail From: "Brian Kilby" Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers Subject: Re: What OT are OK? Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 02:12:47 -0800 Organization: The Church of Sharpie. Fine Permanent Markers. Message-ID: References: <20001124204947.21257.00001400@ng-co1.aol.com> X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 45 Xref: news.bu.edu alt.toys.transformers:442231 Zaku II wrote in message news:20001124204947.21257.00001400@ng-co1.aol.com... > I think it's basically up to the individuals reading the newsgroup. Obviously, > Brian Kilby feels that OT in any sense is not welcome, whilst others, like > myself, tend to indulge in OT topics. I don't mind it that others like Off Topic posts. Heck, I try to give people freedom. But it's really impossible to do so for everyone. People always want to abuse off topic posts. I rarely (/sarcasm) explain *why* Off Topic posts are wrong, so I think I shall do so now. The group was *provided* so that we could discuss Transformers. That's why it's here. It wasn't created so that we could discuss this, that, and the other. There is no doubt of this. People come to the group to discuss *Transformers*. That's the *point* of the group. There's no denying that. Nobody has ever been foolish enough to say that ATT was created for Off Topic posts. Those are creations of its posters. Nobody comes to the group to discuss other things. They think "Hey, I like Transformers. I'm going to share my thoughts with others." They don't think "Hey, I like Transformers. I'm going to share my thoughts on them and various other unrelated subjects." Now, when people *come* to the group to discuss Transformers and they find people talking about things other-than-Transformers one of three things happen. 1) They leave thinking that nothing of Transformers are discussed (when people have really bad readers--such as WebTV--or during *extreme* periods of off topic drift--It's 7:58.) 2) They join in and make the mess even worse. 3) They ignore the off topic posts. Now some of you believe that the group is your own private chat room. Others, like myself, think that Off Topic posts are *completely* inappropriate. Unfortunately, we're unable to compromise. You know why? Because no matter what, no matter the circumstances, there will always be those who believe in their heart of hearts that the group is *theirs*. It's not. The group isn't mine, it isn't yours, it's *ours*. We have a responsibility to keep the group *sane*, otherwise we compromise the usability of those *who want to discuss Transformers* and no matter how you rationalize it and no matter how you want to spin it, it is for THEM that the group was created.