Post #235401 by woofmutt on Thu, Jun 1, 2006 9:27 PM

(First a dumb little story to set a friendly tone for this post...)

So the good ship Tiki Central Topic X is sailing along, its course set for Topic X Island, it's ship's roster open to anyone who cares to discus Topic X. A good time is being had by all. There is plenty of rum. A really good time is being had by all.

But then someone else comes aboard ship and proclaims "Topic X Bah! Topic Y!" She/he (hard to tell) drinks freely of the free rum then yells even louder "Topic Y! Topic Y! We're takin' this ship to Topic Y Cove!" And suddenly the ship is over ran with others talking about Topic Y as they take control of the ship and set course for an entirely different destination than the people who built the Topic X had ever intended.

The Topic Pirates have struck again.

(Dumb lil story over.)

If you didn't get the point of the dumb lil story, here's an interpretive dance:

(Dancing done.)

OK, the tone is friendly, get it?

When a topic is taken over by an entirely different discussion than intended by the topic poster it's not really fair to the original person who wanted to share or discuss a particular topic and see the subsequent discussion. It's also not fair to those who kept to the original topic and added to the thread. Clearly they too wanted to discuss the original topic.

Taking over a topic also dilutes the strength of the information on Tiki Central as threads become rambling and unfocused.

But the worst thing about a Topic Pirate takeover is that (and this part is important for anyone who may think they are getting the finger wagged at 'em, so read carefully) what could have been a very interesting and lively separate thread gets bundled with another topic.

A separate thread on the wonders of Topic Y Cove would be far more useful to people planning their trip to the Sea of Metaphors than a Topic Pirate takeover of the Topic X Island thread. A separate thread would also be useful to people who have no interest in Topic X Island and have ignored the thread because of the subject title.

Topic takeovers have been happening on Tiki Central since way-back-then. It's just an aspect of the conversational tone of threads. This particularly post is not intended as a chastisement of anyone in particular. Nor is it meant to try and put a candy coated gloss on all of Tiki Central. Ideally (if anyone even got past the interpretive dance) the suggestions here will lead to even more lively discussions.

So here's them suggestions:

*****If you have an opinion of a topic that is completely different than the tone of the post start a separate thread. An opener along the lines of "The thread on Topic X Island reminded me of how great Topic Y Cove is..." will hopefully let it be known that your intentions are good. Include a link to the original thread (useful for those who don't know the content of every thread on Tiki Central). Even if your thoughts on a particular topic are wildly against the subject of the original thread, a few good opening lines can make it clear that you just want to explore a different line of thinking, not utterly dismiss the opinions of others.

*****Try to see the intent of a post. This may mean looking beyond the actual words/spelling/punctuation used. Or your personal prejudices about either the person making the post or the post subject. Try and stick to that particular post, and not to what that person posted 6 months ago. Yes, it's fun to hang someone on their own words but it just contributes to a petty meaningless environment. The internet has plenty of those already.

*****Ignore the posts that are clearly meant to annoy or provoke. It's easy to do. If you can't ignore it, post something in the thread that relates to the original topic. It'll help the thread move on past the moronic post and you'll have made it clear to the instigator that their comments meant nothing to you...The worst thing you can do to someone trying to start something. Even if the poster is coming across like a complete jackass and you have the links to show them up, ignoring them and moving the thread along is the better call for everyone.

*****Sit on your hands. So you're shocked...SHOCKED...that someone thinks Flamingo Pink and Sky Blue is a great color scheme for a Tiki bar. How about giving it 24 hours before you attempt to blast them out of the water? You may just find that you really don't give a damn the next day.

*****You don't have to be all bubbly-happy-let's-hold-hands in your opinions, but try to be constructive in your criticism. There's nothing wrong with a negative post. But a post along the lines of That looks dumb. is meaningless and useless to someone seeking input. Well stated negative feedback may actually save someone a lot of time and money having custom Flamingo Pink and Sky Blue furniture and carpets made for their Tiki bar, or opening a rode side Tiki jewelry stand in Wyoming.

*****Keep the personal chit-chat to Private Messages. Better yet, start a thread in Tiki Central Ohana. Two members having a private conversation about the incredible White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Omelettes served at the Hondo, TX airport in the middle of a thread on Tiki mug cleaning makes the thread a mess for people interested in figuring out how to get 3 day old Mai-Tai residue out of their Sven Tiki mug. Plus a separate thread may be useful to someone who is dreading a visit to Hondo. Or it's just fun for those of us who like to read happy news and friendly exchanges.

The above suggestions are given solely for the purpose of helping keep Tiki Central one of the most friendly and interesting places on the whole WWW. The interpretive dance was actually just to show off a couple of cool new moves. Sorry.