Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
A change I've seen in the forum
40hz:
I just think that discussions should try to stay on topic, and be conducted with an eye towards their permanent existence on the site as a knowledge repository.
-mouser (March 15, 2012, 03:42 PM)
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I agree with staying on topic as much as possible. But I sort of disagree with the "for posterity" concept.
Informal discussions are (to me) exactly that. Informal discussions. IMO if something is really worth preserving for posterity (as opposed to "Until the next version of Windows comes out.") it really should be written up as a white paper of some sort (if it's static) - or relegated to a wiki if it's more of a 'living' document topic.
There are differences of opinion on this, but I've found tightening up on open forum areas has a bad tendency to reduce peoples willingness to think out loud and share what they're thinking. The minute people start thinking too much about posterity, a lot of the openness and willingness to explore ideas goes out the door. People start drafting formal comments, watching their words, and looking over their shoulders. From there it's only a short hop to posturing and making speeches.
I see open forum topic areas as brainstorming sessions. And first rule of those is: don't disrupt the flow. Most of the really interesting insights I've seen in the forum came out of people ranging off and around the topic fairly widely before it re-coalesced into something larger than what it originally started out as. I'd hate to see that go away.
But that's me. ;D 8)
KynloStephen66515:
I just think that discussions should try to stay on topic, and be conducted with an eye towards their permanent existence on the site as a knowledge repository.
-mouser (March 15, 2012, 03:42 PM)
--- End quote ---
I agree with staying on topic as much as possible. But I sort of disagree with the "for posterity" concept.
Informal discussions are (to me) exactly that. Informal discussions. IMO if something is really worth preserving for posterity (as opposed to "Until the next version of Windows comes out.") it really should be written up as a white paper of some sort (if it's static) - or relegated to a wiki if it's more of a 'living' document topic.
There are differences of opinion on this, but I've found tightening up on open forum areas has a bad tendency to reduce peoples willingness to think out loud and share what they're thinking. The minute people start thinking too much about posterity, a lot of the openness and willingness to explore ideas goes out the door. People start drafting formal comments, watching their words, and looking over their shoulders. From there it's only a short hop to posturing and making speeches.
I see open forum topic areas as brainstorming sessions. And first rule of those is: don't disrupt the flow. Most of the really interesting insights I've seen in the forum came out of people ranging off and around the topic fairly widely before it re-coalesced into something larger than what it originally started out as. I'd hate to see that go away.
But that's me. ;D 8)
-40hz (March 15, 2012, 06:03 PM)
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Just me, or anybody else think that a wiki on DC would be goddamn awesome?...
40hz:
Just me, or anybody else think that a wiki on DC would be goddamn awesome?...
-Stephen66515 (March 15, 2012, 06:08 PM)
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I seem to recall it's been proposed a few times.... :)
KynloStephen66515:
Just me, or anybody else think that a wiki on DC would be goddamn awesome?...
-Stephen66515 (March 15, 2012, 06:08 PM)
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I seem to recall it's been proposed a few times.... :)
-40hz (March 15, 2012, 06:15 PM)
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Not just me then xD
* Stephen66515 feels like hes slightly derailing this topic :-[
tomos:
^ lol
As someone who is often fairly off-topic, and who at other times complains about other people going off-topic - I kind of think it's just up to people to say if they think things are going to far off course for each particular thread.
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