On topic or off topic (was Re: The cost of Mental Health)

"Ian Davis" <ijdavis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:gq0pk7$vq0$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*snip*

I think David was trying to make a point. Perhaps he was wanting
to explore what the definition of off-topic was.

On topic: considered by the current audience to have content that is a
positive contribution to the subject(s) that the group is interested in.
Fluff: considered by the current audience to build and/or consolodate the
social comaradie of the group, but not offer significant *content*
Off-topic: Having no positive benefit to the group.

The responses to posts are an accurate measure: if the responses are
generally positive, then the original post was considered enough 'on topic'
to be welcomed. If there are no responses, or the responses are almost
entirely negative, the odds are good that the topic, whatever it happened to
be, was not considered 'welcome' by the audience.

The google 'star' system would have been a reasonable measure if everyone
used google groups to read Usenet, but the vast majority do not (in fact,
googlegroups seem to be universally hated by the vast majority of Usenet
users who use newsreaders rather than Google to access Usenet). But since
the majority don't use Google, the responses to individual post is a good
measure, the continued responses to particular posters is a measure of that
poster's standing in the virtual community.

Being able to assess whether one's own post will be well received needs a
certain ability to "step into another's shoes". Some people are better at
that than others - a few are simply incapable of predicting other people's
reactions to particular stimulii. And some people whether are good or bad at
guessing the likely reaction of others simply don't give a damn (or are
incapable of that sort of empathy) and do whatever they want regardless.

Yowie
--
If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many
pancakes can you fit in a doghouse? None, icecream doesn't have bones.


.

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