Custard I STRONGLY disagree with you.
Diverting threads is against forum rules, yet we all do it.
In life standing on the street talking to a mate we coast from subject To subject, it seems it is natural.
I avoid every thread that appears to want control, not of subject but of contrary views.
I think our master here knows free rolling threads spill over the edge and maybe do not truly harm.
But yes some derail threads with intent.
If threads are property then I have got it wrong, its an invitation to talk, to put our thoughts in print.
A thread that shadows Foxys latest one ,to me looks to be fishing for a result.
Avoid both threads my input would not be wanted.
See I truly think we should be one,, all men.
And that as much bad as good comes from religion.
I have views good and bad about both subjects but think it is better to use other threads to put them in print.

Well it did not take off ,threads often do not.
I have seen brilliant ideas put by other posters not fly too.
But on leaving it to wilt I must say in my view.
We have no right as thread starters to take exception to others with views other than ours in threads we started.
ok insult them play verbal tennis inform them we do not agree but asking them to leave?
some threads I will not contribute to, am not reading.
Because free speech must be first in a forum or that forum is just looking at one sided views.
I am unafraid to be the one standing out side saying things other do not want to hear, and charge some with following the masses.
But must yet work out a way of dealing with such as Boazy myself.

Belly may not know how many posts he has made to OLO, or when he first posted on this Forum, but anyone can find out. Just click the link to this Twitpic I posted of the summary of Belly's posting history as at around 0845 AEST this morning. It will tell you how to do it if you don't already know.

http://twitpic.com/1wur3d

When you get there, just click the 'view full size' mouse-over option that will come up, if the print is too small to read at first viewing.

There are 3944 comments in total: 515 article comments, 3429 general comments. The first was posted on 7 November 2005, at 8:13:15 AM.



I wouldn't be too quick to write the thread off as a non-starter Belly. After all, it kicked off on the Sunday of a long (Queen's Birthday) weekend. Many users may have been off the air, or too busy with other socializing to post. Let's keep our priorities right, OK? I'll say it again, this was a LONG WEEKEND in Australia (or NSW at least). Such are sacred. You of all people, Belly, should know better.

Shame on you!

By the way, Belly, this is a topic you will have to own. Just wait till I tell the 'up and coming' people half your age in the Party how you have desecrated, yea, white-anted a long weekend. They'll set you to rights, being such upholders of tradition as they are, by golly! We could all count on that, couldn't we?

Incidentally, I thought Custard may have had a point earlier in the thread, but one that was not developed much due to the brevity of the post. Without suggesting any poster should be shut down for their opinions, there could on occasions be cause for removal from a thread of topic-derailing posts. It would be interesting to see a fuller explanation from dis Custard as to how topics could be kept on track.



Must get myself a thread!

FG

"dis Custard" har har har.

Back to topic. Haven't run any topics for a while, but I do believe the author has a responsibility for the topic. Have had no hesitation in pointing out to some who have tried to derail a thread. I see the author along the lines of a moderator, by either outing or ignoring derailers and making posts that keep on topic is one way I have managed threads. I also find that I require the energy to do this, which is why I haven't set up a topic for a long time.

Therefore, no we do not own threads, but we are responsible in that we are mindful enough to respond to reasonable challenges and to try and manage the inevitable trolls.

Sorry FG my mistake, I thought the NSW government had privatized the long weekend, cut it up and sold it as parking lots.
Yes threads do get sunk by silly diversions and while it is against the rules to do it?
Free speech may over rule that rule we can leap past those posts and continue.
not dead next few days just working away.

Well put, Severin. Starting, and responding to posts to a topic, does require a certain amount of energy. I guess that's why I like posting about electricity and like things, such as windmills. I find, too, that it is sometimes inspiration that is lacking. Sometimes in a whole general area of discussion, such as that of AGW, it happens that when something as unhideable from the public as the failure of the much touted Copenhagen conference occurs, it can act as a trigger for a general switch-off by erstwhile active posters.

Belly remarked recently in another thread that he thought the Forum generally was in a bit of a slump.

BTW I note that Bronwyn's last post to the Forum was on Friday, 15 January 2010, at 11:53:57 AM, to the topic 'Have debates on OLO degenerated into name-calling and hatred?', a topic started by OLO userID Johnj, on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, at 11:42:15 PM.

That means Bronwyn has had six months off from posting!

Time she started to do a bit, don't you think?

I know she says she does this (ie. has a break from OLO) from time to time, but enough is enough. There is a slow slide in grammatical standards and spelling. And then there are the boats. Oh, so many, many boats! All of which must be discussed, and a good example in English expression set in the process of comprehensively lambasting this dreadful traffic in human misery and avarice. So from where can we expect to see this corrected? Where else but Queensland? And by whom? Who else but Bronwyn? Bronwyn, of the Cysterhood of the Coup de Grace.

Let's hope nothing bad has happened to, or around, her. Like being hit in the back yard by a low-flying Yellow-tailed Black cockatoo, for example. Or getting Hendra virus from a fruit bat bite or a horse sneeze. Not to mention the taipans. Queensland can be a dangerous place, especially near Brisvegas, where there are many other sorts of snakes, and bogans.