Moving Threads

[eastvaledan]

Question for the moderators:

Why are so many threads being moved to the "Off Topic" folder? It seems that many of the moved threads belong in the "General Discussion" folder, especially since threads moved to "Off Topic" aren't seen by a lot of people.

Examples include the person concerned about the house next door having tons of people coming and going at all hours, the thread about trick or treaters, a question about whether the 71 was still closed, and the thread about a bat on someone's front porch.

I'm not complaining, just curious.

[lupe]

Question for the moderators:
Why are so many threads being moved to the "Off Topic" folder? It seems that many of the moved threads belong in the "General Discussion" folder, especially since threads moved to "Off Topic" aren't seen by a lot of people.

Examples include the person concerned about the house next door having tons of people coming and going at all hours, the thread about trick or treaters, a question about whether the 71 was still closed, and the thread about a bat on someone's front porch.


I'm not complaining, just curious.


General Discussion is supposed to be for things related to EASTVALE. Mainly community issues AT LARGE, our government, and agencies that provide public services to our city like JCSD, Waste Management, Edison, etc, community events (IN EASTVALE) that do not fall under the schools or other “business” entities. Not everything belongs in General Discussion. Even you started this thread in General Discussion. Why? Questions should be addressed via PM to me or Mike, or can be posted in the Help Desk Forum (where I moved this). We understand that there is not a perfect fit for every topic that will come up. That’s why we ask (in the rules (http://www.eastvaleresidents.com/forums/misc.php?do=cfrules)) that members post their threads in the most appropriate forum. We try our best to keep certain Forums tidy and relevant. This especially applies to General Discussion.

I know you are just trying to understand the method to my madness. Here’s the “logic” I used on your specific examples:


Examples include the person concerned about the house next door having tons of people coming and going at all hours…
This thread was initially started in the Crime forum and I did move it to Off Topic. The purpose of the Crime forum is for members to share information about criminal activity going on IN EASTVALE. It is not meant for discussion, opinions, or suggestion type responses, but for actual crimes that have been reported by a resident, “witness” accounts (for lack of a better word), be on the look out, and perhaps comparison of similar experiences (IN EASTVALE). Because every post in the crime forum generates an email to our RSO members, I am particularly careful about the threads in this forum and that there is truly a CRIME going on and that it is something that has been reported. The original poster has not reported a crime, is only suspect of the new neighbor’s activity, and was asking for our experiences and suggestions on what we would do in her situation, so it doesn’t belong in the Crime forum. The topic/situation is strictly related to her asking for advice on something not related to the community at large or our govt, so it is not General Discussion. It’s not Pets, Sports, Hobbies/Interests either, so it is Off Topic.



Examples include… the thread about trick or treaters,
Holidays are not exclusive to Eastvale, not necessarily related to our community, not celebrated by everyone…Off Topic, maybe even Hobbies/Interests.


Examples include… a question about whether the 71 was still closed,
The 71 is not a street, highway, or Interstate located in Eastvale…Off Topic.


Examples include…the thread about a bat on someone's front porch.
The original poster suspected she might have a bat, she acknowledged knowing there were bats in Eastvale. She wasn’t indicating that there may be some local infestation of them nor that they were spreading disease, nor was she asking for a service provider (so not Goods & Services). She was asking for advice of what to do if she had one. There are a LOT of members that come to this forum instead of searching the internet for info (google is your friend! ;)). Off Topic.


It seems that many of the moved threads belong in the "General Discussion" folder, especially since threads moved to "Off Topic" aren't seen by a lot of people.
How do you figure Off Topic threads aren’t seen? Whenever we meet a member and happen to ask “how” they read messages, most of them indicate they use the “unread posts” link at the very top of the page. I don’t know of many members that use the actual Forum home page or “Eastvale Talk” page to peruse unread threads, one forum at a time. I also do not know of any members that use the “ignore rule” to block forums (I do!).

If it really is imperative for the community to know, or we want it to be at the top of the list of messages in a forum, we will leave or move something to General Discussion and we will also make it “sticky.” And sometimes, plain and simple, I make a mistake. Our main concerns though, are keeping the General Discussion and Crime forums clean with the most pertinent information. The other forums are just for member enjoyment, social aspects.

I hope that answers your question. Clear as mud now?

You might also refer to this post, Where Did my Post/Thread Go? (http://www.eastvaleresidents.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14098) for further notes on what types of posts belong in specific forums.

[BadWitch]

If I'm unsure where to put something, I always ask Lupe...

[eastvaledan]

Very clear, Lupe! Thanks for the response!

[lupe]

Bumping this old thread since there seems to be a lot of posting in General Discussion that doesn't belong there. I am no longer moving them to other forums for you because that takes too much time. I am removing them. If you want your thread to stay, please try posting in the most appropriate forum. These were some good questions/examples from EastvaleDan. I hope my responses to him might help everyone understand a little more about what goes where. Thanks!



Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
Question for the moderators:
Why are so many threads being moved to the "Off Topic" folder? It seems that many of the moved threads belong in the "General Discussion" folder, especially since threads moved to "Off Topic" aren't seen by a lot of people.

Examples include the person concerned about the house next door having tons of people coming and going at all hours, the thread about trick or treaters, a question about whether the 71 was still closed, and the thread about a bat on someone's front porch.


I'm not complaining, just curious.


General Discussion is supposed to be for things related to EASTVALE. Mainly community issues AT LARGE, our government, and agencies that provide public services to our city like JCSD, Waste Management, Edison, etc, community events (IN EASTVALE) that do not fall under the schools or other “business” entities. Not everything belongs in General Discussion. Even you started this thread in General Discussion. Why? Questions should be addressed via PM to me or Mike, or can be posted in the Help Desk Forum (where I moved this). We understand that there is not a perfect fit for every topic that will come up. That’s why we ask (in the rules (http://www.eastvaleresidents.com/forums/misc.php?do=cfrules)) that members post their threads in the most appropriate forum. We try our best to keep certain Forums tidy and relevant. This especially applies to General Discussion.

I know you are just trying to understand the method to my madness. Here’s the “logic” I used on your specific examples:

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
Examples include the person concerned about the house next door having tons of people coming and going at all hours…

This thread was initially started in the Crime forum and I did move it to Off Topic. The purpose of the Crime forum is for members to share information about criminal activity going on IN EASTVALE. It is not meant for discussion, opinions, or suggestion type responses, but for actual crimes that have been reported by a resident, “witness” accounts (for lack of a better word), be on the look out, and perhaps comparison of similar experiences (IN EASTVALE). Because every post in the crime forum generates an email to our RSO members, I am particularly careful about the threads in this forum and that there is truly a CRIME going on and that it is something that has been reported. The original poster has not reported a crime, is only suspect of the new neighbor’s activity, and was asking for our experiences and suggestions on what we would do in her situation, so it doesn’t belong in the Crime forum. The topic/situation is strictly related to her asking for advice on something not related to the community at large or our govt, so it is not General Discussion. It’s not Pets, Sports, Hobbies/Interests either, so it is Off Topic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
Examples include… the thread about trick or treaters,

Holidays are not exclusive to Eastvale, not necessarily related to our community, not celebrated by everyone…Off Topic, maybe even Hobbies/Interests.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
Examples include… a question about whether the 71 was still closed,

The 71 is not a street, highway, or Interstate located in Eastvale…Off Topic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
Examples include…the thread about a bat on someone's front porch.

The original poster suspected she might have a bat, she acknowledged knowing there were bats in Eastvale. She wasn’t indicating that there may be some local infestation of them nor that they were spreading disease, nor was she asking for a service provider (so not Goods & Services). She was asking for advice of what to do if she had one. There are a LOT of members that come to this forum instead of searching the internet for info (google is your friend! ;)). Off Topic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastvaledan
It seems that many of the moved threads belong in the "General Discussion" folder, especially since threads moved to "Off Topic" aren't seen by a lot of people.

How do you figure Off Topic threads aren’t seen? Whenever we meet a member and happen to ask “how” they read messages, most of them indicate they use the “unread posts” link at the very top of the page. I don’t know of many members that use the actual Forum home page or “Eastvale Talk” page to peruse unread threads, one forum at a time. I also do not know of any members that use the “ignore rule” to block forums (I do!).

If it really is imperative for the community to know, or we want it to be at the top of the list of messages in a forum, we will leave or move something to General Discussion and we will also make it “sticky.” And sometimes, plain and simple, I make a mistake. Our main concerns though, are keeping the General Discussion and Crime forums clean with the most pertinent information. The other forums are just for member enjoyment, social aspects.

I hope that answers your question. Clear as mud now?

You might also refer to this post, Where Did my Post/Thread Go? (http://www.eastvaleresidents.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14098) for further notes on what types of posts belong in specific forums.

[Mortgageman]

It almost seems like there should be a folder called Eastvale Happenings to replace the one currently named General Discussion. Then we could get rid of the Off Topic folder and simply call that one General Discussion. I understand the rules and the intent of the rules, but I would suggest that they are confusing to most people in this regard. Common sense would dictate that the General Discussion folder is for miscellaneous topics, not just those items that are specific to Eastvale.

I am making these suggestions not to complain but rather based on my observance that some people are getting pretty frustrated. Now that posts are being deleted rather than moved, I think the frustration is going to grow. By changing the folder names to something that more obviously defines their purpose, there should be less moderation required and less frustration on all parts.

For example, who could argue the deletion of a post about the 71 freeway if it was posted in the Eastvale Happenings folder?

Just my two cents.

[lupe]

It almost seems like there should be a folder called Eastvale Happenings to replace the one currently named General Discussion. Then we could get rid of the Off Topic folder and simply call that one General Discussion. I understand the rules and the intent of the rules, but I would suggest that they are confusing to most people in this regard. Common sense would dictate that the General Discussion folder is for miscellaneous topics, not just those items that are specific to Eastvale.

I am making these suggestions not to complain but rather based on my observance that some people are getting pretty frustrated. Now that posts are being deleted rather than moved, I think the frustration is going to grow. By changing the folder names to something that more obviously defines their purpose, there should be less moderation required and less frustration on all parts.

For example, who could argue the deletion of a post about the 71 freeway if it was posted in the Eastvale Happenings folder?

Just my two cents.

Common sense to whom? In the internet world, this is how forums work. General Discussion is for threads related to the main subject or purpose of the site. In an off road forum, General discussion will be about 4x4ing and off roading. There may be sub forums about where to find trails, what kind of equipment, stuff in “general” about off roading. In a scrapbooking board, General Discussion will be about scrapbooking, there may be sub-forums for digital scrapbooking, photography, or events. It is usually understood by a person going to a specific site that the General Discussion forum focuses on what that site “specializes” in. I wouldn’t go to a scrapbooking forum to ask a question about lifts or tires for my jeep, just like I wouldn’t go to a 4x4 forum to inform those members about the release of a new patterned paper line and ask where I might buy it. It’s common sense that those would be OFF TOPIC to those forums. Apply that same logic or common sense to our forum and you might understand why posts about a store opening in Norco, or whether one should refinance their home do not belong in General Discussion. General Discussion is about Eastvale.

I would disagree that the “rules” are confusing. We modeled this site just like many other internet forums that we have used and found to be user friendly. It’s just that people do not take the time to read the descriptions of the forums and what they are for. Either that, or they just don't care. We have definitions in there and it’s pretty clear. We also have “sticky” threads on a couple of forums to further explain what does or doesn’t belong (a common practice on forums).

For the record, the majority of removed threads were actually those looking for services or selling something. Twenty-one of the 30 removed so far this month belonged either in the classifieds or good & services. I really don’t think it’s confusing about where those posts belonged.

Thanks for your input.