Help Defining Off-Topic vs General Discussion Please

[Cliff Stamp]

Kristi,

What I would suggest is to simply ask "What is the purpose of the forum?" . There is no right/wrong here, it is just the goal that Spyderco is trying to achieve. There are some manufacturers who want to run a forum which is strictly promotional. It is used to provide a venue for product announcements and very limited discussion. This basically uses the forum as a type of advertising and it can be a powerful tool for such. There is another approach which is that the forum is a place for people to actually discuss the products and learn about them and provide feedback about them to the maker/manufacturer.

Consider this thread :

- http://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtop ... =2&t=67349" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now it does raise a question about the Sharpmaker, but it is likely to quickly turn into a discussion on sharpening. Are posts really off-topic simply because someone doesn't constantly reference a Spyderco product in every post? Do you want to turn the forum into some kind of big product placement ad?

Spyderco is using MaxaMet in a mule, now if someone is interested in that steel it would be kind of odd to say that question is off topic (Is Maxamet a stainless steel?)? Lets assume someone finds an article on how to cycle MaxaMet through repeated austenizing which radically effects the fracture toughness. Is that information off topic, would it be on topic by inserting "place Spyderco ad" here into the post?

What I find amusing is that people think that citing materials data on steel is off topic but idle conjecture which has no justification and is the equivalent of stating the earth is flat is on topic? That seems to me to be an odd distinction. I find it even odder that people actually complain about it. There are lots of discussions where people talk about which knife is prettier, that doesn't hold a lot of interest to me so I just skip them.

Now you could sub-forum :

-steels
-sharpening

and so on, but the amount of threads generated in the main forum doesn't even generate a full new page per day. It doesn't seem necessary to segment it.

Again, I would just ask the simple question "What is the purpose of the forum?" and then set the guidelines on what is on/off topic accordingly.

[ChrisinHove]

I think Cliff Stamp raises a valid point.

I would interpret the main forum as for topics pertaining or pertinent to Spyderco (knives).

Clearly, discussions on steels used in Spyderco products belong in a different place as "What I had for supper" or their ilk. A post on sharpening Nepalise kukhri IS clearly off topic, however. Where it gets muddier is the "if you use an s30v knife you might be interested in these characteristics of s30v", (like Cliff's cryo post). On a technical matter I would err on the side of placing it where it will be seen the most. At worst it will be ignored by some, at best it may impart a shred of knowledge or understanding where there was less before.

And that cannot be bad.

[jabba359]

Perhaps we (I'm loath to suggest this) need an additional area?

1. Spyderco products
2. General knife topics - steels, sharpening etc
3. OT - everthing else - drinks, food, music, weather,

Just a thought. Like others, I don't perceive this as a huge issue. I like that the forum is pretty informal and threads can drift somewhat without someone coming down on the poster for going OT. Makes this forum a more friendly environment.

Ken

Ken

This is exactly what I had thought as well, one additional area for general knife topics. Since this is a Spyderco run forum, they deserve to have their own area dedicated specifically to their products, which is what the Spyderco General Discussion should be, as it's described as a place to "Discuss Spyderco's products and history".

A General Knife Topics area would be great for discussing knife related subjects that don't specifically have to do with a product Spyderco has made.

You want to ask about sharpening on the 204 Sharpmaker? Post to Spyderco General Discussion.
You want to ask about sharpening on wetstones? Post to General Knife Topics.
You want to ask about sharpening your basketball skills? Post to Off Topic.

Once again, Cliff is being disingenuous (still mad bro that your thread got moved months ago?). Obviously it's not the intent to turn the forum into "some kind of big product placement ad". If he had read Kristi's post, he wouldn't have had to ask:

Consider this thread :

- viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67349

Now it does raise a question about the Sharpmaker, but it is likely to quickly turn into a discussion on sharpening. Are posts really off-topic simply because someone doesn't constantly reference a Spyderco product in every post?

And Kristi addresses that here (emphasis added):

Finally, this pertains to topics more so than specific posts within a topic. We all know that posts within threads can wander a bit - in our meetings here we call that a "Squirrel!!" moment.

[Surfingringo]

Here's the way I see it, Kristi. Most folks seem to do a pretty good job of understanding which sub-forum is the appropriate place to start their thread. Most of those who put things in the wrong place, either realize their mistake and ask that the thread be moved or calmly accept the fact that they screwed up when they notice their thread has been moved. I can't imagine there being more than one or two individuals who feel picked on because they can neither follow the rules or admit they're capable of error. Given that, I think you have more than enough on your plate without having to rewrite the rules regarding what goes where.

I'll give a big Amen to what Paul said. I think he pretty much nailed it.

[eidah]

Kristi, I appreciate your idealism and you have a strong moral compass of right and wrong. BUT sometimes you just have to make an executive decision and go with your judgment.
Cant make everyone happy.

[MichaelScott]

I like keeping it simple, as it is. Getting too pedantic leads to ever more hair splitting in what is essentially a subjective area. People are here because of their interest in Spyderco products and company, so topics that are "generic" like whetstone sharpening still have relevance to Spyderco. I've seen forums so fractured you can't tell the flat-earthers from the cosmologists.

[Ankerson]

I like keeping it simple, as it is. Getting too pedantic leads to ever more hair splitting in what is essentially a subjective area. People are here because of their interest in Spyderco products and company, so topics that are "generic" like whetstone sharpening still have relevance to Spyderco. I've seen forums so fractured you can't tell the flat-earthers from the cosmologists.

Gun forums and Computer forums, both can get pretty crazy.

[Surfingringo]

I like keeping it simple, as it is. Getting too pedantic leads to ever more hair splitting in what is essentially a subjective area. People are here because of their interest in Spyderco products and company, so topics that are "generic" like whetstone sharpening still have relevance to Spyderco. I've seen forums so fractured you can't tell the flat-earthers from the cosmologists.

I would tend to agree. I generally feel the less subforums the better. I participate on another forum that has so many subforums and so many mods trying to ensure that everything is in its place that it becomes quite tedious. This is not a very big forum and there aren't really that many people that participate on a regular basis. This small of a group of people who all share a common interest ought to be able to get along without dozens of subforums to segregate us.

[Brunzenstein48]

I think its more simple:

- this is a Spyderco forum discussing mostly (mostly hard restricted to) Spyderco's products or SC related themes.
- these Spyderco product line consists of knifes and a single Spyderco sharpmaker® sharpening system - together with some sharpening stones and rods (actually the company Spyderco was founded and grew only on selling V sharpeners out of a camping bus - knifes where introduced later)
- therefore sharpening gears are Spyderco's (historical & initial) DNA, as well as knifes are (nowadays) Spyderco's commercial spine

Therefor both themes, knifes as well as sharpening, are of top interest to user of Spyderco's products.
No matter if these folks are users of Spyderco knifes or Spyderco sharpmaker or both - as everybody sharpens a knife in his lifetime - at least 99% do.

- anything else as breast-feeding goldfish, carpet cleaning, taking a trip on the Orient Express to Beijing e.g. may be Off-Topic

Simple ah?..
PS: Why sharpening a Spyderco knife with a Spyderco tool can ever be an Off-Topic as some here introduce, and not top priority, is beyond me.