What is being "Off-Topic"

This is a thing I hear often around here. "Stay on topic", "this is off topic" etc.

When does "On-topic" discussion become "Off-topic". Now, I do not mean random change where original topic is suddenly discharged in favor of other, but when matter proceeds logically from point A to point B to point C, where C is suddenly declared "Off-topic", even if it has connections to original point A.

I just wanted to ask tropers opinions, since to me it sounds little bit stupid to limit discussion to single matter stated in OP, since sometimes discussions simply branch off. Cutting branches everytime one threatens to pop up seems kinda counter productive.

Opinion, toughts, STFU?

It helps threadhoppers join in relevant ways.

Off-topic is any/all of the following, to my way of thinking:

• Having a side conversation not related to the main topic, while the main topic is still being discussed.
• Intentionally derailing the conversation because of a personal agenda.
• Spawning a second line of conversation that is related to the original topic but distracts from it. The best solution here is usually to create a new thread to discuss that second topic.
• Having a specific topic drift into a general topic, especially one that's already discussed in another thread.
• Having a very unfocused core topic that easily lends itself to derails because nobody's sure what's being talked about.
• Getting a conversation bogged down in a debate about the methodology of debating (e.g., the Fallacy Fallacy).
• Related, having the conversation become a personal argument between posters.
• Having the main topic come to a conclusion, whereupon people start treating the thread like Yack Fest.

edited 31st Oct '11 9:11:37 AM by Fighteer

However, when does the natural move from Point A to Point B occur, then? As much as we like, we can only discuss about single matter to certain extend before it will branch to new direction. Thus, sometimes you will have side and original conversations side by side, in middle of move.

There is also a fact that if we create a thread for every topic, this place gets pretty quickly bogged down.

Now, I am not supporting off-topicness, but I am against labeling everythign directly not connected to original matter as "off-topic".

I'm not very good at telling when a thread has become off-topic... but I'll try and explain it. And probably get it completely wrong.

If one subject naturally evolves into another subject - like, a specific event occuring which provokes a discussion on the circumstances that caused the event - I think that's OK?

But if the conversation's going off at... angles, I guess, going in a different direction, rather than just continuing in the direction it was always going with natural progression, I think that would be off-topic.

And although it's bad to go off-topic at all in a section called "On-Topic Conversations", in less serious discussions it seems a thread can get away with briefly going off-topic then coming back. I'm not recommending you to that, because it's still going off-topic, but when a discussion could easily go off into many different directions that could all cause arguments, slightly deviating for one post can get that post deleted before the thread is completely derailed.

But I would just recommend asking yourself if the discussion seems to be going off at angle before posting. I try to do that. I don't always manage it, but I've probably avoided quite a few deleted posts.

If a discussion naturally evolves, then one might consider retitling the thread or indicating it in the OP, so that someone doing a Thread Hop doesn't get confused.

I think that 1st-Off-Topic-posts (each time a thread begins to go Off-Topic) in threads should remain in the thread in case someone comes across it and wants to make a seperate thread based on that post. All other off-topic posts should be "cut off like branches from a tree" as goes the OP's words or what have you.