Virtual Campfire

[Chadamus]

1 hour ago, blw2 said:

Love this thread idea.... but honestly I kinda figure most all threads on this or any forum are or at least should be like this.  Let conversation flow naturally I say.

+1

Agreed. If I had someone listening over my shoulder in real life telling me to stay on topic, I wouldn't react in a very Scout-like manner.

[RememberSchiff]

Why not start your own topic?

[Eagle1993]

Thread hijacking is not good internet decorum.  IT IS SIMILAR TO NOT TYPING IN ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME.  It is a consistent and common rule across nearly all forums.  I know I violate it from time to time and have no problem when called out.  It is simple enough to create a new topic.  

[blw2]

because sometimes it breaks the flow of conversation.  It's not like each thread is a stand alone entity like a patent application, that is to be judged and dissected....and not confused by other things

[Stosh]

As an alternative, there should be some place on the forum to just "hang out" and talk about whatever might be of interest to others that day.  If one wishes to have a topic they wish the members to stay with, they have that option of just posting in that category on the forum.  

I started this thread to just allow the off-hand comments to go unchecked to see where they lead.  This also offers the opportunity to see if there are other categories of interest that aren't listed in the regular threads.

Like: last night we hosted one new Webelos boy in our troop.  He had a great time making rope and then learning new knots with it.  The PL was being punished because his grades were dropping in school and couldn't attend.  The other boys picked up the slack and did a nice job while my ASM and I visited with the parent.  So, how many potential threads could be had with that.  Recruiting, scouts being punished by keeping them out of the program, doing crafty scoutwork, rope making, knot tying, whipping and fusing, other boys picking up the slack and leading the program for the evening, teaching skills development for older scouts.  The boys made the potential new member a 2 color para-cord knot combo to practice his knots, and they finished out the evening playing the game Duck Wars, of which the Webelos, being the smallest won every time.

I dunno, I just think it's a good place to just jaw-jack about whatever is on your mind.

Yes, it is still very important to start one's own topic when it is appropriate to do so.

If the mods want to move this to a different category, they may do so while maintaining the off-thread possibilities.  I know there are some on the forum that avoid the I&P section for good reasons, but It is a bit less moderated than the rest.  I like the place where it is because as long as everyone stays on or off topic and maintains a scout-like attitude, it has the potential of finding new areas that if some interest is shown can be made into a regular thread in the appropriate category.

[blw2]

but hijacking is really a different thing.

If I ask a very specific question and then you piggyback on top interrupting that very specific thing with a distracting unrelated thing....then yeah, that seems kinda rude....

but if it's a topic discussing a topic....and that discussion morphs over time to a very related side note..... which then morphs into something not really all that related....so what? 

[Stosh]

3 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

Thread hijacking is not good internet decorum.  IT IS SIMILAR TO NOT TYPING IN ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME.  It is a consistent and common rule across nearly all forums.  I know I violate it from time to time and have no problem when called out.  It is simple enough to create a new topic.  

And that option is still there for those who wish to use it.  I think it's cleaner an easier to follow, but as one knows, getting off-topic is always a problem.  If there is something that is mentioned that would be of concern to all, there's nothing that says one can't jump the conversation into a category and discuss it in greater detail.

Many times I like some of the hijacking comments because they often come from "outside the box" and deserve another thread of their own.  The Virtual Campfire provides and encourages that kind of exploration into new ideas.  If it gets some traction, then yes, make a topic thread on it.

And yes thread hijacking is not good internet decorum, the Virtual Campfire cannot be hijacked because it has no thread to hijack.

[blw2]

4 minutes ago, Stosh said:

As an alternative, there should be some place on the forum to just "hang out" and talk about whatever might be of interest to others that day.  If one wishes to have a topic they wish the members to stay with, they have that option of just posting in that category on the forum.  

I started this thread to just allow the off-hand comments to go unchecked to see where they lead.  This also offers the opportunity to see if there are other categories of interest that aren't listed in the regular threads.

Like: last night we hosted one new Webelos boy in our troop.  He had a great time making rope and then learning new knots with it.  The PL was being punished because his grades were dropping in school and couldn't attend.  The other boys picked up the slack and did a nice job while my ASM and I visited with the parent.  So, how many potential threads could be had with that.  Recruiting, scouts being punished by keeping them out of the program, doing crafty scoutwork, rope making, knot tying, whipping and fusing, other boys picking up the slack and leading the program for the evening, teaching skills development for older scouts.  The boys made the potential new member a 2 color para-cord knot combo to practice his knots, and they finished out the evening playing the game Duck Wars, of which the Webelos, being the smallest won every time.

I dunno, I just think it's a good place to just jaw-jack about whatever is on your mind.

Yes, it is still very important to start one's own topic when it is appropriate to do so.

If the mods want to move this to a different category, they may do so while maintaining the off-thread possibilities.  I know there are some on the forum that avoid the I&P section for good reasons, but It is a bit less moderated than the rest.  I like the place where it is because as long as everyone stays on or off topic and maintains a scout-like attitude, it has the potential of finding new areas that if some interest is shown can be made into a regular thread in the appropriate category.

excellent post Stosh.

which takes me to categories.....

I for one pay absolutely zero attention to category, except when I post a new thread.  Otherwise..... I'm looking at new posts since my last visit....all of them....with equal interest.  I can't imagine logging in here to check to see if there are any new posts in let's say the politics one..... or the next time in the advancement one....

[blw2]

I participate on other forums.....and some which seem to be very controlled in staying "on topic" really seem more like a bunch of fragmented thoughts....like a dictionary.  Very short threads, no flow.

[RememberSchiff]

11 minutes ago, blw2 said:

but if it's a topic discussing a topic....and that discussion morphs over time to a very related side note..... which then morphs into something not really all that related....so what? 

The problem is it makes SEARCH a bear down the road.  If Topic A morphs into Topic Q, Q responses are harder to find.

[Stosh]

I think the "regulars" here might not find the Virtual Campfire to their liking, but I also hope some of the new/old lurkers out there might pop in for some quick answers to something that is bugging them at the moment.  Jump in, ask a question, and then get a quick answer without having a big deal made out of it.

[RememberSchiff]

18 minutes ago, Stosh said:

 

I started this thread to just allow the off-hand comments to go unchecked to see where they lead.  This also offers the opportunity to see if there are other categories of interest that aren't listed in the regular threads.

Not to confused with the Campfire Stories topic which I create earlier.

[Stosh]

1 minute ago, RememberSchiff said:

The problem is it makes SEARCH a bear down the road.  If Topic A morphs into Topic Q, Q responses are harder to find.

The search should bring up both the regular thread and the Virtual Campfire starter idea.  If no regular thread is started and the searcher is interested more than the Virtual Campfire discussed, he/she can start a thread then.

[Eagle1993]

@blw2   I’m a member of several Reddit groups and keeping on point is most critical (at least for me) on non political threads.  For example, if you start a thread on ideal process to change brake pads on a 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo and someone starts discussing why you can run 13,000 miles between oil changes on a 2015 VW Passat it is not helpful.  First, those who are interested in VW Passat’s oil change interval will almost never find that interesting discussion buried in the original topic and second those interested in brake pads on a 911 Turbo now have to read through ramblings on VW.  

I would agrue the same applies for many threads here.  If someone starts a thread for SPL on smaller Troops it would be best  to keep it focused for both short term and long term (those that search threads in future). I think our mods do a pretty good job of balancing flow of conversation and keeping on topic   

 

[RememberSchiff]

The SEARCH software is what it is.

Finding contents by Topic and body is much less efficient than Find contents by Topic.