birding-aus

Mundane & useless threads - solutions.

To: "Birding-Aus" <>
Subject: Mundane & useless threads - solutions.
From: "Robert Inglis" <>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:20:52 +1000
There are, of course, easy solutions to the problems some members have with 
actual or perceived “mundane & useless threads”.

There are no rules, laws or demands that any one read any thread or any part of 
a thread.

If a member considers a particular thread is or has become “mundane &/or 
useless” that member has the option of simply ignoring the thread and not 
reading it.
In that case it would probably be a good idea not to voice a public opinion 
about the thread in question but, if there is a genuine feeling of concern 
about the content a comment to the list moderator/s might be in order.
Publically making rude, crude, aggressive comments about particular threads and 
topics only tends to make that particular contribution “mundane & useless”.

The same tactic can be applied to contributions provided by people whom the 
reader may consider do not provide contributions worthy of reading or which are 
usually unnecessarily contentious or provocative.

There are several Birding-Aus members whose contributions I never read and 
there are some whose contributions I only read if they provide a subject line 
which appears to be of interest to me.
An example of the latter would be trip reports: I rarely read overseas trips 
reports but I may read reports of trips within Australia. That doesn’t mean I 
think trip reports of any type are “mundane &/or useless” to myself or anyone 
else: it simply means I have no interest in personally doing overseas trips. 
Trip reports are an integral part of Birding-Aus and to consider them to be 
“mundane & useless” would be quite strange.
I would also point out here that I am reluctant to read contributions from 
‘anonymous’ contributors, that is, people who don’t provide a reasonable and 
coherent signature.

If a member should find a thread which they find interesting and they are 
disappointed it doesn’t persist to any degree they have the options of 
accepting that it is not interesting to others or that no one else has anything 
they feel worth adding to the discussion. The fact that a thread doesn’t 
continue for any length of time is not necessarily an indication of lack of 
interest value but it may simply be a case of no one wanting to add unnecessary 
or controversial comments.
It any one thinks a particular thread should have gone on longer they at 
liberty to contribute something relevant to that thread.

One thing that, to my way of thinking, can quickly make a thread turn from 
“interesting & worthwhile” to “mundane & useless” is when someone diverges from 
the topic and introduces something irrelevant to the subject. If someone sees 
something in a thread which prompts them to want to make a point about 
something which is not strictly relevant to that thread they should start a new 
thread with a new subject line. The fact that someone decides to start a new 
thread which may appear to have a connection with a previous thread should not 
be considered to be a reflection on the value of that previous thread.

Bob Inglis
Sandstone Point
Qld
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