Heya, someone else may have already answered, but since you asked me directly I’ll answer directly
This is concerning conversations that go off-topic outside of the conversations at hand. As a courtesy I will not be using specific examples from our Community, but here is a fake example:
Subject: Who Here Likes Superman Cereal?
Answers:
-I love Superman cereal!
-I prefer Batman cereal.
-I like all cereal.
-Cereal is delicious!
-What ingredients are in cereal?
-I think there’s riboflavin.
-Cool, I don’t know what riboflavin is.
-Me neither.
-Can you buy Superman cereal at the store?
-Indeed!
-Hi everyone, I like football! Did anyone watch the game? < This is off-topic.
Even something like this isn’t a big deal, and we’re not scanning for that. Reminders like this emerge because a chronic issue sprung up across the community that was beginning to make it notoriously difficult for people to have a devoted discussion, but not because we’re micro combing for divergence.
Mmm, yeah, I can see how the above came across in a “this, or that” way. But as a fellow human, I understand that conversations can meander. Parsing out communication styles is helpful for understanding each other, but ultimately, we can still serve the same goals.
As I mentioned in the above response to @ImpulseMaxMercury, this post isn’t about our commitment to a dictatorship. It’s to address a specific and current issue that has begun to debilitate many of our topics. A mutual and thoughtful respect for the “room” is generally what we are hoping to achieve.
I remember one time posting about the show iZombie and it was moved out of the TVsection as not DC. I had to explain it is based on a Vertigo comic which was part of DC at the time. Before moving we should be provided a reason so we can respond.
Ouch, sorry about that Generally the mods have a best practice of explaining when/why things are being moved; we don’t always have time to ask first before moving, but an explanation when the action is taken is a reasonably expected common courtesy.
Though I’m generally curious, do you get a notification if your reply was taken down by a moderator? (Me, afraid I’ve broken the rules and don’t even know it)
Yes! There is an automatic notification that is triggered when a response is removed. It will be followed up by a direct response from a mod with an explanation. And if there’s not, you can direct message us to find out.
Oh I’m not scared of posting. I love the mods, they’re awesome. It’s just that I don’t want to make a mistake and potentially get banned.
You wouldn’t ever get banned without a warning, usually 2, before a silence happens. In the case of going off-topic, this is a mild issue. Not like profanity, or bullying; we have assigned tiers of severity. It’s not a strict science, but the general rule is Gentle Reminder, another Gentle Reminder, First Warning, Second Warning, All right, well we warned you.
And the moderation team is not inaccessible during this time. We will generally discuss these matters (within reason) if there is a dispute. Hope this helps
@Nok, I am so happy you’re here with us, and I am sorry for any discomfort or fear that this caused. You’re a very positive contributor. Please continue to feel welcome and comfortable! <chair I pulled up for you
It is a leap year! It doesn’t really feel like it has impact on my day-to-day. It also happened to fall on a day that I was out of town, which ultimately had more impact on me answering these questions about staying on topic than I had hoped.
@Applejack thanks for adding some clarification. I think we for the most part try to color within the lines but it is ok to be a little outside as long as we understand the picture we are making.
We make it pretty easy to get into the Iceberg Lounge! Have you tried, but found a roadblock? Feel free to DM the moderation team (located under “Helpful Resources” on the front page of Community) and the group can offer assistance as needed.
So where do clubs discussions fit into this because I can see them being something were the topic may go off on a tangent that is only nominally related to the actually issues being discussed?
Say you have a club discussing Batman (1940) # 156 “Robin Dies at Dawn”. In the course of that discussion someone brings up Grayson # 5 “Everyone Dies at Dawn” which is itself an homage to this particular Batman issue. This tangent is discussed a bit and then someone else brings up Seeley’s Nightwing or King’s Batman’s work which results in a discussion of their work. While I agree the last two have very little to do with the original topic of discussion I personally don’t see the need to come in and say “Hey y’all get back on topic please” in this case. I also don’t feel its necessary to do so in DMs either barring total misuse of them of course.
Generally the mods have a best practice of explaining when/why things are being moved; we don’t always have time to ask first before moving, but an explanation when the action is taken is a reasonably expected common courtesy.
<chair I pulled up for you
