Why are some threads diverted from their inital topic?

[RebeccaFog]

Hi,

   I was just banging my head against a wall of spikes, I mean, I was reading through a thread that was continually sidetracked and broken up by posts that were off topic, and I began wondering why this happens so much?

   Why does a thread go off topic?
   Are there any ideas on how to prevent this?
   What do you think?

[Jessica]

Have you ever played the game where your sitting in a circle, and one person is given a piece of paper.  That person reads the story on the piece of paper and then whispers the story in his or her own words to the next person, that person then whispers the same story in his or her own words to the next person.  If you have more than 6 people, the story is virtually unrecognizable by the time it gets back to the same person.

I think posts work almost identically and it is because we choose the main idea of a given topic based on what we can relate too.

For instance, if a topic is about cars, and a respondant knows a lot about car engines, then they will find some way to relate the topic of cars to car engines and respond accordingly.  The next person sees that the topic is about cars, and the discussion has moved to car engines.  He or she doesn't know much about car engines, but knows a lot about small engine repair. etc...

Our worldview and areas of expertise, along with our experiences color our perceptions.
These in turn, direct our responses to different topics.

At least, that is my observation.

[Nero]

Because that's the way conversations go. Threads are just virtual conversations. I don't mind as long as it still has relevance to the initial topic. Such as Jessica's example - from cars to car engines, and so on, but when it goes from cars to 'You look great in your avatar! Who does your hair?', it should be taken to another thread.

[Yvonne]

Because ppl are dumb and want to talk about themselves.  You know, ME, MY VIEWS, MY FAMILY, MY VIEWPOINTS, MY HORRID EXPERIENCES, MY FLAT, MY, MINE AND ME.

[no_id]

Because people like going around in circles, that way no one is actually moving and everything stays the same. *shrugs*

[MeghanAndrews]

Because that's the way conversations go. Threads are just virtual conversations.

Nero's right once again

It took me a while to learn that you should keep topics on post. I have a tendency to branch out into other subjects, not necessarily about me, just to talk about other stuff. I've just learned that Susan's chat is a little better suited to me and my conversation style (those of you who know me are probably laughing about that) versus forums. I like posting every now and then and posting on my blog, but chat's better for me personally, no need to worry about being off topic there

[Teri Anne]

And another thing I like about Tudor houses is that they seem so homey!

(Kidding)

I guess "life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're going to get."

Seriously, though, I have wondered the same thing.  I notice it, particularly, when I'm the one starting the topic.  It can be a bit frustrating if I'm seeking advice or some answers and so I try to just read past the jokes.  Sometimes, though, I can't help but laugh and smile.  This "room" can be a warm and happy place.

I think diverting conversations to things that interest you is something people often do in life.  It doesn't make it right.  Whenever I've been tempted to shift the topic here at Susans, I try to remind myself to just START ANOTHER TOPIC.

Teri Anne

[buttercup]

IMO people should show some respect to the person who started the thread to either answer, relate, discuss etc. When the thread gets too long it is easier to be hijacked and go off course, but it is easily brought back when a random poster has read the initial topic and is replying to that.   

buttercup

[RebeccaFog]

good answers.

[Seshatneferw]

Because that's the way conversations go. Threads are just virtual conversations.

That's mostly it. It's slightly worse than this, though: face-to-face conversations happen in real time, but over here we don't share a single, common time line. Instead, we are free to respond to comments made several hours, or days, in the past (just like I'm doing roght now), and this makes it easier for the overall conversation to split into several parallel tracks that may have little in common.

  Nfr

[Keira]

I've been in newsgroups since the late 80's and its been like that since that time. And even on BBS's in the early 80's, same thing. So, its not just here.

[RebeccaFog]

I've been in newsgroups since the late 80's and its been like that since that time. And even on BBS's in the early 80's, same thing. So, its not just here.

Oh.  i didn't mean to imply it's just here.  i was just wondering.

   I wonder if there could be a kind of project software developed for forums.  If a viable alternative thread develops, it is forked off from the initial thread.  The idea being when you look at a forums front page, you see an initial list where forked threads are indicated.
   The threads would be viewed as maps or some kind of friendly graphic.

[Nero]

I've been in newsgroups since the late 80's and its been like that since that time. And even on BBS's in the early 80's, same thing. So, its not just here.

Oh.  i didn't mean to imply it's just here.  i was just wondering.

   I wonder if there could be a kind of project software developed for forums.  If a viable alternative thread develops, it is forked off from the initial thread.  The idea being when you look at a forums front page, you see an initial list where forked threads are indicated.
   The threads would be viewed as maps or some kind of friendly graphic.

LOL We already have such a thing. It's called moderators.

[LostInTime]

Back in the BBS days we called them Mutating Threads. Not sure how it occurs, it just does.

Y'know the sky is very clear tonight and you can the stars blanketing the sky. Very pretty, should be a good hot tub night.

[Seshatneferw]

   I wonder if there could be a kind of project software developed for forums.  If a viable alternative thread develops, it is forked off from the initial thread.  The idea being when you look at a forums front page, you see an initial list where forked threads are indicated.
   The threads would be viewed as maps or some kind of friendly graphic.

Yes, that would be nice. One of the things I really like about Usenet is that the message format keeps track of the references to earlier ones. This means that a thread has a tree structure and can be presented to the reader as such, instead of the vaguely ordered stream we have here. This tree structure, combined with a culture of changing the subject line as appropriate, gets at least half-way to what you describe.

The sad thing is, news reading software have had features supporting this kind of use since about the early 90's, but somehow these ideas haven't been incorporated to web forums. Web links are very useful, and the eye candy is nice, but in terms of supporting the flow and structure of conversation we are back in the late 70's.

  Nfr

[RebeccaFog]

The sad thing is, news reading software have had features supporting this kind of use since about the early 90's, but somehow these ideas haven't been incorporated to web forums. Web links are very useful, and the eye candy is nice, but in terms of supporting the flow and structure of conversation we are back in the late 70's.

  Nfr

The 70's?  My God! Just how old are you?      [I said, as my thread veered off course]

[Seshatneferw]

The 70's?  My God! Just how old are you?   

Only a couple of years younger than you. 
I just started at an early age,    have read some history,  and used to get paid for dealing with these things. 

To get back to the original topic, see how easy it is! 

  Nfr

[Ron]

Conversations result in tangents, tangents result in things going off topic. I enjoy how natural threads are because they do tend to go off topic after a while. It's part of the fun of being a member of a forum. If everything was on topic all the time it would be boring.

[Nero]

Conversations result in tangents, tangents result in things going off topic. I enjoy how natural threads are because they do tend to go off topic after a while. It's part of the fun of being a member of a forum. If everything was on topic all the time it would be boring.

true. Also, strict adherence to the initial post concept would defy nature. Especially once a thread is several pages long.

[Ron]

Conversations result in tangents, tangents result in things going off topic. I enjoy how natural threads are because they do tend to go off topic after a while. It's part of the fun of being a member of a forum. If everything was on topic all the time it would be boring.

true. Also, strict adherence to the initial post concept would defy nature. Especially once a thread is several pages long.

Exactly. If the discussion has deviated within a handful of replies, then it would seem justified for someone to ensure it is brought back, but once it has extended beyond the first page, there's no telling where the discussion may lead.