33 Comments on “A Reminder Regarding Off-Topic Comments”

1. When a post’s topic is “off-topicness”, can a comment even be off-topic? The mind meta-reels at the thought . . . .

2. If I said…. “Hey, how about those Giants?” Then that would actually be an on topic post, since the subject you’ve brought up for discussion is off-topic posts.

   So, this post in your blog might be legitimately interpreted as an ironic invitation to post irrelevancies.

   For example, I like your books, and the way you play with nuance and meaning, but I haven’t had anything intelligent or relevant to add. Now that the subject is irrelevant and unintelligent posts I find that I actually have something to say… And…. Hey wait a minute! This is a trap, isn’t it?

3. I like a good chili cheese dog!

4. When a post’s topic is “off-topicness”, can a comment even be off-topic?

   Your comment is relevant and thought-provoking. Please take it elsewhere,

5. I have always wondered, as routine does JS have to include in his morning ritual a process in which he scans the posts from over night to see what the demons of the night have brought…..?

6. Hmm, I guess this is the place to make a public apology for my “unapologetic assholery” which I displayed earlier this evening.

   I am sorry.

   And I thank you for providing an off topic thread where I can, I hope, correctly post this apology.

7. Okay folks, as Aloysius said, this is unofficially the post where we can post off-topic comments! :D
   So is anyone here into lego jewellery?
   Just kidding :P I’ll take that into account if I decide to comment on your posts!

8. How does it follow that all possible comments to a post about off topic comments are on topic? To be on topic such a reply would have to be about comments and their topicality.

9. Aw, I hoped “then I get like this” would lead to this.

10. I was so glad when John’s link went somewhere else. Thank you, Sean, for not letting my horrible imagination get away scot-free…

11. I am very tempted to make you very cross. Lighten up a bit, and i might start reading further than that,

12. Bryan Hemming:

    I don’t care if you read any further. And if you attempt to make me cross, you’ll simply get malleted.

13. Is it appropriate to ask, in a discussion, if something is off topic? Say, a short post “would it be off-topic if we discussed point X in more detail”?

    For a specific example, over on the “Boehner” thread, the challenger’s position on immigration has come up. Would it be off topic for the discussion to move to potential immigration reforms? Or is that only OK if one asks Mr. Gurr if he would support plan X?
    And would you prefer a short post asking about discussion first, or would you rather we post the borderline cases and let you mallet them if you decide they are off topic?

14. Ah, yes. E-mail…..that’s like twitter, but slower and longer, right? I’ve heard of that thing.

15. A reminder, cool, that’ll help me remember.

16. Just curious, John; do you (or anyone else) really still use AIM?

17. Hugh57:

    Not really, no. I will probably drop that from the contact information soon.

18. I was on a bunch of mailing lists, with most of the sam people on them, where certain topics were on-topic for one list but off-topic for another. Someone created a list just for the discussion of what was on-topic where, and whenever someone was called out for being off-topic somewhere, about 5 messages into the discussion about what was on-topic, folks would be directed to _that_ list.

    (One of the lists was pretty much unmoderated, and I count among my highest achievements that I shut down a flame war there.)

19. @aloysius: Go to George RR Martins blog for Giants/Jets talk. He generally posts right after a football weekend. Do not agree with any of his politics, but totally identify with his football identity…

    I have been following this site off and on for about 4-5 years now. I do not recall very many posts about the forums. now there seems to be a flurry of them. Have things gotten worse on the forum or is he just posting now cause he is tired of it? There seem to be an awful lot.

    John… I doubt most people even notice the people on here who really bug you. I think that is your primary concern. There are too many posts. I personally tend to look for authors who I recognize when looking at the forums. I have a hunch alot of people are like that.

20. >E-mail still does exist!
    Sounds like another unverified Scalzi factoid.

21. Scalzi invented email #uncheckedscalzifacts

    In all seriousness, I think that John should brand, and trademark the phrase “Mallet of Loving Correction.”

22. Malleted! I´m just attempting to make you realise welcoming people to your site would be a far better approach, before telling them you don´t accept off-topic comments.

    After all, you do have the option of not publishing them. But if you want a give a real good malleting, choose someone your own size, If you want to win,

    I must stop looking at the blogs of people I´m supposed to share something with, even if it is a lack of hair.

    Worse thing is, you´re not remotely funny, amusing or engaging.

    Wit? if only you had half of one.

    I must stop, half a bottle more whisky and I´d be asleep by now, God is so unkind. Is that off-topic enough for a malleting? God you´re so stupid!

    Well, you certainly made me cross if that was your pointless intention.

23. I see I am too late to make the comment about off-topic comments on a post about off-topic comments being on-topic, which I guess means I am not as uniquely humorous as I think I am. But at least I’m in time to see a sterling example of the failure mode of clever!

24. Sorry, Bryan, I expect you were being amusing, but all I got was confused.

25. Apologies for the off-topic comment, but [insert fake viagra ad here]. ;)

26. Bryan Hemming: It depends on the offtopicness. Answering an on topic statement that included “My stubbed toe is really throbbing and the pain is keeping me awake” with “Obama has death panels!! And He kisses Republicans in a tree!!!” is kind of a thing you maybe shouldn’t do, while replying “Uh, if your stubbed toe is throbbing that bad you MUST get it x rayed within the next 20 hours” is likely OK.
    Actually, Bryan, he trusts us not to be dicks, so most posts are published without his seeing them.
    So far as I’ve inferred this site is retro moderated and has black and grey lists.
    –
    Katherine Mankiller: My exposed email address are at places that have gotten pretty good at not even putting ‘v1@qra’ adverts into my spam folder. It’s full of “Find Local Sluts.” :-(

27. And http://www.indiegogo.com/ stuff, which isn’t spam, but is mostly silly.
    BTW, I love how the new preview thing works, because it does.

28. Shawn – Oddly, I still get many Viagra ads. Perhaps they’re only marketing “male enhancement” to women now.

29. Katherine Mankiller: Your email providers may vary in how they deal with spam. I no longer, by choice, use those that really suck.
    Most people aren’t interested in the male enhancements that are available at rule 34 specialty shops. Those male enhancements are scary and could work, unlike the pills in the spams.
    –
    But no. Your email address(es) are on a list. Or perhaps your email addie is only common words such as “Katherine” and “Horowitz” and the spammer’s autougenerate program is aware of the “@them.them” suffix.
    Really. Unless the people you give the email addie KtHr_o10!@Carpets.net have compromised computers you won’t get much spam.

30. I like kittens!

31. Do I email comments that I have about The Mallet of Loving Correction entries? Seems to me that commenting now would be a bit late.

32. Predictably, this entry is a magnet for off topic comments. Perhaps it was intended to be a lightning rod.

33. As for the proprietor’s policy: he actually answers the e-mails, just like his contact page says he does – even when the e-mails come from randoms like me. It works.