FORUM CATEGORIES - (Just hear me out…)

[Wulfman]

ride herd

Good to see you posting again, Jeff.


Den

[-SWS]

RU, That's clear.

Now what if I want to ask, "Is it true that during the time of the Roman Empire, in the hills of Libya, the Romans dumped vessels of olive oil onto the water in the viaducts in order to transport it quickly and economically to the seaport, where it was easily separated from the water and collected into vessels for shipping?", in which category should that be posted?

So Well, I wonder if Popeye's girlfriend knows:

This ain't my forum......it belongs to CPAP.COM and the Goodman family.......it's up to them. It's been my interpretation that they wanted it the way it is (I think it's also easier for them to ride herd on).

Well, the Goodmans have ALWAYS encouraged robust discussions---even those that result in suggestions. And they have implemented various suggestions in the past. I also get the impression the Goodmans strive to make this forum flourish as much as possible...

And, judging by yet another poll, having categories still isn't all that popular.

A true generalization.... However, the current poll is NOT at all about thinking up ways to ENCOURAGE social networking around here without diluting or detracting from the forum's original core purpose. Yet at the same time, I don't see people jumping out of their chairs in this thread yelling: "Hooray! Let's come up with ways to foster MORE SOCIAL NETWORKING around here without annoying those who are disinclined!"

[jules]

beach party time

[jnk]

beach party time

Too much socializing there. Off topic. (Not to mention, top-offic.) No soup for you.

[-SWS]

We need a soup recipes category...

[DoriC]

It seems to me that it really becomes the decision of both the OP who thinks it appropriate to start a social networking or hot-button political type thread and the responders who seem to be enjoying them although I think they've become a bit of a distraction lately. A concern is that some newcomers may see these OT discussions at the top of the page and think we're not a serious forum discussing serious OSA issues, but I hope that's unlikely. It's easy enough to just click on the threads that interest us.

I hope nobody objected to the "ultimate" social networking thread about Baby Scarlett and Baby Jonah!

[Hospiceangel]

As a newbie, thank you for helping me to understand what OT stands for. I surely would have put it on my thread and I apologize if I upset anyone by posting my thread. I had seen the other that was closely related and thought it would be okay.
Shar:)

[jnk]

I hope nobody objected to the "ultimate" social networking thread about Baby Scarlett and Baby Jonah!

I object to anybody objecting to that thread. It was great.

But that does raise the question of whether discussing the different types of threads could possibly turn more people off about the forum by making them self-conscious about what they post and how people will react to it.

The nice thing about not having overly-active moderators, is that things can stay quirky and human. The drawback is that not having moderators means some new ones may think that they have to please everyone here instead of just a few moderators, since all opinions seem to hold equal weight. It is what it is.

For me the most important things are that the forum stays welcoming, nurturing, informative, and fun. All I can do is try to be that myself to the best of my ability, though I'm sure I fail as often as anybody else. (I even had the gall a few weeks back to chew out a poster for attempting to chew out a poster! Who did I think I was? Fortunately he seems to have forgiven me.) The rest of the chips just have to fall where they may, as far as I am concerned. But human nature is that some people are attracted to virtual anarchy, some people are repulsed by it, and some people are confused by it.

I was only kidding Jules. What size soup would you like for the beach party? Carbonman makes me stand here beside the pot and stir it so the bottom doesn't burn.

[rosiefrosie]

Now look at what's happened. Everyone is apologizing for having posted an OT thread.

[DoriC]

GUILTY! I even posted my Chicken Soup Recipe here! And it got rave reviews BTW!
Are we still On or Off Topic? I'm getting confused!

[jnk]

Are we still On or Off Topic?

Both.

But just barely.

[carbonman]

....well, I have hung up my sprinkler repairman hat for the day....

the popcorn is just about ready.....

.....I have deposited an adult beverage into an old A&W mug
that was just removed from the freezer......

......and none too soon.......this is quite a group we have here.

I say:
intellectualize,
theorize,
socialize,
personalize,
make soup,
generalize,
humanize,
...but please don't categorize.

It is the OT threads where we all get to know each other....
we speak our minds, we fight, we leave, we cool off,
in the end, we support one another,
in life.....
beyond the mechanics of blowing air up your nose......

all brought together by needing to know how to.....
blow air up your nose.

It's ALL "social networking" in my opinion.
Den

In the end, all things come full circle.

[billbolton]

Thoughts?

Oh no, not again!

[carbonman]

Oh no, not again!

Plain or w/butter????

[Hawthorne]

Most OT posts on the forum are brief, People can take them or leave them. I tend to read some and not others.

The ones that seem to have raised this became so dominant and grew to pages upon pages on the forum and cpap/sleep apnea issues, which the board is about, got pushed farther and farther down even onto page 2 or 3 even where they may never be noticed again. To me, on this forum, that is unfortunate.

New people coming for cpap/sleep apnea help might have looked at this and simply left. I don't know but it is something I think we need to be conscious of, given the support for cpap/sleep apnea issues nature of this forum.