I'm new here, and I have a question about rule #7

[Mouser X]

fab said:

Rule 07. Avoid Having Direct Conversations
The forums are all about the community of members discussing things together. It is very annoying when two people talk back and forth to each other in a thread, especially for members who receive piles of notifications for a thread. These are forums, not a chat room. Take one-on-one conversations to PMs, E-mail, or an instant messenger program.

Okay, I understand, and do not contest, the rules. However, I had a question about this one. In an old forum I used to visit, time travel was discussed a lot. The thing was, most of the discussion was between 2 to 4 people, with the occasional comment thrown in by someone else. I could be wrong, but from what I could tell, those conversations were fairly popular (it was a Chrono Trigger message board, after all). They provided insight and "education." By "education" I mean that the ideas are of course theories, but provide an idea for others to think on that they might not have had otherwise.

My question is, what if such a thread occurs? Even though most of the posts might be by 2 or so people, what if it's read a lot, and people want to see what is being said so that they may expand their own knowledge and understanding?

As I said, I'm not disputing the rules at all. I simply want to know your stance on such a situation. That way, if that ever occurs, I'll know what to do.

Personaly, I would like to see such threads stay on the boards, as it would make the ideas and things discussed public. That way, people can get ideas from it, and they can contribute their own if they think the ideas being discussed need correction or clarification.

However, based on how the rule stands as-is, I'm pretty sure the answer I will recieve to my question will be to follow what it says, and therefore "take it outside" or to the PMs or email, or IM programs and whatnot.

Anyway, thanks in advance. I do appreciate your time and consideration in answering this question. Oh, and by the way, I'm Mouser X, a member of the Time Traveler's Guild, for those who would like to know a little bit about me. Hope to hear from you soon. Mouser X over and out.

[GustaffGlyde]

Ah, Chrono Trigger… such fond memories… but anyways, onto the question.

As for direct conversation, it refers to things that are between a couple of people or… I can’t explain things very well, so let’s try an example.

Breaking the good ol’ #7

Hi Bob, how are you doing?

I’m fine, and you Joe?

Oh I’m good. You have a good lunch?

Yup, a tasty flying croissant.

Yeah, those are great…

~END and FIN~

As you can see, that was nothing but a pointless conversation between two people that did not contribute to the current topic and was probably very off track. Now another example…

Not Breaking the good ol’ #7… I think

In the “Now then, shall we continue? (What is MegaMan?)” thread, JMC and I went back and forth for the entire last page (well, Paragon jumped in once, but other than that it was just us).
mmls.proboards7.com/index.cgi?board=talkmmlgeneral&action=display&n=1&thread=891&start=45

Since that’ll work as an example, I’ll leave it at that.

~FINEND~

As you can see, a pointless conversation between two people is what that rule here is to prevent. As I said once before, we aren’t here to eat milk and cookies and talk about how our day went. Discussions between two people are okay so long as they do not get too personal and therefore prevent others from joining in. So long as other people could join in and contribute then it should be okay. It can’t be helped if only two people are interested in a subject and it would be unfair to lock it because of that. Only if the discussion becomes a conversation will it get locked/deleted. (Also, I’m not 100% sure about my interpretation, but I’m sure once one of the mods or fab gets on they can sort out a good explanation, especially when compared to mine)

If we did have a discussion about anything from time travel and the nature of kosmos and chaos (well, that might be a little much… kosmos = order, used as the basis for the word cosmos. In other words, what is the nature of chaos and order as they effect the universe in which we live… yes, I’m bored and I’m acting like an idiot… again) then I’m sure it wouldn’t get locked… unless it was plagued by SPAM. Fortunately, our mods here make sure SPAMers stay far, far away from this site. You should praise them for that because the more SPAM you get, the more idiots you get who refuse to put any thought whatsoever into their posts and spelling and the such but I’m getting way off track right now…

Anyways, I’m guessing this post doubles as a “Hi, hello, I am new… please welcome me!” kind of thread, so… Hi, hello, you are new… you are welcomed here. As for that other forum… I couldn’t find it, but oh well. Considering your attention to grammar (you only spelled two words wrong) and that you actually put some thought into this, I’m sure you would be welcomed… so long as you don’t fade into the shadows like some fifty other members…

As for me, I’m the guy who goes “… … … … … …” a lot… and I do some other things, but I can’t quite remember what… Welcome and stuff… and Merry… well, it’s far too late for that so… A very Merry Thursday Friday January 7, 2005 to you (hey, it only comes once in an eternity so why not celebrate it? And yes, I have little grasp on the ebb and flow of time... I thought it was Thursday... go away)… Well, enough of this. I had better get back to my school work now… GustaffGlyde fallen over and knocked out…

[feldinaut]

GustaffGlyde!!! You are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! If someone posts, at least two different people must respond to a topic before that person may post again!! ANYONE WHO DOES OTHERWISE WILL BE BANNED IMMEDIATELY!!! The sky is purple! Glyde is a vegan!

Actually, that was perfect. Thank you. You did a much better job explaining that than I would have, probably.

And don't worry about disputing the rules or asking for clarifications... We on the staff are pretty open to modifications to the rules if you think they might be unfair. Actually, we'll just be happy you even read them. As long as you aren't like, "OMG I shud be abel to post 2 wurds ur so unfare!!!!" we have no problems with suggestions pertaining to the rules. Although I doubt you'd say something like that anyway.

A hearty WELCOME TO THE BOARDS to you!

[Mouser X]

Cool. Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to see that there is some flexability, within reason, for the rules. That does, of course, make sense, as it is hard to make a rule that applies to every single situation possible. That's one of the things that plagues the U.S. government (which I'm under) they try to create laws and rules that are so specific that it is very very difficult to get anything done in congress. I just finished one of my classes, and it was on the government. It was actually quite interesting, but the teacher wasn't all that exciting.

Okay, slightly off topic there, but it does, sort of, relate. If there's a problem with that, I may have difficulty, as that's how my mind seems to work. It likes to create seemingly random tangent trains of thought. Anyway, thanks for the welcome, and hopefully I can get some answers here (about MM stuff in general, though I'd like to create an idea of what MML3 might have been, if it was made. Personally, after seeing MMX: Command Mission, and some of the MM Zero games, I think we might still get a 3rd one, since those games are heavily inspired by the Legends series).

Anyway, thanks again. As for those typos, my keyboard seems to have sticky keys sometimes, and my space bar doesn't work the way I would like it to, so that migth be contributing to the typos. I guess that's it. Mouser X over and out.

[PharaohManXe54]

Looks like we'll have another GustaffGlyde on our hands! (No, that's not an insult.... or a compliment ) Welcome, though! Just to add to what Feldinaut said, you can PM anyone of the mods if you want a clarification on the rules (especially fab. He'd be thrilled to know that someone new actually read the rules!). Well, good luck..... you'll need it *throws head back and cackles hysterically*.

[Paragon]

Please GustaffGlyde, let other members introduce themselves before you mention them. Anyway, welcome Mouser X. I'm Paragon. Have a great time.

[GustaffGlyde]

Looks like we'll have another GustaffGlyde on our hands! (No, that's not an insult.... or a compliment )

Yup, it’s a complementary insult that’s insultingly complimentary… an insultament in other words… (I’m so loved :

Yeah, we have some similarities, but fortunately he seems to lack my tendency to say stupid things… a lot... Anyways, moving on… I’d certainly welcome any good discussions, so don’t hesitate starting any unless there is good reason to do so…

Well, once again… Welcome and… Stuff… *spontaneously combusts*

Please GustaffGlyde, let other members introduce themselves before you mention them.

… ummm… and why does this offend you so? I mentioned your name for sake of the example and for the sake of being grammatically correct (In fact, I typed up a nice rant that completely explained and justified the usage of the name but decided not to post it since this really isn’t the place for a prolonged discussion.). Simply put, I do not see how this could have offended you and why you felt the need to even bring it up.

[Bureaucratic Model 1-3]

Yes, lets all get off of GustaffGlyde's case. If he wants to eat tree monkeys then that's his... how was it put in that idiot song... perogative?

BTW I didn't read the first five posts... ;D*

[fAB]

Welcome Mouser X! I'm very glad to see you're finally here with us and under the name you'd like to be. Sorry again for all the unnecessary troubles.

The forums seem to be going through a slow period right now, but that's something I've observed about many online places this time of year, so don't let it fool you into thinking we've got a boring place! Hopefully you'll stick around and help us keep it lively.