Evil Stormbringer

Join Date 08/2006

Threadjacking and the moral implications that arise

So G.W. is usually the guy we all look to to invoke some thought inspiring posts regarding many things that have, ahem, nothing whatsoever to do with this game (unless you want it to), but as of late he seems to be slipping a little. To initiate any newbs into this, if you are unfamiliar with this forum it helps to know that the devs don't really like topics outside of this game due to the possible 'flame wars' that almost inevitably follow. This is understandable since they do have to moderate our forum activity and certain people, most notably Kryo, really do pour over this forum trying to be helpful to all who come here to post. But recent months have shown that they are 'allowing' us a little more wiggle room in what we say, probably because even some of the most despicable characters (myself being one of them) have begun to demonstrate a level of civility beyond the norm for their personality. Since we've had this 'wiggle' room, there have been a few posts worthy of their fonts and the conversations that arise are always enjoyable.
Now it is a given, as G.W. pointed out, that once a thread gets a little long, interest may wane, especially with people who are new readers. Therefore this thread has been started to try and rekindle the fires of conversation, philosophy, and debate.
My initial post in the grammar nazi thread had to do with the definition of a thief. Is a thief a thief? Are there times where it is acceptable to steal? If so what are they? You can see the gist of this can't you? So please feel free to throw some things in here to keep the 'spirit' alive so to speak and if this post becomes too large, start another one.
We can't talk about this game all the time, can we? Sure, maybe play it all the time, but we do need some healthy distractions every once in a while. Besides, if you've read any of the other 'non game' related posts you probably noticed that sometimes a given topic really can be incorporated into this game, or at least aspects of it.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

Good topic, interesting and thoughtful original post. Should be the start of a good conversation.

To start it off, I have sometimes "hijacked" a thread that asked a specific question once the question has been answered. This kind of hijacking occurs basically as a convenient place to continue an unrelated, perhaps on-going conversation between myself and one or more responders in the thread. I've seen this annoy some "purists" but I think that most folks realize that a thread has a useful end and continuation of unrelated topics beyond that end is not criminal.

I have also been guilty of "bending" the direction of a thread, the most notable example is the “Is anyone out there thread?”. However, I’ve done so only when the topic I’m talking about bears striking similarity to the original post and in reality is within the spirit of the original post. Although I would have to admit that “within the spirit” of the original post is in the eye of the beholder, I wouldn’t consider this threadjacking.

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if this post becomes to large, start another one.

I meant 'too'... really, I did! Damn you guys and your constitution thread! Yeah, yeah, that's what it was... the constitution thread, so many words...

You beat me to my edit Mumblefratz!

In case you were wondering though, the 'threadjacking' part was aimed at G.W.

, not necessarily touching on the actual morals of stealing a thread. G.W. will understand.

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Philocthetes

Join Date 10/2003

+153

threadjacking

In a world of boundless ugly neologisms based on computer crap, this is sweet relief. If Evil S coined this term, ten thousand huzzahs for it. He deserves at least a thousand if only for sharing.

The OP and Mumble's followup have managed both to make me feel half-smart and yet still suprise me. I would feel very smug right now if I'd thought to use "threadjacking" as an example (even without the nice new word) when I answered Evil Stormbringer's theivery question over in the massive Grammar nazi thread.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

You beat me to my edit Mumblefratz!

Actually everything that I've seen indicates that you are able to edit the text of your original post even after 100's of replies and weeks later. You may not be able to do it the instant someone is posting a reply but I bet if you try it now you can go back and fix it. Try it.

threadjacking

*Everything* is in the wiki.

Wiki Threadjacking

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If Evil S coined this term, ten thousand huzzahs for it. He deserves at least a thousand if only for sharing.

Well thank you for the huzzahs but I really don't deserve them. I thought the word was suitable for the topic and never thought to look it up at the wiki... so I guess I thought I was being 'creative' in a sense. Like Mumblefratz said, it appears that 'everything' is in fact in the wiki.

Yes, you're right Mumblefratz, you can go back and edit after someone else posts. I thought that you only had a small window of time to change things before someone added to your post but... at least now I know.

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What is the lifespan of the average post?
A day or two?

So i guess it is bad to hyjack a new post, but any post that's getting a bit old can have new life breathed into it with a hyjack.

Regardless, we can post on any topic i believe, so long as we use the 'off topic' category.

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so long as we use the 'off topic' category.

You are kidding right? I just post from the 'everything' screen not to buck the system but that's just how I do it. Besides, I enjoy the responses from the people at this forum and I like to get the most feedback on my posts, regardless of what they encompass. If I relegated my posts to the off topic category I am afraid that it might not get the attention that I would like it to receive. To some this may be rebellious, but I want to talk to the people in here and hear what they have to say, positive or negative. I believe most old timers have learned to deal with me and my ways in here.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

Yes, you're right Mumblefratz, you can go back and edit after someone else posts. I thought that you only had a small window of time to change things before someone added to your post but... at least now I know.

This applies only to original posts. I reported this to the web team through a thread they monitor. They said it's intended.

I suggested that I could start a thread promising $100 to every responder, get a ton of responses and then edit my original post to say everyone that responds to my post is an idiot.

Haven't received a response to that one though.

we can post on any topic i believe, so long as we use the 'off topic' category.

That doesn't justify highjacking an active off topic thread (I agree about inactive threads).

I just post from the 'everything' screen

Still, if it's an obvious off topic post Kryo will move it where it belongs. Actually that applies to pretty much every thread posted to an inappropriate category.

I therefore like to try and post to the correct category because Kryo has enough to do without us causing him work because of laziness.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

I usually surf the forums by clicking on the Forums button on the home page and then looking at recent posts or clicking more recent posts to get the next page. That truly gives you everything.

You can also go directly to forums.galciv2.com instead of www.galciv2.com. However one problem is that you can't start a new thread from there you do have to go to everything, or one of the other top level categories.

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Philocthetes

Join Date 10/2003

+153

I use the Wiki more all the time but still don't just look up a word there very often, other than tech babble like "inter-farm replication" (not there, yet).

Back twoards the OP, in the last fortnight my little neighborhood has seen a burglary interrupted by a resident returning to her apartment a few blocks from me and a successful burglary about 40-50m from my house (next street over, couple of houses up).

I like to talk to neighbors, and this kind of thing stirs up the old break-in stories as well as fretting about whether we're in for a "wave." My first questions, probably inspired by Evil's basic question, were about whether the successful break-in looked like the work of ill-mannered punks or professionals.

Both are worrisome, but the latter idea bothers me more b/c I think of our neighborhood as too humble to attract professional thieves. If you had to suffer a break-in, would you rather the perp be misguided youth or an experienced entrepreneur?

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would you rather the perp be misguided youth or an experienced entrepreneur?

Honestly, I would rather have the 'professional'. My reasoning is that inexperienced youth could be there for any number of reasons... therefore their 'state of mind' could be questionable and you really don't know how they would react to say, walking in on them, or in a hostage situation.
On the other hand, the seasoned professional would probably be more calm and perform better 'under pressure', thus hopefully reducing the risk of bodily harm in the case of a botched burglary. Just my opinion, but let's hope none of us reading ever have to experience this, regardless of whether it's a pro or just misguided youth.

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