To chit chat or not to chit chat

[Adam Y.]

a) Has the Chit-Chat forum always been a liability then?
b) I would think that a higher up from Delphi would be able to distinguish the difference between a humorous Chit-Chat post and a serious, content packed Technical Forum post.

Yeah I think it always was a liability. I've noticed that a lot of the flack I occasionaly saw in the chit-chat forum is starting to come up in a consistent basis. It's mainly the political discussions that are the problem and Im not sure why but they have become worst since I began on these forums. I seriously doubt there is any political topic that didn't degrade into a horrible arguement. (Not that they were any sane discussions to start with.) One thread starts; it gets closed, and then the whole entire process starts over again.

[Ken Leung]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

So, since FIRST was created to motivate young people why is it a bad thing that hundreds of students converse and meet with each other through FIRST?

Just a thought.

And there you have it. The final key to the combination lock I haven't been able to understand. Silly me for not seeing it earlier.

Good luck. :-)

[Joe Matt]

The world isn't made out of Nerf, you will get scrapes and bruses, but you will get back up and continue on. If you watch out you can avoid the sharp edges.

Chiefdelphi dosn't need to be encased in Nerf to prevent it's downfall, because if it is encased, that probably will cause the downfall.

I've found many times I would want to post something off topic that the people here would like to see. I've seen forums where they can't talk politics and religion and it's not a very good place. You have no character and it's dead.

I don't think we need a career section on CD, nor do we need other forums. Lets just get rid of the motor section too since I don't like it either. Hey, less to moderate and less liability issues. What? Oh, those are core ideas in FIRST you say? What about socializing? What about having fun? What about just being random. Think about it guys, FIRST has regional and championship parties not only to feed us, but also to entertain and let us hang with people LIKE US.

Abviously, I voted for Chit Chat.

[Adam Y.]

I've found many times I would want to post something off topic that the people here would like to see. I've seen forums where they can't talk politics and religion and it's not a very good place. You have no character and it's dead.

Im sorry but removing politics and religion from chit-chat topics would probably be the best thing. They almost always degenerate into flame wars or people just suffer from foot in mouth disease. People have called other people racists here. Also, the chit-chat forum does little to stop other topics from getting off kilter. The Segway in a rap video topic became an issue of morality.

[meaubry]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

2 thoughts come to mind -

a) Has the Chit-Chat forum always been a liability then?
b) I would think that a higher up from Delphi would be able to distinguish the difference between a humorous Chit-Chat post and a serious, content packed Technical Forum post.

Ryan ,
answers
a) yes, but we try and mitigate it by using moderators
b) the higher ups would not call based on their personal viewing of the Chit Chat forum, there are many other ways that issues are communicated. The point is that Delphi supports this website, therefore our expectation is not to have to be contacted in the first place. No one wants to be associated with a website that could turn into a liability, not the school, the school system, or the company sponsor. So, it's our (this teams leadership) that must make decisions relative to how the website is to be run, while still trying to provide a service to all of the FIRST community. That service should and will continue to include providing a place for the exchange of ideas, thoughts, and opinions associated with the FIRST program. The only thing that is in question is - does the Chit Chat forum meet that requirement?

[phrontist]

Originally Posted by Ken Leung

A bigger problem that needs to be addressed sometimes is an observation I keep hearing now a days: "Chief Delphi Forum isn't a useful tool anymore." I hear that saying through out the FIRST realm, from old posters who used to post a lot, to high school teachers who told me "I don't have time to dig through all the noise anymore".

The CD poster community is a very small part of the entire FIRST community, but surprisingly a large amount of the whole community rely on it for information to help their own team. If we can't figure out what's causing all these frustrations within the forum, this place will no longer be a useful place to the community as a whole.


Is chit chat the cause of the frustration we are seeing lately? Is it from people's lack of respects for rules? Are the few of us really too up tight and need to stop whinning and go away? That's something I really want to find out before the Season approach.

Sincerely,
Ken Leung

I think this is what FIRSTwiki should do! The fourm format doesn't work well at all as an information storage and retreival system, but it works great for discussion. So as usual, my solution to the problem is to encourage everyone to enhance and depend on FIRSTwiki.

[JoeXIII'007]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

Im sorry but removing politics and religion from chit-chat topics would probably be the best thing. They almost always degenerate into flame wars or people just suffer from foot in mouth disease.

I, as the starter of the Kerry or Bush and Why poll, easily agrees to this. I saw my poll grow awfully nicely, come back once and die, then come back again and go downhill, through the concrete at the bottom of the hill, and goto... well... you know. I found that VERY unFIRSTly and that will not happen again as long as we as forum members don't allow that sort of stuff on the website.

One thing to keep in mind, this forum is not closed to the public. Anyone can view the stuff we talk about and respond to it via e-mail if they aren't a member.

Yes, chit-chat should go on despite this.