Will the off topic return

[datiswous]

Since Manjaro forum is a community forum, I think it would be best that a poll is created with the question:

Should the forum have an off-topic section?

Then a disision is made based on the outcome.
Seems logical to me.

[eugen-b]

@datiswous

Since Manjaro forum is a community forum

Manjaro Team is the host and users are guests. That’s how many see the relationship. We want to be welcoming hosts, of course. But for now we wanted to set the limits that there is no Off-Topic section.

[AlienProber]

@eugen-b

@audialche

Feed back is the new Off-Topic.

Kind of funny, the humorist in me likes it.
But I deslike people being annoying on purpose.

You’re assuming he was being annoying at all, much less on purpose. He wasn’t. Oh by the way this isn’t some insurance or greeting card company. It’s not process a thousand claims / create a thousand greeting cards this month or you’re fired. we are here to help the best we can ob OUR OWN time. So if we want a off topic section to give our brains a bit of a rest we should have it.

@Hebgbs not going to cover your entire post, just going to point out without the creative individual the logical individual is COMPLETELY worthless.

[pfeerick]

@AlienProber

So if we want a off topic section to give our brains a bit of a rest we should have it.

I think you meant “So if we want a off topic section to give our brains a bit of a rest we should feel we can ask for it, and be upset if we don’t get it, but will move on with our lives”. Otherwise, as I said in the screenshot forum request thread… I would not be surprised if the response you get from any of team green is:

Once you’ve developed your own fork of Arch, set-up the infrastructure to do so and host a support forum for that OS, then you can decide what forum categories there are!

Edit: Lets see if I beat

[eugen-b]

@AlienProber

we are here to help the best we can ob OUR OWN time.

I know how good the community has become in helping! I noticed it in my own workload.

@AlienProber

So if we want a off topic section to give our brains a bit of a rest we should have it.

It is a balance act between your rest, the moderators’ unrest and the overall productivity of the forum. As some correctly pointed out, not providing Off-Topic will result in many helpers leaving the forum. The question is: Will it become less effective in providing support to the extent that we will regret it? Will it also reduce the aggregate happiness of the community? I think it’s no in both cases. The quality will probably stay the same. Those who like off-topic will find other sources of joy elsewhere. Those who don’t like it will be happier.

[BS86]

@pfeerick

I think you meant “So if we want a off topic section to give our brains a bit of a rest we should feel we can ask for it, and be upset if we don’t get it, but will move on with our lives”. Otherwise, as I said in the screenshot forum request thread… I would not be surprised if the response you get from any of team green is:

Once you’ve developed your own fork of Arch, set-up the infrastructure to do so and host a support forum for that OS, then you can decide what forum categories there are!

I see you are thinking in the same ways that I do I like that

Will the off topic return

Well, on the old forum I was ignoring the off-topic section most of the time because it is not what I use the forum for. I use it to keep up to date with the announcements and to help others. That is not done in off-topic. Why waste hardware ressources (CPU, RAM, disk space) for stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with the technical product that Manjaro is? I totally understand the decision to not host off-topic anymore, especially with the many hardware-limit - issues that the old forum h…

and I am really suprised how much time the team is donating to replying on the “rude guests” post, to take @eugen-b 's phrase:

@eugen-b

Manjaro Team is the host and users are guests.

[AlienProber]

@eugen-b

@datiswous

Since Manjaro forum is a community forum

Manjaro Team is the host and users are guests. That’s how many see the relationship. We want to be welcoming hosts, of course. But for now we wanted to set the limits that there is no Off-Topic section.

It is a community not a slave factory, stop treating it like one.

[BS86]

@AlienProber

It is a community not a slave factory, stop treating it like one.

If you don’t want to support a technical forum without being able to do your facebook/instagram/reddit stuff on a technical support forum, you should really leave. This forum is the wrong place for you obviously.

[pfeerick]

Perhaps midway @BS86 I can say I would like to see the Off Topic category present, but can understand the reasons that the Manjaro Team are against it, and that it is their prerogative as the forum hosts to not have it. Doesn’t mean I won’t moan and whine about it, but I won’t belabour the point too far (on forum, anyway, didn’t stop me poking Bogdan via PM )

[dobedobedo]

I agree with @linesma. People hang around on the forum reading something interesting so that when new questions pop up, they can be answered as soon as possible. The new post design showing at the right side of the main page of the forum is good, but without a hook to attract experienced users to stay online, fewer volunteers to help the others.

[eugen-b]

@pfeerick

@eugen-b

• a piece of news about something and people reply they always told you

• or a difficult issue, black screen, user frustrated, gets help from five people, but nothing works, the sixth helper makes the right guess and bang the issue is solved!

@eugene-b Not quite sure what you mean by the first one - can you rephrase that please?

The first is an example of a typical off-topic post. Some news about MS or Google. The most informative and compelling answers: “I always told you they will conquer and destroy Linux.” “I’ve been using the Tor browser whole of my life exactly for those reasons.”

The second is an example of topics on the Manjaro forum which are interesting for me presonally.

[AlienProber]

Sorry but the average person WILL navigate towards the off-topic / nonsensible post to give their brain a rest.

[BS86]

well, people using middle-finger-icons and poop-icons on posts instead of arguments only proof that one is right anyway

Let’s see how much longer this topic goes before it is closed ^^

I won’t waste my time here in this offtopic thread any longer but will continue to look into the “latest” category more often, because here on the new forum, there is no off-topic cluttering my primary starting point of my check for topics that might need my help.

If I want to rest my brain, I use sites that are designed for that, like 9gag, youtube, netflix, reddit and such.

[AlienProber]

@BS86

well, people using middle-finger-icons and poop-icons on posts instead of arguments only proof that one is right anywa

Delusional much? Don’r answer cause we already know the answer.

[pfeerick]

Thanks for that Polluting the main support threads with off topic posts is certainly not wanted. Having an off-topic category would fix that, you know!

Oh, closing the thread has been mentioned… submitting now before the hammer drops!

[eugen-b]

@BS86

Let’s see how much longer this topic goes before that it is closed ^^

If no new questions are coming? I think many valuable points have been exchanged. It could happen that the Manjaro Team was completely wrong and the criticism will proved to be right.

[AlienProber]

@BS86

because here on the new forum, there is no off-topic cluttering my primary starting

You full well know that the off-topic section was not cluttering up anything.

[sawdoctor]

@eugen-b

Manjaro Team is the host and users are guests. That’s how many see the relationship. We want to be welcoming hosts, of course. But for now we wanted to set the limits that there is no Off-Topic section.

I totally get that and off course its up to the manjaro team how they run the forum. The bigger issue has been the hostile replies from some members of the team to feedback, this gives the impression that feedback isn’t wanted which is sad. Someone who has a good idea might then be frightened of giving their feedback to the team as the feel it’s not wanted. Will users be put off reporting bugs in the testing and unstable threads as the feel they are unwelcome ? I think the team needs users to feel welcome and the more people giving feedback in testing and unstable the better for everyone

[AlienProber]

@sawdoctor

this gives the impression that feedback isn’t wanted which is sad

You got that right cause without feedback there would not be to great OS we know and love today. If the Devs think the communities feedback didn’t play as much a roll in the shaping of manjaro as their coding skills did, boy do I have news for them.

[eugen-b]

@sawdoctor

The bigger issue has been the hostile replies from some members of the team to feedback, this gives the impression that feedback isn’t wanted which is sad.

Ok. I would like to answer this. Because it is a wrong impression. If feedback wasn’t wanted the topic would have been closed from the start. All the good arguments get reflected in internal discussion.

Interpret the replies not as hostile but as an attempt to get the point accross as clearly as possible.