Paintball

[Ieo]

Originally Posted by Yankeeh8tr

never posted in one of these "OT" threads. How OT do you get?

Eh, it's a lot easier when you know each other on a first name basis.

[russc]

I hear drum sleeps with his sister

[Toddles]

Well that's cute.

[Listessa]

I think Russc is confused about the issue. Everyone knows the one that sleeps with his sister is HurtCow, and she isn't all that cute at all.

[russc]

I thought they were sisters?

[Ieo]

Big girls need lovin' too?


Maybe?

[Toddles]

Perhaps.

[Schmitti]

Remember.. if it is felt that this gets out of hand or does not belong here, this thread will go away. Please do not abuse MCB or Carter's generosity. The reason we generally do not have OT's within the various subsections is so that things do not become a mess.

If you want to participate in OT discussions, please do so in the General section, the Members Only area (yes you have to pay to go there) or in MCB Chat.

If you really need to have an OT within a Brand/Gun specific subsection... then you may have to either create your own site or go to one that already allows it.

E

[SEKTape]

Originally Posted by Schmitti

Remember.. if it is felt that this gets out of hand or does not belong here, this thread will go away. Please do not abuse MCB or Carter's generosity. The reason we generally do not have OT's within the various subsections is so that things do not become a mess.

If you want to participate in OT discussions, please do so in the General section, the Members Only area (yes you have to pay to go there) or in MCB Chat.

If you really need to have an OT within a Brand/Gun specific subsection... then you may have to either create your own site or go to one that already allows it.

E

Other than "it's traditionally not done", can someone provide a warranted claim for why this OT thread is problematic? None of the things that have been said in this thread warrant closing it, and the constant shoehorning of warnings into the thread strikes me as a pretentious display of power. The thread's originator said that the thread could be halted if there was an issue, and it's been allowed to continue thus far. So, unless there's some unique violation that's occurred, let it continue.

The claim that OT threads some make forums "become a mess" is laughable. There are countless threads in the other manufacturer forums that clutter their pages, as well as plenty of discussions that are full of the same questions, stories, and anecdotes that are repeated over and over. Further, the General Chat section contains a myriad of preposterous threads that just "become a mess" in the same way you're criticizing this thread.

You're absolutely right that the OT thread has a tendency to be a little off the wall, but that's sort of the point. It allows members to connect with each other in a way that other threads don't. It's a place to foster a sense of camaraderie that extends beyond the fact that we all play paintball or that we all share "trait x". The MDOT in particular has always been a place to share in some lighthearted joking and witty banter, which I have enjoyed in all its forms.

The real question is whether or not OT threads aren't allowed within the manufacturer subforums, or aren't allowed at all? If they're simply not allowed in these subforums, then this is a non-issue because the person who started this thread already offered it to your judgment on this issue. If that is the case, it seems the only issue is the relocation of this thread to the General Chat section, which you have the power to do. If the issue is that OT threads aren't allowed, then this thread should have been closed long ago. That's not the case, of course, because it's not in the forum rules and the thread was allowed to continue. In either of these cases, no one has established a compelling reason why OT threads can't exist.

At heart, this issue is a microcosm of the situation facing MCB at large. For a long time, this was a smaller, more tight knit community where everyone did things a certain way simply because that was the way they'd always been done. Now, there has been an influx of new members who have a somewhat different way of doing things. The response has been to offer an uncompromising "my way or the highway" rationale that doesn't attempt to understand what's driving these alternative methods. The character of MCB is one of the things that makes it a far superior community when compared to other paintball forums, but I'm watching that character warp into a distasteful form of elitism that artificially excludes people because they don't know and blindly subscribe to all of these norms. In this case, we've been joined by a couple of very knowledgeable, respectable paintball players who brought to this MD subforum a mainstay of the MD forum that they normally frequent. This thread isn't causing any harm that I can see, other than threatening the sense of familiarity that some of the regulars here have grown accustomed to.

I don't intend to incite conflict so much as I hope to diagnose the situation and help foster a greater understanding of what's going on here and in general. It's certainly true that the new members to the MCB community need to know what the rules are and abide by them, but this question transcends that issue and crosses over into a grey area: norms. This case isn't dealing with the enforcement of rules, it's dealing with the enforcement of norms. Using, "it's traditionally not done" as the justification for taking a specific action doesn't really increase the credibility that's assocated with enforcement and power in general. I absolutely understand that, as moderators, your justification for taking an action can be as thin as "because I said so", but that's not a good way to run a community. The originator of the thread offered to accomodate you, so I don't know what else you can ask.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Long live the MDOT.

[Drum]

Good post, but I think it may miss the point that Schmitti and others have tried to make herein.

Basically, some may feel that an OT thread allows the same (slight) relaxation of standards that one might find in our Member's Section in the Bar and Grill Forum. (If you don't know what I am talking about, then you're missing out.) This is not the case. As this will be appearing in the "public forum", this thread will be policed for rule violations just like any other public thread.

What our mods do not want is dozens of OT threads to police for pornography or any other rule problems because people posting in these OT threads get carried away without some form of topical anchor.

So.... carry on and enjoy yourselves, but consider yourselves ambassadors for the "independent OT thread experience". If y'all go crazy in here, then a rule will have to be generated for the site as a whole and that will definitely result in our traditional "MCB way or the highway" enforcement of same.

I have faith in you folks and I know that you will not let me or your pals down.

Good luck,
D