“Out of the Box” and “Off Topic” comments

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Out of the box and off topic comments. This will surely get people fired up but let’s be civil because I think it’s something to think about.

I’ve always wondered why communities need an off-topic forum. Why does a technology forum need to be a “one-stop shop” for everything?

Personally I think a community forum like “Ask Woody” should be dedicated to technology topics, comments and questions only.  I realize that can be a gray area….. but then the rules should apply, and comments should not be off topic in the middle of a thread. Just my opinion folks.

Mike

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Mike: Others have raised this same questions before.

My own answer has been, and still is, as follows:

Topics that interest people are those that people can look into and comment there, if they so wish. AskWoody from the start, I believe (I have been here only for around four and a half years), has been different, by including forums allowing people to comment on other things, besides tech. Those not interested do not have to go there. They exist side-by-side with purely tech ones. I hope it stays so: It makes things more interesting without getting in the way of questions about computers and their software and hardware, and of getting help with problems related to those, that certainly are the main reason for this venue to exist. But, in my opinion, what else may it contain does not need to be a question with only a binary answer.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Mike

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Although in a technology forum, off-topic and out-of-the-box comments may seem or be considered irrelevant, they are not: in a technology forum, aimed at both IT professionals and home users, it will always be interesting to know HOW and WHAT use the user makes of this technology, beyond the purely technical, referential or specific aspects regarding hardware and software. Without ceasing to be exciting, the world of technology is sometimes a bit dry. A little “eye drop”, a dose of “off topic” or “out of the box” amenity, nobody hurts. Kind regards.-

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wavy, OscarCP

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I think that it’s just “Out of the Box”, because “Off Topic” denotes something that does not belong in a specific thread, be it dry or fun. For example, discussing which cheese tastes better in a thread dedicated to how to dispose safely of the hard disk of an old computer before sending it for recycling, so one’s personal information does not go with it. (This has been a pretty lively topic of discussion at “AskWoody”, by the way — the hard disk topic, not the cheese one.)

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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migongo

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I apologize Oscar. English is not my native language and since I don’t trust online translators much, I rely on my limited knowledge of the language which is not always optimal.

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Not a problem, migongo: English is not my native language either. I just happen to have lived for many years altogether in two countries where it is the first language of the people there.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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No problem Migongo. Kings-English is hardly known these days to make one better understood in this world. It seems modern to use local idiom that is hardly known any by non-locals. No dictionary can compete with that. So: Just ask or tell some explination will clear everything.

* _ ... _ *

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_MaJDK3VNE

Offtopic-ness has always been an issue in technology.  It’s like cat herding.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Myst, SueW

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That video is amazing! I wonder what tricks were used, because otherwise we are watching an impossibility.

But it looks so real. According to the YT commentary on this video (that was shown at a Superbowl) this must be a really famous commercial ad, including from people who say they are from advertising companies and that they watch this video now and again, both for inspiration and fun.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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