Board Thread:Off-Topic Posts/@comment-36963837-20181105072043/@comment-25615841-20181106165501

TheInterestedDoge wrote: RubikJohn wrote: Whether you agree with people talking about serious topics online or not, there's probably something you agree with in my two cents, so hear me out-

I do believe that there's nothing wrong with taking to somebody online, no matter how serious the topic, especially with how close you can be to someone online. During the notably long time I've spent here, I can safely say I've made friends who I trust and adore to talking to, and met people who wouldn't hesitate to help me with whatever I need help in. However, most of the time, these serious topics as such are contained to semi-public or completely private areas like discord servers or private messages. Whether you agree with the concept of online therapy or even close friendhsip over the internet, it's safer to speak about topics that are more taboo or closer to heart in confined places. On the other hand, even if you dislike or potential are annoyed by people talking about serious things in public places, this doesn't give you the right to ruin that for them. If they give you an explicit warning to criticise the discussion of sensitive subjects somewhere else, be polite and follow it regardless of your views.

On a less subjective topic, I want to give voice this opinion as someone with plenty of wiki experience- topics being derailed is not a new problem, I just notice that it's been intensified by the most recent wave of new users. It's certainly annoying to the thread creator, but there's no need to panic the moment someone says something slightly off-topic. The rule of thumb would be that the person who posted the thread, a staff member, or the general public tell you to stop - you probably should. Again, I don't remember this being that much of a deal back in 2017, but that might be because of the people on the wiki, I'm not quite sure.

welp those turned out to be blocks kind of sorry- Ye. Don't get me wrong— I'm not mad, or annoyed, or wanting to negate this said online therapy in any way. I understand that one may want to speak to another community aloud about their life, or even privately with other people upon the internet. I encourage those who feel down just a little, or have larger problems to speak with anyone they need at any given time. I'm facistly saying that I would probably not do this; I like my privacy.

Now I'm going to go rub butter on my face to get this somewhat "heavy" convo off my mind. Understood, and glad we can agree on that have fun with that butter

As for spam and derailment: They often come hand in hand, but spam usually just refers to the repetition of commonly unnecessary replies to an excessive point, while derailment is aimed more towards comments completely detatching from their predecessor's tone and thread's topic.