in reply to poll ideas quest 2015

Ok this is a serious one:

Question:What about OffTopic posts?

Prologue (optional):we recently had a big discussion about this topic and many things were said. Even if at the moment no one has the time to implement something new, might be worth to know if the community in his whole agree or not about the necessity, positivness, urgence, possibility to modify a little our beloved site.

Please correct the English of this poll, if incorrect. The meaning is clear.

L*
There are no rules, there are no thumbs..
Reinvent the wheel, then learn The Wheel; may be one day you reinvent one of THE WHEELS.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: poll ideas quest 2015: what about OffTopic posts
by Arunbear (Prior) on Jul 13, 2015 at 09:30 UTC
    There are two distinct ideas here: 1) whether off-topic content is welcome, and 2) does such content warrant a new section. How about starting with the former idea e.g.

    Would you welcome more off-topic content at PerlMonks?

    • No
    • Yes, but only if restricted to certain subjects
    • Yes, with no restrictions on content
[reply]
      hello Arunbear,

      mixing two ideas is not always a bad thing, in my opinion. My four proposed options give a wide range of possible opinions without restricting the poll to a referendum - plebiscite -ballot question about off topicness.

      mixing the two ideas in the same poll may reveal better, imho, the common sense here at perlmonks: a strong prevalence of option 1 and 4 (the edges) will be very significant as will be a gausssian distribution across 1-4. Forcing to choose in a wider context can be revelatory exactly because you must choice only one thing.

      That said you too insert an off topic section with no restriction on the content, a different idea that, always in my humble opionion, can be very misleading in the results: i followed a bit recent or not so recent threads about off topic posts and i found no mention to subject absolutely not related to Perl programming computing: i think no monks want a section where i can post about 'fine adjust of carburattors of kawasaki unitrack' near to a post about C or java.

      Is quite normal for me and others ask here at perlmonks, let's pretend, about a jquery function (to embed in Dancer driven website), because we know the quality of partecipants. It seems reasonable for example ask about C because Perl can use it, aside of the Inline dinasty, in XS modules and many elder partecipants are expert in C too.

      Imagine for a while the possible results with your 3 questions: a strong prevalence of options 1 and 2, a fistfull of humor votes for option 3; what you understand better about Perlmonks partecipants after the poll? probably nothing.

      Thanks anyway for your attention

      L*
      There are no rules, there are no thumbs..
      Reinvent the wheel, then learn The Wheel; may be one day you reinvent one of THE WHEELS.
[reply]
[d/l]

      If off-topic is restricted to certain content, it, ex post facto, becomes on-topic. If that were the case, the section would require a different name.

[reply]
        1. I disagree. Just because there's a box, doesn't mean the box is small.
        2. You're still conflating the two ideas, contrary to what Arunbear is suggesting.

          I reckon we are the only monastery ever to have a dungeon stuffed with 16,000 zombies.
[reply]
Re^2: poll ideas quest 2015: what about OffTopic posts
by flexvault (Monsignor) on Jun 26, 2015 at 11:59 UTC

    Discipulus,

    ++ and thanks!

    Regards...Ed

    "Well done is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin

[reply]
Re^2: poll ideas quest 2015: what about OffTopic posts
by chacham (Prior) on Jun 25, 2015 at 13:17 UTC
[reply]
      No, i'm firmly persuaded is best to ask about OT only, for this time. Anyway your propositions are worth, in the case, subsequent polls.
      There are no rules, there are no thumbs..
      Reinvent the wheel, then learn The Wheel; may be one day you reinvent one of THE WHEELS.
[reply]
[d/l]

        It does seem that OT is the one that comes up the most often. However, it also seems, it is rejected due to resistance to adding another section. If so, it's not a question of OT or not, but of section or not. And that is better addressed by a more general question. You know, if you want to be serious and all.

        OTOH, it could be the case for OT is so compelling, the only way to resist it is to resist adding a new section, that is, by diverting the question to something with less support.

        Admittedly, i am not sure which is better. Thus, making a new poll suggestion. :) What should a poll about a new OT section focus on:

[reply]

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