What's the sudden big deal of Hijacking threads?

[gsdx]

I am guilty of hijacking threads on occasion. I've even hijacked my own. What makes me curious, though, is the selective admonishments. I've never been warned about hijacking a thread except one time by the original poster, and the 'hijack' was not even a 'hijack' at all. It was completely on topic.

I have seen threads being completely taken over by two people and nothing is ever said to them while others stray slightly and get pounced on.

There doesn't seem to be any consistancy, so it is difficult to know when one is breaking the 'rules'.

 

[Corny]

it's incredebly rude towards the thread starter when a group of people jumps in your threads, takes up some personal chit chat, distracts everyone from the topic, ridicules the original poster or similar. a quick way to make someone feel inferior or "not belonging to the crowd".
of course often a thread takes a different course than expected from the starter, and as long as the reason is the way the conversation went - no problem. but some and often the same people are just posting something totally offtopic in threads that hasn't anything to do with the rest. it might be fun to create distraction, but also think of the other posters. it's just us boys, not "just my little clique and the rest".
we of course don't want to have every thread totally serious, so there are no strict rules, but when we think that it's over the line we weigh in. it might appear inconsequent but on the one hand we don't always post in the thread, sometimes we simply contact posters directly, or remove posts, sometimes we simply don't see it because the original poster doesn't dare to report it or maybe even doesn't know how to because he is a newbie.
and their threads are some of those that are hi-jacked by "oldies" most of the time, and i think that's very sad.
how would you feel as the new guy? trying to start your first thread, hm?

 

[gsdx]

I agree with you, Corny, but I have seen threads where a person strays from the topic and gets trounced while others take threads on an entirely different tangent and keep it there, and nothing is said.

I mean, in one thread I read this morning, a comment was made about 'panties in a wad' and a comment was made on that and the thread was 'hijacked' and warnings made?

In another recent thread, a single thread was literally commandeered by two people over several pages and nothing was mentioned.

There is no consistancy.

 

[Lube]

Hey, Mods,

I learn best by example. Can someone post a link to two threads, one of which is clearly hijacked, and one of which is "getting there" but not quite hijacked yet?

That would help me a lot!

I've been warning-point-free, and as cool as it would make me seem, I'd still like to avoid them if I could.

Thanks,

Lube.

 

[Michael Luc]

Hijacking threads never really bothered me. I'm always amused and interested to see the direction different topics take.

 

[Andreus]

I agree with you, Corny, but I have seen threads where a person strays from the topic and gets trounced while others take threads on an entirely different tangent and keep it there, and nothing is said.

I mean, in one thread I read this morning, a comment was made about 'panties in a wad' and a comment was made on that and the thread was 'hijacked' and warnings made?

In another recent thread, a single thread was literally commandeered by two people over several pages and nothing was mentioned.

There is no consistancy.

exactly

and I know just how many complaints were made about that one little battle that went on for days, because I posted my disaproval in the thread and got a flood of ME TOO Pms and comments. people obviously had been screaming for days and nothing had been done.

Mods are human and they individually are more likely to consider a thread serious if they like it, and are less likely to intervene if the offender is a friend. People simply assume the best in regards to their friends and the worst in regards to those they disaprove of.

I am not criticizing, just stating an obvious human trait. If the diverse group of moderators are on the ball and agree to a certain method of intervention then all would be well, but in reality that just isn't the case. It would seem that few mods even care about hijacks much less want to make a big deal about it. I have noticed that some of them simply delete the offending posts without comment or commotion. Spring will make a comment like " gentlemen, on topic" and leave the thread. Others split a hijack off from a thread making a new one about often silly topics that embarrass the hijackers.

This whole thing leaves most of us out in the dark and confused due to the lack of consistency.

We are talking about a complaint thread, for gods sake, not a coming out thread or a serious advice thread, that was hijacked, and it was with three or four posts by three people. hardly a serious thread and hardly a serious hijack. The point was made by the threadstarter and we all see the problem, but honestly, we all know by now that you can't make people spell well. Next to goodbye threads, they are groaners... causing such a ruckus over this seems out of kilter and I simply believe as others do, that something else is going on that we are not privy to, or are trying our best to assume is not true because it hints at darker motives.

I know that last comment may ruffle some feathers, but its important at this point to just say it and be done with the dancing around the edges.

the pianist, hoody, lube and I would never hijack a thread where someone was expressing their innermost feelings or seeking advice on a difficult issue.

I think people know us all well enough to know that.

we try to alleviate tension with levity. We try to have fun at JUb. That may be something some folks disaprove of, but it sure beats the hell out of yelling back and forth in a thread at each other.

the point has been made by a few mods on this topic now and I'm sure that behaviors will be changed. I cant help believe though, that the overall enjoyment of the boards will suffer as a result of this little dust up for a few days.

 

[JD]

I think to some extent hijacking is just part of the nature of this form of communication. It happens... I've done it... we all have. I certainly don't have any problem with the offhanded remark or short little foray into another topic, in fact, I think they make message boards interesting.

I think what the Z and the other mods are talking about it a bit different. Its one thing for a hijack to occur naturally, and another when the same folks continue a personal conversation in thread after thread. That can be disruptive and disrespectful to the others who are genuinely interested in the actual topic at hand. This is especialy true in the more serious and topical threads, such as those in the No Flame Zone. Its all about mutual respect among those who post, but we (admins & mods) certainly don't have all of the answers. We make mistakes... and I for one am not afraid to admit them. So perhaps we should discuss exactly what should be acceptable and what shouldn't... after all, its all of you who are most affected.

Anyway, no one has to worry about points or banning from this type of thing... the goal here is just to keep the conversation moving and give everyone a chance to have their say without having every thread dominated by outside chatter. I don't want to see anyone afraid to post because of this... that's definitely not what we're about.

 

[looseliam]

<snip>
...but we (admins & mods) certainly don't have all of the answers. We make mistakes...
<snip>

*gasp* No! I don't believe it!

 

[ross_1986]

......what do you guys mean by 'hijacking'?

 

[gsdx]

......what do you guys mean by 'hijacking'?

Hijacking is simply taking a thread topic on another tangent and changing it completely.

Take this topic, "the sudden big deal of Highjacking threads".

Bradlee and TheBled stuck in a few 'hijacks' for some good-natured fun, but they ended there. However, the thread would be suitably hijacked if it carried on and became a discussion about cats and Japanese chins throwing up.

 

[Andreus]

this is going to take some time to think about....

I want to really consider it from both sides of the fence

I want my threads protected from shenanigans, but i dont want to ruin the fun

I may make a more in depth post later, but off the top of my head I would say that first and foremost, the hostile thread hijacks need to be dealt with more swiftly, without a hint of favoritism, and there needs to be leniency allowed for people to have a bit of fun by joking about the topic at hand.

Also, degrading the perceived hijackers in a public post only stirs up drama. there has to be some sort of dignity that we are given when being publicly dealt with. Its getting old being spoken down to as if we are children. We may act like it at times, but thats no reason to be ugly just because you are a mod and can get away with it.

I know that Snapcat tried the concept of open thread vs closed thread in CE&P.

in the title, if you want the thread to be strictly on topic then you add the word - closed if you dont mind levity and distraction the put the word open.

I think that the better route would be to say that all threads not in a no flame zone are open, within limitations, unless otherwise noted. there has to be a ratio of on and off topic posts to maintain the integrity of the thread. If you dont want your thread to have any cross talk, then note it in the title.

I dont really consider a topic hijacked until a consecutive run of five posts offtopic drag it in a different direction.

if the hijack runs over the line then just dump the debris unceremoniously out the window. We will get the point. Its really punishment enough seeing your conversation hit the trashcan without ceremony or fanfare.

 

[mike_n_herrin]

Hum....I have seen on a sci fi message board that i am on that people will mark "spoilers" in i think white text color so that to read it a reader would have to highlight the said text. For example, highlight my sentance between the quotation marks: "I think I am the best dancer in all sacramento!" ok maybe thats not a good idea either...

i would have suggested what snapcat appers to have done in the CD&P forum, but i'm guess that didn't work? thats probably the best solution that i can think of though. just mark a thread in your title as "closed" or "on topic only" or something similar? there has to be a way to allow for spontanious conversation without taking over people's threads or what not.

 

[Centexfarmer]

God, I hope I'm not one that hijacks threads...that we are talking about.

Of course elvin! It's always all about you isn't it?












You know I love you more than my luggage!

WAIT! Would this be considered a hijacking?

 

[GL]

Hum....I have seen on a sci fi message board that i am on that people will mark "spoilers" in i think white text color so that to read it a reader would have to highlight the said text. For example, highlight my sentance between the quotation marks: "I think I am the best dancer in all sacramento!" ok maybe thats not a good idea either...

i would have suggested what snapcat appers to have done in the CD&P forum, but i'm guess that didn't work? thats probably the best solution that i can think of though. just mark a thread in your title as "closed" or "on topic only" or something similar? there has to be a way to allow for spontanious conversation without taking over people's threads or what not.

Oh! I think I may need to go to Sacramento to see for myself just how good a dancer you really are! Woo Hoo! Egad! I've hijacked a thread! Dammit! Now I'm getting points for sure.

 

[GL]

My name is GL247.

I used to hijack threads.

I don't do it as much anymore.

 

[Andreus]

it would seem that few members really care about the issue enough to even post a suggestion for JD

guess it just doesnt bug as many people as some folks think

 

[mike_n_herrin]

i can see it being intimidating...i really can. so i think someway to mark a thread if the author doesn't mind it taking an...alternate direction is a decent idea. did it not work in the CE&P forum? then again thats sorta a hot potato forum anyway maybe that's why it might not have worked there...i mean if it didn't.

 

[Andreus]

i can see it being intimidating...i really can. so i think someway to mark a thread if the author doesn't mind it taking an...alternate direction is a decent idea. did it not work in the CE&P forum? then again thats sorta a hot potato forum anyway maybe that's why it might not have worked there...i mean if it didn't.

i dont think anyone ever took to it

I dont think anyone really cared, when it came down to it, one way or the other.

people are usually good about just reading past what doesn't interest them i guess

 

[mike_n_herrin]

hum...well then maybe the folks who do care would use it and then if hijacking occured in their thread the offender would get a point and/or have it deleted. Actually i think just deleting the hijack would maybe work out also. it would be just as fast (i would think) as having to asign points for it and then PM the person and explain why they got points.

yes...no....maybe?

 

[Andreus]

deletions lead to screams of censorship and then we all have to spend an evening focused on that topic. I can see why the mods get a bit frustrated with that solution.

If its meddlesone chatter then dump it. If its a valid conversation, yet doesnt fit the topic just split it off.

I think that points are not warranted for hijacking. just an opinion of mine... not nessesarily the right thing to do.

I have been told in no uncertain terms that once you start a thread you open the pandoras box and you cant controll the direction of a conversation.

that is the confusing part for me, I guess.