Really confused.

[Ravenbear]

This is the thread called off topic, where we can talk about non-tech stuff. Says it right in the title.  But I have been apart of two threads which were locked and told it was better in a status update which is confusing because how do you talk to someone back and forth in a status update? So please tell what we can talk about here? It seems very arbitrary, ambiguous and very subjective. So as I write this is asking advice as to where they should move. Is that ok or will it get locked? If it was anywhere other than this thread I could understand it. But, in a thread called Off Topic.  None of the posts are counted and added to our post count. So as long it is polite, and civil discussions I do not understand why we cannot talk about pretty much anything here as long it is polite and legal. ( redundant I know) . 

[kirashi]

31 minutes ago, Ravenbear said:

This is the thread called off topic, where we can talk about non-tech stuff. Says it right in the title.  But I have been apart of two threads which were locked and told it was better in a status update which is confusing because how do you talk to someone back and forth in a status update? So please tell what we can talk about here? It seems very arbitrary, ambiguous and very subjective. So as I write this is asking advice as to where they should move. Is that ok or will it get locked? If it was anywhere other than this thread I could understand it. But, in a thread called Off Topic.  None of the posts are counted and added to our post count. So as long it is polite, and civil discussions I do not understand why we cannot talk about pretty much anything here as long it is polite and legal. ( redundant I know) . 

Off Topic is indeed for off topic discussions... such as this one... about what topics are off topic... which is kind of on topic for the off topic forum area? I'm confused now... um, this is off-on topic. Anywho, when you see posts that are locked and marked as being better suited for a status update, that's usually because the post / thread is usually along the lines of "I got a GTX 1060, it plays games well" or some other small snippet of information that doesn't really require a reply so there's no conversation value.

 

I've seen posts that should genuinely have been status updates due to the "I bought this, it's cool" type of post, aka it needs no reply, and I've seen posts that could have been good conversation starters, but they fail to actually ask a question or prompt a reply, so again, they get slated for status update material. The important thing to remember when making a post is to provide enough context by way of asking a question or giving users a writing prompt to reply to. Otherwise it could be a status update.

[Gale]

3 hours ago, Ravenbear said:

This is the thread called off topic

No, this thread is called "Really confused." You should know, you made this thread.

[lewdicrous]

Posts that are deemed 'Status updates' usually don't merit any discussion, things like "I just bought x and I'm happy" or something like that.

[WereCatf]

2 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

if the post can be passed off as a twitter stream of consciousness, that's mostly what it is (and "better suited as a status update")

 

if it requires multiple tweets and is well written enough, then posting as a thread somewhere would do the topic justice

 

at least it's how i decide where to sent a particular block of text to o_o

I disagree. The length of the material is irrelevant, it's about whether the material in question is amenable to a larger discussion or not -- if it's something that doesn't encourage others to participate and have a conversation, then it's also not worthy of being a thread here, regardless of how long it is.

[NineEyeRon]

I am also really confused.

 

Why do people always take the first parking spot and make everyone else wait while they do a 21point turn to back in?

 

[dalekphalm]

Status updates - as previously mentioned - are things you want to say or tell others about that don’t lend themselves to discussion. 

 

Someone bragging about a new purchase rarely leads to a good discussion, for example. 

 

With that in mind, if a mod locks your thread as status update material, ask them why. Usually they will explain anyway but in case they don’t, just ask.

 

I'm glad we finally have status updates, since it declutters Off Topic massively.