Off-Topic for the Thread vs. Off Topic for the Forum

[Bo]

I've noticed some confusion lately about what constitutes off-topic posting in local forums, so I thought I would post some new info about it that can eventually be copied to the FAQ. (For the purpose of this discussion, local forums are forums here that cover a geographic area, like the state forums, the city forums, the World forums and General US.)

It's been discussed previously in About the Forum, that local forums at City-Data are moderated more closely than general forums for topicality. In other words, moderators here are instructed to be pickier about making sure that threads in their local forums stay on topic.

There are two references to topicality in the Terms of Service.

One section of the TOS addresses posts that are off topic for the forum.

Threads dealing with controversial topics that often degenerate into flame wars, such as politics or religion, may be moved, closed, or deleted by moderators at their discretion without any warning to the participants.

Here's the most common violation of that rule that local forum moderators see in their forums:

There are 3 Hot-Button aspects of topics that cannot be discussed in any local forum at City-Data: Religion, National Politics and Illegal Immigration. Posts in a local forum thread that discuss any of those topics are Off Topic For the Forum and subject to deletion. They may be on topic for the thread, but because the administrators have decreed that those hot-button topics cannot be discussed in local forums, they are considered to be off topic.

An example might be a thread about a political issue in a city where someone posts a reply that "we wouldn't have this problem if the President/Congress had _____ ." Even if it's undisputed to be true, a local forum's the wrong place to discuss that aspect of the topic, because national politics are only to be discussed in the Politics and Other Controversies forum or its subforums.

In addition, some moderators may declare local topics to be temporarily or permanently off limits if they "often degenerate into flame wars." While it would be nice to be able to discuss everything that happens locally in the local forum, if one specific thing always leads to an exchange of harsh words and insults, the local moderator may put that topic "on the shelf" for a while and declare it off topic for the forum. This is usually done rarely and temporarily.

That differs from the more common issue with posts being off topic, which is also more obvious. The Terms of Service has this to say about posts that are off topic for the thread.

Stay on topic. Attempts to hi-jack threads by switching topics or going off topic will be deleted and infractions issued. This is not a chat room - when people hi-jack threads by posting messages that are of interest to only few people, the threads often stop being useful discussions of initial topics.

All posts unrelated to local matters will be deleted or moved.

Posts in a local forum thread which are either not local or about a subject other than the topic in the original post are considered Off Topic for the Thread.

Here are examples of off topic for the thread posts in a hypothetical thread, with a self-explanatory title: Can rutabagas can be grown successfully in Anytown?

• A post asking whether rutabagas can be grown in Othertown, which is in a different metro area of the state and has its own city forum. (This isn't a local matter. Also, posts about Othertown should be made in Othertown's forum, so that Othertown members can find them.)
• A post detailing a member's success growing tomatoes in Anytown. (The thread is about rutabagas. Tomatoes grow differently and should be discussed in their own thread.)
• A post lamenting the lack of fresh rutabagas in local grocery stores. (Unless it's making the point that growing rutabagas is an alternative to or a solution to that issue at the stores, it's a different topic.)

You get the idea.

[Bo]

Added to the FAQ at //www.city-data.com/forum/faq/1...ic-thread.html