# Off Topic Section



## somody

This forum is in desperate need of an area where people can post stuff that doesn't fit into any of the categories.  For example, an Off Topic post would be something like: "Guess what I'm doing this summer", etc....

A forum that I actively participated in recently (EDIT: no promotion for another forum) was very efficient with their forums, and sub-forums.  As you can see the Off Topic forum had 4 sub-forums.  I am suggesting 3 for here.


Language-Related Off Topic (rename )   
Jokes & Humour   
Rants & Raves 
 These would be ideal for the forum!


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## lauranazario

I beg to disagree. 
There are myriad places on the Internet where you can chat about the topics you mentioned. There are numerous usergroups that cater to this type of audience. WordReference caters to a language-oriented audience. Adding a hodge-podge of non-language-related forums would "dilute" and undermine our role as a serious, learning-oriented website.

Saludos,
LN


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## Whodunit

This is exactly what we want to avoid here on WR.  If you want to chat with someone or more persons, you may send him a PM or an e-mail without spamming on WR. 

There're hundreds of forums all over the net, where you can spam around in a free chat forum, but not WR.


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## me82

i understand the need to remain serious on this board, but using the word "spam" to mention off topic chats is a bit exagerated i think...  To me, spamming is when you post ten times a minute to say absolutely nothing.

But still i understand, even though it was a good idea... but ok.


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## somody

I agree...we need somewhere moderated to post stuff (NOT SPAM!!!!!!!!!) !


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## Jana337

somody said:
			
		

> I agree...we need somewhere moderated to post stuff (NOT SPAM!!!!!!!!!) !


As my esteemed colleague Laura said, you will have to find another, less academic forum...

Alternatively, you might translate your "stuff" in a language you are learning, and have it corrected by our forer@s.


Jana


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## somody

Jana337 said:
			
		

> As my esteemed colleague Laura said, you will have to find another, less academic forum...
> 
> Alternatively, you might translate your "stuff" in a language you are learning, and have it corrected by our forer@s.
> 
> Jana


 Good idea!  Unforunately, I like _this_ forum!


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## Jana337

somody said:
			
		

> Good idea!  Unforunately, I like _this_ forum!


Same here.  And I would like it less if it were without strictly enforced rules, chatty and frivolous.

Jana


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## fenixpollo

me82 said:
			
		

> To me, spamming is when you post ten times a minute to say absolutely nothing.


 If members have a sub-forum called "Rants and Raves" with no language purpose, then someone can to post whatever his heart desires, whether it relates to language & culture or not.  That includes posting 10 times a minute to say absolutely nothing.  What is a moderator's job in the "Rants" forum?  "Sorry, I'm editing your post because you're ranting too much."???

I don't see the difficulty in visiting WR for getting your language fix, then going to a different forum to get your chat on, then going to a different forum to discuss French existentialism... etc.  One forum cannot be all things to all people.  WR is only a language forum, and we do that very well.

I am chatty and frivolous all the time in this forum... you just never see it because I do it via private messages.

Cheers.


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## cuchuflete

The desired rant and raves forums are but a mouse click away, as Pollo has stated so eloquently.  

Should you find someone with the right combination of patience and masochistic tendencies to moderate a rant and rave forum, please have them try some other boards, where they may find a set of needs that match up nicely with their skills.




> This forum is in desperate need of an area where people can post stuff that doesn't fit into any of the categories.



This forum, or the writer?

A year ago this forum was in desperate need of a Portuguese forum. We have one now. We lacked an Arabic forums...this has recently started up. The dictionaries were not as strong as they are today...

Again citing Pollo, we "cannot be all things to all people". The internet has something for everyone. We are a tiny microcosm with a specific focus.
With no sarcasm at all, may I suggest tabbed browsing?

regards,
Cuchuflete


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## jorge_val_ribera

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> We lacked Arabic and Hebrew forums...these have recently started up.


 
Hebrew? Where?


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## cuchuflete

jorge_val_ribera said:
			
		

> Hebrew? Where?


There is no official forum for this language.  There has been a fair amount of activity around the topic lately.  That's often how forums get started.

Look at the Other Languages forum.


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## jorge_val_ribera

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> There is no official forum for this language. There has been a fair amount of activity around the topic lately. That's often how forums get started.
> 
> Look at the Other Languages forum.


 
Yes, I know. I guess I just misunderstood your post. I thought you'd said there was already a Hebrew forum.


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## cuchuflete

Thanks Jorge,

I've edited my post to avoid further confusion.

Un saludo,
Cuchu


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## me82

fenixpollo said:
			
		

> If members have a sub-forum called "Rants and Raves" with no language purpose, then someone can to post whatever his heart desires, whether it relates to language & culture or not. That includes posting 10 times a minute to say absolutely nothing. What is a moderator's job in the "Rants" forum? "Sorry, I'm editing your post because you're ranting too much."???
> 
> I don't see the difficulty in visiting WR for getting your language fix, then going to a different forum to get your chat on, then going to a different forum to discuss French existentialism... etc. One forum cannot be all things to all people. WR is only a language forum, and we do that very well.
> 
> I am chatty and frivolous all the time in this forum... you just never see it because I do it via private messages.
> 
> Cheers.


 
hey i wasn't saying this board without an off topic section is not right. i posted i understand and all... although i like the idea of an off topic place, but then again, i am here because i like this board.

As for posting ten times a minute, that is not "off topic posting"... that is spamming and it is not allowed on many message boards that contains an off topic forum. To me, an Off Topic forum is a place where you can get to know people better and make friends... on PMs, it's possible too indeed.  The only difference is that i haven't sent a PM to anyone because i don't know anyone and i am a careful/shy kind of person. If the Off Topic forum existed, i'd get to know persons a little enough to feel like PMing them. But then again, i like this place the way it is and enjoy what it's bringing me.

hope you understand.


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## Whodunit

me82 said:
			
		

> The only difference is that i haven't sent a PM to anyone because i don't know anyone and i am a careful/shy kind of person.


 
Some examples:

1. You helped a forero with a problem in French, so that forero will thank you either in the forum or via PM, so you can get to know him better.
2. You like someone's signature and would like to comment on it or correct or or say you like it or whatever.
3. You find some forero's language skills and capacities amazingly good, you can send a PM to him and say that - no one will be hurt - neither the addressed person nor the forum rules.
4. Someone said something really awkward or incorrect and you want to correct him (but not in the forum): Send him a PM. 

And there're many more facts how you can get to know to people here. Please don't expect to be well known after 100 posts: The more helpful you are, the more friends you will acquire. 

Hope this helps you to make many friends here (and somewhere else).


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## BasedowLives

I was just going to make a thread in here about this if i didn't find one.

I think there should be one, simply for the fact that PMing people doesn't allow multiple people to engage in a conversation.  And using AIM or something is hard because some people live on the other side of the world and thus are asleep when you are awake.  Threads provide an adequate medium for communication in a way so that everyone can participate and see the history of the dialog.

For example, the life in spain thread was closed.  Somebody made a point about pop being cheap, contradicting my point about it being expensive.  So then i could just PM him, or i could get multiple peoples reactions to it by just leaving it open in perhaps an off-topic section.

tis all


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## Jana337

BasedowLives said:
			
		

> I was just going to make a thread in here about this if i didn't find one.
> 
> I think there should be one, simply for the fact that PMing people doesn't allow multiple people to engage in a conversation. And using AIM or something is hard because some people live on the other side of the world and thus are asleep when you are awake. Threads provide an adequate medium for communication in a way so that everyone can participate and see the history of the dialog.
> 
> For example, the life in spain thread was closed. Somebody made a point about pop being cheap, contradicting my point about it being expensive. So then i could just PM him, or i could get multiple peoples reactions to it by just leaving it open in perhaps an off-topic section.
> 
> tis all


Again, almost everyone likes to chat here and there, but the concept of this forum is different. As you know, it is a supplement to WR dictionaries, hence the bias towards seriousness. 


> Mission Statement
> 
> I. WordReference.com provides Forums for exchanges about translation, word usage, terminology equivalency and other linguistic topics.
> 
> II. The Forums promote learning and maintain an atmosphere that is serious, academic and collaborative, with a respectful, helpful and cordial tone.
> 
> III. We welcome members who share our goals and philosophy, and agree to act in accord with the rules and guidelines of the Forums.



Jana


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## Moogey

*7. Don’t use the forum as a chat board; use the private message (PM) feature (PC users, right click the member’s name) if you want to send a personal message to another forum member.*

I don't understand the logic behind this rule. What if two people chat and at the same time learn a language? For example, I can have a thread and chat with somebody and learn italian and maybe they can learn english? We can be learning each other's languages!

At least if not in this category, there should be categories for that. If so, please direct me to one. If not, I suggest one. I don't see one, so if you can confirm this I will post in the suggestions category


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## Jana337

Such questions should be discussed in Comments and suggestions - I split it from the Italian thread and merged it with a similar discussion in CS. I hope you can learn from this thread.

Jana


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## Moogey

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Such questions should be discussed in Comments and suggestions - I split it from the Italian thread and merged it with a similar discussion in CS. I hope you can learn from this thread.
> 
> Jana


 
Well after reading the most of the upper posts and skimming through the lower posts, it seems to me as if this topic deals with completely off-topic material. I am talking about chat between two or more people of different native languages learning from each other.

Ex.-

My native language is English. I am learning Italian. SomePerson9129128 is learning English and his/her native language is Italian. We can chat. I speak in Italian, he/she corrects me in English. I learn Italian from his/her corrections and then I correct his/her English. He/she learns from my English corrections, etc...

I hope I didn't lose you  

Just a suggestion. I'm not so sure I would be partcipiate in this type of thing often, but I'm sure it'd be beneficial to many.


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## somody

Moogey said:
			
		

> Well after reading the most of the upper posts and skimming through the lower posts, it seems to me as if this topic deals with completely off-topic material. I am talking about chat between two or more people of different native languages learning from each other.
> 
> Ex.-
> 
> My native language is English. I am learning Italian. SomePerson9129128 is learning English and his/her native language is Italian. We can chat. I speak in Italian, he/she corrects me in English. I learn Italian from his/her corrections and then I correct his/her English. He/she learns from my English corrections, etc...
> 
> I hope I didn't lose you
> 
> Just a suggestion. I'm not so sure I would be partcipiate in this type of thing often, but I'm sure it'd be beneficial to many.


 That's my point exactly...just my 2 cents on what this forum may need to gain popularity.  There's many people out there who LOVE learning languages, but aren't on the forum because you haven't appealed to more than one part of who they are!  If you cover all topic, the user populations would soar!


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## lauranazario

We are not so much interested in quantity as in *quality*!!!!!
Chatrooms are a dime-a-dozen... and we are interested in keeping WR being a place of serious language discussion.

If we don't fulfill all your needs, be happy that we expertly address some of them -- and go find a "fun & chatty meeting place" somewhere else. We simply cannot be everything to everybody... and that's the truth.

Saludos,
LN


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## cuchuflete

Moogey said:
			
		

> I don't understand the logic behind this rule. What if two people chat and at the same time learn a language? For example, I can have a thread and chat with somebody and learn italian and maybe they can learn english? We can be learning each other's languages!



The forum mission statement, posted above in this thread, and in FAQ, is very simple, direct, and clear.

If you are interested in learning languages by chatting, there are a multitude of chatrooms and forums in most languages.  We have had requests for a forum to discuss television programs, a forum for promoting some religious beliefs, and for chat rooms.  All of these may be worthy goals; they are outside of the mission of WordReference, and may already be found elsewhere, in quantity.  

regards,
Cuchuflete


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## Jana337

Moogey said:
			
		

> Well after reading the most of the upper posts and skimming through the lower posts, it seems to me as if this topic deals with completely off-topic material. I am talking about chat between two or more people of different native languages learning from each other.
> 
> Ex.-
> 
> My native language is English. I am learning Italian. SomePerson9129128 is learning English and his/her native language is Italian. We can chat. I speak in Italian, he/she corrects me in English. I learn Italian from his/her corrections and then I correct his/her English. He/she learns from my English corrections, etc...
> 
> I hope I didn't lose you


No, you didn't.  I know it is beneficial - my Italian improved substantially this way. You can invite people from here to an online chat. We actually encourage this practice: You are welcome to insert your IM nicks into your public profile. 
There are strong reasons why we do not permit chat in the threads: We want to make sure that whatever you click on is worth reading. 
Moreover, member self-selection cannot be underestimated: Smart people who make this forum so useful keep returning precisely because this forum is so useful. 

Jana


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## Lucyernaga

I like WR like it is . People help me, they improve my English with their corrections and there's no unnecessary talk (for my taste). I also check on "new posts" to see if I can help anybody as they did for me. Isn't it good?


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## Raven_claw007

That's cool. Good idea. We cannot deny that fact the humors/jokes are also part of ones culture. We grow with it and we live with it. Isnt it great if everyone from diff. parts of the world would share their acclaimed humor/jokes fresh from their countries. Sharing one's culture is serious and educational as well. My country is rich with humourus jokes, they played a big part of our history.


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## meili

As what our Mods said, WR is a place where we learn languages and cultures - a serious place for learning, like being in school, and of course with some bits of sprinkled humour here and there with the posts and replies. I personally agree that we really do not need the chat board here, as the PM is already available. I also do not think that we need such to promote popularity, as WR is already popular (at least in my side of town). Again, as quoted by Laura *



			We are not so much interested in quantity as in quality!!!!!
		
Click to expand...

* 
I personally found this site to be the best place in cyberspace. (As I found bookstores to be the best section in shopping malls).


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## Raven_claw007

Learning ones culture is a good opportunity to better understand and appreciate one's customary beliefs.
And sharing one's material traits is supposed to be a learning tool for everybody. Putting a little spice of humors and sprinkling it with tamed and cultivated jokes will defenitely make this forum a good and condusive for learning . Isn't great to have fun while learning. 

But again, everyone's opinion is important and therefore should be respected. I agree that there will be a suitable place for such.


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