General Off-Topic Rant

[Nil]

Hey you and Mods,

I don't get this Off-Topic mania right now. The English Forum is for expats who can speak english in Switzerland, right?

It is not a forum about Switzerland where people can speak in english.

Yes it is to help people to settle down here in Switzerland but honestly to put every freaking thread that are not directly connected to the life in Switzerland in Off-Topic is very sad.

In a year or so, all those very useful threads in there that help people here in the expat community to settle as expats but also in a daily life (yeah, even in Switzerland) of being a human being, will disappear.

Off-Topic is not a trash folder for everything that doesn't have a Switzerland stamp on it. It never been that way and all of a sudden, someone decided to just put everything who doesn't have the Made in Switzerland stamp in there. In a year from now, those topic won't be there anymore and it will be a big waste of precious information for all who hardly contribute in them.

Big waste IMHO.

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	Nil
	Hey you and Mods, I don't get this Off-Topic mania right now. The English Forum is for expats who can speak english in Switzerland, right? It is not a forum about Switzerland where people can speak in english. .

Haven't you got this the wrong way round?

If I want a question answered on gardening, I'll go to a gardening forum, not here. That's where the expertise will lie.
Same goes for anything else off-topic.

If I want a question about growing a particular plant in the Swiss climate, I'll ask here for that's where I'll get the relevant experience that's useful to me.

That's my take on it anyway.

It's an interesting discussion. I know what this forum was started for, but things evolve. If DB is having an issue with a friend in England being a Liverpool supporter, is it irrelevant to Switzerland specifically and therefore off topic or is it relevant to us and the forum for the mere fact that it is DB and he lives in Switzerland and he's part of this forum/community. Hmm. I dunno.

[Nil]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	Haven't you got this the wrong way round? If I want a question answered on gardening, I'll go to a gardening forum, not here. That's where the expertise will lie. Same goes for anything else off-topic. If I want a question about growing a particular plant in the Swiss climate, I'll ask here for that's where I'll get the relevant experience that's useful to me. That's my take on it anyway.

If I want information about FAMILY MATTER on the forum,

I'll go here:

Family matters/health (26 Viewing)
Birth, death, marriage, divorce, school, doctors and medical advice, dentists, etc.

EDIT: Or change the purpose of the forum and instead make it like this:

Family matters/health (26 Viewing)
Birth In Ch, death in CH, marriage in CH, divorce in Ch, school in CH, doctors in CH and medical advice that happen pnly in CH, dentists, etc. related to Switzerland.

[MathNut]

Off Topic threads don't disappear after a year though. (Do they? )

They used to be non-indexed by Google - which made sense, as we want EF to be the top result when people are searching for information on Switzerland, not general "should I dump him?" questions, Youtube of the Day, Israel/Palestine, etc.

That's changed a few months ago, and Off Topic threads are now Googleable along with the rest. They never had an expiration date on them though and I don't anticipate that they ever will.

[Nil]

Exemples of things that are not directly related to Switzerland but are still in the Family Matter section:

High risk pregnancy and cerclage

Interesting new approach to treating multiple sclerosis (MS)

Cute things kids say

http://www.englishforum.ch/family-ma...istamines.html

Natural Allergy Reduction Tips for Pregnancy

I can go on and on like that.

So what makes a thread fitting in there and an other one not? Random? Poll? How one's feel?

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	Nil
	If I want information about FAMILY MATTER on the forum, I'll go here: Family matters/health (26 Viewing) Birth, death, marriage, divorce, school, doctors and medical advice, dentists, etc. EDIT: Or change the purpose of the forum and instead make it like this: Family matters/health (26 Viewing) Birth In Ch, death in CH, marriage in CH, divorce in Ch, school in CH, doctors in CH and medical advice that happen pnly in CH, dentists, etc. related to Switzerland.

Perhaps you're right. There used to be guidelines for each sub-forum which said things like, "Only post about Internet/TV etc relevant to Switzerland. Anything else about computers etc do not belong on EF".

I don't see these guidelines any more so maybe it is a free-for-all now.

Perhaps a moderator can enlighten us?

[Nil]

	Quote:	MathNut
	Off Topic threads don't disappear after a year though. (Do they? ) They used to be non-indexed by Google - which made sense, as we want EF to be the top result when people are searching for information on Switzerland, not general "should I dump him?" questions, Youtube of the Day, Israel/Palestine, etc. That's changed a few months ago, and Off Topic threads are now Googleable along with the rest. They never had an expiration date on them though and I don't anticipate that they ever will.

Thanks for this clarification Honey,

Now if someone could make a real man out of the research fonction, we might not need to have to go on Google to find something on the forum...

Welcome to English Forum Switzerland, the English-language community website for Switzerland. We have over 60,000 English-speaking members.

I interpret this Forum is about Switzerland, using the English language.

Which posts in the off topics shoudn't be there? I have looked and none of them look as though they are out of place. I suppose we could re-name it "junk" and nothing would change.

[MathNut]

	Quote:	Nil
	Thanks for this clarification Honey, Now if someone could make a real man out of the research fonction, we might not need to have to go on Google to find something on the forum...

Well, I wouldn't share this link with just anybody... more'n my job's worth, you know... but specially for you, Nil...

[Upthehatters2008]

	Quote:	Ittigen
	Welcome to English Forum Switzerland, the English-language community website for Switzerland. We have over 60,000 English-speaking members. I interpret this Forum is about Switzerland, using the English language. Which posts in the off topics shoudn't be there? I have looked and none of them look as though they are out of place. I suppose we could re-name it "junk" and nothing would change.

Shouldn't it be Welcome to English Forum Switzerland, the English-language community website for about Switzerland. We have over 60,000 English-speaking members.

I feel the same way as Nil, I had my engagement ring thread moved to off topic. I thought that was ideal fodder for "Family Matters" ....(Births/Deaths/Marriages)

[Ouchboy]

	Quote:	Upthehatters2008
	I feel the same way as Nil, I had my engagement ring thread moved to off topic. I thought that was ideal fodder for "Family Matters" ....(Births/Deaths/Marriages)

I gave up on the whole idea a while ago and just put my threads in off topic

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	economisto
	It's an interesting discussion. I know what this forum was started for, but things evolve. If DB is having an issue with a friend in England being a Liverpool supporter, is it irrelevant to Switzerland specifically and therefore off topic or is it relevant to us and the forum for the mere fact that it is DB and he lives in Switzerland and he's part of this forum/community. Hmm. I dunno.

Evolution is normally an improvement.

[Upthehatters2008]

	Quote:	Ouchboy
	I gave up on the whole idea a while ago and just put my threads in off topic

Keep the Forum clean and tidy another way - can't we just move certain posters to off-topic by default ?

	Quote:	Upthehatters2008
	Shouldn't it be Welcome to English Forum Switzerland, the English-language community website for about Switzerland. We have over 60,000 English-speaking members. I feel the same way as Nil, I had my engagement ring thread moved to off topic. I thought that was ideal fodder for "Family Matters" ....(Births/Deaths/Marriages)

Maybe, but on the Home page, that quote in blue is at the top. Which to me sets out the style of the way things will be.

[Ouchboy]

	Quote:	Upthehatters2008
	Keep the Forum clean and tidy another way - can't we just move certain posters to off-topic by default ?

If they do I propose myself for the Off-Topic Generalisimo Ouchboy

[Upthehatters2008]

	Quote:	Ouchboy
	If they do I propose myself for the Off-Topic Generalisimo Ouchboy

Moderator of all things trash... I admire your aspirations

[Ouchboy]

	Quote:	Upthehatters2008
	Moderator of all things trash... I admire your aspirations

No point having diluted dreams of grandeur.

[mirfield]

	Quote:	Nil
	It is not a forum about Switzerland where people can speak in english.

Isn't it? When did you change that? Was there a vote?

	Quote:	Nil
	Off-Topic is not a trash folder for everything that doesn't have a Switzerland stamp on it.

Isn't it? When did you change that? Was there a vote?



The proper meaning of "the exception that proves the rule".



P.S. JL-P take note. Nil's is a much better rant.

[Nil]

	Quote:	MathNut
	Well, I wouldn't share this link with just anybody... more'n my job's worth, you know... but specially for you, Nil...

Ha ha.

If that thing was doing 1/4 of a good job when it comes to find something, I'll agree but since I tried it a lot, believe me, Google still do it better.