Attention all Offtopic Users...Project Offtopic is Underway

[indy500fan]

A few people were saying that since you have to be 13+ to join that anything PG-13 should be ok, which in theory would be fine but really isn't. The 13+ to join option is pretty much laughable, I can't tell you how many times I lied on those age things. I am sure it wouldn't stop anyone, so that pretty much shows that we shouldn't even allow PG-13 topics here. The masturbation topic version 1 (before the forum reboot) was what I checked, never bothered with the new one but the point is it was definitely worse than PG-13 at times anyways.

[warren211]

For the "ever caught them" discussion I figured it would happen eventually but seriously, what prompted the fascist crackdown on the whole board? Did some angry soccer mom complain because her 12 year old son read stories in a thread labeled "Mature Content"?

 

 

 

The Funny Picture thread though should be kept open but censoring certain images. Oh wait, that's what mods have been doing all along!

 

 

 

If the admins can't do anything to help keep OT the way it is, could they at least get rid of the trolls that have been plaguing us?

 

 

 

About a half a year ago, there was a funny pics thread that was a sticky. it was locked because it took too much mod effort to censor all the bad images and many people didn't get what "keep pics appropriate" meant.

 

About 2 months later, a second funny pics thread emerged, which did good for a while but once again, it was locked because it was too hard to control the thread.

 

Then yet again a third thread appeared, this one was doing fine but was killed in the rollback.

 

Finally, the most recent post-rollback funny pic thread appeared, where today it is in the center of the controversy over project offtopic.

 

 

 

I think the mods are right on the funny pictures thread. It's way too hard to have mods constantly patrolling the thread to make sure all the bad images are removed because so many people seem to not realize when they've crossed the line.

 

 

 

and to the people who are blaming younger OT'ers for causing this: please, just keep quiet. The reason tipit needed a 13+ rule was because of COPPA. and if a parent fills out a COPPA form, a person under 13 can use these forums. So the whole "it's 13+" thing is pretty invalid. I don't enjoy these threads being removed, but hey, it was necessary to keep this forum under control. If mods start being lenient on the rules and leaving a very flexible border as to what's appropriate, then it becomes difficult to control boards. after all, some mods will tolerate nonsense within reason, while other mods (though not many) can be overzealous and lock-happy and will easily lock any thread that crosses the line remotely. Setting one standard for everyone, both players and mods, to follow makes it much easier to regulate.

[deloriagod]

A few people were saying that since you have to be 13+ to join that anything PG-13 should be ok, which in theory would be fine but really isn't. The 13+ to join option is pretty much laughable, I can't tell you how many times I lied on those age things. I am sure it wouldn't stop anyone, so that pretty much shows that we shouldn't even allow PG-13 topics here. The masturbation topic version 1 (before the forum reboot) was what I checked, never bothered with the new one but the point is it was definitely worse than PG-13 at times anyways.

 

 

 

Of course people lie about their age. The thing is, once they say they're 13+ TIF is no longer responsible for them since they said they were of te agreed age. Porn sites do the same thing. Once you say you're 18 they give you access to the content and they're not responsible if you're not actually 18.

[indy500fan]

A few people were saying that since you have to be 13+ to join that anything PG-13 should be ok, which in theory would be fine but really isn't. The 13+ to join option is pretty much laughable, I can't tell you how many times I lied on those age things. I am sure it wouldn't stop anyone, so that pretty much shows that we shouldn't even allow PG-13 topics here. The masturbation topic version 1 (before the forum reboot) was what I checked, never bothered with the new one but the point is it was definitely worse than PG-13 at times anyways.

 

 

 

Of course people lie about their age. The thing is, once they say they're 13+ TIF is no longer responsible for them since they said they were of te agreed age. Porn sites do the same thing. Once you say you're 18 they give you access to the content and they're not responsible if you're not actually 18.

 

 

 

Which is a good point if all TIF is worried about are their legal obligations and not actually about the kids.

[Ginger_Warrior]

A few people were saying that since you have to be 13+ to join that anything PG-13 should be ok, which in theory would be fine but really isn't. The 13+ to join option is pretty much laughable, I can't tell you how many times I lied on those age things. I am sure it wouldn't stop anyone, so that pretty much shows that we shouldn't even allow PG-13 topics here. The masturbation topic version 1 (before the forum reboot) was what I checked, never bothered with the new one but the point is it was definitely worse than PG-13 at times anyways.

 

 

 

Of course people lie about their age. The thing is, once they say they're 13+ TIF is no longer responsible for them since they said they were of te agreed age. Porn sites do the same thing. Once you say you're 18 they give you access to the content and they're not responsible if you're not actually 18.

 

Porn sites don't have a built reputation which they have to uphold.

 

 

 

Comparing an internet forum to a porn site seems pretty far-fetched to me.

[Mercifull]

Of course people lie about their age. The thing is, once they say they're 13+ TIF is no longer responsible for them since they said they were of te agreed age.

Thats just not true, at least in the UK. If you sell alchohol to an underage person for example even if they say they are 18 and show id (faked) you are still responsible for selling alcohol to underaged.

[Nero]

This thread makes me sad :(

[Macmaster92]

This seems good to me. When I first started browsing the Off Topic board I never really understood why those kind of threads were allowed. It is good that the people on this side of the board are more mature but over the line is over the line...

 

 

 

Maybe there should be a private forum for only pre approved long time members to post about the more mature, and disgusting :-X , topics?

[Turtlefemm]

Ok... One day into Project Offtopic... A few threads have been locked and only two were removed from public view. If you look at the list of current topics, you can get a general idea of some of the subjects people like to discuss that can contain very intelligent commentary. There has been some serious cleaning in some of the larger threads, but for the most part I am feeling very hopeful that we can make this Offtopic forum into a place where users enjoy spending time.

 

 

 

Explicit sexual discussion has its place... Tip.it public forums is not it... regardless of all of your debates on G or PG-13... offtopic or not..

 

Photographs whose humor is based on religious bias, sexual bias, flashing curse words, racial bias do not have a place in the tip.it public forums...

 

 

 

Some of you are confused about what exactly "mature content" means as a label... It does not mean "Inside here you will find sexual situations, bad language, violent images and steam." It simply means that the topic itself might not be something that a reader is comfortable with. In fact, I don't think we need to add [mature content] tags into our titles in this forum. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, for example... That is a mature subject. It can be discussed in an intelligent, mature manner without a lot of silly offcolor jokes or dirty humor. It's pretty clear from that title that it is not a discussion of old cartoons. War... that is a pretty mature topic... Inside that kind of topic lies all kinds of discussion that might upset someone... so he or she can see the title and steer clear... Many of the topics we have are mature in nature and their titles state that pretty clearly. That is mature content... Mature doesn't mean "RUN INSIDE THIS QUICK! A BOOB!" and hopefully, the kinds of folks who only came to this forum for that kind of content will move on when they see that we're serious. Offtopic will not be held hostage to that kind of behaviour.

 

 

 

At this time we are still discussing whether the moderators and administrators really want to take on the hard work of keeping a funny pics thread clear of pictures that break the rules when it has been tried and tried and tried and people don't seem to get the message. A thread like that is a privilege, not a right. It might not be a right that is returned right away, but it is under discussion.

 

 

 

I'm really proud of the people who have been hanging out in Offtopic since this announcement was made... I've been reading many posts in many threads and just getting a general "wow" feeling of what kind of decent conversation can be going on without trying to rip each other's heads off... Bravo!

 

 

 

~Turtle

[klankaos]

 

I'm really proud of the people who have been hanging out in Offtopic since this announcement was made... I've been reading many posts in many threads and just getting a general "wow" feeling of what kind of decent conversation can be going on without trying to rip each other's heads off... Bravo!

 

 

 

~Turtle

 

 

 

Hear, hear. I've been thinking that something like this should be done for a long time, and now it's here. Thanks Turtle =)

[Da Pirates]

War... that is a pretty mature topic... Inside that kind of topic lies all kinds of discussion that might upset someone...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I sensing that the TIF is becoming the RSOF?

[meol]

War... that is a pretty mature topic... Inside that kind of topic lies all kinds of discussion that might upset someone...

 

 

Am I sensing that the TIF is becoming the RSOF?

 

Perhaps you misunderstood Turtlefemm. She didn't say War is a banned subject now, she was just explaining the meaning of the old mature tags with an example. What we originally intended with that were topics where not everyone would feel comfortable participating, not topics where you could post all kinds of explicit anecdotes or crude images.

[PoorLepRecon]

In all honesty, a [mature content] tag is more like a flashing sign than a warning to our users. It attracts more people into it to see why it is "mature", not informing them that it is a place for a mature discussion. I think you should just do away with the [mature content] tag, and see how it works out.

[Topazjewel]

All I can say is FINALLY.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for cleaning out the crap. The Off-Topic forum has needed this for a long time. Those threads should've been gone a long time ago, but better late than never. Hopefully the people who are upset about it will LEAVE and not come back, because those posts were sick and I don't like the idea that I'm associating with people who write and enjoy things like that.

 

 

 

So thank you, to Turtlefemm and all the other mods/admins who finally took action.

 

 

 

Looking forward to a better, cleaner Off-Topic. :D

[doomy]

Ugh. The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

[Mercifull]

Ugh. Stupid Mods.

 

The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

 

It was... but it was abused. When you abuse a right it gets revoked. Dont blame the mods, blame the kiddies that poisoned off topic

[doomy]

Ugh. Stupid Mods.

 

The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

 

It was... but it was abused. When you abuse a right it gets revoked. Dont blame the mods, blame the kiddies that poisoned off topic

 

Yeah your right.

 

I just gotta find somewhere else for those pics...

 

I'll edit my original post.

 

The only problem I was having is that I got the feeling from the first post that everything has to be aceptable by everyone, age groups I mean. I don't see why there is no exception from the OT forum, yeah getting into R and X isn't good, but generally most of OT is older then the rest of the forum anyway.

[Furah]

Ugh. Stupid Mods.

 

The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

 

It was... but it was abused. When you abuse a right it gets revoked. Dont blame the mods, blame the kiddies that poisoned off topic

 

Yeah your right.

 

I just gotta find somewhere else for those pics...

 

I'll edit my original post.

 

The only problem I was having is that I got the feeling from the first post that everything has to be aceptable by everyone, age groups I mean. I don't see why there is no exception from the OT forum, yeah getting into R and X isn't good, but generally most of OT is older then the rest of the forum anyway.

 

 

 

ever considered it could be because some of the younger memebers of TIF were offended by some of the stuff in OT?

[Ginger_Warrior]

ever considered it could be because some of the younger memebers of TIF were offended by some of the stuff in OT?

 

Or even that the older people found it distasteful?

 

 

 

This quite clearly extends beyond specific age groups.

[Rainy_Day]

Ugh. Stupid Mods.

 

The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

 

It was... but it was abused. When you abuse a right it gets revoked. Dont blame the mods, blame the kiddies that poisoned off topic

 

 

 

Calling us stupid doesn't really do anyone any favours.

 

 

 

As Mercifull said, users abused it all the time since it had a Mature tag, and as such, it was removed.

[Mercifull]

ever considered it could be because some of the younger memebers of TIF were offended by some of the stuff in OT?

 

Or even that the older people found it distasteful?

 

 

 

This quite clearly extends beyond specific age groups.

Indeed. When most of the regular off topic users (who are all mostly over 18) feel that they dont like the content posted then its clear something is wrong.

[Kiriyama]

Actually Merc, I think it has to do more with mental maturity than actual age.

 

 

 

Whereas a 13 year old might find something funny, others may find it in bad taste. It all depends on how mature you are (and the 13 year old could be immature enough to find it funny).

[dragoonson]

Actually Merc, I think it has to do more with mental maturity than actual age.

 

 

 

Whereas a 13 year old might find something funny, others may find it in bad taste. It all depends on how mature you are (and the 13 year old could be immature enough to find it funny).

 

 

 

True,I was quite into jazz around age 9.

[Sumpta]

Mm. I don't think the "mature" (in the sense of sexual, violent, racist, inappropriate,...) topics are OT's problem, though they can get very distasteful. But the so-called decline of OT has been going on for a year, maybe more, now. I quit the OT about half a year ago (not that anybody noticed), and I sure wasn't the only one. Back then it was because a select group of OT'ers had nothing better to do than patting each other on the back and flaming every new member out of the OT. In the end, good and regular contributers drifted away from the OT and they pop up very rarely now. Either they lurk, or they post very irregularly.

 

 

 

Maybe it's just typical of a board dominated by teens, that you get cycles. As they grow a bit older, they lose interest in this board and move on. Making way for a new wave of less mature youngsters, who drive the last remaining 'oldies' away. I am very sorry to hear Goddess left too, yet another in a long line.

 

 

 

Anyway. I'm all for the idea to control this board more, but I highly doubt it'll magically change the OT into a mature discussion board.

[limpbizkit]

Ugh. Stupid Mods.

 

The funny pictures thread was great to look at.

 

It was... but it was abused. When you abuse a right it gets revoked. Dont blame the mods, blame the kiddies that poisoned off topic

 

 

 

But when did it start getting abused? when rl picture thread was put in OT not Gen Discussion where it would have been much better IMO