What constitutes Off-Topic?

In the thread asking if we should have an off-topic forum, someone said they hesitated to talk about rain barrels as being off-topic.

It made me think and wonder, where that line is drawn? IMO (are we all good with BB-speak here?), SFG's need water, Mel talks about rain barrels, therefore, it's not off topic. I do, however, think it inappropriate for me to post photos of my crocuses. It's gardening, but it's not SFG'ing.

So, aside from the obvious off-topics, what do other folks think? And input from moderators would be most welcome, since they have more input regarding what the board wants to be when it grows up!

martha wrote:In the thread asking if we should have an off-topic forum, someone said they hesitated to talk about rain barrels as being off-topic.

It made me think and wonder, where that line is drawn? IMO (are we all good with BB-speak here?), SFG's need water, Mel talks about rain barrels, therefore, it's not off topic. I do, however, think it inappropriate for me to post photos of my crocuses. It's gardening, but it's not SFG'ing.

So, aside from the obvious off-topics, what do other folks think? And input from moderators would be most welcome, since they have more input regarding what the board wants to be when it grows up!

Martha, I think you are right on! We are working on what is off-topic and what is not. There will be guidelines I think.

IMHO I don't think anything veggie/fruit gardening-related would be off-topic. Water is surely a necessity! Quite frankly, I'm not sure your crocus would be off-topic either as it is a harbinger of spring and who knows, it may have appeared in your SFG box. I have lots of flowers in mine. Like Mel says, "there pretty." And crocuses mean it's time to start seeds!

Something tangentially related to sfg is definitely of value and is appropriately discussed in the general forum. Examples, rain barrels, watering wands, tools to stir mels mix, the use of chicken manure, etc. If a thread on chicken manure started evolving into owning and caring for chickens, it would be time to move it to the off-topic forum.

I'm a fan of tangets... you can learn a lot following a road wherever it goes. I think boffer's guideline is a good one - if you use chicken poo, or grow pansies in your SFG, or want to show off your 2x6 painting skills, then by all means, share.

OTOH, it's really easy for us gardeners to overwhelm each other with info... having a place for Off-Topic Topics, or however the "web elves" want to distinguish it, is important.

I think recipes, canning, preserving is a good example of an "off-topic" topic. It's a tangent. Connected, but not necessary. Analagous to my big turkey roaster - good to know it's there, and I can find it when i want, but it's not cluttering up my countertop year round. (I'm a professional organizer - rule #1 is keep that which you use the most, most accessible.)
Then there's the Way-Off Topic, like raising chickens. That's just SFG clutter. We PO's don't deal well with clutter.

I'm new to this whole forum stuff and have found myself lost in the posts more than once...but not regretted the detour, yet. I can see that changing as the population grows - me... lost in the jungle, not being a happy camper.

Mea culpa, I'm guilty of tangentizing... re my post on keeping the bees but killing the lawn grubs. When does pesticide chat cross the line?

Theresa founded the forum early last year, with the objective being 'gardeners helping gardeners'. That's what the forum will continue to be. The new software gives us opportunities to do so in a manner that wasn't possible in the old forum. We're still learning our way and appreciate your feedback.

Well, Kimbies, when/if we get an Off Topic forum, and your thread gets moved there, then you'll know!

(I love emoticons!)

I used be a forum mod and I also had my own forum called Backyard Technology. I had a lot of categories but if I were choosing what went into general SFG vs. Off topic. it would be something like this

Off Topic- things way outside the realm of gardens
Check out my new drum kit
pics of my dog standing on one leg and dancing to Shakira
How to break my World Of Warcraft addiction


General SFG- things garden related

Why is my lettuce orange?
Chickens in my garden
Harvesting rainwater
Help I planted 12 Zucchini plants and I'm drowning

some things are just a tough call and could go either way. just use your best judgment, worst case scenario the mods will move it and send you a thank you PM for giving them extra work LOL

For forum noobies, you'll soon realize that 99% of all posts will stray into different discussions. Starts out with a question about seeds and ends up being a discussion about squirrels. thats just the nature of people having a conversation