"NF" Suffix on answers to "General" questions?

I think it is unnecessary. If you are not following a question or not makes no difference to me. If I want a response and don’t get one, I’ll PM you.

I do not understand the big deal here. I really really don’t.

No, I am not with you. I think it is ridiculous. Nice sentiment, but a gross over-think nonetheless.

Fluther staff, you should get a raise. This is insanity.

If you have a fucking problem with how things are why don’t you propose a solution instead of bitching. This is a result of us fucking up. They are just trying to fix things. I think they are going about it the wrong way. But they will slowly fix things if we offer constructive input.

Think of some better ideas to solve the problems they are facing.

I don’t think it’s necessary either. I didn’t read anything about discussions not being allowed when they are on topic. If you (general you) don’t want to follow a topic, that’s your choice, but I don’t see the need to publicly announce you will not be coming back to read any other responses. I imagine there are a lot of times someone answers a question and then stops following it for various reasons.

@johnpowell That is my solution. If this solution is so offensive to others, I’ll just join the boycott of “General” questions.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I like the idea, and even if you don’t rally support, it’s a nice gesture to any would-be responders to your question.

Hey, even if the new changes are bad, at least the Meta section is getting some action now…

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I did not read that it was offensive to anyone, just unnecessary.

In my experience, discussions always wander a bit off the topic. My solution will chop this tendency off, making life easier for the moderators. My intention is to give them what they seem to want: clipped, serious answers and no followup. @marinelife Over-reaction, my apology.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land: The only part of your last post that was true is the part about wanting serious answers. They don’t need to be clipped, and nobody said anything about no follow-up. If you can show me where in…

Responses must:

Focus on answering the question
Relate to the discussion and be on-topic
Be respectful; you can disagree without being disagreeable
Adhere to the writing standards
Responses must not:

Be one-liners, jokes, fluff, chatty or off-topic
Disrupt the discussion
Dismiss the asker (“just Google it”)
Feel free to use your own voice. Humor and sarcasm may be used, but only in conjunction with a legitimate answer to the question.

…there it says anything about clipping responses or not following up on it, I’ll humbly eat my socks.

its not a bad idea. it does no harm. whats the big deal? geez.

“My own voice” often includes the very things they don’t want. I thought that “whispered” asides were acceptable as before, but I got shredded by the mods yesterday. I know that I’m not “normal” and can’t divide things up into neat categories. Maybe the “boycott” is the best way to go, at least for me.

let’s not be dramatic. You didn’t get shredded by the mods. You were simply modded. Lawsy mercy.

I was modded more times in one day than in my five previous months on Fluther. I didn’t say a single word that could be construed as offensive or hurtful to anyone. That’s shredded IMHO.

I don’t plan on doing it, but I think it’s a reasonable approach.

@johnpowell I find it deeply ironic that you complain about @stranger_in_a_strange_land “bitching” about the recent changes, while offering no alternative of your own. I believe he’s being pretty mature and straight-forward about it. I’m sorry I can’t say the same about your response.

Take your ball and leave. There is plenty to play with here.

I’ll probably do just that.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I think that’s a fine idea for you to use. I think there is room in Fluther for us each to tailor it a wee bit to how we each would best use it. Personally, I’m using the general section as a way to hone my communication skills. It’s easy for me to fall back on one-liners as my defense mechanism, I do it all the time. So this isn’t easy for me but I think it’s going to be good in the long run. That doesn’t mean it’s going to work for everyone.

My only quibble is that I would hope you are doing it out of the right reasons in your heart and not the anger at change. I think adding an NF is fine. Sometimes I use ‘PM me if you need more info’ and that lets them know I’m still available but not following.

Unfortunately, I’m not doing this for the “right” reasons. I’m angry at being modded for doing something that had been allowed previously and hadn’t been told it was banned. I dislike change, especially the kind that punishes people who haven’t done anything wrong. It’s probably better for everyone if I just leave. I’ve stirred up enough hatred already and no longer feel welcome here.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land It’s not better. Even if you assumed that you weren’t “liked”, your departure would add to those of others and generate a negative feeling. Negative feelings are bad.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land It’s fine to be angry. Nothing wrong with that at all. It’s just what you chose to do now that is important. If you feel the need to leave, then that’s how you feel. I would suggest just leaving the account but not logging in for a while. See how the change feels once it’s no longer change.

I didn’t know that there was a boycott. I personally think that if a question is ridiculous it deserves any answer it gets. I try to keep my own sarcasm at a minimum because I have a really low tolerance level for stupidity to begin with. Mostly I won’t answer a stupid question because intelligence would probably not be recognized by the asker. That’s the best I can do.

I want to be on record that I never supported any “boycott”. My problem is that I don’t know where the boundaries are in a discussion; when does it go “off topic”? To avoid stepping over the line, I’d decided to merely answer the question, then stop following it. That way I don’t get drawn into unknown territory. The “NF” device I suggested was intended to serve as a polite indicator that I’m not following the question, so don’t waste effort trying to communicate with me on that thread.

As I understood it, the changes were aimed at the comedians, I was never one of them. I was caught unaware by additional rules I knew nothing about. This is the same crap that happened at AB: “quit whining”, “if you don’t like it, leave”. So be it. If I leave, it’s as an individual no longer comfortable here, not as part of any protest movement.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land If you feel this approach is necessary for you, then fine. I would not expect that others will emulate this behaviour. I think you are capable of respecting these rules and having your ideas heard without such a strategy but if you feel you must, then answer without following the discussing. You have more to lose than to gain by doing do, in my opinion.

I tend to “stop following” once a post turns into chat anyhow. I doubt anyone notices if I follow or not. I’m not sure I understand the concept of the two sections aside from social being for people who want to chat inside the threads but outside of the campfire chatroom? Dunno, I don’t get left alone long enough to read all kinds of guidelines. I’m lucky if I can manage spellcheck.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Why would you make one quip and then immediately stop following? Is your first answer the be all-end all? I’ve answered hundreds of science-medical questions to the best of my ability, but if people have follow-up questions, or want clarification, I would most certainly do my best to communicate and discuss further with them. That is not off-topic, and would be perfectly acceptable. I might even through in a few jokes at their expense…

I’ve always used the stop following feature when people started all the ‘hi friend; aren’t I funny, and junk answers – that’s nothing new.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land come over to social. I’m thrilled that I might sneak a question through on social!

I think its cool you are trying to keep Fluther interesting as it can be.

I like this idea, but not for the same reasons you stated. I think I’ll add the NF suffix when I ask a question that is sure to elicit responses that will inevitably raise my blood pressure, but I still want to see how people think without joining in. I thought about doing that before. Sortof like taking the stand of the “divine instigator” and setting something into motion and then forgetting about it.

I really don’t understand why this thread became so hostile so fast….