The fun part about Sega-16.com is that most topics get derailed fast, and some of the best discussions happen then. Off topic stuff should stay in some off topic section though. I use the say something useful then off topic approach, or the other way.
Intelligent discussion will always deviate because issues are never simple monoliths. Forcing people to always keep "On topic" will mean we have to ignore side discussions that may be vital to the main discussion. This is not an opinion, but a fact.
I don't think anybody's being anal about topic drift (e.g. discussion of related ... topics). Just not "This thread is now about whatever." kind of derailment. At least, that's how I see it; all conversations and discussions eventually shift and change; keeping them railroaded to a set topic just kills any kind of discussion that could crop up outside of the rigid topic guidelines.
When the new direction is off-topic but limited to a single different topic it's also possible to split that into its own separate thread.
I'm completely and totally against this policy. But I've learned not to bitch. Just wanted to state my opinion.
You haven't done anything against this policy, even on SClassic, so I don't know why you're worried. But seriously, when people want to go ahead and fill an otherwise legitimate topic full of crap, that's when it becomes a problem. When the topic had no clear sense of direction in the first place, that's when there's really no holds barred.
If you're being honest, then I might just retract my previous statement. It's possible I haven't witnessed the kind of topic derailing that prompted this decision, since I don't go to all the boards here. In any case, from what I have seen, there isn't much of a problem, which is why I said I was against it.
I think it's more to do with instances like the "anything you want to admit to" thread, because we all have something that we'd like to get off our chest in a more anonymous setting. But when you're posting replies like "I once fucked a seahorse for the hell of it. Ahahah!~" then it's obvious you're not even pretending to take it seriously, which is just as disrespectful as turning a thread about sexuality into a lemonparty/dickgirl fest. And as for you not having to worry, I agree because, frankly I don't think I've seen you post in a serious thread since about '05, so there's nothing to derail in the first place =P
To give backup to this, I shall site rules 25 and 26 of the internet: 25. Relation to the original topic decreases with every single post 26. Any topic can easily be turned into something totally unrelated
