Thread derailment! Sound the alarms! Danger!

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Too many people want to have political discussions in a,vacuum, I guess, analyzing one symptom of the problem. Anybody wishing to expand the conversation is derailing the thread. Such rigid thinking.

To turn an originally apolitical discussion into a political propagandist’s wet-dream is both childish and trollish.

Starting one’s own thread requires effort and originality. Coming up with a topic that has not already been covered is difficult (but it can be done). It is much easier to hijack a thread -- one that has already attracted participation -- with a “hot-button” topic, and then engage in goalpost-shifting, circular arguments, and other schoolyard tactics to keep the thread from ever going back to the original topic.

And it is always the same few people who do it.

Certain individuals often state a controversial, politicized opinion that will obviously start an argument and completely derail the thread, which seems to be the goal.

If they legitimately want to argue about that topic, they should start a thread on it instead of derailing someone else’s discussion.

I don't understand any of the arguments being lobbed at me during the last few posts. I just don't understand the mindset. It just doesn't compute.

I guess I'm done here.

I'm a big believer in moderating my own threads. If I make a thread then it's up to me to take care of it.

Personally I don't mind if a person wants to take it in a different direction so long as they're not being abusive towards other members.

I enjoy how topics can grow out of topics.

This has to be something that happens naturally though and with some kind of coherence otherwise it is probably a better idea to just start a whole new conversation.

But I do get how a thread can be seen by one group to be maliciously derailed and by another group to have some kind of connection to the topic.

I've done it myself in the past. For me it was sometimes for my own amusement and other times because I had responded to a comment that had been made much earlier in the thread and it just threw the whole conversation into disarray. I have been called a troll for this. So what!

I don't think anyone here is squeaky clean to be honest.

Nope....not squeaky clean.....I believe it depends on the thread.

If somebody is really stuck on "keeping to topic," I'll keep it to topic. Many threads become entertaining, though, when they diverge from the topic.