h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Off topic posts will be removed from announcement threads from now on."

I welcome this decision wholeheartedly. I believe I once suggested the very same.

You may wonder why I say so, since I am one of the culprits who has numerous times taken announcement threads for a joy ride.

In my defense I was drunk at the t... NO, wait, that's not the problem (at least not all of it). The thing is quite simple that I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was an announcement thread. My fault, of course, and I take full responsibility - but honestly if they had been marked clearer ...

As this does not seem possible I welcome the decision. PLUS I promise to pay more attention in the future Our have enough on their plates as it is

Question: what do put on their plates?

What do we put on our plates - that is the question

Pierce, why are you in Hotblack Desiato mode?

I really appreciate your support of our offtopic decision, Pierce .

thanks Pierce!

thanks Pierc

no idea why I left the 'e' off!

It's hard to know how to be off topic in an off topic thread.



I don't buy green bananas any more.

In Ripley you get a big warning over the message box if you are posting to an announcement thread.

But - there are situations where you might blank that out....

Topic drift is a bit different than the basic non sequitur. It's a bit more organic and cooperative. There's usually some tangent, some actual rabbit that's being chased down the rabbit hole. Often you don't notice the moment the topic drifts, you just notice it's nowhere near the original topic anymore.

Is that how an anchor came to represent going "off topic". Is it supposed to be sort of to help keep the topic from drifting away? Or is it some warning of a big, heavy shift in topic a reader might stub their metaphorical toe on.

Or is it based on some Britishism I'm not familiar with, like . I had to have that one explained to me.



(And this time I'll [CTRL+A, CTRL+C] lest I lose my post again.

it's a Gordian knot, a catch-22. By trying to post off-topic you're actually *on* topic. Which I am right now, so I'm not acceptably off topic.

But I can live with that.

It's the very least I can do, Milla and Researcher5 - I can only hope other researchers will follow suit

- - -

paulh, I am in Hotblack Desiato mode for tax reasons, of course. And it looks like I may stay in this mode for as long as I live. Because for every dime I earn the powers that be will reduce my pensions with a dime - and I have never been a big fan of w*rking for free.

(That is to say I do a little w*rk for charity but that is another ballgame.)

TC, I'm a die hard alabastard - never tried Ripley

Baron, off topic drift is much like continental drift: Seemingly inevitable - but faster

I'm an alabaster too, not that that will solve the various problems afflicting the modern world.

If only

Alabaster IS a Ripley skin.

All skins but the new one are Ripley. And they all were a bit broken when the DNA engine was yanked out of the system. (or that's what I understood of the discussion at the time.)

And yet, here they still are, while Pliny continues to suffer from Vesuvius.

Yes, we still have Ripley, believe it or not.

Good one, paulh