Off Topic board?

[MajorityRules]

I think we should have one =)

For moral support for other users, Helping mourn the loss of beloved non-horsey pets, Good vibes when something's up with the family, etc.

Just throwing that out there =)

[Afellpony]

Sounds like a good idea.

[Rarah]

Yeah - great idea!!! Maybe someone should set one up? ;) ;)

[chickflick1066]

Don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon...many an attempt to get one on NR, and each has been unsucessful.

Give up whilst you can! Sorry.

Rarah - why on earth are you sharing Logic...NOO!!

[Stella2]

Do you mean 'Off Topic Area? I don't think we need one. Its a horse related Board and people can post OT threads on other pets etc in the Cafe area. They have a short life there and don't clog-up bandwith space - remember all those error messages we were having a while ago when we attempted to gain access to the site? They were due to a lack of spare bandwith space!

[MajorityRules]

Yes, but OT post ofter get locked if a mod is online.

Its a horse related Board
And alot of them do have the "off course" boards.

remember all those error messages we were having a while ago when we attempted to gain access to the site? They were due to a lack of spare bandwith space!
I suppose.. Just thought it would be a good idea..

[bexj]

We won't have an off-topic area on NR because of the absolute nightmare moderating it. The moderators are all voluntary, and by sticking to the rules about posting about horses then there is no doubt about what is above or below the line. If you want off-topic chat, then NR ain't the place - sorry

[Katie_85]

As someone mentioned earlier, the idea of an OT area has been brought up several times before. ;) NR has decided that it wouldn't be in the best interest of the board to have such a section.

[Meovcorz]

You know, when I first came to this forum, I liked it because it didn't have a 'chat room' or 'Off Topic Area' I really think if you want that can't you find a different forum to put it on. Anyway I think the Cafe Area does well enough for that.

[Meovcorz]

We won't have an off-topic area on NR because of the absolute nightmare moderating it. The moderators are all voluntary, and by sticking to the rules about posting about horses then there is no doubt about what is above or below the line. If you want off-topic chat, then NR ain't the place - sorry

I agree.

[eml]

I have always liked NR because it is a 'horse board'. Whenever OT posts are allowed a different feeling creeps in. I am a (quiet) member of a couple of other boards who do allow non horse posts and they have a very different feel

Since I have been a moderator I have tried to be generous in interpreting OT as do the more experienced Mods.

I really think it is important for lots of reasons to keep this a 'horse board'

[Meovcorz]

I don't mind some OT but, to tell you the truth when weekends come up, I dread them for the reason that new members come on and just post a heap of OT posts and then they finally get off. Or do they get kicked off? :D

[fitz]

Theres lots of other forums online. NR is just fine as it is.

[willowgurl]

I do understand why alot of people dont want them and I do agree to an extent.
The reason I like new rider is because it is so friendly and i feel like I could share things on here.
Say if my partner (not that I have 1) left I would (probably never actually had this happen) want to speak to someone and I think new rider is the friendly place that I would want to, you might not want to talk to the people who know you or your situation (Esp. if you are the reason they left) but to have some support. I wouldnt want to go posting on some random forum to get my feelings out.
Although I have seen a couple of threads on here about this sort of thing that have been closed down after a while (after some support has been given)

I do understand the reasons why we cant have one and I think we should maybe let O/T post (within reason ie for situation as above) to be aloud in cafe

x

[Anna-Marie :)]

Great idea! :)

[chev]

We do let certain o/t threads run for a while if it's deemed appropriate, but to have an o/t section is another kettle of fish entirely.

My personal opinion is that I'd rather keep NR horse-related; it's easier to moderate (you don't have the question of which o/t threads are ok and which are not for a start) and if I want to chat there are plenty of other sites/ways I can do that.

[fairlady]

oOOPS Just posted the same, did not see this, however, I AGREE:D

[*Sez*]

I do understand why alot of people dont want them and I do agree to an extent.
The reason I like new rider is because it is so friendly and i feel like I could share things on here.
Say if my partner (not that I have 1) left I would (probably never actually had this happen) want to speak to someone and I think new rider is the friendly place that I would want to, you might not want to talk to the people who know you or your situation (Esp. if you are the reason they left) but to have some support. I wouldnt want to go posting on some random forum to get my feelings out.
Although I have seen a couple of threads on here about this sort of thing that have been closed down after a while (after some support has been given)

I do understand the reasons why we cant have one and I think we should maybe let O/T post (within reason ie for situation as above) to be aloud in cafe

x

When my husband left, my post about it wasn't closed, because I tried to write about the situation in such a way as to keep it as close to horses as possible - this was the place that I expressed my worries about whether the break up may cause me to lose my horse, and people offered support and suggestions for my situation, as the financial mess he left me in directly impacted my "equine life" as well as my "normal life". I've often found that if I have posted anything O/T (such as when my grandad died), it has been closed but left visable and members who wanted to offer support did it by PM.
From my point of view, I use the New Post button on almost all the forums I use and it is so hard wading through masses of things that I'm not interested in at a particular time. I use a counselling group and every day there are hundreds of posts about what people are planning to have for dinner, and other general chit-chat and given that it's such a large board with many on-topic sections, the off-topic one is probably the largest. I like how NR is arranged because I don't have to click through every single forum to find new posts, and I know if I click the New Post button, it'll bring up everything since my last visit, most of which is relevant to the board.

I really wish people would stop asking for an off-topic section. It's something that comes up around once a week, but if people looked through the New Features board, they can clearly see all the previous posts suggesting it and what the mods responses have been. If the moderators decide to permit an off-topic section in the future, then we'll all know about it but repeatedly requesting it doesn't seem likely to make it happen ;)