A small, friendly reminder about one-liners

Originally posted by intrepid
banality.

From the dictionary -

Banal (adj) devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed or trite.
Banality. See commonplace.

Banal. Excellent word. Also love 'hackneyed'.
We don't see that word used much.

Something that really annoys me is when people overlook key info in the thread. Earlier I put some effort into a post about gold prices, and it seems as if nobody bothered to even read it (I even used citations to back up what I was saying).

I wish people would read through the threads a little more, before adding to them. It might also help if the thread creator updates his OP from time to time if new relevant information comes to light in the discussion -- it would clear up a lot of confusion and such.

Anyways, good rule. Can't say that i've always stuck to it -- but some threads don't deserve serious responses that "add to the discussion." Such is the case in threads like "Weird, i can open portals."

Boycott shampoo... Demand REALpoo.

^
Both One liner AND totally off topic

Originally posted by intrepid
reply to post by Retseh

 

We do. I'm sure you've seen this graphic:

I'm not seeing your issue here.

That's my point - there isn't an issue here. This whole reminder thread is redundant - you already have a mechanism for dealing with off topic posts, so why confuse things with rules about off topic one-line posts.

You're duplicating.

If not, please explain the difference in treatment between a one line post that is off topic and a ten line post that is off topic - or is it that you just get a different warning for the same reason.

reply to post by Retseh


The point is that a well thought out 1 line post isn't a problem. Some think that a 1 liner is wrong all the time. It isn't.

Originally posted by TheBandit795
Because we mods understand what the difference is between a one-liner and a post which adds to the discussion.

No offense but this is insulting. All mods posts are relevant? I have read a lot of one line posts by regular members that made more sense than long drawn out posts that just repeated themselves over and over.

Some of the long posts read like someone trying to sound smarter than they really are.

Originally posted by TheBandit795
Because we mods understand what the difference is between a one-liner and a post which adds to the discussion.

Hang on a minute, are you suggesting some kind of superior intelligence, where as we lowly posters without moderator status are unable to determin if our posts are meaningfull if they're a bit on the short side of letters?

Sorry if that's not what you're saying, but it's what it looks like from here. (or a rough interpretation thereof)

I'm more than capable of twisting and contorting what could easily be summed up in 1 line. But sometimes it's a bit pointless. Sometimes when a message is short and sweet, it can contain more effect. Obviously, throw away comments like "yeah, what ever" and stuff, is going to add nothing to any discussion. That's not always the case though.

I also vote for a "meanlingless post"warning, instead of 1 liner infractions.

Originally posted by Acidtastic

Originally posted by TheBandit795
Because we mods understand what the difference is between a one-liner and a post which adds to the discussion.

Hang on a minute, are you suggesting some kind of superior intelligence, where as we lowly posters without moderator status are unable to determin if our posts are meaningfull if they're a bit on the short side of letters?

No, he's saying that the staff has the experience to determine if a 1 line post is beneficial to a topic. Any reasonable person is, not just staff. Some don't care what they post though.

Originally posted by intrepid

Some think that a 1 liner is wrong all the time. It isn't.

Quite, so why do we need a separate rule for them, when in point of fact they are treated in exactly the same way as any other post.

i.e. length of post is irrelevant

See my point?

Originally posted by Retseh
See my point?

Sorry, I don't. I only see semantics here.

^

That's a 1 liner.

Just post thoughtfully, with insight, and on topic, you'll never have to worry about the "one liner" issue or any other for that matter.

[edit on 6 Apr 2009 by schrodingers dog]

How about when you make a concise response that takes up exactly one line?

Originally posted by tamusan
How about when you make a concise response that takes up exactly one line?

You just did and it added to the topic. No prob. Verbosity is not required.

So I have to hope the mods understand my to the point post, and not delete my one liner. I suppose someone has to have the final say.

Originally posted by Retseh
Quite, so why do we need a separate rule for them, when in point of fact they are treated in exactly the same way as any other post.

i.e. length of post is irrelevant

See my point?

Here's a difference - if you're "penalized" for a one line post, the post remains on the thread and the only one that knows it's happened is you and the staff. You get a 20 point reduction.

An off-topic post is deleted from a thread and replaced with the off-topic graphic.

So it is possible to have a one line post that's also off-topic (which will most likely generate an Off Topic deletion) ~or~ a one line post that's on topic, but adds nothing substantive to the discussion.

If I reply to a post by saying "I agree", that's on topic but adds nothing substantive, so it is subject to being hit with the one-line penalty.

If I reply to a post in a thread about UFOs by saying "Why don't you mods come in here and police this mess?", that would be off-topic and would be subject to deletion and replaced with the Off Topic graphic.

It's all subjective and not everything will be caught. The best course of action is to make every post count, and stay on topic.

I hope that helps.

I'd never post a one liner.

I remember starting this one liner stuff a few years back. I envisioned something different for the posts in question. I just wanted to skim over posts that were unsubstantive in the discusion; not necessarily delete them. In my perfect ATS it would look like this.

-_____________________________________________________________
spongebob| blah blah aliens blah blah NWO blah blah bluebeam blah blah
| guns blah blah yadda yadda conspiracy this secret that blah
_____________________________________________________________
overlord | UP (unsubstantive post) or OT (off topic)
_____________________________________________________________
The post could still either be viewed with a click or passed over. Also a box in every post ,like the star or flag ,would be there for members to designate a post as such. Whenever a post recieves 10 such desinations a mod would compress the post into one line, thereby freeing up space on my monitor. Thanks.

Originally posted by yeahright

Here's a difference - if you're "penalized" for a one line post, the post remains on the thread and the only one that knows it's happened is you and the staff. You get a 20 point reduction.

That's probably the most useful information I've ever seen in one of these threads about what a one-liner is and isn't, since it goes a long way towards explaining why I see so many posts that I would consider one-liners

On the other side of things, though, I would like to point out that adding "This is a second line" or something similar does not necessarily mean that the concise post is without substance. It probably means that it wouldn't post due to the auto-reject feature.

In other words, adding such a disclaimer should neither make a substanceless post "not a one-liner" nor a substantial but brief post a "one-liner"

reply to post by americandingbat


You're exactly right, and that's taken into consideration.

No one on staff does anything with the intention of irritating the membership. The goal is to ensure compliance with the T&C, and we believe it's our unique T&C that makes us stand above and beyond any similar forum on the 'net.

We don't claim to be flawless, but I can honestly say (believe it or not) that I've never ever seen anything happen without considering what's ultimately best for the membership and site overall.