"What does SF Discussion mean" Topic

Am I being a nit picker or does the Science Fiction Discussion board have a lot of posts which don't really belong there?

ummmm . . . Not that I can see.

There's speculation about the intelligence of Earthly creatures that may develop to rival ours, discussion about massdrivers and Gauss weapons, converting vehicles for use as futuristic variants, and a few near future topics so they pretty much define SF Discussion.

You *can* stretch a point about vampires and horror, since the first can be justified by science ( Look at the disease Poryphria and tell me it doesn't ring alarm bells! ) and the latter covers the intersect where dwells ALIEN and THE THING hich are Hard SF as well as scary stories.

So, since 90% of the items here are solidly in the SF department to my eye, clearly YMMV. [Sarcasm Mode] Can you perhaps suggest some guidelines so that we do not offend your correct and proper definitions in the future or are you just making a warnign remark here? :)

Remember, "Science Fiction" was about rayguns and rocket ships long before people tried to Clarke tried to redefine the term.

I also point out that many folks tend to crosspost to other boards where they feel their thread may be appropriate.

Take for instance Super Heroes- these are sci-fi and modern.
Weird War 2 can be Sci-fi, historical (somewhat) and World War 2.
Many aspects of Fantasy can be Sci-fi- Wargods of Egyptus for instance has elements of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Pulp is many differnt and quite relevant genres that need not necessarily be Sci-Fi but can be discussed in the same thread.

So, there you go… what may not seem like sci-fi on the cover could have some sci-fi elements, heretige or peripherals that are indeed relevant to the discussion. Thus, the crosspost.

Not to mention something that may be inherently intended for one genre could be converted to Sci-Fi- Romans with Rayguns, for instance, or Confederate Battlemechs.

Cheers!

Before this leads down the "we need a (insert your favorite niche interest) board" road let me say that with our current choices for boards, and this is not a "please Mr. Bill we need more boards thing", when I or you want to post something that remotely has any wiz-bang to it well it usually falls into the available barrel…the science fiction discussion board.

Are there wandering posts that push the limits, yes. Is your science fiction more science fantasy, maybe. Is that other guy really asking if zombies would fit well within an ACW setting, why yes he is.

Do all these things fit in the science fiction barrel, yes they do…because it is a catch all.

If this were a specific interest site…ship modeling, tyranids, or 1/20th car hobby…then you could expect a certain measure of theme restraint…for us, we few, we valiant cousins, we will stand against the waves and hold our ground.

"no more new boards please"

It's not really a big deal.

Thanks,

John

well it's one of the things that does add up to a big deal, though. it does make it that little much harder to find topics worth reading. shouldn't it be obvious that 'how do you define horror' should not be posted on a sci fi discussion board when there is a horror board?

op is right imo.

the board's already a bit hard to pick through because of all the thread bumps. there are threads that have involved only one poster basically having a conversation with himself for months or even years at a time. i won't point out what physical act that reminds me of.

and some of these threads are just frivolous. usually, again, posted in massive quantities by the same person. amazing what percent of the threads on this board, and messages in the same thread, were all posted by the same person. 'i just got another idea in my head, what do you guys think?' lol

if everyone did that, the board would be unreadable. actually as it is the board is approaching just that, and only one person is doing it.

It's me! It's me, dammit! Just say it, will you?

A) So, you would rather I start a new thread on just the follow-up question or update, so that everyone will have to provide the same background info (and look up same links) as a refresher to support their new answers, and then have people like you complain that the topic has been discussed before? Besides, keeping all links and references in one place makes it easier.

Damn if I do and damn if I don't, it seems. Well, I'd rather go with the option that involves less work for the majority.

I don't get it. You people ever heard of the search function? Besides, if a topic does not sound interesting to you, you don't have to read it, much less post to it.

Geez, guys. You people act like your lives depend on the order of posts on the boards.

And, if your lives REALLY do depend on the order of posts on the boards, why didn't you guys support me when I suggested to Bill to have that order be based on the ORIGINAL post date and not the latest post date? That would solve your little life-altering dilemma.

B) About the original post, if one wants to maximize input from those most familiar with the miniatures, rules or terrain involved, even if they are applied to something else (such as modern wargaming items for Post-Apocalyptic gaming), guess where it needs to be posted? At the very least, Modern AND SF. Guess what, some of us try to think outside the box, and either need input from multiple audiences or have information that transcends a few genres, but are not quite general.

Ever heard of the cross-posting function?

Example: Gaming Underworld
Check out the genre line here:
imdb.com/title/tt0320691
"Genre: Action/Fantasy/Sci-fi/Thriller"

Duh!

It is because of people like you guys that we already have too many boards, with everyone trying to create their own sub-sub-sub niche where they can exercise their own extreme purist ideals.

Down with the Purists!!!

Dan
PS. In case you haven't heard, TMP is about a hobby. Lighten up.

There are about 10 boards I follow on TMP. I get through most of them quite easily,but SF discussion is really different. There are about 2 screens worth of posts. 28mmMan is right. It is a catch-all and I should expect a lot of posts. I am sure my own niche, pulp sci-fi or retro sci-fi, is little appreciated by most TMPers. I am not arguing for another catagory. Partly I am just blowing off steam, and partly I am saying that you people at the far reaches need to hit a different spitoon.

yes floogle it is a struggle. that's what happens when a message board gets used by one, or just a few, people as a sounding board to their every whim. apparently it takes on a rather too important role in their life. sad really. "i'm going to paint my forehead blue, what do YOU guys think?"

Very sad you should think so.

Dan

I disagree with a boat load of tea and crisps!

The real issue is not the content of the posts…TMP is a free country to speak of, kinda…and as such you can say what you want.

The main problem is false or poor advertising. The title and tickler that gets your eye to notice it. Quite often it is "I finally did it" "Did you ever wonder…" or "Does AVSII work with L&B or HHS ver3?". Cryptic, misleading, and fog covered thread titles are the real crime here, IMO.

For example if you have a post dealing with Wargames Factory then note that in the thread title, then people who have any interest can be prepared as well as those who are not.

Be specific and the time wasted by looking at something that may not interest you would be limited to your clicky finger.

Morlab,

what shade of blue ?

@the evil morlab- Forums are what people put into them. CC is a positive contributor, if he's indeed who you're referring to, since you didn't bother to say. I don't have the time to read everything he posts, but much of what he does write I find interesting, or something that might stimulate other discussions.

only one poster basically having a conversation with himself for months or even years at a time. i won't point out what physical act that reminds me of.

Unfortunate that you would write something like that.

Goldwyrm,

Thanks for that.

By the way, it seems he is taking every opportunity to gripe about this, instead of taking it up with the Editor for an official ruling of some sort:

TMP link

Dan

Hey Purists,

Do you have a problem with this too?

TMP link

Or do you feel that your fellow Modern gamers would not benefit from having figures like those produced?

Dan

I don't know much about these forums, but CC is one of the reasons I come back.

He's always got good ideas, and since this is a DISCUSSION board, I'm assuming he wants to, you know, discuss them.

But also, I'm not sure if that is who is being referenced, so my apologies if I jumped the gun.

"Remember, "Science Fiction" was about rayguns and rocket ships long before people tried to Clarke tried to redefine the term."

BillChuck, the redefinition of SF as a lterature dealing with human emotional and intellectual response to technological and other changes was really started before Clarke . . . by John W Campbell, the great editor of SF magazines such as ASTOUNDING/ANALOG who believed it could be a better genre than the "pew pew! Take that, yah alien varmint!" or the dry Gernsbackian catalog of new equipment that it had mostly been before. Oh, and he wrote "Who Goes There?" which was done scene-for-scene as THE THING.

As for the personal comments being made, I'm not entirely sure that this is the proper subject for the SF Discussion board either. :)

CC. You're OK.
Just thought I'd tell you that.

"Unfortunate that you would write something like that."

unfortunate that i'd have to. what would you call a thread with twenty posts, fifteen of which were written by the OP? with only the OP contriuting to it over a, say, two year period?

"Morlab,

what shade of blue ?"

ten different shades in ten different threads, no doubt. "what do you guys think???"

"Forums are what people put into them."

but big forums like this one also have subject matter that is supposed to be discussed, and people should show at least a pretense of self restraint about putting everything that popped into their head in the forum and then cross-linking all the thoughts. shouldn't they? if everyone did that it would be a nightmare. it even approaches nightmarishness when one extremely prolific poster does it.

As a recently joined member of TMP I think it's a fantastic forum with loads of great topics up for disgussion.

I personally have got a great deal of inspiration and advice from it. Advice that I wouldn't have got anywhere else as none of my peers are gamers.

I have noticed how-ever that all to frequently someone takes offence to a post and brings down the vibe. If it's not your thing or it irritates you; why waste your time complaining just move on to a topic that does interest you or paint some figures.

CC is one of the members that I get the most enjoyment out of reading his posts. Great ideas for scenarios or projects.

Cross posting is there for a reason; I posted a sci-fi question on the WWI board only a day or so ago because I thought that WWI enthusiasts could also help answer my question; which they did;

TMP link

I also saw a post that was on nearly every board asking about inspiration photo's. It was a great discussion and I personally bookmarked loads of the links and images discussed within;

TMP link

I firmly believe it's a live and let live scenario but am at a loss as to why people would want to stiffle another gamers right to discuss topics with likeminded people. So-far I have not seen one topic that has not had at least one piece of good advice given to the author no matter what others thought of the topic, so hopefully the point of TMP is still firmly alive!

Regards to all

Chris

but mclovin your crosspost made perfect sense as it related to both wwi and sci fi. if you posted the question "what is wwii" in the wwii forum and the ancients forum and the medieval forum, people might think, "wha? please stop that."

discourage posting? nah. make the board less of one person's personal notepad is probably a good thing though.

anyway i've had my little say, i think the evidence suggests i am not alone in this opinion ….

I reserve the right to discuss evil, scary clowns regardless of the forum.

I reserve the right to discuss evil, scary clowns regardless of the forum.

I usurped the Sabotage board for just that purpose.

TMP link

In answer to the OP. "Yes, you are being a bit of a nitpicker."

I think that SF Discussion is treated as a catch-all for the things that have been mentioned, and that's ok with me.

I agree with folks who say that the vauge topic titles are the real crime. Is it that hard to give a title that actually conveys the subject of the post?

Thanks for the comment OrdinaryBass, I WAS beginning to wonder.

Appropriate usage of the forums is covered very adequately in the FAQ.

TMP link

Posting new content to existing threads and creating new threads for new content are perfectly OK. Leave CC alone.

Gamers' Rule #276357: When you have nothing to argue about, argue about nothing.

The above is from the American Standard version; the King James version is:"Yea, for that they have nothing over which to fight, verily they will fight over nothing".

Perhaps the most succinct comes from the Gnostic Gamers Bible, book of Mary Magdelene: "For they did contend over nothing and the Lord said: 'Jeez, get over it.' "

LT

Verily.

Hey Evil Morlab,

If you were a supporting member I would have sent you a PM. But, since you aren't, I guess I must select an appropriate thread (where you defend your opinion) and just post my question to you.

As you made very clear above (so no need to re-hash that), you seem rather annoyed that I update old posts with new information, or because I ask for opinions at each stage of a project, etc, etc, etc,.

In view of what you say, I would think that you would like to see fewer and fewer posts from me!

However, your actions seem to contradict that, since you seem to go out of your way to post on just about every new thread I start, or to comment on my posts on someone's thread, to try to entice an argument from me, and to derail whatever the thread is supposed to discuss (ok with me, but very sad when it is someone else's attempt at getting a good discussion going).

The Editor has a term for that (he calls it "harassment"*), but I'm beginning to think that you really love my posts! (Reminds me a lot of what I saw my nephews do when they were little. They would constantly pull on a girl's hair to get a reaction but, deep inside, they really liked the girl.) :)

So, the SIMPLE question to you is . . . are you stalking me or not? Yes? No? Just confused?

Dan
* Since you are new to TMP, the FAQ explains it like this:
"What constitutes harassment?
Any member of TMP has the privilege of expressing his opinion. Harassment is when a person goes beyond mere expression of opinion, and begins to wage a "war" on someone or some thing through forum postings.
… Likewise, you don't have to like everyone who posts on TMP. But it becomes harassment if you follow someone you dislike from topic to topic, deliberately annoying them and disagreeing with them on everything."

So Evil Morlab sees CC as a little girl…that is science fiction and really creepy…but in the end there will always be a handful of people on any forum that seem to seek out attention with off handed comments, consistent negativity, and a general support of stick version of chaos theory (poking a subject will entice a reaction).

Not much to be done unless it gets really mean or threatening.

Bringing up older threads is hardly a crime, especially if there is something new to add. Everyone knows that CC does this and as he is part of the community of regular TMPers it is accepted…water is wet, sugar is sweet, and CC brings old posts back to life…it is what it is and no one gets cancer from it.

Others are known for their quirks and are equally accepted or not depending on the person reading said posts.

I would prefer people to stay on theme and not bring preferred scale or how this movie is not up to par unless they are asked…post about puppies should remain about puppies and not be twisted into some horror story about how some camp councilor may have made an impact in your life.

And back to the post topic…SF discussion is a catch all for science fiction related threads that do not fit within the confines of the other choices.

"So Evil Morlab sees CC as a little girl…that is science fiction and really creepy"

After I read my own post, I got the same horrible mental image. Me as a little girl, with pigtails for guys to pull? Eewwwww.

Either way, it may be love!

Dan

Me, the only offense I can take from CC is that he needs to play more 28mm! DROP THIS "15mm" MADNESS CC!

I like the fact that others also update their threads (Alfrik, me, and others…). It gives me inspiration to get moving on my own projekts. I will admit, I even steal some ideas to add to my boards. Or sometimes there is new techniques that I just found, or some new minis that will help out…
For me, you guys out there updating the threads (especially terrain & painting boards) keep it up.

And as was said above, SF discussion is for anything SF related. If you don't want to read a thread, then don't.
Off to work on my The Thing board…

A big to do about nothing!

I'm fine with what's posted in here.

For what it's worth …

#1 – CC has been a positive influence on these boards. Yes, he has a BUNCH of ideas. So what? For every CC there are 50 members who lurk, read, learn, enjoy, but do NOT post. That's fine. CC is willing to share. That's fine.

#2 – CC is an upbeat person who nearly always comes across as someone who LOVES this hobby. That enthusiasm is catchy. It's like running into someone when you are having a down day, and they are upbeat and happy. It brightens your day. Well, it does for most people.

#3 – If CC starts a thread and gets no takers, who cares? And if he updates his old thread, again, who cares? I'd rather have an old post updated than a new thread started on the same topic myself.

Anyone on TMP can elect to ignore anyone else. You can so so selectively by looking at the thread title. Or you can just shut a particular person down with a well known feature that has been the topic of several polls.

I'll be reading CC when he posts. The last thread I read that he contributed to involved natural shells that make ideal "alien" plants. It was informative, educational, and quite useful too. Who knew so many different shells could be purchased cheaply and look so cool on a tabletop?

To those who don't care for updated threads in general, or perhaps CC in particular, please feel free to shut him down on YOUR PC. He's doing just fine on mine.

Am I being a nit picker or does the Science Fiction Discussion board have a lot of posts which don't really belong there?

You can always hit the Complaint button, describe where you think the topic should be (or should not be) crossposted, and I'll take a look at it.

It would IMCO help the actual case we seem to be discussing here if threads opened by a stiffled poster were marked somehow -- flagged, "lowlighted" or whathaveyou -- and also posts from such shouldn't bump up the topics.

But I suppose the board tech mightn't allow for that sorta thing and as it seems to be struggling under the weight anyway (or am I the only one who doesn't get full topics list for hours after the maintenance break?) it would not seem a sterling idea to introduce such extra bells and whistles even if they were doable.

'hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat…riiiiiipp, nothing up my sleeve….RIIIIIIIPPPPP-GUSHing of blood….ARRARRRGHHHH, now a zombie in the hat ripped my arm off!!!!!

Slish!
Sgt DWW

You can always hit the Complaint button, describe where you think the topic should be (or should not be) crossposted, and I'll take a look at it.

Good Heavens! A reasonable approach to the issue? What ever will they think of next?

You can always hit the Complaint button, describe where you think the topic should be (or should not be) crossposted, and I'll take a look at it.

Good Heavens! A reasonable approach to the issue? What ever will they think of next?

I would mention the button that prevents you from seeing that persons comments as another reasonable approach, but when I use the word that is used on TMP, TMP 'bleeps' the word out . . . Self-destructive loop, indeed.

Frankly put, this is a board that has long invited controversy and debate of a heated nature second only to CA. Sometimes that is a good thing . . .

"It would IMCO help the actual case we seem to be discussing here if threads opened by a stiffled poster were marked somehow -- flagged, "lowlighted" or whathaveyou -- and also posts from such shouldn't bump up the topics."

I think some here have at least one of those whether they deserve it or not LOL. So are you suggesting that since I have a couple that my threads should therefore be differentiated from all the others and if I posted to one then that thread should not be bumped up? Robert

The suggestion is that if you are on my stiffle list I should see which topics/threads are started by you (in a most radical solution, they shouldn't show at all unless someone who isn't on my stiffle list posts in them), and moreover your posts shouldn't count as bumps on any of the other topics when the "topics with new post" list is constructed by the server.

You can always hit the Complaint button, describe where you think the topic should be (or should not be) crossposted, and I'll take a look at it.

Good Heavens! A reasonable approach to the issue? What ever will they think of next?

It'll never catch on. If people did that, then they wouldn't be posting passive-aggressive whining threads advertising that something annoys them, and then where would we be?

The only gripe I have is that some of CC's topics might be better suited to the Science plus board, rather than SF Discussion; "If WE Invaded An Alien Planet?" TMP link , for instance. It's hardly worth whining to the audience about, though.

"Talking to oneself" is a function of this rudimentary forum software not allowing post editing. If someone has more info on a topic, why shouldn't they add it?

what does sf discussion mean? apparently "sf discussion" means wooly rhinos.

apparently wooly rhinos also meant "sculpting" and "scenics". but it doesn't mean that anymore -- fortunately the editor seems to have trimmed back that example of excessive crossposting.

also now there are wooly rhinos so every thread that's ever been posted on any similar topic has to be raised from the dead and bumped to the top of the forum.

horses for courses, but i find it takes more time looking for a thread that is not necromantically "alive," or one person talking to himself (one person being the only poster to contribute to thread over a two year period), than is really warranted. and god forbid you should actually point that out, or more threads get dug up, because after all this forum belongs to certain people, who own it and won't have anyone challenging that ownership.

i would LOVE it if we could be spared the threads of a person if we did the S thing to them. would make life a LOT more pleasant on this board.

I also don't like necro-posting, but that could be solved by simply updating the list of threads with a date started, along with the date of the last post. That way known zombie threads can be avoided if one wishes.

-Will

Evil Morlab, you are really starting to remind me of the school officials who could not understand why those of us with multiple ethnic backgrounds could not be happy with penciling in just one of their little circles and be done with it. They were ways forcing us to choose between obvious apples and oranges too (like between something that is a race and something else that is a culture), as if they were all the same thing. Too funny. Said more about them than about us.

Anyway . . . one last attempt at getting an answer and then I'll just go on with researching info for threads.

"you seem to go out of your way to post on just about every new thread I start, or to comment on my posts on someone's thread, to try to entice an argument from me, and to derail whatever the thread is supposed to discuss (ok with me, but very sad when it is someone else's attempt at getting a good discussion going). . .
So, the SIMPLE question to you is . . . are you stalking me or not? Yes? No? Just confused?"
19 Jan 2010 2:11 p.m. PST

Well? No answer?

Dan

YouTube link

what does sf discussion mean? apparently "sf discussion" means wooly rhinos.

apparently wooly rhinos also meant "sculpting" and "scenics".

What are wittering on about? The only thread I can see that could concievably be about such things is the ""Megafauna-Proof 'Pleistocene Fort'?"" topic. As the topic title clearly states "fort", then it belongs in scenics, and terrain, if earthworks are involved. It's talking about pleistocene-era megafauna, which is prehistoric, and has time-travellers as defenders, hence SF Discussion.

because after all this forum belongs to certain people, who own it and won't have anyone challenging that ownership.

You're right – no-one should be insisting that people use the forums a certain way.

Only just found this thread. Basically I DO BLAME CC! There, I've said it, the guy is a total loon* (in a nice way) whose imagination holds no bounds nor barriers :-)

I like it, often the newest stuff in this forum, bar CC's stuff is either more 'I've registered this idea with WF – all sign up it will be awesome and the models will rock' or more 15mm stuff (which although nice, I don't do). Still, plenty of people like this and it's not for me to complain.

Anyhow, if you visit this forum a lot, you can almost 100% of the time, if not 90%+ tell by a title it it's one of CC's topics before you open it – or at least I can.

*Dan – I love your posts and enthusiasm – however, I still rate you as a certified loon (like me) who has more ideas than time to do them all :-) – hope you don't take offence buddy.