Posted on 05/09/2006 9:52:39 AM PDT by kevkrom
Single-issue people.
They're out there... on every thread. No matter what the topic, they try to link it to their pet issue in some way, shape, or form.
They are... The Thread Hijackers™.
While little can be done to stop them, and it is probably best to ignore them, I find it much, much more fun to mock them. Sure, being passionate about an issue you care about is a good thing, but thread hijacking is annoying and, to be honest, turns off people who might otherwise agree with you.
So, on to the mocking.
I'd like to coin the term "H-score" to indicate the number of posts on a thread before someone tries to hijack it with the issue du jour. For example, if the attempt occurs on response #5, the thread has an "H-score" of 5.
What I propose is that when hijacking offenses occur, that they be documented here in the following form:
Thread: Thread title and link
H-Score: Post # on thread containing the offense (first per thread only)
Offender: Screen name of offending poster
Severity: Scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) on how off-topic the comment is
My Comments: Optional, use to justify severity or just general mockery of offender
Perioidcally, I will go through the nominees and post finalists (for subjective awards) and winners (for non-subjective awards) in the following categories (subject to change at any time):
The issue du jour changes over time. At one time, it was Terri Schiavo. As of the time of this posting, it is illegal immigration. Note that ridicule on this thread is not to be taken as argument over any poster's position, but rather their methods and bloody single-mindedness.
So, for now, nominations will be taken for threads hijacked by "illegal immigration/border control" single-issue folks. Watch this space for any changes.
ROFLMAO!
Hell yeah.
But then it's only SIX Layers.
Where's O.J.?
WWJHJ?
LOL!!! I don't see how they can since they never leave the computer....:)
You really stepped in it, with this one, k.
Doing the vanity posting Americans won't do.
I knew the risks going in. Hopefully, everyone will get it out of their collective system before long and start the targetted mocking I was calling for.
Just looking at it makes me wish my employers firewall blocked this site.
Oh, and BTW,
Where were teachers like THAT when I was 14?
What was the topic again?
I had to go back to your post to clean my mind after someone posted a dirty pic (Helen Thomas)
Just hijacking the threads that Americans won't hijack.
How long before the JBST show up?
The Elian flame wars may have been pretty hot, but there was no topic like Terri Schiavo to generate thread hijackings IMHO. The "H-score" averaged 2 to 5 for EVERY thread on FR for a couple of months.
You should link to the offending post, so we dont have to scroll the entire thread
It's time yet again to spin the wheel for today's talking point to try and shut out legitimate criticism over Bush's guest worker proposal. What phrases do we have on the wheel today, Harry?
Queue announcer
Well, Larry, today our contestant has the following phrases on the wheel:
Unappeasable!
DU Plant!
Border Troll!
Who Elected Tancredo President?
Thread Hijacker!
Extremist!
BushBash!
Wants Dems to Win!
And new on the wheel today, "Being Spun by the Liberal Media!
Queue talk show host
Thanks, Harry!OK, today's contestant is a long time FR poster who thinks that we should support Bush's guest worker proposal despite the problems such programs have caused in Europe, because, hey, he said he wanted such a program in the 2004 elections and he won the election!
Now, give the wheel a good spin here!
Clickclickclickclick click click .... click ...... click .... click!
Congratulations! Today we will go with Thread Hijacking! Who cares if the debate over illegal immigration is the most significant debate nowadays? We need quiet threads with no talk of such matters! Any discussion of immigration on any thread not directly dealing with immigration will be shouted down and might just be removed!
Tune in again tomorrow when we add yet another new phrase to our litany of methods for shutting down debate. Will it be "It's not Bush's fault, even though he's president?" or will it be "You must want Pelosi to be Speaker!"
Patrick Kennedy.
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