Everyday, we end up at this discussion at some point. I think perspective has alot to do with it. I picture the thread as a bunch of people sitting in a room, watching the news on 60 stations and trying to keep each other informed on what we are seeing. There is a fair amount of breaking news reported as well as lots of individual analysis (some well thought out, and some pretty far out there).
With all these people in the room, there is going to be a little 'chit-chat' going on - especially when news is extremely slow (which it has been for the last two hours).
I realize that other people see this thread as a 'headline news' type of thread. When news breaks, the number of posts per minute goes WAY WAY up. (i.e. the much delayed press conference on Tuesday night) But the off-topic posts pretty much drop off completely (they go underground like Saddam).
Personally, I can't watch headline news because when news is slow, you get to watch the same thing over and over and over. We had the discussion on about day 5 about maybe doing 2 threads. I think we are too late for that (how many days are left?). Instead we just need to realize that different people have different ideas and expectations for this thread and act accordingly.
How? Chatty Posters: By thinking about what you are posting. If you are thinking of posting - consider how off topic it is and also what news is breaking. If you have a hunch your post is not relevant, then don't post it. News Dogs: If someone posts something you think is off-topic...then ignore it, forget it, and read on.
Gum
Even though there are times when the signal to noise ratio around here gets a little funky this is still the best, most positive, quickest place to follow what's goin' on. IMHO. This is a wonderful community and I'm glad y'all let me play.
Thanks for the civil response.
I didn't mean to offend with the chit-chat remark. I love disussions where you can go off on a tangent. It makes for great conversation.
I view this thread more as the switching back and forth between 2 TV channels trying to hear as much as possible. When that is going on, I don't talk or discuss, I try to listen as much as possible and keep the remarks directly related to what has just been said.
Think of it as watching 2 football games and after a food commercial, your wife and mother-in-law start trying to discuss the grocery list with each other across the room.
Personal preference, to some extent, I guess. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Back to news monitoring.