Fans of Norah Lofts discussion

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message 1: by Cassie (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments I wanted to share something that is concerning to me a little bit. I've not mentioned it for fear of offending anyone but I find that I'm not enjoying the group as much as I could.

Often I start to type something that is somewhat, but not completely, related to the topic and then I think, "I better not because it might be considered off-topic." The thing is, it is in reference to something that someone said in the thread so putting the reply in the "off-topic" thread won't really make sense. I think that I post much less than I would if I weren't afraid of being "called out" in the post for being off-topic.

I think that conversations evolve and it's the same thing with online threads. I rarely stay strictly on topic when I'm speaking with someone. I find the conversations that evolve to be much more interesting than the ones that stay completely on track.

I've realized that I am not as active as I would be if I wasn't worried about this.

Any thoughts?


message 2: by [deleted user] (new)

Cassie wrote: "I wanted to share something that is concerning to me a little bit. I've not mentioned it for fear of offending anyone but I find that I'm not enjoying the group as much as I could.

Often I start t..."


Hi Cassie, I feel exactly the same. You expressed my feelings PERFECTLY. Thanks,
Alice


message 3: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Cassie, I'm sure no one would be offended by your honest sharing of your thoughts. Thanks for feeling free enough with the rest of us to do that!

Of course, threads have titles in order to give people a basic idea of what they're mainly about, so as to know where to post and where to find comments about a particular subject. In a thread devoted to Bless This House, for instance, if a couple of people started a long, detailed discussion of Jassy, I don't think it would be improper for a moderator (or someone else) to gently note that the Jassy thread would be a more optimum place for it. But that said, I think Cassie's basic points are well taken. My philosophy as a moderator (in groups where I have that role) is that I'd rather have lively, interested discussion, even if it can range a bit afield, than have intimidated silence. Even if a question is technically "off-topic," if it's posed to me or if I can answer it, and can do so concisely, I feel free to do so in the thread where it was posted (for the reason Cassie stated); and I think everybody should. I'm inclined to let people mostly police themselves for relevance, and not "call out" anyone unless a troll or trolls are hijacking a thread with malicious intent.

For myself, though, I haven't felt too intimidated about posting here. My relative silence comes from my relative ignorance of NL's total body of work. :-)


message 4: by Barbara (last edited Oct 06, 2010 06:52AM) (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments This comment of Cassie's has "given me furiously to think" ( can't remember where that came from now ) because I have certainly 'policed' what I thought were off topic stuff, though I hope I did it gently .And Heaven knows I have gone off myself on occasion!

I do take your point Cassie , though I have to say that I tended enjoy the forum less for exactly the opposite reason- i.e. I eagerly open a post on , say , Jassy' only to find that it is another addition to a conversation about something entirely different, not even NL. Often that conversation is, as people have said, really interesting and I might want to be part of it, but , still and all , I would rather see it in chitter chatter or wherever .

I have no problem at all with , to quote you Cassie, "something that is somewhat, but not completely, related to the topic"

However, I don't want anyone to lose interest with an NL forum for any reason really..............


message 5: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments If something is posted on a board that is totally off-topic, can the moderators remove the post or does someone ask the "poster" to remove it? How does that work?


message 6: by Cassie (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments The moderators can remove posts. Generally though I think they would ask the posters to go to a new thread. Is there something going on?


message 7: by Sherry (new)

Sherry | 128 comments Cassie wrote: "I wanted to share something that is concerning to me a little bit. I've not mentioned it for fear of offending anyone but I find that I'm not enjoying the group as much as I could.

Often I start t..."


Could this problem be solved by beginning the post with "somewhat off topic" so people can choose whether or not to read it. It doesn't make sense to post to an off-topic thread because the thread of the conversation will be lost.

I might add that I lose interest when the post is very scholarly. I'm not here to read book reviews or literary analysis. I like the conversational topics related to the books and the people (which feel a little like gossip).

Just some thoughts...


message 8: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments I do take Sherry's point about not liking certain things and not wanting to read them. I think though, that the issue is about relevance rather than simply like or dislike . What I mean is, on a site which is about a particular author and their books, a cetain amount of literary analysis IS the point of the site, scholarly or not. Can certainly understand it being found boring or not to ones taste, but it is still relevant to the thread .

For me , I can't quite see the need to start off "somewhat off topic" in a dedicated thread when there are already 'off topic' and 'chitter chatter' threads in existence and they are good threads too, full of interesting stuff.

I guess I would rather see people saying in response to somethign going off topic , " that's really interesting stuff about XYZ, I answered it in detail on Chitter Chatter" or whatever , and stick more or less to the topic on the original thread .

Also too, I thought the new board was for people who prefered not to be moderated and wanted to have freedom to range about in topics ?


message 9: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Some of my posts might have been ones that came across as too scholarly, and I apologize for that. I'm not a literary scholar as such and actually despise a lot of the modern lit-crit jargon --BUT, I've been in college education as a career for a long time, and have sort of an analytical approach (my wife says, TOO analytical!) to literature, so I can sound pedantic at times when I'm not trying to. When I do, just tell me what my wife does: "English, honey, English!"


message 10: by Cassie (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments I don't think mom was necessarily criticizing scholarly posts. I think she was just trying to say that she appreciates the lighter posts-maybe in defense of some of the things that lean into the off-topic realm.

The other board is more relaxed, but if you get into a conversation over here that is interesting and flows off-topic, the fact that the new board is more relaxed doesn't really matter-the conversation is being held here, not there.

I like Barbara's idea about commenting that she responded in detail on the Chitter Chatter or whichever thread. One problem with posting online is that it's easy to misinterpret someone's post because you don't see their facial expressions or hear their tone of voice. Sometimes it sounds like someone is being snippy or rude but they don't mean to.


message 11: by Cassie (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments I didn't finish before I posted that. I was also going to say that we should remember when moderating people, not everyone functions on the same level. There are illnesses and conditions which can make it very difficult for people to keep their thoughts together and keep to the subject. At least that's what I try to tell myself everytime I'm in a meeting about one thing and it turns into a meeting about another thing.

I did wonder, Peggy, was there a topic that went way off-topic? I looked and I did see where a conversation or two went off but I didn't see anything that really struck me as being completely off-topic.


message 12: by Sherry (new)

Sherry | 128 comments It might do us all well to remember that we are dealing with people who can have bad days or get their feelings hurt. People wander off topic in normal conversation. Maybe we all need to lighten up. Personally, I'm tired of the topic of off-topic.


message 13: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments Cassie, to answer your question, the thread "What was your first Norah Lofts book", 25-30 are totally out of the blue. There is not even in a lead in, such as "this author reminds me of NL." Once a thread goes totally off topic, it seems to kill the thread so I posted my question. Then fortunately Elaina contributed a post of her first book and brought the topic back.

Werner, I personally enjoy the scholarly and literary references. No apologies needed to me, anyway. I have followed several links posted by you and others and learned a lot that has enriched my enjoyment of Norah's books.

Sherry, I certainly don't wish to be tiresome.


message 14: by Cassie (last edited Dec 03, 2010 09:45AM) (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments There are ways to redirect a conversation. Removing posts is an absolute last resort. I didn't think it was that off-topic.

Like I have said before, threads, just like conversations, evolve. I do not wish to participate in a group that moderates everything severely.

Remember what I said about being afraid to post about stuff because it could be called out as off-topic? This is exactly what I was talking about.

I don't think that it was the intent of the group's creator to tightly monitor the postings.


message 15: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments I'm pretty upset about the problems we are having , as most of us are I think, and what I was thinking was, as a compromise and so as not to lose ANYBODY, I would hate to lose anybody, we could maybe do as Cassie confirmed above

1. For people who like it kept on topic, then instead of saying so, we just reply to the last relevant part and, if there is irrelevent-but-interesting thread, do the " that's really interesting stuff about XYZ, I answered it in detail on Chitter Chatter" or whatever thing.

2 For people who see the board as more of a general chat with not necessarily a connection to NL in every post , then maybe if they just do a self-check question before posting, "would this be better on XYZ thread?

Werner , please don't change your posting style , I would miss it so much.


message 16: by Sherry (new)

Sherry | 128 comments Sounds like a workable compromise, Barbara.


message 17: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments I would like to apologize for not putting enough thought into my request and phrasing it so badly to get people upset. I should not have asked if a post could be deleted when my intent was to ask if a post could be moved to the appropriate thread.

Again, my apologies.


message 18: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Thanks, Barbara; you're very sweet! I probably couldn't change my posting style if I wanted to; by now, I'm old enough to be set in my ways, and as one of my Internet friends says, "I've gotta be me." :-)


message 19: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments This is so lovely - I opened the thread in great trepidation and lo! all is going to be well...........


message 20: by Barbara (last edited Dec 07, 2010 02:41PM) (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments I just saw this post on another group I am in - I thought the part on moving threads was interesting . I didn't know you could do that ,in the past I have "cleaned up' by just deleting old topics that hadn;t been followed up for a while. Moving them is of course a far better option. She says

"...a few definitions of terms I use here which some people may not be familiar with (I'm trying to be consistent with the terms goodreads uses).

"Folder" - the main headings that do not move on the home page
"Threads" or "Topics" - the many little headings found under the Folder headings that constantly move around depending on which had the most recent activity; this is where you post your comments (I tend to use the term thread, but goodreads seems to call them topics which is why I've included both terms here)

This guide assumes you are starting at the group's home page, and it discusses items from the top to the bottom in the order they appear on that page.
....if you don't pick a folder to put your thread under, it will put the thread here....I sometimes end up moving your threads to the "Other Discussions" Folder. It's not because I don't like your thread! I just like things neat. :)


This is a good time to point out the link at the same level as the Folder titles. Right now, on the same level as the words (group name) , it states "showing 5 of 36 topics - 1499 comments total" and then the link "view all". This means that there are currently 36 threads in this folder, but only 5 are shown on the group's home page at one time. Therefore, if you want to see the other threads in this folder, you need to click on "view all". All the Folders have a "view all" link.

One other thing that I'll add about the threads. When you are in a thread that has a lot of comments, only 50 comments show up per page. At the top across from the words "Comments (showing 1 of 50 out of xxx)" is a link called "newest". This will take you to the most current page with the latest posts (say the last page out of 5). If you scroll all the way to the bottom, there are links for individual pages that you can click on (in case you wanted to see page 3 of 5 for instance)."


It was part of a much longer post , they are very thorough in that group !I'n not really proposing to do anything with it, I think it is a bit too detailed for our use? But I will follow up on the how to move stuff angle


message 21: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments Thank you for providing this useful information, Barbara. One thing I can't understand is the order in which the folders appear and then the threads in the folders. They don't appear to be alphabetic and they don't appear to be in order for most recent or most active.

I know, I'm being anal retentive again, lol, but sometimes it is hard to find a topic that you want to read up on or post to. I know there is a search feature if all else fails. So is there a pattern I am missing for the order things are listed? Just curious.


message 22: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments I've always been a bit confused about it too, and I think it is the reason we soemtimes have duplicate or near duplicate threads/topics. Sara ( author of the guidelines above ) says they appear in order of last activity.


message 23: by Werner (last edited Dec 08, 2010 04:43AM) (new)

Werner | 467 comments If a moderator designates a particular thread (I use that term, too :-) ) as "important," it will always appear at the top of the list within the particular folder it's located in. Otherwise, most recent activity determines the order.

Barbara, do you have a link for the post you quoted (or at least for the thread it's in)? Your quoted or paraphrased material doesn't actually tell how to move threads from one folder to another, unless I missed it.


message 24: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Here is the link Werner , but she didn't say how , only that she did it.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I didn't know about 'important ' thing either , thank you


message 25: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Thanks, Barbara! With Goodreads, there are always new tips that one can learn.


message 26: by Barbara (last edited Jan 08, 2011 06:41PM) (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Happy New Year NL friends , I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are not too frozen to post. Those of us in the Southern (unless we are on the Queensland flood plains) are luxuriating in Summer .. Sorry...

As part of my New Years Eve resolution ( not the one to get thin, the other one ) I thought I would, subject to your approvals, go through our older threads and weed out the finished, unconnected and generally superseded ones, especially the many one-offs. I don't want to touch any we are currently or even recently using of course ,or any that seem like they contain useful material, only the ones where we just had the odd idea and it came to its natural end or was duplicated.

What do you all think ?

The idea came to me actually because I was contacted by an ex- member who was trying to re-enter and found it all a bit bewildering and couldn't find their way around the threads any more.


message 27: by Cassie (new)

Cassie (CassiePetty) | 150 comments It works for me if you want to clean up the old threads. :)


message 28: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Thanks Cassie


message 29: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments That sounds good to me, too, Barbara.


message 30: by MaryC (new)

MaryC Clawsey | 404 comments It sounds good to me, too, Barbara.


message 31: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Thanks Mary and Werner


message 32: by Sylvia (new)

Sylvia (SylviaB) | 959 comments Hi members! After two months without a computer, I've missed you SO MUCH. I vote yes on the clean-up, too, Barbara, and thanks for doing that job.


message 33: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Hi Sylvia , lovely to have you back . Spring cleaning on way soon.......


message 34: by MaryC (new)

MaryC Clawsey | 404 comments Welcome back, Sylvia!


message 35: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Sylvia, I'll echo Barbara and Mary's welcome back. We've missed you!


message 36: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Hi Alice, hope you are better now .

I;m glad you think a thread clean up is a good idea , I am getting to it slowly.

BTW do you ( or anyone else) know if you can move discussions from one topic/thread to another ( apart from a series of lengthy cut and pastes) ? Was just wondering because maybe some old stuff might be better for re -siting rather than obliteration


message 37: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments Sylvia, so glad to see you back online. Barbara, great idea.


message 38: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Barbara, I've never discovered any other method of moving posts from one thread to another except by making a hand copy of them and re-typing them in the new thread after deleting them from the old, or the less cumbersome "copy-and-paste" technique that you mentioned (and which a friend in another group recently explained for me). Having moderator duties in six other groups, it's a situation I've been in before, too; so if you find a solution, pass it on!


message 39: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Thank you Werner. I think now that when I saw another moderator talking about moving threads, she was simply meaning as above , and not some super method we wot not of. Ah well......


message 40: by Sylvia (new)

Sylvia (SylviaB) | 959 comments I have some questions regarding the Discussions/ Topics list. I was looking for a thread that I thought was titled "Norah Lofts Biography". It is not listed under discussions, nor is the phrase "show all topics" to the right on top as it used to be. We used to be able to click on that phrase when a thread wasn't shown, and a more complete list would come up. Is that no longer an option? Or is it possible that all of our threads now fit on one page?

There is also a phrase at the top of the list "showing 5 of 63 topics". I have counted the topics several times, and cannot get a total of 63. There appears to be 27 topics in Bold and 59 threads under those bold topics. If we really do have a total of 63 topics, but only 59 are showing, then the Biography thread may be hiding somewhere with three other ones! In the actual threads, at the bottom of a page, you can click on "next", but there doesn't seem to be a "next" for the topics list.

I hope I don't sound complaining or nitpicky (or ignorant)! I'm just asking for information. We had put a lot of information into that biography thread, and it will be very difficult to gather and record it again. I am wondering if I'm remembering incorrectly, and the word "biography" wasn't actually in the title? Does anyone remember a different title or another topic where we might have placed biographical information? Thanks everybody!


message 41: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Hi Syb

Did you get the message I put in the Biography thread? I hope so - tho I still don't know why it doesn't come up when we search for it. It is now listed at the top of the discusssions - but where was it before........... ?!


message 42: by Barbara (last edited Feb 27, 2011 11:55PM) (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments That's interesting, that is doesn't happen in smaller groups. I wonder if it is sheer volume or number of members or what ?
I used to think it was jsut me who couldn;t always seem to find a thread , but obviously I;m not alone!
Werner said they had a glitch , which was now fixed, but I still can't find some things.


message 43: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Sylvia and Barbara, try clicking on the folder titles on the group homepage. In each case, that should take you to a list of every thread in that folder.


message 44: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Hi Werner . Yes I do do that, but I still think there is the odd one missing . Ah well, we are a prolific lot and proabably will get it all back somehow.


message 45: by Barbara (last edited Mar 22, 2011 06:44PM) (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments I seem to be not getting notifications again - it happened once before and Werner, I think, explained how to fix it . I haven't changed anything that I am aware of, and have all topics listed as 'individual notification', but it just stopped doing it . I thought it was odd no one had posted on I met A Gypsy discussion for a while ! - and of course, they have . I do not know why this seem to periodically to happen . Grrrrr. Could anyone help please? Thank you so much.


message 46: by Werner (last edited Mar 23, 2011 05:59AM) (new)

Werner | 467 comments Barbara, at your Goodreads profile (not your homepage), click the pale grey "edit" link in the big box at the top right, as you face the screen. Then click the "edit my user profile" link just above your picture. That will take you to a page which has your e-mail address, or a place for it, right below your picture; the screen will tell you if that address has been verified. If not, you need to click to "verify" it. (I don't know how these addresses, once verified, get "un-verified," but sometimes they do!)


message 47: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Ah , I remember now, thank you Werner . I just went there and my email appears to be verified , but I re-entered it anyway . Isn't it odd?


message 48: by Werner (new)

Werner | 467 comments Yes, the way it sometimes requires re-verifying is odd! But if the screen didn't indicate that your e-mail addy wasn't currently verified, it could be that the problem is caused by something else. If it persists, you might want to touch base with the Goodreads Feedback group about it.


message 49: by Barbara (new)

Barbara (sema4dogz) | 1376 comments Yes, I will, I think. Becsuse you are right, it isn;t the usual problem of the address being 'unverified' it's just on some topics. I think I might go through and re-enter all the discussion following choices, and see what that does.
Thanks again


message 50: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (Peggy908) | 547 comments Barbara, I just realized I missed the last two weeks of posts on the Layer Wood map. I think there is some kind of glitch that doesn't send you the thread feed if you haven't posted to it recently. It's been a while since I had posted in that thread.


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