Hey Whyville. Kimker here.

As you may have noticed, our Whyville Times BBS is littered with "off-topic" postings. I discussed this in my past article "What Has Our BBS Come To?" but now that I look back I see that perhaps I hadn't been specific enough.

I suppose the best way to explain what I'm trying to say is through example. Let's say that the author were to write an article about football. Now look at this (fake) BBS.

1. Football is awesome. I used to play football with my cousins in the summer, then we'd go get ice cream. Ah, good times :)
2. Lol I love ice cream! What's your favorite flavor?
3. Hey yo can someone give me some clams, I'm totally broke.
4. I like strawberry ice cream the best.
5. Are you crazy? Chocolate's way better!

Okay, now take a look at all that. Posting number one is definitely on-topic, since they do indeed talk about football, which is what the article is about. Posting number two is where it gets tricky (and where I'll probably start a huge debate :\). Some people would insist that posting number two is off-topic since they only talk about ice cream, while other would say that they're on-topic since the posting before mentions ice cream a little bit. The same applies for postings number four and five, since you can see that an argument about ice cream is being started in an article about football.

But let's take a look at posting number three for a moment. I don't even have to tell you that it's off-topic. Those were the kinds of postings I was trying to put down in my other article, but people seemed to think I was including postings such as two, four, and five as well. This caused a problem for me (as well as others, I'm sure). I admit being caught in situations like that in past BBS's (I'd most likely be poster number two or five), and people who've read my other article called me a hypocrite.

So, what do you think? Is it still off-topic to start a whole conversation over something briefly mentioned? But then again, don't conversations in real life do the same thing? I dare you to try this. Next time you're at a party, just sit and listen to the adults talk. Watch how one topic leads to another, sometimes very quickly.

Overall, I would say, in my own opinion, that postings such as two, four, and five are still on-topic. Isn't the whole point of the Whyville Times about citizens communicating, sharing ideas, and exploring concepts? As long as your staying in the direction of the conversation, which posting number three failed to do, I'd say you're okay. Chill a little guys :)

This is Kimker, signing off.