Obviously, if we have an Off Topic forum, it's there to encourage conversation (and yes, even debate) about a variety of subjects that don't necessarily have anything to do with computers, programming, or BYOND.

Still, there is a difference between conversation and flaming. Too many threads these days have quickly degraded into page-spanning flame wars, and a few of them didn't have far to fall in getting there.

Posting a "What I like rocks. What other people like sucks." thread is tantamount to starting a flame war, even if you don't attack anyone directly in the thread. Calling it an "opinion post" doesn't change anything.

If a thread gets to the point where people are sharing their opinions, that's great... and if you disagree with someone's opinion and want to share yours, that's still great. However, before making any post (especially if it's your second or third or more post on the same subject), ask yourself what exactly your post is adding. Are you saying anything new? Also, think about how many of these monster posts consist mostly of one line replies back and forth between the same two people... as a rule of thumb, if your post is only a single sentence, it's probably not worth posting.

We all feel strongly about different things. We've all been drawn into heated arguments. Problem is, too many of these arguments and they swallow up the whole board. The Off Topic forum has a huge amount of potential to add something great to the BYOND community... let's see that it does.