I’m sorry that sometimes I’ve posted things in the wrong forums. I recently forgot about Cafe Society and posted a book discussion in IMHO. I sometimes am not sure whether to put a provocative post in Great Debates or IMHO. Sometimes, I have both a General Question and I want to get peoples’ opinions.
Spacing out a bit from time to time is not a problem – hell, I started an MPSIMS thread in ATMB two days ago – but if you feel like you’re regularly having a problem with it, here’s a rule of thumb:
**General Questions: **Questions with factual answers. (What countries do not have bicameral legislatures?) Great Debates: Statements that people are going to have strong responses to, pro and con – thus, usually but not always politics and religion. (Why are the Republicans/Democrats/Fundie Christians/Muslims doing this?) Election 2010: about the elections held this November, mostly specific races but also an overview of how one party or the other is expected to do in the midterm elections. (Did you hear what Candace Candidate said?) Cafe Society: All of the arts, as audience member or participant, plus cooking, crafts, etc. – everything “creative.” Also opinions about any of the above. (What’s your favorite country song?) [polling enabled] The Game Room: Sports, video games, board games, and games that we’re playing here (feud, mafia). (How 'bout them Phils?) [polling enabled] IMHO: Looking for opinions that people won’t be wound up about (should I upgrade my cellphone?) [polling enabled] MPSIMS: Basically anything that doesn’t belong somewhere else. The Pit: Anything that you – or someone else – is ballistic about.
If it’s a simple factual question, then it’s best to go in GQ. However, if you want to hear about people’s personal experiences or anecdotes, it’s probably best just to start it in IMHO even if there are factual aspects. I’ll generally move threads from GQ to IMHO if it seems that the OP has a substantial interest in personal opinions on the subject.
As long as you aren’t putting things in the wrong place on purpose, you really don’t need to apologize. Despite the reputation (and jack boots) mods aren’t going to rip you a new one for making them move a topic to the correct area. If you’re not sure, make your best guess at where’s appropriate and if you guess wrong, the mods’ll handle it. Of course, sometimes they aren’t even sure where to move a topic, and it’ll ping pong around a while. That’s fun to see happen.