# Quibble over Mod Note **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 18, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695 "2021-10-18T15:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/21 "2021-10-21T05:21:37Z")
Not really. Megatopics just get treated as a giant chat room. Nobody reads any of the old messages in a megatopic, and who can blame them? Are you really gonna read through five thousand earlier posts to make sure you aren’t repeating a point raised and discussed to death hundreds of posts upstream? Yeah, the farther we went down this path, the less sense megatopics made; after a certain point the quality of the topic seems to decline with each new reply. Basically, if people want a chat room, give them a chat room. (We are adding a chat feature to Discourse for a variety of reasons, and pressures around megatopics is one of them.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/22 "2021-10-21T05:51:16Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I’d argue the megatopics are worse now on the new software. At least with pagination it was somewhat easier to break things up into readable chunks, even if it was 30 pages, instead of the infinite scroll and loading issues. I don’t have loading issues. Any such issues that you may have would also manifest when transitioning between one “page” and another in the pagination model. I’m with @codinghorror on the continuous scroll design. Pagination makes no logical sense because the pages have no logical meaning and are just a way to work around primitive technical limitations, the way that books have pages because it’s more practical than parchment scrolls. But computer displays don’t have those limitations. Besides, “pagination” is a misnomer anyway. You still scroll through posts, but the scrolling is segmented into so-called “pages” of arbitrary size for implementation reasons that have nothing to do with usability, and are in fact counterproductive to usability. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/23 "2021-10-21T05:57:17Z")
Yeah if I’m in a huge topic and want to skip through it without doing some crazy scrolling I just click the scroll bar on the right side of the thread and I can skip to the end or any other point, it’s at least as fast as it was when we had pages. It works the same on my PC and my phone. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/24 "2021-10-25T20:34:05Z")
Don’t forget you can press # to jump to any arbitrary post number or date within a topic. This obviously only works on devices with physical keyboards; press ? to see a full list of keyboard shortcuts. ⌨ If on mobile, click or tap the scrollbar docked to the bottom of the screen and there is a jump option which appears when you expand. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/25 "2021-10-26T13:03:08Z")
> [@codinghorror](#): > > press ? to see a full list of keyboard shortcuts. Whoa. I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/26 "2021-10-27T17:12:15Z")
I don’t understand the complaint. Asking why someone would engage a particular poster could not be more directly attacking that poster by implying that his contribution is so meritless as not to deserve a reply. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/27 "2021-10-27T21:53:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > How DO you corral a discussion that has turned into an endless, pointless hamster wheel? Serious question. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > As to your question, I don’t have a good answer. That thread is once again a major mess. Because it is literally an omni-thread for an entire Presidency, but not made in the style of breaking news. For all the sometimes-interesting discussion in there, that topic is the antithesis of the P&E rules, specifically this one: > - **Keep threads specific and debatable.** No wide omnibus threads. We want to see clear, specific topics and thread titles. Large omnibus threads are actively detrimental to the long-term success of the boards. A thread entitled, “Tax Policy” is too broad. One entitled, “Should a National Sales Tax be enacted” is better. Keep it clear and specific. This also requires participants in the thread to remain on specific topics as well. A topic entitled, “The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days” is too broad. A topic titled “What should the Democrats do about this debt ceiling crisis?” is better. Participants in the topic can’t remain on a specific topic if the topic isn’t specific to begin with. **ThelmaLou** ’s original topic asked what the Biden Administration might do/accomplish. It was opened in November of 2020 whereas Mr. Biden wouldn’t be sworn in until late January 2021. If the intent was to speculate at a high level before Biden actually took office, the topic should simply have been locked once people continued discussion after the swearing-in. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/28 "2021-10-28T15:52:59Z")
We’ve talked it over and we’re leaning towards closing it based on the rule (and that it has been a mess.) But as it seems to have died down, we thought I would suggest it here first and allow feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/29 "2021-10-28T16:10:25Z")
I don’t want to keep hammering on it because I’ve expressed my opinion on it already, but I think omnibus threads on “discussions” are a bad trend. A lot of people shy away from them once they hit a certain size because the sense is…this thousand+ post thread is just too much for me to wade into. They also can operate somewhat like fly paper, trapping discussions that might have themselves made interesting threads into the muck of the big omnibus thread. My opinion is the GOOD examples of topics that make a lot of sense as omnibus threads are things like this: > [@Pet pictures!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-pictures/920105): > > Because our pets are awesome, here is a thread dedicated to honoring their awesomeness with pictures. (To display pictures, upload to a photo sharing site and share the link.) Dopers, meet Luna: [[Google Photos] ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/eMb6Pf84yEu1iFBV9)[[Google Photos] ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/np65KUnpVGL6CbuB8) > [@Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across/851674/2739): > > Well, they’d probably screw it up, but you’ve got all the elements for a great story. > [@Weirdest names you've ever heard](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdest-names-youve-ever-heard/915747): > > Sometimes, parents can give their kids the most ridiculous names. My mom was on jury duty, and the defendant’s name was Next. > [@Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread/931945): > > Starting off with this guy. [# Washington barber defies coronavirus restrictions, tells customers to have ‘a shot of whiskey’ instead of wearing mask](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/washington-barber-defies-coronavirus-restrictions-tells-customers-to-have-a-shot-of-whiskey-instead-of-wearing-mask/ar-BB1dgnnb?li=BBnb7Kz) “I haven’t done anything wrong, nobody has gotten sick, and I’m not going to let anybody push me around, tell me I can’t work,” he told the Everett Herald . “I don’t need a license to work and they can’t stop me.” What an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/30 "2021-10-28T16:25:09Z")
We’re looking for feedback and I think you’re right, at least for **GD** and **P&E** where it is actually part of the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695/31 "2021-10-28T17:33:50Z")
I don’t agree with @codinghorror on a lot, but he’s correct here: omnibus threads are functionally chat rooms. It’s rare I poke my head into one (usually, someone has to have linked to some aspect of it), and I rarely bother to participate. I’m a read-the-thread-before-posting kind of guy, and it’s just impossible in those threads. If we let chat rooms choke off real threads that could have actual, contextual discussion where most posters have read most of the thread, that’s a loss to the board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quibble-over-mod-note/952695.md?page=1)