Appeal To TAMmers: Only Post In Threads Where You Can Actually Address OP

Something I'm seeing a lot of recently that really irks me is when a new thread posing a legitimate question or concern gets quickly derailed because TAMmers can't get separate their personal beliefs from the specific question posed. I have no problem with people voicing their personal beliefs as long as it's thread-relevant. Try to bare in mind that because you feel strongly about the topic in general doesn't mean that your opinion is relevant to the OP. For example, if someone starts a thread saying that he and his W are attending the wedding of two friends who happen to be gay and OP wants some gift ideas, you shouldn't post in that thread about your personal beliefs regarding gay marriage. The OP didn't ask about that. That's an obvious example, but on TAM, threads regarding highly contraversial topics (porn, open marriages, fringe sex acts, alpha behavior, etc) often turn into one group arguing for and the other arguing against. Many times all that arguing is completely irrelevant to the OP. If you see a thread whose general topic you feel very strongly about, please re-read the OP and make sure before responding that you're actually addressing the OP. Soapboxes are ok as long as they're relevant, but when theyr'e not, that is how threads get massively derailed.

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2629979