[SAllen2556]

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

Good morning all- This message is intended as a tongue-in-cheek comment
for the vast majority of you, who are good and friendly folks. Have any of
you ever posted a thread/made an inquiry you thought was important, only
to see it get derailed in 2 seconds? I have a solution! The net54 "sandbox":

The net54 sandbox is a safe place to play for posters who simply can't- or
more accurately, won't- stay on point. If you can't resist the urge to hijack
a thread, just come here and vomit out your unnecessary verbiage!

How to tell if you belong in the sandbox:

1) If you have an IQ in the higher double digits or above, it's easy to know.
The first indication is noticing your comment doesn't touch on the
actual topic of a thread. For example, let's say someone posts this
question- "Who was the better 1960s NL pitcher, Gibson or Koufax?"
If the Force is strong in you to reply "Steve Carlton", you belong in
the sandbox! Unsure if you belong? Ask a friend to proofread your reply.

2) if you ever feel like typing "Not to derail the thread, but..." you
absolutely belong in the sandbox.

3) If you are Peter Spaeth or G1911, you have a designated space waiting
for you in the sandbox. Welcome aboard, start building those verbal
sandcastles you enjoy foisting on others!!!

I consider this my good deed of the day. Keep in mind, this is "Off Topic"
sarcasm of the truest kind, off topic commentary about being off topic.
It's not serious at all- for MOST of you

Happy collecting, may you score a great card today! Trent King

Have you noticed that commas can be difficult? A tendency to overuse them is a very common affliction.

For example: "This message is intended as a tongue-in-cheek comment for the vast majority of you, who are good and friendly folks."

What is the purpose of the comma above? Totally unnecessary.

And then this: "Have any of you ever posted a thread/made an inquiry you thought was important, only to see it get derailed in 2 seconds?

What is the reason for this comma? None.

And then this: "If you can't resist the urge to hijack a thread, just come here and vomit out your unnecessary verbiage!"

Also no need for the comma above.

But here we have a run-on: "Welcome aboard, start building those verbal sandcastles you enjoy foisting on others!!!

This is known as a comma splice. You have put together two sentences with just a comma in between. You have several choices to fix it. You could use a period or a semicolon. You could even use a comma with a conjunction like "and". But the comma by itself is incorrect.

I'd like to sarcastically suggest that if you can't master middle school grammar, you shouldn't post more than one sentence at a time!

There. Did I hijack properly?