Posted By:
Cobby33If ANY conversation (oral or written) lacked ANY OT, it wouldn't last more than a minute. NO conversation or discussion remains a conversation or discussion without a flow of ideas, thoughts, etc., that naturally transgress into other topics - to the point where at the end of the conversation, it's often difficult to recall where it started.
Compare this, of course, to a conversation about, say, the recent book "The Card," where a random comment is made, "my cat's name is Mittens." Unless that conversation gets back on track quickly, true, that comment degenerated it. But, if a post that one deems to be "OT" is merely a by-product of the prior post(s), this is what we call conversation. So, for example, if a Seinfeld post interjected here and there is, arguably, related to the topic/prior post, what's the big deal? A little levity (and reality checks) never hurt.
Of course, there is a line between natural transgressions and posts interjected for a self-serving purpose or for the simple purpose of starting an argument. I agree that those should be monitored, but how?
If the topic doesn't get back on track, there's probably nothing more to be said about it. I think that the majority of "on topic" threads which degenrate, do so because there's simply nothing more to be said on that EXACT topic.