Will The New Golf Club Atlas...

[Adam Clayman]

... Discontinue the participation of those members that either cannot, or refuse, to contribute about architecture?
 
It's fairly obvious that many many posters are here for different reasons. After being asked nicely to keep OT threads and posts to a minimum, should the moderators deny access to those who refuse to comply?

[Gib_Papazian]

Adam my brother,

You are, by nature, fairly egalitarian in your views and we have been down this road before. As a matter of my dimly lit tequila haze, we have gone around this particular Mulberry Bush so many times that Sambo and the Tiger have long since turned to butter and now split the betting pot on whether GCA eventually degenerates into (a.) A chat room for groupies wanting to masturbate about Redan holes (b.) Complain about Fazio's formulaic repetition, or (c.) An opportunity to turn the King's Putter into a yearly ritual suicide, thereby thinning the herd of dullards who inflict their prosaic prose on those of us who can actually find Fishers Island on Google maps.

In order for the elderly, aged and infirm "Oldest Member(s)" (to quote P.G. Wodehouse) to return to this little Treehouse and impart our salient wisdom, we need to take a chainsaw to the deadwood and return to our roots. Not that my idle ranting was anything more than a passing amusement for the intelligentsia, but the fact that the Redhead no longer logs in to absorb the patter speaks all that one needs to grasp.


       

[Richard Chamberlain]

Is it possible to simply set up another directory under "discussion group" titled "OT stuff".
If someone posts in the wrong space its a beer penalty (for each member).

[RJ_Daley]

Richard, that OT button has been a suggestion by many who come here on GCA.com and feel somewhat guilty that we haven't the strength of mind to refrain from O.T. threads, and would like to just have a legit button to vent our thoughts - without upsetting the purely and highly intellectual postings of all GCA all the time. 

But that suggestion is getting on about 10 years old, and hasn't yet become a high priority or gained the support of 'golf's most beloved figure' nor his most dedicated and faithful assistants... 

[Cliff Hamm]

This is an OT thread is it not?    If a subject is golf related but not totally about golf architecture is that OT?  Is there anything wrong with golf related posts not 100% about architecture?  To me it keeps things interesting.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Its ALWAYS a bad idea to limit freedom of speech, even on the internet.  When you come here, you take the good with the bad.  Its a strength and weakness of these kind of sites all at the same time.

[Peter Pallotta]

And it survives because there are gents like RJ (and two dozen others, including Adam C and Jeff B) who are still willing to post (and post knowledgably) on subjects/threads they've addressed a hundred times before.  I'm constantly amazed at the generosity...

Peter

[Bob_Huntley]

I have been moved almost to tears by some O/T threads that had to do with humanity, suffering and courage but cannot recollect one purely golf architectural piece that stirred my soul.

I am reminded of Tommy Naccarto's epiphany walking around Spanish Bay, (not one of my favorite courses) that offered up a joyous message. If you don't like what is in front of you, get out the remote and change the channel.


Bob  

[Joe Hancock]

And the neat thing to me about this topic is that no one is wrong.

We all have different levels of tolerance. All opinions on the matter are valid. I don't mind the normal level of O/T threads, and we always endure a gazillion Masters/ Augusta threads at this time of year. It's a passgae of Spring, and we get through it.

Peter has it right. There are so many posters who say things that have been said before. It takes effort, and the one's who accommodate are the heart and soul of this website.

Joe

[Bill_McBride]

I appreciate posters who clearly label new threads as "OT." 

Then YOU can make the decision whether to engage in an OT thread or not.

We have used the metaphor of the golf club grill room so many times.  In a civilized group, there can be many areas of common interest.  A thread that is of no interest will fall off the first page almost immediately.

[Adam Clayman]

Thanx for all the considered replies.

It was not my intention to disqualify the occasional OT post or thread. As has been pointed out in the past, and again, above, there are some that are legendary and one can gain insight into the people here from their views on other subjects.

 It is interesting to contemplate "what if" the moderators did come down on with a hard line. But, anyone who knows them, knows that ain't happening until their hand is forced.

Gib, One need not say more than that. Thanx, and say hey to little miss red.

[PCCraig]

... Discontinue the participation of those members that either cannot, or refuse, to contribute about architecture?
 
It's fairly obvious that many many posters are here for different reasons. After being asked nicely to keep OT threads and posts to a minimum, should the moderators deny access to those who refuse to comply?

This seems like a harsh way to start off a thread.

I don't think "OT" are bad as long as they are at least about golf. The only ones that I can't stand are the stupid political arguements that have stoped now that the election is over with.

[Ian Andrew]

Adam,

Many of us have been posting for 10 years now. When I started writing my blog on golf architecture, I thought there was an infinite amount of subject matter. What I found was after two years I ran out of things to talk about. I had explored all the subjects that I could think about.  Some of it was a reluctance to share everything that I thought, but architecturally I pretty much shared what I was learning or had learnt over time. If you’ve been here a long time, it’s easy to become stale.

I think one of the changes this group has gone through came through the Sports Illustrated article. The site grew from a smaller group of hard core fanatics who were well versed in what they were discussing to a much larger group that varied from well read and well versed through to neophytes. I think at this time we found a dramatic increase in threads as people wanted to learn more about the basics of architecture.

As threads and participants increased so did the amount of social networking. Even the threads began to reflect this. We see a lot more lists or thread types that are ideal for mass participation and a lot less discussion of the minutia of the art form. I have been asking for people to consider why when they answer something I post, but I generally find people prefer to answer in short answers.

I think what many of the people with deep interest in architecture are struggling with is this has become a social networking space where more than half the participants come here to hang out with people who share the same interests. The discussion is about golf first and golf architecture second. As many have pointed out, that is fine, that’s where the evolution took us.

I'm struggling to participate right now.

[Anthony Gray]

  I hope all this is not MOM's fault.


  For many this site offers golf comradery that cannot be found at their local club. At my club we have no Melvyn Merrows no Tom Pauls no Tom Huckabys. No one can tell a joke like Mike Young no one has embraced the Dominican culture like Damon DiGiorgio no one has heard the gravel voice of the Phantom like Adam Clayman and no one can road trip like Eric Smith.

  Anthony

[Adam Clayman]

This seems like a harsh way to start off a thread.

I don't think "OT" are bad as long as they are at least about golf. The only ones that I can't stand are the stupid political arguements that have stoped now that the election is over with.

Harsh?

I don't think harsh is how I would describe a hypothetical.

Also, my opinion does not amount to a hill of beans as it relates to the direction this website goes. That is entirely up to our benefactor.

Ignoring a simple request to stay on topic, is passive harsh, imo.

Somebody has to be the curmudgeon.

Ian, Agreed it is tough to find what is new under the sun. However, there's still wheat to be harvested. Even for the decade old vet. The problem is finding the wheat through so much white noise. I'm not familiar with other websites, but, I do assume there are other places to go for the type of general golf banter those defending ignoring a simple request make.

[John Burzynski]

Maybe another idea is to have several topic headings, one for golf architecture, maybe another for OT topics?   I know that many other forums have several topic headings / groups, maybe two would suffice here, one strictly for architecture (and monitored by Ran / Ben / whoever) and one for 'anything goes'.  It might contain the occasional angry posts a bit, too.  Just stray away from the OT topic group if you wish to focus on architecture only.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Adam,

Many of us have been posting for 10 years now. When I started writing my blog on golf architecture, I thought there was an infinite amount of subject matter. What I found was after two years I ran out of things to talk about. I had explored all the subjects that I could think about.  Some of it was a reluctance to share everything that I thought, but architecturally I pretty much shared what I was learning or had learnt over time. If you’ve been here a long time, it’s easy to become stale.

I'm struggling to participate right now.

Ian,

I have trouble coming up with a column once a month for Golf Industry Magazine after 4 years.  I participate here to babble on about various subjects and then collect them into some kind of reasonably coherent piece by the end of the month.  This month, I gave the column over to Mr. Carrick so that I can only torture myself 11 times this year!

That said, its amazing how much there is to say about gca.  Many germs of ideas here (and from private conversations) turn into columns for me.  I do think most of us focus on far too little in the discussion - so many here have sort of one agenda (attack Merion, tout a particular gca, living or dead, gain access,) you name it.

Pat Mucci tries to broaden our horizons with conversation starters, which I like.  Some of the deeply philosophical topics really bomb here, because its easier to talk about ANGC.  Frankly, I consider the dozen or so Masters topics on here OT and ignored them.

I think many feel afraid to put out "babbling opinions" thinking they may look stupid to others.  For some reason, that has never been a problem for me.......if others felt the same, discussions would improve, IMHO.