On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Mario Goveia wrote:
I still have no idea what "off-topic" means in the context of an open forum like Goanet. Who decides what is "off-topic" and what is not? Either this is an open forum for all Goans wherever they live in the world, or it is a closed forum only for Goa-related issues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-topic
A message in a discussion is off-topic if its topic is different from the main topic in the discussion. Originally, off-topic applied to newsgroup messages, but now applies to any discussion forum. The opposite of off-topic is on-topic.
See also: Internet troll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-topic
Something is on-topic if it is within the bounds of the current discussion. This term is normally used in the context of mailing lists, discussion groups, bulletin boards and newsgroups, all of which are generally established for the discussion of specific topics. On-topic postings are not generally required to be indicated, but in some groups on-topic discussion is so rare that the header is marked accordingly.
The opposite of on-topic is off-topic.
http://www.iwillfollow.com/email.htm
E-Mail Etiquette Introduction
This document is intended to offer guidance to users of electronic mail (e-mail) systems, whether it's a twelve-year old computer nerd's BBS, one of the dinosaur services like AOL-ful, Compu-Snore or Prodigee-wiz, or the vast world of the Internet. Although it's geared towards users of the afore-mentioned services, it has sections that apply to all types of e-mail systems....
Nothing is more wasteful than to reply to an e-mail by including a complete copy of the original with the words "I agree" , "Okay" or "Ditto" at the bottom.
