As I think EA has mentioned a couple of times, comments in threads tend to wander around. Rarely do the posts in a thread stay strictly on the topic contained in the original post. That's only natural -- it's the way conversations work. Sometimes the conversation wanders so far afield that we could describe the posts as getting "off topic." I've been guilty of that, and I suspect I'll be guilty of it in the future. It seems to me there is a polite, civil way of handling that. If I catch myself doing it, I can start a new thread linked to the existing one for context. If I'm posting in the thread and would really like to focus on the thread's original topic, I can post something like: "Hey, I'm really enjoying talking about the original subject of the thread. Would you mind starting a new thread to talk about X?" A little thought and a little manners and everyone can discuss the stuff that they're interested in.
A derail seems to me to be something different. And in taking a look at some threads that have turned into pie fights, here's something that jumped out at me. The comments that ended up derailing the thread often shifted from the substance of the topic being discussed to the process of the discussion. In other words, the seeds of a derail shift the discussion into a meta discussion.
The November 2016 trainweck is a good example. In the opening post, Grindael posted a lengthy quote from a historical source to start a discussion. MG responded by asking why Grindael had chosen to capitalize certain words in the quote, implying it was misleading for him to do so. MG's post shifted the discussion from the topic started by Grindeal to a discussion about the way Grindael had chosen to discuss the topic. That's a shift from a substantive discussion to a meta discussion.
OK, so what? Well, let's look at the position that the shift puts Grindael in. If he ignores the comment, it leaves an accusation that he's not being honest floating in the air. That's an uncomfortable position for anyone. But, if he responds, a discussion ensues where the topic is now Grindael's use of emphasis and his personal honesty. MG continues the discussion, other folks jump in, and the train gets wrecked.
Here is my modest proposal to address derails that consist of a shift from substance to meta. If you want to inject meta into a discussion, don't do it in the original thread. Start a new one: "In this thread, [link] Grindael posted a lengthy quote with certain words emphasized. I've noticed he frequently does this. Here's what I have to say about that...."] Grindael can then respond to the meta issue without having the original thread derailed.
If someone responds to your post with a shift to meta, seriously consider ignoring it. Trust the folks on the board to be sharp enough to recognize a shift to meta and to not be distracted from the substance of the thread.
If you want to respond to a post that shifts to meta, start a new thread. Respond in the original thread with a link to the new one with a polite "responding in a new thread." Yes, it takes a little time and effort. But it's really no more time and effort than you're going to spend in a full scale train wreck.
Or, click the report link and ask the mods to move the derail. But, really, there's only two of them and you could have handled it yourself.
Comments, critiques, brickbats, and ironic derails welcome.
)