Question: Other Chat and Other Polls

[Aurafire]

This is just something I've noticed lately....but is there any real difference between Other Chat and Other Polls? Most of the threads I see could easily have gone in the opposite one that they're in now. For instance: "Favorite Pizza Topping" is in Other Polls...Could it not have gone in other chat? "What would your name have been if you were the opposite sex?" is in Other Polls, but also seems like it fits the criteria for Other Chat. Even MOTM, which is technically a poll, is in Other Chat. It seems like they are essentially the same thing.

Just an observation, not really arguing about it, I was just curious =P

 

[Cherrim]

Anything that looks like a poll in Other Chat is usually there because it fosters discussion. The two examples you gave are polls--once you go in and say what your favourite pizza topping is, what else is there to do in the thread? But for threads like that love one in OC ("Love - does it hurt or not" or whatever it is), there's lots of room for debate and discussion. Once you've given your opinion, it's very likely that someone will have built onto it or argued against it and you may find yourself replying again and again.

There are a few things in Other Chat that should probably be in OVP. MOTM might be one of them but it's been in OC since it was started at PC so I just don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. :x

 

[Aegis]

Since I was a mod in Other Chat for a good while, I sort of feel obligated to contribute a little :D;

The main thing I would look for in an OC thread was if it was an actual discussion or not. If it was a simple one-reply question, it'd go in OVP. But there isn't a fine line that determines where a thread belongs, there's a lot of threads that start out belonging in OC, and then need to be moved to OVP as the replies come in, and maybe back to OC later on in its life. There's really no definite way to decide, which is why moving threads between the two isn't seen as a big deal between the mods there; and why you shouldn't feel bad if your thread ever gets moved. Hell, there were a lot of threads where I couldn't decide if they should be moved or not, they really belong in the legendary "gray zone" between OC and OVP :[