Help us keep things organized! Many folks who are new here are also new to online forums. As we read a thread, sometimes it wanders off-topic, changes subject, others chime in, etc. and off we go where even the Starship Enterprise has not gone!!! When in doubt, PLEASE start a NEW topic rather than changing the subject to matters that are not related to the topic being discussed.

If you have a reply/question/comment relating to the topic being discussed, by all means, please jump in! The more input we have from members, the more we can learn! But if your reply/comment/question is NOT related to the topic you are reading, PLEASE make a new topic for yours and give it a good, descriptive title!

Not only is it confusing for a thread to wander off-course, it is also impolite to turn the topic around to your issue instead of the one that is being discussed. This is called "hijacking a thread (or topic)" and is becoming very prevalent here. Not only does it cause confusion, it can actually hurt a member's feelings to have "their" topic "taken over" by someone else's issues or discussion!

When folks come here, many are under a LOT of stress and need answers and assistance immediately. Sometimes they may pop into an existing topic with their own unrelated thoughts not intending to be impolite or add to confusion - they are simply in need and didn't mean any offense. I think we can all relate to feeling so isolated that when reading someone's story that sounds similar to our own, we just are soooo relieved we respond without thinking about etiquette!

That being said, NO ONE should feel badly if they make a little "oops" - it happens and many of us are guilty of this transgression at some point or another! What's the MOST important is to get things off your chest - but let's just TRY to remember that posting on forums is much like conversation - if it's impolite to "interrupt" or change the subject when having an oral conversation with a group of people, it's the same when "talking" in a forum thread!