L.P. Hatecraft wants to have a discussion. Let's have it here: [more inside]
posted by shmegegge on Aug 19, 2009 - 236 comments

A place to have a nice cup of tea and a chat about this thread's Asian girlfriend fetish.
posted by i_cola on Aug 19, 2009 - 237 comments

Can we please stop the "Why hasn't it been deleted?" thread shitting in the penis post. [more inside]
posted by Mitheral on Aug 12, 2009 - 220 comments

What is an alphabet thread, and where did the term come from? [more inside]
posted by Night_owl on Apr 13, 2009 - 152 comments

Please don't let this thread devolve into a discussion of US policy. Can we keep that thread on the rails and you can discuss it here?
posted by desjardins on Nov 26, 2008 - 148 comments

Sometimes snippy derails ruin any chance of decent discussion on an interesting topic. [more inside]
posted by Kickstart70 on Nov 12, 2008 - 51 comments

It's a shame a derail can get a good post on cervixen deleted. [more inside]
posted by pwb503 on Jun 4, 2008 - 118 comments

Just a derail-preventing idea ... [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Apr 22, 2008 - 60 comments

It's getting tedious seeing wfrgms bring out the same old "Don't Mess With Texas" derail one more time. [more inside]
posted by grouse on Jan 3, 2008 - 240 comments

Why can't MetaFilter do rap music? [more inside]
posted by dead_ on Dec 5, 2007 - 195 comments

This is a metatalk thread for those who wish to discuss issues of health and obesity rather than derailing the thread about Leonard Nimoy's new photography book.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Nov 10, 2007 - 150 comments

Let's move the "Are Catholics Christian?" derail/debate in this AskMeta thread to a more appropriate place: this Metatalk thread. [more inside]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Nov 6, 2007 - 186 comments

Will the blatent and offensive derail at the end of this thread be allowed to continue? [more inside]
posted by Crabby Appleton on Sep 24, 2007 - 154 comments

The hip hop thread
posted by chunking express on Aug 25, 2007 - 81 comments

Fine, already. Here's a MeTa thread for all the derailing going on here.
posted by pineapple on Jul 9, 2007 - 219 comments

Thanks, miss lynnster. Are Cadbury sales down yet?
posted by rob511 on Jul 5, 2007 - 179 comments

Can admins take a look at this AskMeFi question? It's a genuine question about a biblical story but it's being hijacked by the atheist brigade.
posted by humblepigeon on Jun 13, 2007 - 80 comments

I'm confused on the etiquette rules regarding when it's okay to push a thread off into lunacy. I was hoping that the pirates thread could be interesting (although the OP was a bit lacking), but it instantly turned into a useless flamefest. Is it too late to delete all the pirate songs and idiocy? Can we maybe agree on a brief moratorium to let threads develop before we turn them into Thomas Pynchon novels?
posted by spiderwire on Jun 6, 2007 - 51 comments

This is what email is for.
posted by salvia on Oct 25, 2006 - 65 comments

This is a fine example of a decent question and good responses made much less satisfying because they are interspersed with responses from assholes who are just posting to see their names.
posted by Mayor Curley on Sep 24, 2006 - 74 comments

"take all copyright/theft discussions that are not on topic to METATALK, thanks" Done.
posted by DevilsAdvocate on Jul 19, 2006 - 61 comments

Once again Dios derails an interesting conversation, and makes it all about him, by claiming that the post about an emerging media trend which may be redefining the word "terrorism" is worthless and stupid.
posted by y6y6y6 on Jun 9, 2006 - 205 comments

This AskMe thread is getting a bit... ermmm... heated, and off topic.
posted by antifuse on Jun 6, 2006 - 146 comments

Stinky Kitty vs. Baby? This post seems to be about to turn into a debate regarding kittens' ability to survive versus infants'. Very interesting.
posted by k8t on May 23, 2006 - 14 comments

When is it OK to point out something that may be very important even if it does not directly address an AskMe? This post is from a person who acknowledges "borrowing" a neighbor's open WiFi connection. I would like to know if MeTa thinks I was out of line in posting this and this. The resulting response bothers me. I tried to be both helpful and understanding that she may be unaware of potential legal issues with "borrowing" wifi, and gave protective advice to her about being safe when she gets her own WiFi, too. Am I guilty of a derail, or is this kind of discourse acceptable on AskMe?
posted by twiggy on May 23, 2006 - 92 comments

Looking for clarification for this comment by undule. Just trying to avoid a derail in the thread in question. [More inside]
posted by tiamat on May 2, 2006 - 24 comments

I read this as question for help on legal matters (I know...thats a separate topic) but people seem to be interpreting it as a morality question with statements such as "Why do you think a person with such low ethical standards would make for a positive contributor to the US " - and its starting to derail the thread.
posted by vacapinta on Apr 23, 2006 - 15 comments

Cleanup on aisle 33719. DirtyCreature is trashing the joint.
posted by loquacious on Mar 4, 2006 - 190 comments

Let's stop these ad hominem-themed derails, ok?
posted by clockzero on Jan 25, 2006 - 72 comments

People are derailing this perfectly decent home-furnishing AskMe with a more-heat-than-light debate about a perennial hot-button issue. Maybe take the debate to MeTa and leave the green to window coverings?
posted by matildaben on Jan 9, 2006 - 79 comments

I would like to discuss the ethics of reading blogs during class.
posted by achmorrison on Sep 8, 2005 - 63 comments

When will dios have the decency to go to the next thread, or to MetaTalk, rather than derailing a thread with attacks on the poster? Plenty of people like y2karl's posts, plenty don't; we all know that already. So what, exactly, other than forestalling any real discussion of the issues raised in the post, does dios think he adds by his knee-jerk and immediate (2nd comment in the post) carping and cavilling?
posted by orthogonality on Jun 30, 2005 - 220 comments

A particularly egregious example of commentators hijacking an AxeMe thread instead of answering the question.
posted by norm on Jan 19, 2005 - 140 comments

Can we please stick to the topic on Ask? Sorry jonmc and astruc but I don't think your opinions on the aesthetics of waxing pubes was on answergrape's mind when she asked the question.
posted by dobbs on Nov 13, 2004 - 150 comments

Bloody Hell. Talk about threadjack.
posted by Blue Stone on Mar 6, 2004 - 51 comments

AskMe policy proposal: "Please answer the actual question, not what you think should have been the question".

For instance here, crunchland seems to think the question is "what's a good approach to picking colors", whereas namespan is saying "fireworks used to have a feature, now it doesn't, what can I do". This happens all the time. People ask how to fix something on a computer running System A, and the answer is switch to System B. People ask about Anti-virus apps, and are told not to use them and just practice safe-computing. It's a small peeve, but the added noise is not appreciated, especially when you actually care about the answers.
posted by signal on Jan 8, 2004 - 39 comments

The ongoing U.S. vs. rest-of-the-world grudge match is unnecessary and annoying, especially when it's off topic.
posted by PrinceValium on Sep 10, 2003 - 54 comments

In a thread about "unifying humanity", the poster drops this curiously divisive little gem: Ever...wondered why virtually no republicans practice African or indigenous drumming techniques? Are hand drums, to the US far right, a spooky talesman which evokes lurid fantasies of wild satanic or Santeria (Voodoo) rituals.

Supporting evidence? Congruity with the topic? It's perplexing. Are any of us supposed to have insight into this? It just seems like a lame (and lazy) tactic for inciting a flamewar, complete with dopey stereotypes about both Republicans and Africans.
posted by dhoyt on Aug 24, 2003 - 39 comments

What do we do when the post's author is derailing his/her own thread? [more inside]
posted by qbert72 on Jan 21, 2003 - 15 comments

This is not supposed to be a theology debate. Although I don't mind walking the line because I am interested in people's reactions and interpretations of a natural phenomenon. But I don't want my first FPP yanked because people couldn't at least flame on topic and the topic is HIV, how it works and what it looks like.
posted by wobh on Dec 1, 2002 - 19 comments

AnnoyanceFilter! [Much more inside...]
posted by Danelope on Oct 17, 2002 - 41 comments

I'm sorry, I'm new here. Did I do something wrong? I realize I derailed the thread from the start (for that I apologize), but somehow I became the poster boy for two warring sides in a flame war riddled with insults and heated emotions. I like to think I tried to maintain a civil discourse at the beginning, unfortunately I went to sleep when it got really nasty. Should I have not posted at all? What went wrong here, I would like to know for future reference.
posted by Stan Chin on Aug 26, 2002 - 99 comments

Enough with the pancakes and haiku, already.
posted by rcade on Mar 29, 2002 - 57 comments

I didn't want to derail the Kevin Smith obit thread from where ever it might be going so... [more inside]
posted by willnot on Feb 15, 2002 - 22 comments

I'm really intrigued here. A perfectly good thread (well maybe not great) about censorship of the Olympics, derailed by general revulsion towards a religion. Some tried to get back to the point, but the damage was done. Are all posts voicing concern over how the 2002 Winter games are run doomed to the same fate?
posted by Wulfgar! on Jan 17, 2002 - 36 comments

QuickTopic.com
posted by MattD on Mar 3, 2001 - 23 comments

Okay here goes nothing. This one's about topic drift, and what is the proper way of handling it, if there is such a thing.
posted by ZachsMind on Jul 8, 2000 - 8 comments

The death of MetaFilter - A rambling comment about off topic comments.
posted by y6y6y6 on Jun 14, 2000 - 73 comments