Jenson Button to Ferrari?

Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso at Ferrari with equal status untill one pulls a lead.

I would really love to see which one would win.

 

Whats the problem with going off topic guy's I think it makes it much more interesting, lateral thinking and all that.

 

yeah, it certainly beats using general chat, and few use the pits. As to the topic, can't see button leaving McLaren during the length of his new contract, but after, even if his driving becomes jaded I think he brings quite a lot to a team.

 

Lads/Mods; that is why we need an off-topic sub forum like the Newcastle board have. I am gonna be a nuisance and pester you about it until you convince Mick for it.

 

I've tried!

 

General chat, well that is far too extreme even for a old seasoned bloke like myself, I much prefer the F1 forum its a bit more civilized and I must say it's going along very nicely at the moment.

 

Absolutely. I don't see why it should be a problem as these threads tend to be civil and intelligent discussions, so why not allow a bit of latitude for the lateral thinking?

 

Off topic for a moment, Max, I must say, you look a lot younger in your new avatar.

 

How did you guess I'm a cockatoo?!

 

which is half your last avatar, that was just a cock.

 

My opinion: a) lurking, potential new members will not visit the F1 board on not606 to read one-line opinions about Gordon Brown or cockatoos; they'll visit solely to read opinions about F1 and, if the opinions expressed are interesting enough, hopefully they'll join. b) existing casual members, who visit the forum only to read F1 discussion, will stop visiting if the threads go off on tangents they have no interest in. c) if, some months down the line, I want to find the link that confirms Button was offered a contract by Ferrari then I can search the forum for this thread but I have to read the thread to find the post that included the link; if the thread is full of one-line opinions about Gordon Brown or cockatoos, it makes finding the link that much harder.

Off-topic chat is vital for taking a bunch of people with a common interest beyond that and forging an online community but it needs to be kept separate from the core interests of the forum. It also needs to be hidden from non-members because it is by nature of interest only to the particular community.

There's clearly a need for the F1 board to support off-topic chat because so many of the regular members indulge in it. Two minutes browsing through General Chat shows that it's a completely different tone to what we have on the F1 board. The Pits is the best solution short of an off-topic sub-forum but it's tucked away in a corner and, as Miggins says, underused, so most people post their off-topic stuff on the F1 board.

The F1 board is as active and big as any non-football sports board and there is a clear desire and drive to expand it further. I think a closed off-topic sub-forum would support that.

 

Ok, so no cockatoos, no cocks and no Gordon Brown. I consider myself duly chastised.

Btw, very funny, Miggins

 

Please don't. It's just my opinion.

 

I understand fully your point of view, but disagree, full and reasoned debate needs to be allowed, including, hopefully some thought provoking off topic comments, which may even encourage new members to become complicit in the wider debate.

Almost anyone venturing onto the F1 boards will get to understand the idiosyncratic behavior of some of us and in time may well join in, I for one welcome all idiots to reply to my comments !!! indeed some already do.

Genji, there is far too much censure nowadays, even the bloody government are looking at ways to sift through the entire nation's personal data, for all good intention no doubt.

I genuinely believe the F1 boards non offensive type of Off Topic stuff must be fully exposed and be able to be read by all, as and when it appears, otherwise it could become obscure and elitist, being safely tucked away in a safe corner, not healthy.

 

They are all cocks, Max

 

I agree with ErnieBecclestone, although possibly from slightly different point of view.

I believe that mixing in off topic discussions, with the otherwise somewhat sterile more or less intelligent and mature debates about the sport we all share to love, will only make it less intimidating for a new visitor to join our 'community'. In fact, the 'family-ness' of this forum was what made me join in the first place, and still is today the main reason for me to keep coming back.

+1 for off topic, and for keeping it in the open!

 

Incidentally, the cockatoo in your left hand appears to be in some sort of predicament, or possibly, you are taking the study of ornithology to the extreme,

 

Well it beats spanking monkeys.

 

Anybody here going to the British GP this year?

Since we are off topic of course.

 

Have you given that up now then !!