On Topic on OT

Hi Tribe. It's become a monthly ritual here at TW, the posting of the latest clarification of the OT (Off Topic) policy, based on the latest ritual monthly conversation Steggy and I have had on the subject of keeping TW both community-based and friendly to lurkers and other outsiders. Keeping TW sufficiently targeted on tennis and a place where members of our community can connect with each other. Many of you have gotten to know each other quite well, so it's only natural that we've had to deal with the OT issue.

So just to clear up any confusion, here's our current vision: It would be great if y'all could keep on topic for each of my regular posts, but some drift is okay.That is, if you saw a Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat down in some newspaper on the day Russia is playing Davis Cup, feel free to post it (or the link) and feel free to react to it. But let's not allow OT subjects to hijack the Comments or kill an On-Topic discussion when it is steaming along nicely.

We're delighted so many people want to chat with each other, and we often have outbreaks of friendly banter that are just plain sweet. We cherish that kind of spontanaiety, just keep in mind that we don't want to stray too far afield or make those not privy to the conversation feel frozen out or unwelcome. There are times when banter works (usually, low traffic hours after the latest post has been worked over) and when it interferes with the business at hand. Please use your good judgment.

We'll continue to have three OT threads a week: On Mondays, that's the Monday Net Post, on Wednesday it's the Wednesday Racket, and on Friday it's The OTher Thread. If there's an OT subject you're all fired up about after reading a post, invite others to join you over at the open OT thread. Feel free to wave hello or good-bye anytime.

Steggy has grappled mightily with the challenge of moderating this site as our popularity has soared.  Our main administrative challenge lies in not being overly regimented, while retaining enough structure and purpose to please the vast majority of our readers, who are first and foremost interested in the tennis, and to keep chaos at bay. You can expect us to step in and nudge you toward an OT thread, or advise you to stay on-topic, when the occasion calls for it. We're just trying to fine tune the machine, and it's a pretty delicate operation that often depends on the ambient conditions of the day.

I think we're going great guns; we had a great Davis Cup week. Don't forget to get your anti-Valentines to Steggy (see the Monday Net Post for details) - write classic "roses are red" poems, think up unique Valentine's Day gifts, imagine the anti-Valentine you would give to someone in the Tribe, or perhaps even your favorite player or organizational honcho (Larry Scott, Etienne de Villiers, et al).

Comments will not be accepted on this item. My ESPN post will be going up soon, and I'll have some final thoughts on Davis Cup here before the end of the day.