The Art of Derailing a Thread.

[Citizen B]

Done well, derailing a thread is a work of performance art that everyone enjoys and learns from, for the betterment of the whole PSF community. Done poorly, trying to derail a thread makes you look like a jerk. Don't be a jerk. Be subtle. Let serendipity take its course.

This post should be pinned.

If you want to derail a thread, don't have an idea of where the thread is going to go once you finally (if successful) derail it. Nobody on the thread was expecting you to derail it, so, don't be surprised is another derailer derails you. Wheels within wheels, I know, but that is what you learn by instinct by being a PSF member in good standing. Your job is not to reach a conclusion, your only job is derail a thread in a different direction. You don't drive the train, the other members do. Even if you are not trying to derail a thread, as a PSF member in good standing, your job is to keep the conversation going.

If you want to derail a thread, just change the subject, but, keep what you are talking about related to the subject of the thread. Commenting on details in photos are an excellent way to divert attention. So are random questions based on where a fellow PSF member is from.

Strike like a snake in the dark.

You can just post something totally unrelated, but I recommend avoiding this tactic, at least at first. If you haven't already derailed three or four threads successfully, then the random post in the middle of a thread will be too much of a challenge. You need to establish a personality and build trust. Your PSF friends need to know who you are and what you stand for. They'll support you no matter how off-the-wall you get.

The new guy who just starts spouting off on every thread as soon as he signs up? Do you know what we call that guy? We call him a jerk. Relax. Take your time. Make yourself at home. Get the lay of the land. Everyone on PSF will be happy to hear from you.

You have friends here on PSF. We are always happy to be derailed. Heck, going off-topic is what makes this forum so much more enjoyable than other pipe smoking forums. Take your time. You have nothing to prove. You will make plenty of friends on PSF if you hang out long enough. I know I have----and, at first, I thought most of them were jerks. It turned out that most of my friends on PSF are not jerks. Most of my friends on PSF are okay.

Attempt to derail a thread at your leisure and at your peril. Done well, there is nothing more admirable. The derailed thread is often the most interesting, unless you like to look at the same pictures of pipes in the "What Are You Smoking This Month?" thread. If WAYS was the only thread we had on this forum, I'd be trying to derail it every day. I hope you would, too. Sheesh. Solidarity. Variety of topics is the spice of life on PSF.

Does anyone else have any derailing strategies to offer to newbies. My primary advice is to not try to for the first 6 months. After that, dabble to see what works. We have plenty of masters here who can offer better tips than I can. PSF is a forum full of derailers. That's what makes PSF special.

[Dr Uhaha]

I've made a study of thread derailing, frequently mine, under the tutelage of Citizen B. No need to manufacture a dogma or cosmology around it - just throw an inane and unrelated comment in - thread derailed.

As for derailing itself being an 'Art' I thoroughly agree. In the same sense that most 'artists' all work in the same medium: BS.

[Bamarick]

Isn't derailing a thread the same thing as hijacking a thread. If it is, then I was under the impression that it was, or is, a time honored tradition

[Ruffinogold]

so , what do you get when Ayn Rand , 3 horny non gendered midgets and Wilford Brimley derail a thread ...

[arturo7]

I predict it will be nearly impossible to keep this thread on target.

[Houtenziel]

I like turtles.

[Houtenziel]

so , what do you get when Ayn Rand , 3 horny non gendered midgets and Wilford Brimley derail a thread ...

You get a small, but very objective case of..

[Thelonious monkfish]

so , what do you get when Ayn Rand , 3 horny non gendered midgets and Wilford Brimley derail a thread ...

You get a small, but very objective case of..

And when you close your eyes it goes away? Like the world?

[Ruffinogold]

so , what do you get when Ayn Rand , 3 horny non gendered midgets and Wilford Brimley derail a thread ...

You get a small, but very objective case of..

OH MY GOODNESS

[Jlando19]

P&C is having a IPSD sale.