The term off topic comes from the English and means about as much how: off the actual topic, or without purchase to the topic. Particularly with communication in the Internet it serves as description for the fact that a contribution or a part of a contribution or a E-Mail does not refer to the actual topic. Thereby the other readers can already recognize before opening a contribution that this is not concerned with the actual topic. Thus being able time to save by it this contribution to jump over.

The term off topic is therefore also only then meaningfully applicably, if humans discuss with one another within a medium, which a certain topic gives (for example in the Usenet or in mailing lists). In a private May louse exchange between two persons about nothing off is topic, since both authors transact under normal conditions only expressions, of whom it believes that they are in each case for that different from interest.

The term is pulled together also often simply too "„offtopic "“.

In the Usenet it nearly always concerns an offence against the Charter the respective newsgroup, because the Charter prescribes the topic in general. The damage can in a destruction of clarity be existed, above all, if it concerns classified advertisement newsgroup, in which not be discussed may. A damage delimitation consists of it, Followup tons: to set on the correct newsgroup, in which then following articles of the Threads appear.

For reasons of the netiquette one marks a E-Mail in mailing lists by off topic contents by a OT: at the beginning of the reference.

See also

List of the abbreviations (net jargon)

Articles in category "Off topic"

We found here 6 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 2 related websites.

• Offtopic Chat Forum and Free Games
  A place to come and get off! Making lazy people lazier since 2005!


• OffTopic.com
  General interest message boards with discussion covering a very broad range of everyday topics.