Treading very carefully I wonder if anyone can explain this off topic business. I fully appreciate that a thread can be misdirected and lose its way when some smart Alec comment is made and yet how often have you been involved in a conversation which has suddenly changed course only to come back on track further down the line. In a way it's a bit like chatting away when suddenly there is a bang outside, you rush to the window and see the wind has blown over an advertising hoarding, so you all settle back into the conversation.

Then we have differing opinions on thread content, some ignore most and concentrate solely on Grammar or innuendo, punctuation etc

isn't that all perfectly normal? Some topics can wear a straight jacket others it is more difficult. Imposing tight restrictions may help a thread to concentrate on a narrow subject but is it absolutely essential to the well being of a broad based community, heck I don't know.