why do people reply to threads without reading the entire thing?

[silverwhisper]

i'm seriously curious. there are people who do this a lot and i'm trying to understand why they do it. is this borne of ignorance that the discussion might substantially change between the first post and the last one, just plain impatience, something else?

because it often seems people who do that are often the same people who reply to the first message in an e-mail conversation and never understand why nobody responds to them.

ed

 

[mynameisben]

i'm seriously curious. there are people who do this a lot and i'm trying to understand why they do it. is this borne of ignorance that the discussion might substantially change between the first post and the last one, just plain impatience, something else?

because it often seems people who do that are often the same people who reply to the first message in an e-mail conversation and never understand why nobody responds to them.

ed

A volcano that erupted in the Philippines today. Did anyone read about it?

 

[coastal-boy]

When I do it, it is just to piss you off Ed

 

[SweetErika]

I think it's usually impatience or laziness. Maybe there's a certain amount of ignorance and/or narcissism in there too, like, 'I'm special, so my thoughts must be original,' or, 'My time is too valuable to bother reading what others have said.' Or perhaps they just get excited about their thoughts and want to get them down as soon as they have them, regardless of whether or not they're the same as everyone else's. They could be post whores, too. I don't know, but it seems like the same people can't be bothered to read the stickies or search, either.

I'd be interested to hear from some of these people so I can understand them better because I really don't get it.

 

[Ellafun]

I posted something on a thread not long after I started reading the boards, before I read all the FAQ's and stickys and advice for new users, and I got my electronic ass reamed out. I felt so bad about it, that, not only did I apologize on the thread, but I also disappeared from Lit until I could get my tail untucked from between my legs. I was embarassed and mortified that I had made such a horrible faux pas, and I am quite careful about reading through every post on a thread, no matter how many pages, before I make any comments. I agree with Erika that there seems to be a lack of patience regarding reading all the way through. It's just like the notes that are sent home from school; only about 1/3 of the parents actually read the information, and the rest call or e-mail with questions that were answered in the note that went home!!!

That being said, I wish that there was a way to direct every new poster on the boards to the "Advice for New Users" thread. I really found it quite helpful when I finally had the kahunas to come back on here. I also don't post for the sake of posting. I only post when I feel like I have something to add.

P.S.: The Advice for New Litsters Thread:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=457743

 

[mynameisben]

I posted something on a thread not long after I started reading the boards, before I read all the FAQ's and stickys and advice for new users, and I got my electronic ass reamed out. I felt so bad about it, that, not only did I apologize on the thread, but I also disappeared from Lit until I could get my tail untucked from between my legs. I was embarassed and mortified that I had made such a horrible faux pas, and I am quite careful about reading through every post on a thread, no matter how many pages, before I make any comments. I agree with Erika that there seems to be a lack of patience regarding reading all the way through. It's just like the notes that are sent home from school; only about 1/3 of the parents actually read the information, and the rest call or e-mail with questions that were answered in the note that went home!!!

That being said, I wish that there was a way to direct every new poster on the boards to the "Advice for New Users" thread. I really found it quite helpful when I finally had the kahunas to come back on here. I also don't post for the sake of posting. I only post when I feel like I have something to add.

P.S.: The Advice for New Litsters Thread:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=457743

That's really sad that there are people who leap at the chance to discourage newcomers to a thread, by chastising them for not having read and studied the whole history of it before chiming in. But they are out there. When you run into it, you just have to realize that not everyone is like that.

Few people take the time to acknowledge a worthwhile comment from a newcomer, but there are plenty out there who appreciate new insights too.

 

[SweetErika]

It's just like the notes that are sent home from school; only about 1/3 of the parents actually read the information, and the rest call or e-mail with questions that were answered in the note that went home!!!

Heh. That's a really good analogy!

That being said, I wish that there was a way to direct every new poster on the boards to the "Advice for New Users" thread. I really found it quite helpful when I finally had the kahunas to come back on here. I also don't post for the sake of posting. I only post when I feel like I have something to add.

P.S.: The Advice for New Litsters Thread:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=457743

This is why I continue to stress reading the stickies to newbies (and oldies with F.A.Q.s). Sure, I could give them the answer to The Avatar Question in a few seconds, but I figure they'll learn their way around quicker if they see where they can find the answers to most of their questions.

As much as I like it when people try to learn their way around first, I do understand newbies often get excited about having a question or starting a thread and wanting to jump right in. There's not much of an excuse for not getting a sense of an established thread first, though.

I'm glad your first experience wasn't so daunting that you felt the need to leave permanently because it seems like you have a lot of good things to contribute.

 

[Mac98]

When I do it, it is just to piss you off Ed

lolllll you do a lot of things to piss people off, don't you?

 

[culloden]

I'm a magazine editor. Reader queries about specific articles could often be answered, "RTFA," as in, "Read the fucking article." Same idea. People are lazy.

 

[mynameisben]

I'm a magazine editor. Reader queries about specific articles could often be answered, "RTFA," as in, "Read the fucking article." Same idea. People are lazy.

Could be answered RTFA. But if you'e an editor worth his pay, you'd never do that. Because what would it gain you to take cheap shots at your own readership?

 

[fuckmeat]

Some threads I'll get interested and read every word, some threads I am guilty of skimming. Long threads particularly tempt me to skim them to get the basic gist of a discussion and how it has progressed.

Everyone makes mistakes as newbies. I was no different. Even now I occasionally get called out for not reading en entire thread or misconstruing what I have read. I try to be a considerate poster but you can't win them all. The written word is also easy to misunderstand, particularly here where people of different nationalities post on the same threads.

But yeah, there are people who come here purely so they can spend their leisure time being willfully ignorant. i fail to comprehend people who join an online community so they can post prolifically without reading anything properly.

 

[mrtomthumb]

lets also admit...

sometimes on here people can just plain be judgmental assholes.

I have many times seen seemingly reasonable questions be marked as wank off fodder or asked under false pretense..

I for the most part have had no problems but I stay away from threads that certain people post on. It always turns into a situation where someone has to act like they are better than someone else....many times under the guise of being helpful.

there is a fair share of trolls who are clever enough to disguise themselves as a friendly billy goat who just wants to cross the bridge..

For the most part I find most of the replies on threads an honest attempt to answer questions fairly and in a helpful way.

I am sure many women get unwanted come ons and pms ...I may even at some point be guilty of such activity...men try in their own lame way to get into the game..on any given day a lame remark might make a woman laugh...Bam!! you get an in.

It may be worth noting that the day may come when the men stop trying to get your attention,..I was out the other night with a group of mostly older women I work with...the half that had a partner all they did was bitch about them..and the half that didn't kept saying how they couldn't find a good man...

just maybe they didn't have the patience to see what might be beyond a snappy line or did not know what to do once the men stopped chasing after them..

I must confess that I myself did not read every line of every comment on this thread before posting mine...

sorry.

 

[bailadora]

That's really sad that there are people who leap at the chance to discourage newcomers to a thread, by chastising them for not having read and studied the whole history of it before chiming in. But they are out there. When you run into it, you just have to realize that not everyone is like that.

While there are certainly some people who delight in being assholes, I don't think this applies to most of the HT regulars.

That said, well established groups have certain protocol and rules of engagement and I don't think it unreasonable to ask newcomers to take a few minutes to learn them. I don't know of many people who'd jump feet first into a real life social group without first learning the do's and don'ts, so it honestly puzzles me why people would do so online. Taking the time to learn the lay of the land (so to speak) seems like it would be a no brainer.

 

[SweetErika]

sometimes on here people can just plain be judgmental assholes.

I have many times seen seemingly reasonable questions be marked as wank off fodder or asked under false pretense..

I for the most part have had no problems but I stay away from threads that certain people post on. It always turns into a situation where someone has to act like they are better than someone else....many times under the guise of being helpful.

there is a fair share of trolls who are clever enough to disguise themselves as a friendly billy goat who just wants to cross the bridge..

For the most part I find most of the replies on threads an honest attempt to answer questions fairly and in a helpful way.

I am sure many women get unwanted come ons and pms ...I may even at some point be guilty of such activity...men try in their own lame way to get into the game..on any given day a lame remark might make a woman laugh...Bam!! you get an in.

It may be worth noting that the day may come when the men stop trying to get your attention,..I was out the other night with a group of mostly older women I work with...the half that had a partner all they did was bitch about them..and the half that didn't kept saying how they couldn't find a good man...

just maybe they didn't have the patience to see what might be beyond a snappy line or did not know what to do once the men stopped chasing after them..

I must confess that I myself did not read every line of every comment on this thread before posting mine...

sorry.

Did you read the thread title or first post?

Or is this entire thing some kind of heavily disguised joke?

Color me confused.

 

[cheesehead2]

We had snow here today also

 

[bailadora]

Could be answered RTFA. But if you'e an editor worth his pay, you'd never do that. Because what would it gain you to take cheap shots at your own readership?

True enough. Doesn't mean the sentiment isn't valid, though.

 

[NippleMuncher]

When I do it, it is just to piss you off Ed

x2 'cause who doesn't enjoy a good trout smack every now and again?

I don't usually jump into a thread without skimming a good portion of the comments first, though there are times when there's too many pages to wade through and the conversation is really on the last page or two, totally morphed from the original topic. Seriously, how far in to the "try this and report back " thread can anyone get before they skip to the end and find out that the butler did it!

 

[coastal-boy]

lolllll you do a lot of things to piss people off, don't you?

yep....I'm really good at pissing a certain group of people off. They all have a common trait. Wanna guess what that trait is?

 

[silverwhisper]

coastal-boy: heh!

ellafun quoth:
i was embarassed and mortified that i had made such a horrible faux pas, and i am quite careful about reading through every post on a thread, no matter how many pages, before i make any comments.

well, i didn't mean to sound like a nazi and i'm sorry you had that experience, ella.

mrtomthumb quoth:
just maybe they didn't have the patience to see what might be beyond a snappy line or did not know what to do once the men stopped chasing after them.

i'm sure there's a certain measure of overreaction in some cases, sure. but you're arguing about an extreme end here, and i think you know that.

ed

 

[PhilGarlic]

If

If the first post is an open question then an answer is an answer whenever it is posted, even if that view has been posted already, it just re affirms that view.

Sorry if someone has already posted that answer, just jumped in !

 

[subwannabe]

I've been guilty of that every once in a while, although 90% or more of the time I do read all of the posts before commenting. I like to come here and contribute but I don't live here. I do have other things to do with my time and I don't even take the time to have fancy signatures and avatars. Usually it happens when I read something I feel I should respond to and then notice there are like 69 replies already. Whenever I do respond without reading all of the posts I usually say something in the post to clarify that fact. It's not because I'm being an asshole, I'm just trying to admit or apologize ahead of time that I may have repeated everyone's else advice or acknowledging ahead of time that I may have missed something important. Most of the time I won't even post to such a thread but If I feel my most may have a benefit then I'll go ahead.

 

[Eilan]

x2 'cause who doesn't enjoy a good trout smack every now and again?

I don't usually jump into a thread without skimming a good portion of the comments first, though there are times when there's too many pages to wade through and the conversation is really on the last page or two, totally morphed from the original topic. Seriously, how far in to the "try this and report back " thread can anyone get before they skip to the end and find out that the butler did it!

Geez. How about a spoiler alert next time?!

 

[mrtomthumb]

Did you read the thread title or first post?

Or is this entire thing some kind of heavily disguised joke?

Color me confused.

it is a little bit of both...

I just come here to have a little fun and if I see something thats worth commenting on I do.

I think threads like this are not to be taken too seriously..

someone asking a question that is in need of guidance real information I try to address in a more serious fashion..

the thread seemed to start in a lighthearted fashion..of "I wonder why?"

I dont really think John Tesh has all the answers on how i should live my life but I still listen to his show sometimes..

I am curious if you read my whole reply since you only highlighted the last part....

 

[cheesehead2]

it is a little bit of both...

I just come here to have a little fun and if I see something thats worth commenting on I do.

I think threads like this are not to be taken too seriously..

someone asking a question that is in need of guidance real information I try to address in a more serious fashion..

the thread seemed to start in a lighthearted fashion..of "I wonder why?"

I dont really think John Tesh has all the answers on how i should live my life but I still listen to his show sometimes..

I am curious if you read my whole reply since you only highlighted the last part....

:Snow stopped

 

[mrtomthumb]

coastal-boy: heh!


well, i didn't mean to sound like a nazi and i'm sorry you had that experience, ella.


i'm sure there's a certain measure of overreaction in some cases, sure. but you're arguing about an extreme end here, and i think you know that.

ed

I am not really arguing about anything really....just relating a personal experience that is based on a real situation...just as some guys can be pushy overbearing assholes....some women can be closed off bitches...with a whole spectrum of every type in between.

So in a way yes it may seem the more extreme end of the argument;;

I can also say bulies dont usually think themselves as such or come forth and take the blame for bad behavior..they justify it.

thats all I am saying it is a 2 way street..