Lately I seem to have become a thread-killer. There are more and more topics that have hurdled to the bottom of the screen as soon as I put in my two cents worth.
So, fellow Dopers, what is it that makes some posters inspire the rest of us to add our thoughts and further the discussion, while some of us seem to kill the enthusiasm as soon as our name goes on?
I dont have an answer, I just wanted to make sure you got a reply. 
Is it the “nice” factor?? Well, that could explain a lot… I’m nice and I get to feeling left out and ignored… Maybe we need to form a “nice” clique and keep each other’s threads going… Or maybe we need to become more interesting??? Post stuff that’s more controversial or more entertaining??? NAAAH - can’t be that! 
Maybe its just that others find your responses so eloquent that feel nothing further can be said on the subject.
Or is that too nice?
A nasty poster who insults or belittles other posters tends to make other posters angry, who then respond to him angrily. If you’re a nice poster, you’re probably not making people angry, so you’re not as certain to get a response.
I personally don’t enjoy getting angry responses, so I usually try to be nice in my posts. But not always.
Once you have neatly summed up the essence of the thread, what else is there to say?
I’m with you, kunilou. It’s tough to get noticed around here. It must be the Secret Elite Clique or whatever. 
(Shameless promotion department)
I started two threads last night in MPSIMS. One was a joke, and I felt sure it would get a couple of amused responses. Oh, super_head doesn’t count. He’s my best friend IRL. The other was deadly serious. No responses. What the hell is up with that? I’m a nice guy, I don’t smell bad.
We don’t keep with pansies ‘round here. If you’re willing to gut a man IRL just so you can post a description of his entrails, you’ll get respect and replies. Short of that, you won’t be seen as threatening enough to merit a reply.
Nice? Bah! Hike up yer skirt, Sally!
Arr!
Nice? It’s a biscuit.
Arrrr back.
Just because I’m “nice” doesn’t mean I won’t tear out your asshole and use it for a spyglass.
Everybody here can go to hell!
Sorry, just trying to be controversial. I’m not very good at it, because no one ever takes me seriously 
Many of us are skilled at threadicide. I can’t offer any sage words of wisdom or comfort, but you can at least know that you’re in good company. It’s not like we all conspire against certain Dopers to make them feel like they are murderous, thread-killing fiends.
So, kunilou, tell us what you think.
[sup]psssst - everyone, keep this quiet. If kunilou posts, nobody else replies afterwards, ok?[/sup]
I think we need a pirate smiley – complete with peg leg and parrot.
How about a smiley with a word bubble a la the Wally smiley that says “Arrrr!” Maybe it could have an eyepatch.
Or he could say… “Arrr!! Scallions!!!”
Every time I hear about scallions I think of pirates. I’ve taken to saying the above quote every time I hear it. I think it stems from scullion or something similar that I could picture a pirate saying…
Anyway, I have the same problem and I fully expect no more replies after this post.
I think it has a lot to do with the interaction you have with the other posters. We have a certain amount of anonymity on the boards. I am not that outgoing and am a bit more reserved until I get to know someone. I think that shows in how people respond to me/my posts. Just like at a party, the ones who are very outgoing, polished, glib, and witty, have lots of people talking with them. It may work the same way here. On the other hand, I have been know to be full of s*** before.
Maybe FairyChatMom is right, form a “If you see a post with my username in it, post to it” club.
Ogre, Don’t think that because people don’t respond that they don’t notice. I don’t think we have had any interaction on the board at all, yet I recognize you from how well you handled being accused of being a troll (right after you first got here, in the pit…I’m to lazy to find a link).
You’re OK in my book.
and, kunilou, I think its just a case of you noticing it when your post is the last in a thread. EVERYBODY has “killed” threads. It just sticks out a bit when it happens to you.
[sub]Hey! Nobody post after c_goat![/sub]
Wait…
Dammit!
So far I haven’t noticed any tendency for my posts to kill threads, and I have gotten a few replies to the threads I’ve started, so I think it’s just a matter of giving it time.
Now if Dopers didn’t like nice posters… Well, let me put it this way… have you been to the pit? Have you read what sort of messages can get posted there? If Dopers didn’t like nice posters, you’d know. Oy would you know.
-Doug
mouthbreather,
Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. It means a lot, especially since you’re one of those posters whose posts I go out of the way to read.
“But I don’t want to be a pirate!”