I had never posted or replied to anything anywhere until a few months ago on the SDMB. Since then I have replied to four or five threads and most seemed to just end shortly after my post*. I don’t know the people in the thread or anything, am I not supposed to post replies randomly? Is it rude? Should I introduce myself? I am not trying to attach too much importance to myself, it probably is just coincidence, I just don’t want to be a pain in the ass. The basic question is, is there a protocol for replying to threads?
(I apologize profusely for the misuse of terms, I am a newbie, and not a particularly smart person as well)
(although I appreciate ones desire to aprise me of the fact, I am fully aware of the distinct possibility that I both suck and am boring)
Don’t sweat it. Just keep posting and soon you will get the hang of it. The main rule is not to be a jerk and from this OP it does not seem that you are inclined to be one.
Feel free to post wherever you like. IMHO (in my humble opinion), if you’re going to post to a GQ (general question), it would be helpful if you…uh…were helpful. That is, don’t use it as a place to voice an opinion (like “AOL sucks!”). Let the OP (original post) be your guide. We’re all here to learn and have a good time.
Also, if you post in the BBQ PIT, don’t forget to swear a lot :D!
**Steve, steve, steve, steve.**shakes head Look, one must prove themselves an idiot to be activley pursued as one. Your a little bit too new to be thinking you suck or are boring on these boards. People reply as they feel they should, thats it dude! Start reading more threads and replying more. More and more people will read what you have to say, and more and more people will reply to YOU. People will poke fun and people will agree or disagree with you. Just start posting more. Also realize this board stretches the globe. So there are times you will see the boards are very active and others when its not…
You’ve got the fallacy of the excluded middle going here. It’s possible that you are neither boring nor suck.
Threads that already have a hundred or more replies seem to die at odd times. Perhaps there’s a lonely moderator out there somewhere writing up a book on all the common causes of thread death. If so, you can take heart in knowing that you are not that person.
You’re still quite new; I think I was on the board for several months before anybody actually said something to me. And the phenomenon of having a thread become inactive after you’ve posted to it (and you thus get no feedback on your thoughts) is known as threadkilling, and threads bemoaning it are often seen in MPSIMS. Feel free to post to any thread; with time and observation you’ll learn what goes and what doesn’t.
And I, too, predict this will get moved to IMHO or MPSIMS.
You are all so helpful (sniff). Thanks for the quick responses, I now feel free to dispense my unpopular, poorly thought out, small minded opinions willy nilly throughout the SDMB.
SteveSteve, I’ve got 10 times more posts than you and I’ll bet I’ve killed at least 10 times more threads than you so don’t feel you’re the only one that has pondered the questions you’re asking. I think I’ve been quoted a grand total of 6 times!!
Like everyone else will tell you, as long as you don’t act like a jerk you shouldn’t have any problems.
Hey, I’ve got over 1000 unanswered posts, and I’ve killed hundereds of threads. Stick around for another 1100 posts and you can be just like me!
[sub]Oh great, I think I just ran another one off…[/sub]
OMG!!! Don’t you know that you don’t even have to post your questions here???/
Google is your friend. So is snopes. Why should anyone have to think when people can just post pointers ad infinitum to answer questions rather than giving a personal, educated viewpoint and writing more than seventy words about a subject because you’re just too stupid to look it up in the eyes of folks who’ve been here for quite some time.
Second, you’re not being ignored. Having threads die at your hands goes with the territory. If you get a response to every post you make, you’re probably a troll, so the fact that most of your posts go unanswered is a good thing (for us at least).
It happens to us all, you put your heart and soul into a new thread and it sinks so fast there’s a small “boom” when it falls off the first page. A lot of it is timing. Even the best threads, if they are posted at the wrong time of day, will die a lonely death. Other, less worthy threads happen to catch us at the right time and go on to multiple pages.
Stick with it, learn the rhythyms of this place, don’t be a jerk, and eventually you’ll feel at home. Then you can be like us, incapable of anything but total servitude and obedience to all things board.
PS: Did you enjoy the gift you got for registering?
It’s not you, when I read a post I just skim most of the responses, so if I don’t find one interesting it doesn’t really affect me. Eventually you will start posting some interesting stuff… maybe even I might eventually… hehe…
I’ve been a lurker on the SDMB for years, and I post very rarely. Sometimes I write out a paragraph or two, look it over, double check my spelling, and then I chicken out and delete the whole damn thing.
This is a great place to hang out and observe. I spend most of my time in MPSIMS but every now and then, I’ll check out what’s going on elsewhere.
For me, being a person that rarely posts is like being the middle child in a large family…nobody really notices you until you say something incredibly stupid.
I’ve still haven’t learned how to quote correctly, or use code or any of that other fancy-schmancy stuff. I haven’t met anyone IRL and I have yet to participate in any DopeFest, although I am looking forward to MiamiDope -02/02.
I’m not sure that I’m the right person to offer you advise since, just my thinking about posting to a thread is enough to kill it, I will say this… I’ve seen them be very nice to new people if the newbie has the right attitude. You seem to have the right attitude so you should be ok.
For what it’s worth, welcome SteveSteve, from the middle child.
This is the most succint desciption of a rare poster that I’ve ever read! I like it! Middle Children should also have at least one thread where they complain (Jan Brady like) about how some high count poster gets all of the attention (Scylla, Scylla, Scylla!)–of course this should only be done with tongue firmly in cheek so as not to break the “jerk” rule.