Lol, I use a push pin when I bother at all.
Ok, it looks like the main benefit to pricking is you get a nicely shaped egg that doesn’t have the air bubble dimple on the bottom. That makes sense. And there is some argument that it may or may not make peeling easier.
That might be worth it.
steamed? or boiled?
I haven’t had a real soft boiled egg in years. I think I’ll go try making a couple for lunch. Added bonus – no frying pan to clean. 
I steam them for convenience and quickness. Same difference, except you’re only boiling up maybe an inch of water instead of a whole pot of water, so it’s much more energy efficient and quick. Boil water, insert eggs straight from the fridge in a little steamer tray. Cover. Set timer to six minutes for an extra large egg (maybe adjust by 15-20 seconds in either direction if you have a larger or smaller egg). Remove, dunk into cold water, and enjoy! (And if you want hard-boiled, go for 12 minutes.)
Well, I haven’t tried to make soft boiled eggs since I was a child. I booked some water, pricked three eggs, dropped them in when it came to a boil (still cold from the fridge), turned off the heat, put the lid on, and timed 5 minutes.
I found a shot glass, and made some buttered toast.
I relived the eggs from the water and ran them under cold water when the timer went “ding”.
The eggs were underdone. Not all of the yolk was firm. But they were delicious. And clean-tip is much easier than for fried eggs. Cooking was easier, too, since I didn’t need to stand there and watch, nor delicately flip them.
Will try again. I’ll probably try either one fewer egg, ore an extra minus or two.
But yum. Thanks, whoever started this thread.
The yolk is not supposed to be firm. You mean not all of the white was firm?
One of us, one of us! 
Oops, yes. I meant that not all of the white was firm. It was pretty runny, in fact. But still delicious.
Five minutes in boiling water is a bit to soon to get the white all firm, though some people like it that way. Try seven minutes for a middle sized egg, that always works for me.
Anchovy pastemight make the anchovies-n-toast thing easier.
StG
Adjust the time a little until you’re happy with the result, then argue with everyone you meet about how the perfect soft-boiled egg is supposed to be.
hang on…Is that another euphemism? There’s been enough smut in this thread as it is.
Today I tried two eggs, left the burner on very low, and left the eggs in for 7 minutes. My shot glass is in the dishwasher, so I just decanted them over toast.
Just a bit of loose white, and just a bit of firm-ish yolk. (The thickest part of the white is farther from the shell than the yolk near the thinnest part.)
Just about perfect, really. And so much easier to cook and clean up than fried eggs!
Tried. Delicious, even given that I got it a bit wrong. (Didn’t get the sauce thick enough, and got the eggs just fractionally firmer than I wanted.) But definitely one to persevere with.
That looks and sounds absolutely fantastic! Right up my alley.
It is hard to judge history while you are living it but I suspect that historians will examine this thread in upcoming decades and declare “The Great Soft-Boiled Egg Conflict” was one of the primary triggers for WWIII.
Living at altitude, I gave up long ago trying to use any recipe that uses a specific time. With something like boiling eggs, where an extra minute or two can make a lot of difference, the 5 C drop in temperature makes it more complicated. So I don’t make soft boiled eggs or hard boiled eggs. If I want hard boiled eggs for something, it’s easier and almost as cheap to buy the ones that are already cooked and shelled.
Just do an experiment. You’ll figure out the correct times within three or four trials, and then you’ll know forever what times apply to your altitude. This soft-boiling and hard-boiling and even in-between stuff really isn’t all that complicated.
And they’re eggs, so all the error in your trial and error are still delicious.