If I post a thread and someone answers, I often want to respond or ask a question, but then I wonder, is that person even going to ever check out the thread again?
If you respond to a question, esp an OP, how often do you subscribe to the thread?
If you post in a thread you are automatically subscribed to it.
You’re automatically subscribed, but you’re not automatically notified. You have to request notification, though you might be able to set that as a default for all subscribed threads.
You’re automatically subscribed by default, but that’s an option you can change.
Options are:
Do not subscribe
No email notification
Instant email notification
Daily email notification
Weekly email notification.
The setting is global.
Generally, I’ll check back into threads I’ve posted in every time i click through the forum they are in until i forget i posted or i get bored with reading the thread. If work picks up that may mean I never come back other times I’ll check into the thread 3 or 4 times an hour.
I think I turned of subscriptions or at least I have no idea if I’m subscribed to any threads. I appoligise to any one who responded to me and I never saw it.
No but I do check back for several days and read/respond as appropriate. When I sign in the first thing I do is call up all my posts and check down through the last couple days and read anything that got replies. I just find it easier for me than doing subscriptions.
I don’t subscribe, I don’t get notified. If I care enough, I’ll return to the thread on my own. I don’t need the board to nag me. 
I don’t even know about subscriptions. Is there a page somewhere that tells me all the people who responded that I’ve never looked at?
I just use “find all posts by” and check them one by one for new developments.
To clarify even further: You can change what the default is for you (User CP -> Edit Options -> Messaging & Notification -> Default Theread Subscription Mode), and you can also change what happens with a particular thread when replying to that thread (under Additional Options below the reply box).
My default is to subscribe without email notifications. Unless I’m busy in a way that takes me away from the Dope, I’ll check my subscribed threads several times a day (by clicking User CP) and see what’s new in them (or at least the ones I haven’t lost interest in).
So, bottom line, if I post something in a thread and you respond, I’m probably going to see it. But occasionally your reply will get lost in all the other thread traffic, or I won’t make it back to the thread for a while.