# "Drive-by" definition and a question of form **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 3, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378 "2003-01-03T06:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/1 "2003-01-03T06:31:59Z")
I saw a SDMB’ers posting pattern referred to in The Pit as a “drive-by.” He was alleged to primarily start new threads and almost never return to them. Is it considered bad form to reply to another’s thread in a non-controversial or non-confrontational manner and then never return to that thread to see if anyone quotes you or dogs you out for saying something stupid? Whenever I start a thread I will follow it to the death, but if I just reply to someone else’s thread I rarely return to that thread. Is that all bad? The main reason I never return is it seems that I am almost never quoted within anyone else’s posts. Extinguished. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/2 "2003-01-03T07:36:02Z")
Starting threads and leaving them is not bad in itself, however its not a good idea either. If your going to start a thread you should be participating in it. But the poster in question _cough cough_ has done it, a lot, in a short period of time. Thats the problem. Posting a reply and not returning IMO isn’t so bad, but usually you should check back anyway just to incase you got anything wrong in your post (especially in GQ threads) or just to see where the topic is going. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/3 "2003-01-03T09:22:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lorenzo \* > \*\*but if I just reply to someone else’s thread I rarely return to that thread. Is that all bad? \*\*It could at least be quite rude, but as **Wearia** says, it depends on where you do it; if your post consists of a controversial statement in a GD thread, people are going to want to ask you questions and possibly challenge you on it; to post and never return in this case would be bad form. Likewise it’s bad form to post a very brief comment that _implies_ a controversial opinion, but not give enough detail; something like “Atheists shouldn’t be allowed to own guns.” (perhaps in a thread about objective morality) - then never return to explain the non-sequitur. Even worse would be to post a controversial viewpoint in a debate and end it with “That’s my opinion and I don’t care if you disagree, I won’t be coming back to read what you have to say” - this wouldn’t be debating, it would be trolling (or possibly driveby witnessing). > [@](#): > > **The main reason I never return is it seems that I am almost never quoted within anyone else’s posts.** They do now. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/4 "2003-01-03T15:59:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > [BThey do now. \*\* Oh, no! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/5 "2003-01-03T17:44:49Z")
“if I just reply to someone else’s thread I rarely return to that thread. Is that all bad?” Nope. Because sometimes you just _can’t_… Perhaps the board is so slow that you can’t load the topic again in a reasonable time frame, Or like perhaps I wanted to reply, but when I hit submit, I wait & wait & wait…then it wont submit. So I have to reload the page to see if it did submit & if not then submit again & wait & wait. Sometimes I waited 5 minutes to post & just gave up when it won’t post. Othertimes you might not be able to wait around too long. Maybe the baby needs attention for example? Or you don’t want to post to the topic because someone already said what you want to say, so why repeat it? Or people are getting rude & you don’t want that to continue by posting & bringing the topic to the top of the forum. So there are alot of reasons people may not be posting back. I noticed that I’m often the last person to post to a lot of topics though 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/6 "2003-01-03T17:51:52Z")
The King Has Spoken. :d&r: ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/7 "2003-01-03T20:44:07Z")
And, in an instance of almost ludicrously appropriate irony, that post absolutely _dwarfs_ any previous **handy** post I’ve seen by at least 500%. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/8 "2003-01-03T21:09:11Z")
I think it’s fairly reasonable to make a point you feel pertinent to the discussion in a thread in which you’re only casually interested, and then only check it if you happen to have time, allowing days to go by if necessary. The right way to schedule post-season collegiate football bowl games? You guys argue it out; I’ll be over here, discussing constitutional law or theology. Let me know when (if) you reach agreement. Whether _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_’s plotlines have declined in quality? I decline to be a Stoker to that fire. But I might wander in to suggest that perhaps there might be a greater purpose to university-level education than intercollegiate athletics, or that the tendency to transmogrify satire into something having a life of its own dates back years (Anybody besides me remember when _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ was released as a self- **parody** of Marvel comics superheroes?) And I may not check back to see what my comments have engendered (though **Beeblebrox** may call me out in the Pit to remind me, as he did in the first instance! ;)) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/9 "2003-01-03T21:25:34Z")
Well, IMHO, it could be indicative of trolling or jerk-dom, to start a bunch of controversial topics and then never visit them again. It could also be indicative of someone who thinks they have the right answer, to post an answer to a question and then not go back (this happens to me sometimes in GQ, for instance.) And it could be a sign of someone that’s just busy or has nothing more something to say on a topic. So, I don’t think it’s inherently bad manners per se. But it could be bad manners, taken in conjunction with other behaviours. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/10 "2003-01-03T21:50:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > (Anybody besides me remember when _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ was released as a self- **parody** of Marvel comics superheroes?) You mean besides C K Dexter Haven? No. Who are these amphibians of which you speak? ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/11 "2003-01-04T06:28:32Z")
Wow, that’s really self-centered, handy. That explains a lot. I personally read every post in every thread I post to. I realize subscribing to thread adds another load, but there isn’t any other reasonable way. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/12 "2003-01-04T08:14:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*Who are these amphibians of which you speak? \*\* _Amphibians?_ Reptiles or chelonians, please. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/13 "2003-01-04T08:44:01Z")
Put simply, a “drive by” is a snide one or two line post that shows no respect for the subject at hand. A drive by is a post that says, in it’s entirety, “All college football players are roid-mongers” in a thread discussing how to fix the BCS system.\* Or someone who feels superior by posting a “you idiots should be watching reading!” in a thread about _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. In short, it’s not a one liner joke. It’s a one liner insult to those discussing whatever the topic is. [sub]\ ***Poly** didn’t do that. It was, however, still a drive by. And pretty damn uncharacteristic of him. He forgets, though. I didn’t call him out. Somebody else did. I just called him on _that_[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/14 "2003-01-04T08:46:20Z")
“watching reading”??? Word to self, don’t post drunk. Even if you you bet on Ohio State 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-definition-and-a-question-of-form/146378/15 "2003-01-04T17:28:30Z")
“Put simply, a “drive by” is a snide one or two line post that shows no respect for the subject at hand.” Well, I dont know anyone who has NOT posted a drive-by post. Sometimes a short post can say plenty. Wit is the soul of a fast message board. I wonder if those ‘Hi Opal’ posts are considered drive-by-duplicate posts?