Is it considered bad form not to post any further on a thread which you have initiated? I don’t have a desk job and often work long hours which means that sometimes a day or two can elapse before I can get back to the board. I certainly don’t want folks to think I didn’t read and appreciate the responses but neither do I wish to resurrect a thread that’s on its way to the graveyard.
Case by case basis; it’s appropriate to return if you have something worthwhile to say or need to clear up something in response.
You might consider stating your situation in the post, as in “I’ll get back to this when I can, but you can’t expect a response in 15 minutes.” Or whatever the time period is.
your humble TubaDiva
Yeah, just mention it in your OP/post and you should be fine.
I did the same thing when I replied to an OP of a heated issue when I was on one of my days off from summer camp & no internet. I simply started that I would not be back until this date and if necesary to please contact me via e-mail.
If its habitual you might just include it in a signature, but that seems a bit extreme.
/S
I wouldn’t consider a 2 day delay to be an issue. I’d expect a response from you, but assume just a 2 day delay meant you had more pressing real life business. I don’t consider a 3 day old post “in the graveyard”.
I’d think the type of thread would make more of a difference. If you start an IMHO poll, no one probably expects you to come back to it. “What soap do you use in the bath?” is a thread that you’d start, give your answer, and then go back to read at a later date. I don’t think someone should start a Great Debates thread without being able to respond back.
The type of thread that you should be very leary (IMHO) of starting if you can’t respond relatively quickly (and perhaps frequently) (a couple of hours vs. days) is any thread where you are describing a real life interpersonal situation and asking for feedback. If you want us to tell you whether you or your co-worker, spouse, or parent is being the unreasonable one–you had better stick around to answer questions that will help us to decide. Sometimes you can’t, and it isn’t the end of the world. But if you post your dilemna, we like it if you come back and clarify things or tell us that our perspectives (or some of them) have given you ideas for how to better interact with the person.
Otherwise, go with your instincts. I’ve seen threads in Cafe Society on topics like “Best action sequence with blonds from outerspace in a movie made before 1971” where the OP seems to feel it neccessary to explain which movies fit the category or thank people for good ideas every 5 posts. That strikes me as a little obsessive. On the other hand, I’ve seen similar threads where the OP never comes back to explain why 1971 was the cutoff year, and the thread survives anyway.
No one can explain why one thread gets the answers the OP was looking for, one thread dies, and one thread turns into a trainwreck with any degree of completeness. (Some trainwreck topics are predictable- but I’ve seen other threads turn into trainwrecks that I wouldn’t have expected).
Use your best judgement. Never assume that you can tell when a thread is about to head to the graveyard (and your post may get read but won’t get replied to) and when your post will inspire 16 people to post to a thread. But you certainly don’t need to feel like as the OP you should get the last word.
Thanks There were a couple of GD threads that I didn’t get back to till they were on the 3rd page. I didn’t know if it was ok to bump them back to the top by saying thanks.
:smack: I meant GQ. Even I know it’s bad form to start a debate and then walk away.
It is perfect form to bump an inactive thread to thank folks for their answers. If you start a hot-button thread, and you never come back to face the music, some folks will grumble and call you names.
Once in a while, we see a thread where the OP pops up every second or third post to argue with the responses. Some of those become irritating, but it depends on the tone and the intelligence of the conversation. Occasionally, I have been that irritating poster.