# How do you read the 'Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2026, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626 "2026-06-04T20:27:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/1 "2026-06-04T20:27:14Z")
I usually click my avatar to see if someone is responding to something I’ve said. Then I go to all categories and usually go to Factual Questions. Then Cafe Society. That’s usually all the time (or attention span) I have. If I have more time I will go to IMHO, MPSIMS,BBQ pit and About This Message board in that order. I almost never read Thread Games, Great Debates or Politics. No to Quarantine Zone or Marketplace. And I usually only read at work - sometimes at home but not very often. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/2 "2026-06-04T20:39:54Z")
Here’s a whole thread on pretty much your topic. > [@FOMO & Navigating the Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fomo-navigating-the-dope/1012594): > > Not sure if this is the right forum. Move if necessary. What is your method/procedure for making fairly sure you sweep through the board and see the stuff that you are interested in? (FOMO = “fear of missing out”) During the recent past, I followed and “watched” trump and election threads, but I don’t any more. In the more distant past I had a protocol for navigating the various forums that made me think (or gave me the illusion anyway) that I was seeing stuff I was most interested in and not m… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/3 "2026-06-04T20:43:24Z")
Interesting, it didn’t come up with a search. Maybe because of their title… or my imprecise search terms. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/4 "2026-06-04T21:03:57Z")
Check for responses, then hit Latest and go down the list. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/5 "2026-06-04T21:07:24Z")
I also click on my avatar if it shows any responses. I don’t have Watching/Tracking set on any threads–just Normal. Then I just go to latest threads and read down. Note I have the majority of the Dope posts excluded from my feed–I exclude Politics, Trump, Thread Games, Game Room and a few other minor things. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/6 "2026-06-04T21:21:24Z")
I scroll through. Read Ops if it looks interesting. I might respond. I try really really hard to watch for the forum I’m reading. I trip up there. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/7 "2026-06-04T21:25:38Z")
I scroll through the Latest entries and see what catches my interest. I usually read at work but sometimes log on at home. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/8 "2026-06-04T21:35:44Z")
I use the normal default notifications, so I don’t have to click on my avatar to see if I have any notifications, I just check to see if there’s a little number in a yellow circle beside it. Also, any new notifications appear as a number in parentheses in the browser tab, so I can see it even when browsing on a different site. Other than that, I generally just scan the “latest” posts – a very handy Discourse feature – and check out some of my favourite ongoing threads. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/9 "2026-06-04T23:02:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > then hit Latest and go down the list. Hmm, I’ve never used that feature. This thread is already paying off! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/10 "2026-06-04T23:25:57Z")
Look at avatar for a blue flag, look at banner for "Unread’ threads that I’m tracking, look at those responses. Then hit FQ, then maybe MPSIMS. I gotta do all this in 5 minute spurts 'cause it’s all the free time I get anymore. Tripler . . . gotta run! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/11 "2026-06-05T01:43:45Z")
I have Unread set up so that it’s basically threads I’ve posted in. So I go there first. If somebody’s replied to me directly, it’ll show a number ar my avatar, so I’ll click to see what thread that is; but I usually won’t go straight to the reply, I’ll usually open the thread from the Unread list and read it from where I left off. After I’m through the Unread list I’ll check New. Occasionally I’ll check Latest. But usually if I’m interested in a thread I’ve said something in it (I talk a lot), so what’s in Latest that didn’t show up in Unread or New is mostly threads I wasn’t that interested in anyway. I never go by category, unless I’m looking for something specific and think I know what category it’s in. I don’t usually even know what category I’m reading, though I try to remember to check before posting anything that only fits in some categories. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/12 "2026-06-05T09:17:01Z")
I start at the BBQ Pit, refresh the page, and catch up on the threads that I follow. I also read any new threads to see if they interest me. Transplanted threads from other fora I’ll give a chance if they’re not too long. When I’m done in the Pit, I check for notifications, then navigate to the joke thread in MPSIMS (which I have open in a dedicated tab) and catch up. Then I head for the caption contest to see if I can provide something I find funny. Then I look for not-too-long threads\* in MPSIMS, FQ, IMHO, and Cafe Society. When I get home from work, I take my meds, play Wordle, and post my results. \*by “not-too-long” I mean both new threads and ones I’ve been following and haven’t fallen far behind on ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/13 "2026-06-08T16:25:34Z")
BBQ pit first. Then, if I notice that I have a reply, that thread. Then, as in navigational order, I read Factual Questions Great Debates (I skim this, I find it a little tedious) Politics and Elections (I skim this too, latest Trump outrage doesnt mean much to me, plus I am not from the USA, and despite some valiant efforts to discuss UK politics, - and I am a U K citizen, non resident - I find that dull too) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/14 "2026-06-08T17:08:01Z")
I usually scroll between the main forums: Questions, debates, p and e, cafe society, game room, humble opinions, mundane stuff, and the Pit. I don’t go into thread games, and I only go into the About one on rare occasions. If you people aren’t entertaining me with current events, I’ll sometimes re-read old threads I started years ago. Or I’ll pick some random event and put it in the search engine (“J Edgar Hoover” or “JFK Assassination”, perhaps) and find some rabbit hole to go down. Or, instead of getting to the bottom of a thread and getting a list of “suggested” threads, I’ll switch it to “related” and look up an old discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/15 "2026-06-09T01:04:16Z")
I start with FQ, read any threads that seem interesting, add to them if I can add something useful. Then I skim GD, usually don’t find anything of interest. Skim PE for the latest Trump outrage, then INHO where I read any interesting looking thread. Then I open MSPIMS, read anything interesting and the latest jokes and then leave. Occasionally, I open CS and GR, but rarely. BBP almost never. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-read-the-dope/1030626/16 "2026-07-15T19:32:53Z")
FQ, IMHO, MPIMS, BBQ and then P&E. That usually covers any responses to me, but then I check.