# How many pages will make you just ignore a thread?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 30, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856 "2006-04-30T18:15:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/1 "2006-04-30T18:15:23Z")
I noted this comment from [Ed’s Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5974543&postcount=813)
It occurred to me that when a thread has “too many” pages, I won’t even bother to open it. Probably someone else has said whatever I may have to contribute. Also, it probably is just a “trainwreck”; a few people (usually two) going back and forth about some issue, usually political, repeating themselves, or repeating repeating themselves when they feel someone is not getting their point.
How about you? How many pages will it take before you just don’t even bother to open a thread?
For me it’s usually about **three pages**. Unless, of course, the topic is extraordinarily salacious, and I don’t have any laundry to do.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/2 "2006-04-30T18:48:40Z")
I’m here off and on all day long (no life) so if a thread title sounds interesting, I’ll see it before it gets long.
But if I’m away for a few days, come back and see an interesting thread title, I’ll open and read it no matter how long it is.
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### Author:  [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/3 "2006-04-30T19:01:02Z")
I’ll open a thread that’s three pages. Any more than that, forget it. Unless I’m incredibly bored and my curiosity gets the best of me, but then I’m scanning it, not really reading all of it.
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### Author:  [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/4 "2006-04-30T19:02:05Z")
If it’s a thread that I haven’t been following, then three pages is about as much as I will care to peruse before passing it over. Anything beyond that, and there’s a good chance that nothing I would contribute would add much, if any value to the thread. If it’s a really interesting thread, however, I will allow for more pages. In such cases I will look at the first few threads and then skip to the end. If the thread has deteriorated to an exchange amongst a few posters quoting each other’s replies (as is often the case in the Pit, for example) then I’ll pass on it.
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### Author:  [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/5 "2006-04-30T19:04:34Z")
I generally scan through those threads that are a single page first, then if nothing’s interesting (or once I’ve read and replied to the single-pagers I think are interesting), I go back and scan through the ones that are two or three pages. Any more than that, and unless it’s on a topic I’m particularly interested in, I generally don’t bother.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/6 "2006-04-30T19:32:19Z")
Depends on if I’m involved:
Involved: I’ll read until it gets dull.
Uninvolved: Third page and I’m gone.
I don’t like to read a thread that has gone so far I’ll never contribute to it. Once I contribute, however, I’m with it for awhile.
It will be interesting to see how long this thread goes…before I stop caring.
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/7 "2006-04-30T21:13:46Z")
If I have time, say doing a mailing at work or something, then I will deliberately look for a 6-page thread about an interesting topic and read it through. Gives me something to do. But I will almost never post in it, and if I do post in it, it will probably be a very small point.
Otherwise I usually open pages that are 1-2 pages long.
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### Author:  [@Purl\_little\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purl_little_me)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/8 "2006-04-30T23:34:19Z")
To give you a hint, I almost passed this thread because it already had six answers.
I hate to be the 30th one to comment on something. That’s about as much fun as shouting my answer from the ferris wheel as the crowd passes below - some may hear, but who would care?
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### Author:  [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/9 "2006-05-01T01:29:18Z")
Three, unless it contains Sampiro stories…
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### Author:  [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/10 "2006-05-01T01:36:18Z")
I will READ a thread for a page or two if it’s interesting, but I will very rarely POST if it’s over a page.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/11 "2006-05-01T03:58:43Z")
> [@Fetchund](#):
>
> Three, unless it contains Sampiro stories…
Do you have a good example of one?
I’ll admit that I post mostly in threads that have very few posts. I do this because I know others will read it and possible remark on it. It’s an ego thing.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/12 "2006-05-01T04:05:22Z")
Unless it’s a topic near and dear to my heart, I won’t open a thread that’s already into the second page. My own personal experience has been than I’ll see a post on the first page that I really really really want to reply to, but I don’t feel it’s polite to do so when my reply is going to appear on page three or later. It’s too similar to ressurecting a thread that’s three pages back in the archive.
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### Author:  [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/13 "2006-05-01T06:14:24Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> Do you have a good example of one?
>
> I’ll admit that I post mostly in threads that have very few posts. I do this because I know others will read it and possible remark on it. It’s an ego thing.
Pretty much all of his OPs are worth reading, but this one has to be the classic: [Woman behold thy daughter, daughter thy mother, & BOTH OF YOU LOSE MY NUMBER!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326481)
Personally, I’ll rarely bother reading a thread if it’s more than two pages, unless I’ve been following it from the beginning, and I definitely won’t post past the second page. If nothing else, I can pretty much guarantee that by the second or third page someone else will have made whatever point I had, and probably more eloquently than I could have.
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### Author:  [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/14 "2006-05-01T08:33:18Z")
Unless it’s something that I’m really interested in, I usually won’t post in threads that are more than two pages long. I’ll read them, no matter how long they are, I just usually don’t post. I usually feel that whatever I have to say probably has already been said, and I don’t like to add “me too” posts all the time.
However, I have read threads that were over six pages long pretty much post for post.
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### Author:  [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/15 "2006-05-01T09:37:43Z")
Depends on whether or not it seems like I might want to contribute.
If it’s a thread that I think is interesting but I really just want to read how the conversation is going then no length is too long. Often though I’ll just read the last page and then going back if there are any interesting quotes.
If it’s a thread that is interesting and I may want to apply then generaly 60 posts is where I strongly consider moving on.
If it’s a poll thread then I’d say 30 begins to be the point where I assume someone else has already made any points I would have and move on. Only 13 posts brought me here.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/16 "2006-05-01T09:59:37Z")
Usually if it is more than 3 pages long, I don’t look at it.
Ecept: if it is really long, like more than 5 pages, I like to read the OP then the comments on the last page to see how far they have gotten off the original topic.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/17 "2006-05-01T11:47:55Z")
I have ADD so if it’s longer than a page; I’ve lost intrest.
One silly way I DO like to amuse myself with long threads like that is I’ll read the first 12 or so posts then skip to the very last page and read like the last 12 or so posts.
It’s funny to see how some threads can completely turn into bizzare directions. This is exspecialy true for threads in the pit.
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### Author:  [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/18 "2006-05-01T15:42:44Z")
Depends on what it’s about. If I would be interested at 1 page, why not 6?
Typically I’ll start reading a thread and see if it holds my interest , I may read all the replies or I might not.
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### Author:  [@SilentStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentStorm)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/19 "2006-05-01T15:57:51Z")
Depends on what kind of thread it is. I hesitate to get involved in a political debat that’s past two pages. Posts are long and often repetitive, and it’s too tedious to make counterpoints on that much material. But if it’s really interesting and I have something to say that hasn’t already been said yet, I have no problem reading through everything.
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### Author:  [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-pages-will-make-you-just-ignore-a-thread/354856/20 "2006-05-01T16:23:19Z")
Three. Yup. For all the reasons listed above.
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