I started this thread and thought for sure I would get some reactions. I really wanted some reactions. I got 30-some reads and no replies. I think it was because I posted it at the beginning of the long weekend (for some of the Americans), but perhaps I posted it in the wrong forum. Or just possibly nobody gives a rat’s hiney (surely not!).
So, how bad is a bump four or five days later, and for that matter, does this count as a bump because it might garner a response? How about rephrasing (or not) your initial thread and posting it to a different forum? If this thread gets no responses, I’ll know it’s a conspiracy!
OK, so this thread as a bump of the other one is alright, then, so I’d better not bump the actual thread or that would be twice. Thanks for your input; you were nice to take the time.
Good question, though. I posted a new thread about the voting for baseball’s All Star Game, and got no responses, either. Thanks for asking - I might go bump it once, now.
Oh, just bump them for gooddness sake. It’s really no skin off anyone’s nose if they fine one extra old thread name to skip past. Everybody skips dozens every time they scan the list.
Plus, you know lot of people don’t look past the first page of thread names. So if your thread falls off the end in less a day, many people will never have seen it, even if they are regulars. This isn’t a science, and there are no real etiquette mavens here except those that are self-proclaimed.
I sometimes suspect that a lot of people won’t open a thread with zero replies (I know I often won’t). So, by bumping the thread, not only are you bringing it back into view, you’re also giving it a reply, and an incentive for others to open it.
My apologies, A.W. I had read that in the FAQ some time ago, believe it or not. My post was really a sneaky way to try to get people to read my initial thread without bumping it. This was inappropriate and I apologize.
I think your original post was actually too long. If you had just put the first paragraph as is, then a paragraph summarizing your argument, it would have gotten more responses. Most people feel the need to read the whole OP before posting (I hope), and that’s a really long one.
Also, I think the average poster looks for an easy entry point to the discussion. Like a question or statement set off at the end or beginning. This can even be the title, if it’s intriguing. The only one I see in your post is: “Are any of you appalled at this man’s campaign web site?”, which just doesn’t lend itself to discussion.
So I would say bump it, but not just with “bump”. Add something new that people can respond to.
kniz and SmackFu, you’re right. I’m just too egotistical to believe it wasn’t a thread with good possibilities. Definitely WAY too long. I’m not bumping it because I see now there really isn’t anything to discuss, it’s just kind of a rant. Thanks for your responses. I’m still learning about this great cyberworld of the SDMB.
But what I’ve found myself doing to make a question more appealing is presenting it in a controversial format, or otherwise trying to think of a cute way to present it. But the format of the question affects the answer it prompts, and this really runs against my grain.
I had a recent post that I very much wanted an answer about, but since there was nothing controversial about the question, I simply stated it. Two or three people very kindly answered, but I know there are several others with expertise in this area on the board, and I’m realizing now I would have prompted more answers by putting it in the Pit, with profanity in its title.
At its worst, and I’ve made myself popular by saying this before, are people who just want to chat, and will say absolutely anything to get attention. As a result, the SDMB is burdened by 100,000s of posts with virtually no content whatever.
Thanks for asking - I might go bump it once, now.