# If you were to start an Ask the Thread … **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531 "2014-03-12T13:26:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/1 "2014-03-12T13:26:15Z")
If you were to start an Ask the Thread, what do you think would garner the most replies? In other words, what accomplishment/lifestyle choice/life/event/quality tends to garner the most interest from other people? (Looking for true things here. I’m sure you could make up something wildly interesting, but that’s not my question.) For me, there are two things about me that garner a lot of interest from other people. One is my upbringing in Christian Science; I basically spent my entire childhood without the benefit of doctors or modern medicine, and that intrigues people in a rather horrified way. The other is the fact that I’m an EMT. This seems to fascinate people in a more positive way. So what’s interesting about you? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/2 "2014-03-12T13:36:47Z")
For me, they’re rather mundane; but in casual conversation the two topics people seem to find most fascinating is about sports officiating and I was an NCAA Umpire. The other is that I come from an insanely small town (about 1000 people). ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/3 "2014-03-13T01:06:10Z")
Well, I have to see the doctor tomorrow for something that’s probably nothing, but could of course turn ominous. If I were diagnosed with something sufficiently uncommon, then an “Ask the person with (insert disease/condition here)” thread. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/4 "2014-03-13T01:12:22Z")
I have a few that relate to fertility treatments (so far, IUI and IVF). There is nothing else interesting about me, really. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/5 "2014-03-13T01:30:39Z")
Ask the person who built their own house in the woods. Ask the Luddite. Ask the former novelist. (Actually, please don’t) Ask the convert from Buddhism to Catholicism. Ask the sheepdog trainer. Ask the goatherd. Ask the xeriscaper. Ask the vintage fountain pen enthusiast. There’s probably more, I’m a font of odd little specialities. I’m not sure any of them are interesting to others though. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/6 "2014-03-13T01:31:18Z")
I could do ask the former Mormon and ask the ER doctor but I’m pretty sure they’ve already been done. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/7 "2014-03-13T01:44:22Z")
Isn’t there a repository of stickied “Ask the…” threads in MPSIMS? \ But somewhere, there used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/8 "2014-03-13T01:52:45Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Isn’t there a repository of stickied “Ask the…” threads in MPSIMS? > \ > But somewhere, there used to be. It’s at the top of ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/9 "2014-03-13T01:53:19Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Isn’t there a repository of stickied “Ask the…” threads in MPSIMS? > \ > But somewhere, there used to be. I could do [“Ask the guy who knows where the ‘Ask the…’ archive is”.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634236)🙂 Or, Ask the guy who got ninja’ed by **Loach**. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/10 "2014-03-13T01:59:45Z")
Well, I’m not gay, so I know I ain’t gonna win this game. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/11 "2014-03-13T02:25:32Z")
Ask the original humanoid life form in this galaxy who seeded genetic material in various planet’s primordial soups. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/12 "2014-03-13T02:26:54Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Ask the original humanoid life form in this galaxy who seeded genetic material in various planet’s primordial soups. Photos or it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/13 "2014-03-13T02:35:48Z")
The tricky part is that most of the things that I think others would most want to ask me questions about are either things I don’t particularly want to discuss (e.g. medical problems) or things other Dopers would be better qualified to discuss. I’m an American who used to teach English in Japan, but I know there are several other Dopers who have done this too and at least a few who lived in Japan longer than I did or are still living there. Of things I’d want to talk about that I think would be interesting and helpful to others, my top pick would probably be “Ask the woman who lost weight [through calorie counting alone]”. My title there gives away my big weight-loss secret, but I could talk about the calorie-counting app I used\*, what changes I made in terms of food selection and eating habits, what was easy and hard about this, and so on. But weight loss and food are touchy issues and the strategies that worked for me presumably won’t work for everyone, so I’d be kind of afraid that such a thread would turn into a big trainwreck. \*[MyFitnessPal](http://www.myfitnesspal.com/), for anyone who’s curious. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/14 "2014-03-13T02:43:31Z")
Sadly I got nuthin’. Thanks for pointing it out though. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/15 "2014-03-13T14:42:55Z")
Ask the person who creates an “ask me about” thread and never replies. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/16 "2014-03-13T14:51:34Z")
Ask the fine art/personal property appraiser. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/17 "2014-03-13T14:54:07Z")
Ask the former nuclear submarine officer. Ask the self-published author. That’s all I’ve got so far that’s particularly interesting, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/18 "2014-03-13T17:42:10Z")
I did an [Ask the 9-1-1 Operator](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=681990) thread that got a few replies. Other threads I could do: Ask the American Expat Ask the guy that does Electronic Monitoring of criminals Ask the scuba instructor ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/19 "2014-03-13T19:27:11Z")
Ask the Person Who Interviews Student Applicants for an Ivy League School. (I made a post years back about the matter. Some of the stories I’ve acquired as a result of this volunteer gig are almost unbelievable) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531/20 "2014-03-13T19:38:01Z")
I do taxes, bookkeeping and QuickBooks for a living. There’s no shortage of questions people have about those. What I really need is a “Please, for the love of God, STOP asking me…” thread. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-to-start-an-ask-the-thread/683531.md?page=2)