Although I’ve been on the SDMB quite awhile lurking, I obviously am still pretty new to the whole replying thing, as evidenced by my pathetically low post count. Anyway, after answering some thread today, I returned to the “active” page of one of the forums and was horrified to see my name listed as the last person to have responded on that topic. Eek! More so if you actually (gasp!) start a topic. Oh my Og, your name will ALWAYS be out there for the whole world to look at!!
So, I guess I’m wondering if anyone else ever thinks that or feels that way. You know, that since this is such a close-knit community, that such a youngster here doesn’t really have the right to talk, won’t be acknowledged/heard/listened to, is just a pest maybe, or overall, hopefully, invisible. I mean, I know I’m paranoid over something so silly, but I’m praying I’m not the only one. Surely, my sane and reasoned side is correct, and that it’s all ok. However, mommy, tell me I’m not all alone.
Please. Whimper.
Now I’ll just go back over here and stand against this wall and hope no one notices me. Where’s a disappearing smiley when ya need it? Guess I’ll just go with the hiding-behind-the-shades guy I used above.
Well, it won’t go away unless somebody replies, and replies are slow coming around here late Saturday nights on holiday weekends, so it might as well be me.
When I was just starting out, I would constantly check and re-check the threads I had posted to, hoping that no one did see that I posted a reply. I just knew that if someone read my replies, they would find something horribly wrong with it and I would be banned immediately.
hopefool, if it helps, you’re not the only one who obsesses over this. There have been threads lately devoted to it, with people calculating their thread-killing ratio to the nth degree. Let me say this: as a dedicated lurker and seldom poster, I never think anything “bad” about the last poster in a thread, i.e., that they “killed” it! Sometimes the last post just is, last! It’s no disgrace. Chin up.
Be cool, don’t freak out. My first post drew lots of in-your-face responses. I named the wrong University as the original font of Gatorade (trademark.) I had a couple other errors in my maiden voyage. Nonetheless, a handful of Dopers seem to regard me as someone who sometimes knows what I’m saying.
You’ll note that, as I approach retirement, I’m narrowing my horizons.
I’m so grateful that you all showed up to answer my tenative query! Especially esteemed, established, cool posters like yourselves. You guys rock!! Oh, and where did y’all say I could pick up those Brownie Points?
{{{hugs all around}}}
Perhaps now I’ll be a little less self-conscious and just wait for it to start getting better. I hope. Though this does mean I will be up on the board twice, as last respondee. The horror!
hopefool, I just have to say I love your name! And I’m not just posting so your name isn’t last. If I kill this thread, so be it, it won’t be the first one, it’s a risk I’m willing take to welcome you to the Board!
This community is what it is because many people have eventually found their voices and contributed, and just remember, we all started out with zero posts. For my first year or so, I debated over every single post I would make, and rarely said anything.
To be fair, there are certain advantages and disadvantages to being a newbie/low post count poster. As a youngster here, your ideas will be more likely to be taken at face value and can’t be colored by the history of your posts here. On the other hand, people don’t know if you have a history of reasonable posts or if you have a history of saying ridiculous things, so your ideas must stand out more on their own merits.
One big thing to remember is that most of us are rather invisible here, and if that’s what you want, you’ve got it. (Well, for the most part.) Invisibility generally decreases as a function of post count, but it’s not an ironclad law either. There are posters with double digit post counts who are well-known, some for the reasonableness of their posts and some for the total idiocy of their posts. There are also posters with many thousands of posts who are more or less unknown.
Don’t think you can hide from me though, hopefool!
I say don’t worry about it, just hurl yourself around recklessly. If you want to follow my path, make lots of one-line smartass comments, post Onion links like mad, and contribute nothing intellectual.
I figure obscurity is marginally better than notoriety.
I think I am king of threadkilling, but I’m probably not really. What’s the most fun, though, is when you start a thread, need to append a comment immediatlely, and then find yourself both the thread originator and the last poster in a thread with non-zero replies. You’ve just proved you’re the only person interested in your own topic. This is indeed my specialty.
I too, am a newbie, and I have “killed” a thread or two…
No, it isn’t just you…I think we all have gone thru the “oh my god, are they ignoring me???Am I not worth a response?”
Of course, you could always look on the bright side:
Maybe your final response answered the question, or, was so brilliant, that no one could top it!!!
[of course, then I fall of my high horse and get stomped and shit upon as reality rears its ugly head]
Kallessa~ Thanks so much on the mention of my name. Much thought went into it and seeing as how I’m a hopeless optimist with a decided pessimistic/realist streak, it seemed particularly suiting.
auntnut~ Woohoo! Another one of us younguns. Thank you tons for showing up here and making me feel better. Now I’m not alone in being just a mere babe. Perhaps we can kill a thread together sometime.
Zenster~ You SO don’t want me in your recipe thread. About the best that I can do on the cooking front is tuna fish. Not a pretty sight, I tell ya. But now that I’ve got you here, you have anything good on white queso? I’ve found a couple on the net featuring Asado (sp?) cheese and so far, it just ain’t turning out right. Little help from the master please, if you have the time or inclination.
And to everyone else, I really appreciate all the support and encouragement. As I’ve already said, you all are the best. I do feel welcome, I’m just really intrepid. It really is a wonderful place here and I learn something new every single thread (well, for the most part) I open. I just hope to be known for good, solid input and thoughtful posting. :::crosses fingers::: However, I’m sure there’ll be plenty silliness and dorkiness too on my road to whatever history I’ll have. Hopefully, it won’t be too bad.
Oh, and to my absolute favoritest Doper lel~ I was hoping that you wouldn’t forget me. Gotta stay visible just for that.
Don’t feel bad, hopefool. I used to check the threads I responded to constantly in the fear that everyone on this board would reveal me as the idiot I sometimes feel. But so far, everyone has been consistently kind and polite. I think you’ll find that with a few exceptions, this is a very nice group of people.
I’m also glad your SDMB hero has noticed you! Mine hasn’t, but then I’ve only been active a few months.
hopefool I am an extreme newbie, and my very first thread was viewed 80 times, and not a single person responded. Not that I expected it, but no one did. Oh well. Just like KCSuze I checked all day long to see if anyone cared, and if anyone thought that I was this huge moron for talking smack about the folks in my waiting room.
I think I killed a few threads too, so join the club!
We’ve all killed threads at some time or another but it’s hardly something to be embarrassed about (but I guess a line can be drawn at some point ) But I usually prefer chipping in early in a thread rather than later. And I usually won’t post in a thread that already has more than a 100 replies.
Even when my post number gets higher and higher, I’ll probably still be looking over my shoulder to see if anyone else has said anything about me or whatever… paranoia I guess.
Yeah, be of good cheer and good heart and you’ll certainly be welcome here.
I do agree that sometimes the community can be hard on newbies. But those newbies who get smacked are generally the mean-spirited ones who either can’t or won’t adhere to the standards of the community and do so in attention-seeking ways.
So be nice and we’re a go!
Welcome aboard, all you newbies. Don’t give a damn about your post count and just have a good time. That’s what it’s all about.
Chin up.
The horror!
