A lot of time I will think that I would like to have another thread. I already have over 100 that I have created. I think that my thread would be a good strong thread, I imagine a thread that could be a part of me, but not completely me. Someday my thread may grow into the thread that cures cancer or brings peace to the world. The entire world may come to know my thread. I will be there for the thread, and will take pride in the threads success and feel sorrow at its failure.
But then, I think am I ready to create another thread? Do I really have the time to devote to making it become the best that it can be? Do I really want to make sure that it is being properly cared for. I want to keep it free from jerks and trolls, but there is always that chance that jerks and trolls will be drawn to it for its innocence. Do I really want to bring another thread into a message board like this?
But then it feels so good to go through the motions of posting. Conceiving the OP, sometimes thinking about the OP all day long before I can actually get to the proper place to post. I look longingly at my work laptop and think that I could actually post on that, but it would be wrong. My work computer should not be used like that. It would be wrong. Somehow that only adds to the interest of the posting. There are times where I barely get through the door before my fingers are on the keyboard and are rapidly scanning the Dope. Looking for anything that may hold my interest for a minute or two before I get to the New Post link.
My mouse hovers over the link sometimes for many minutes as I think about what I want the OP to be. Sometimes I just click it quick and get into the OP as quick as I can. I want to make the OP as enjoyable as I can. There are times, a few, when I cannot enter the New Post link. Sometimes I am too drunk, or too tired, sometimes I even have a headache. There are other times where I quickly hit the New Post link and post an OP in less than a minute. I know a lot of times there is no pleasure for the Dopers who read it. I may even apologize later, but mostly I want to forget those. I want to try again later. When I am in the right frame of mind. Maybe with a couple drinks, soft music, the lights low. At these times, I want the OP to last forever. I will become creative, trying things with the OP that I have never done before, trying to make the OP as feel good as I can. I usually get distracted and think about other OP’s and how they made me feel. By this point I am as deep into the OP as I can get. There is nothing left but the climax of my OP. When this point comes, I only have two options.
I could delete the whole thing. But then I could become a thread tease. The type of person who is always starting threads, but never finishing them. Nobody really likes a thread tease do they?
The other option is to press the Submit New Thread link. That poses the problem of have I created too many threads? People may look at me as a loose poster. That is even worse than being a thread tease. Loose posters are always starting threads that they cannot care for and don’t really care about. Eventually, the SDMB may take the thread over, or it may die very young and unknown.
Or, I could click the Submit New Thread tab and create the new thread. Is the thread really alive if no one gets to post to it? If I really regret my decision, I could ask a mod to delete it. Well, I couldn’t do it myself, I would ask someone to ask a mod, or PM a mod and state that I regret the thread that I started and to lock it before it has a chance to be posted to.
Suppose I start the thread and let it stay open. You always have to wonder, did you start the thread in the right forum? Will it get moved to a better forum? Will it get moved to one it is not prepared for? I try to monitor the threads that I create, but sometimes they go astray and become a trainwreck. Sometimes I don’t even feel welcome in my own thread. But if I stay too close to it, it will never develop on its own. It will become a clone of me. Or, it may even rebel against me one day. If I don’t check it frequently, at least early on, it may never even know who I am.
I want all my threads to know that I want them to be the best that they can be and that I love each and every one of my threads.
I have decided that I will try to raise this thread. I know that I will need the support of the Straight Dope community.
SSG Schwartz