# Read the OP, people! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 8, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422 "2019-01-08T19:47:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/1 "2019-01-08T19:47:35Z")
I see this constantly–someone out of necessity gives a thread a breif title, then elaborates in the original post. Then follow dozens or hundreds of replies that do not fit the criteria for the OP, showing that responders didn’t bother to read the actual post before replying to the title. [The latest example is from CS](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=868576), where someone asks about a fictional character meeting a real-life person _who isn’t being played by an actor_. What follows is–predictably–list after list of characters meeting a real-life character _who was played by an actor_. This is just one example, but you likely could dig up _hundreds_ of others if you try. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/2 "2019-01-08T19:55:54Z")
tldr Am I the first? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/3 "2019-01-08T20:00:52Z")
I, too, hate coyotes, and applaud the OP. Whoever thought taking a wild animal (with millennia of non-domesticated instincts) into a city would work? Let alone a home. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/4 "2019-01-08T20:05:19Z")
Forget the debate about misogyny, this is hands down the thing that drives me barmiest at SDMB. It happens every single time that an OP contains more info than the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/5 "2019-01-08T20:06:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I, too, hate coyotes, and applaud the OP. Whoever thought taking a wild animal (with millennia of non-domesticated instincts) into a city would work? Let alone a home. Didn’t you read the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/6 "2019-01-08T20:09:20Z")
The OP is right, charter schools _are_ decreasing literacy. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/7 "2019-01-08T20:09:56Z")
I don’t know, man. I think that designer babies are inevitable - once you have the first few out there, it’ll be an arms race. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/8 "2019-01-08T20:10:49Z")
Did not read the thread. tldr Am I the first? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/9 "2019-01-08T20:16:39Z")
This shit happens a lot and it’s annoying. Everyone makes mistakes and I have certainly misread the OP a time or two and fucked up. There are a small handful of people who do it regularly to the extent that you can tell with a certainty that they are going to show up with something off topic, especially if they can shoe in something from their personal agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/10 "2019-01-08T20:17:29Z")
I have a long convoluted story about the lil’wrekker that would fit right in the thread title. Wanna hear it? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/11 "2019-01-08T20:19:58Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > This shit happens a lot and it’s annoying. Everyone makes mistakes and I have certainly misread the OP a time or two and fucked up. There are a small handful of people who do it regularly to the extent that you can tell with a certainty that they are going to show up with something off topic, especially if they can shoe in something from their personal agenda. What’s that got to do with the OP’s disgust with high school academic decathlon? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/12 "2019-01-08T20:22:33Z")
While I understand the frustration, I would not assume people didn’t real the OP in that case. The clarification is a single following sentence fragment that can be easily misread. And, well, the title could be better: “Fictional characters who met real people playing themselves.” Or even just “Real people playing themselves in fictional works.” Yes, sometimes people seem to reply to titles without reading the OP. And I agree this is frustrating. But it’s usually not nearly every poster in the thread. In that case, I would call the OP unclear. (Heck, as far as I can tell, only two posters got it right, and both acted like it was a special case, rather than the only two that actually fit the OP.) If I were you, I’d go into the thread and clarify, rather than Pit them. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/13 "2019-01-08T20:24:22Z")
What’s this about coyotes meeting fictional characters? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/14 "2019-01-08T20:25:46Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have a long convoluted story about the lil’wrekker that would fit right in the thread title. Wanna hear it? Sure, knock yerself out. I won’t read it, but have your fun. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/15 "2019-01-08T20:34:01Z")
Totally agree with the OP. Without making a joke (that has been done many times and better than I could manage)some people seem to be in such a hurry to tell their view they rarely read the previous posts (and I put my hand up). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/16 "2019-01-08T20:43:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, well, the title could be better: “Fictional characters who met real people playing themselves.” Or even just “Real people playing themselves in fictional works.” You’re still not getting it. QEII didn’t “play herself” in _Misery_ and none of the US Presidents did in _Forrest Gump_, the plot just made it clear the characters met them by using methods other than getting an actor to play them (whether the actor is playing him/herself or not) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/17 "2019-01-08T20:55:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sure, knock yerself out. I won’t read it, but have your fun. I see how you are.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/18 "2019-01-08T21:55:36Z")
My recipe for that doesn’t include cinnamon. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/19 "2019-01-08T22:45:23Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > You’re still not getting it. QEII didn’t “play herself” in _Misery_ and none of the US Presidents did in _Forrest Gump_, the plot just made it clear the characters met them by using methods other than getting an actor to play them (whether the actor is playing him/herself or not) Hmm, from that thread’s OP: “Excluding the genre of alternative history, actors and actresses playing famous people, and famous people doing cameos in movies or TV shows” _ **BUT** _ "And there are all the VIPs shown, thanks to CGI and manipulation of historical footage, in Zelig and Forrest Gump. " So you claim using, eh call it ‘repurposed imagery’ of an real historical personage in a new context (like JFK in Gump) is NOT a ‘virtual’ (ugh, that overused word) cameo of that person in that context? Me thinks the OP’er didn’t get his own thread constraints… ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422/20 "2019-01-08T22:58:47Z")
Really? We gotta do this thing about handshakes _again_? It’s not even the right month for that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-the-op-people/827422.md?page=2)