I’ve been here at the SD for some years, but, started as a newbie to the internet, and, really still limit my time to here and a few other sites. When I read a thread, especially if I think of replying, I read the whole thread, and try to mentally make note of the poster who wrote it. This seems common courtesy of discourse to my mind. You can’t get the whole flow of the conversation without doing that,to my mind, and then reply sensibly. I’m not the sharpest rock in the box, here, but try to pay some attention.
Yet, I do see people who post the same thing as posted upthread. How do ya other Dopers read threads? One difference might be that I read the SD only at night, not posting from work, so no interruption of focus.
I pretty much always read the whole thread, but sometimes I’ll manage to skip a post or two if something distracts me. Also, sometimes I’ll take a long time replying, and some posts slip in before mine, and might happen to say more or less what I was trying to say!
Yes, I read the whole thread. I find it mildly aggravating to see people post: “I haven’t read the whole thread, but [makes point made by several posters on page 2].”
I frequently don’t read all posts in a thread–but if I don’t read all posts in a thread, I almost never post to the thread. Threads longer than a certain (ambiguous) point are too long and often too convoluted and contentious for me to wish to contribute to anyway. If I really feel a need to contribute to a thread, I do try to go back and make sure no one has made my point–or made my point redundant (I hate reading a post by someone who is responding to the first post in the thread, and then reading a follow up post saying “oops, nevermind” when that person figures out that the poster who started the thread has clarified their position or changed their mind.)
Always check the times of post before saying it’s been posted. The delays in replies do cause some of it. Other times you put together a nice reply over half an hour, and then see a similar post. Sometimes I post it because I went to a lot of effort to write a post, and by God I’m posting it, to show the effert was made. Other times it comes down to confirmation by a second person to sway somebody to the dark side of the source Luke. I don’t read all of a game thread that are multipage, when the last couple entries are all that matter.
If I have any intention of replying, I’ll read all of the posts. I try to avoid doing a “me too!” post, but make exceptions for threads like this.
Frequently if I stumble across a thread with 4+ pages, I won’t read them all, especially if it’s the Pit, where a lot of the posts will be one or two people dancing around the same arguments with each other. Those are just dull to read.
When I see a post whioch starts “I haven’t read the thread, but …”, well that’s my cue to think that if the poster doesn’t care enough to know what we’re talking about, I don’t care enough to read what they might say. So that post get skipped.
Eureka & Harmonious Discord said the rest of what I would say.
I would suggest that each forum has its own norms. e.g. GQ &GD have two very different expectations of the flow of a thread.
I’ll also read the whole thread before I post. Sometimes I’ll lose my patience and just find some other thread to read, but I don’t end up posting in those. Rather like Eureka.
Another me too, reading all the posts before replying.
But I don’t always make note of who wrote a post. Which explains why over in Cafe Society, I read the “My Name is Tangent (Earl)” thread title and wondered what a tangent had to do with that episode. :smack:
I usually read a thread until the point of the thread has been resolved and/or someone has already said what I was going to contribute. Unless it is a really interesting thread, I will move on to another thread at that point.
Yes, it is annoying to me as well when some reposts a response from a page before. That is the same as say “I didn’t bother reading the whole thread, but I’m going to post anyway.”
(Iknow this is just another “me too!” post, but this is the only circumstance that I would do it.
I hate to say “me too,” but brewha’s post is pretty much word-for-word what I’d say. I’ll add, though, that sometimes I won’t always move on to another thread; I’ll continue in case the one I’m looking at heads off on a tangent for which I might be able to contribute something.
