# SDMB pet peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722 "2003-12-13T03:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/21 "2003-12-13T15:10:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*I do this far, far too often. :bashful: It’s just quicker to type into the Quick Reply box than to hit Quote and wait for the screen to load. I know, it’s just laziness, but that’s probably why other people do it at times. \*\* Aaaannnnd… there’s another of **amarone** ’s peeves - the lack of Preview. :bashful: was supposed to be the :o smiley… ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/22 "2003-12-13T15:39:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > \*\*-Posters (particularly veteran ones) who don’t know how to code, as well as those who invent their own method of quoting and those who respond to an entirely quoted post with a one-word or one-sentence comment. > > -Complaints about board features or board speed, especially the self-centered ones: “I like to [post, search, etc.] this such-and-such way, so let’s change the board so that it’s easier for me.” \*\* Oh my gosh, YES. Are you me? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by amarone_ > **People who don’t use the Quote button and instead do a far inferior job using their own quote style.** See, it’s just NOT difficult at all. In fact, I have just hand-coded your quote up there. Coding is one of the first things I learned to do - I had the helpful-hint page on bookmark, open in another window, for most of the first month I was posting. ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/23 "2003-12-13T15:45:43Z")
Answers in GQ that are just wild-ass speculation. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/24 "2003-12-13T16:07:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skwerl \* > \*\* > > One is when people don’t realize that 4 other posters in a thread have posted the exact same information they did. I guess it’s a failure to actually read the thread. > \*\* 1. This is my number one pet peeve but I’d argue that many **have** read the thread but feign ignorance so they can let everyone know that they know the answer too. 2. Unsubstantiated claims that something in GQ “sounds like a myth” in an attempt to curry favor with board skeptics. Also any WAGS in GQ. 3. I don’t mind people who use the term “straw man” nearly as much as I mind people who attack them. 4. Sport posting and \ type posts that someone has already mentioned. 5. People that can’t admit to being wrong 6. People who use the term “class act” when referring to those few who have actually made an apology. 7. Junior modding 8. Saying that modding is a “thankless job” in defense of bad judgments on the part of mods. 9. Sycophance to mods or other popular members. 10. Those who wait to see the trend of responses to a rant before hopping on. Responses to pittings are often initially slow but as people see the tone of responses they feel safe to jump on knowing they have backup. 11. People who rant about punctuation and/or grammar. 12. People who make obvious/easy/safe rants that they know don’t have the potential for controversy. This is a tricky one. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/25 "2003-12-13T16:14:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skwerl \* > **One is when people don’t realize that 4 other posters in a thread have posted the exact same information they did. I guess it’s a failure to actually read the thread. They must just read the question and click the “Post Reply” button.** Worse, if they say, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M THE FIRST TO MENTION…” Here’s a clue: if you’re going to use this phrase, hit Ctrl+F (first click somewhere near the top of your page, so the search doesn’t miss text) and search for a couple key words to make sure that you really _are_ the first. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/26 "2003-12-13T17:24:47Z")
Hello, my name is delphica and I am a book snob. Not so much a content-based book snob, actually, I’ve got plenty in the way of questionable taste myself, but there are a few things I see in Cafe Society threads that drive me bonkers. 1. When someone posts to ask people to recommend a book. Period. How about giving us some sense of what you like, what you don’t like, what you’re interested in? Oh, I see, you want people to recommend _good_ books. That makes it much easier. I’ll just cross off all the bad books I was about to recommend, and focus on the good books. 2. When someone posts to ask people to recommend a book, and gives information about what he likes, doesn’t like, is interested in; and: a. posters respond by recommending books that do not in any way relate to the information given by the OP. I hate to point fingers (okay, that was hyperbole because that’s exactly what I’m about to do), but the worst examples seem to be from folks recommending fantasy/science fiction. I have seen OPs that state specifically that the poster doesn’t care for fantasy/science fiction, and scores of posters who then recommend fantasy/science fiction titles. EXEMPT FROM MY CRITICISM: people who take the time to say “You mentioned you don’t like fantasy/science fiction, but you might want to try _101 Flying Dragons from Outer Space_ anyway because you also said you liked military fiction, and this book is very heavy on the military strategy and light on the science fiction.” b. People who respond to a book recommended by someone else, by saying “_101 Flying Dragons from Outer Space_ sucks!” Wow, that’s so helpful. 1. Snide commentary about people’s tastes. The old “oh, _101 Flying Dragons from Outer Space_ is okay if you like trashy books, I suppose.” Anyone who mentions that he only likes “highbow,” “literary,” or “quality” books automatically goes on my list of people whose opinions of books I care nothing about. DISCLAIMER: This is not to say that I don’t like talking about a book’s literary merits – sure, some books are pure fluff and some are very intellectual … it’s the automatic dismisal of any book not deemed to be “literary” that chaps my backside. 2. People who offer opinions of books THEY HAVE NOT READ. Does this need any explanation? And there you have it, the world as it should be according to yours truly. Hey, you asked! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/27 "2003-12-13T17:29:08Z")
Troll feeding. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/28 "2003-12-13T18:15:53Z")
**Hamadryad** ’s naked-list post goes well with **delphica** ’s book-snob one to make up my biggest frustration here. Saying “\ by \ is the greatest!” doesn’t help us, people! Give us a hint! ---
**Author:** ![CarlaH1210](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee59a6/32.png) [@CarlaH1210](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarlaH1210)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/29 "2003-12-13T18:47:12Z")
Answers in GQ that go overboard, as if it’s a contest to see who can give the most detailed, fact laden reply. If I ask how to boil an egg, I don’t need an explanation of where eggs come from, nor do I care which came first. I’m also not asking about the health risks/benefits related to egg consumption. Just tell me how to boil an egg. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/30 "2003-12-13T19:52:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CarlaH1210 \* > \*\*If I ask how to boil an egg, I don’t need an explanation of where eggs come from, nor do I care which came first. I’m also not asking about the health risks/benefits related to egg consumption. Just tell me how to boil an egg. \*\* You forget the inevitable 2 page debate over whether eggs are bad for you or not. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/31 "2003-12-13T20:01:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*You forget the inevitable 2 page debate over whether eggs are bad for you or not. \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by CarlaH1210_ > **I’m also not asking about the health risks/benefits related to egg consumption.** No, she didn’t. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/32 "2003-12-13T20:35:42Z")
Before stating my pet peeves I am guilty of “I can’t believe that you haven’t mentioned…” Yes, I’ve used that a great deal. And sometimes I really go overboard and count postings and/or pages and say that as part of the “I can’t believe…” posting. That being said - I can’t believe these haven’t been mentioned: • Vague titles Sometimes you’ll see a posting such as “Has this ever happened to you?” and then you’ll investigate the details and it is an incredibly obscure topic of which you know nothing (and don’t care). • People starting threads and then _never_ returning. Especially when someone has given that person a well-written definitive answer. How about a thank you? • Posting a vebatim muti-paragraph quote in order to respond to _one sentence_ of that quote. • Asking questions (especially in GQ) that are _easily_ answered by a small amount of research on the Internet. Just thinking of a recent posting in which someone said they were having trouble listing all of the 50 United States. Geez, lucky he had the SDMB to rely on. You couldn’t possibly find that on the web (or an almanac, dictionary, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/33 "2003-12-13T22:29:18Z")
Those IQ threads. Sure, there are many intelligent people here, but I doubt that 99.99999% of the population here was able to read Voltaire at the age of 6 months, like what is implied in many of those threads. Or I love those “What’s your IQ?” threads based on Internet tests. Everyone knows that those type of IQ tests are sketchy at best and a person can end up with many conflicting scores when taken again, but many enjoy bragging about how their score was around 216. And I don’t doubt that they’re serious. Tailgating threads are irritating. They always begin with a few people agreeing with the OP and then some jerk comes in with, “You should have been going faster…” and then a huge trainwreck starts. I suppose it’s not only tailgating threads that do that, but almost all driving threads in the Pit in general. Because nobody would call themselves a bad driver. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/34 "2003-12-13T22:44:29Z")
My pet peeves… Bigshot Dopers who act like the rear ends of farm animals and _still_ have people defend them to the death no matter how many rules they break or how many folks they insult. Fortunately, the mods are rarely impressed by such behavior, but seeing it defended by otherwise sane and rational people disgusts me. Posters who pride themselves on being racism and homophobia free, but don’t hesitate to take potshots at more “acceptable” targets, like the Amish or Southerners. Just because they’re not on the Politically Correct Protected Peoples List does NOT mean it’s okay to make bigoted comments about them! I. Also. Hate. This. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/35 "2003-12-13T22:58:36Z")
I would say people who respond to a thread without reading all of it first, but I’m not certain if that’s been mentioned already or not… ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/36 "2003-12-14T02:05:44Z")
I think I’ll amend my previous comment about (veteran) posters not knowing how to code to a general peeve about veteran posters not knowing things about the board. When longtime members don’t know how to use the search function, why we’ve disabled post editing, why the board goes down every night at 1:30am PST, and what actions will get you banned, it’s disappointing. You don’t have to pay very much attention to learn these things. On an unrelated note: As the board’s gotten bigger, I’ve also noticed a lot more MPSIMS-IMHO-appropriate posts in GD and GQ: flirting, hijacks about tangentially-related things, pointless anecdotes, lame jokes. They bother me because I keep in GQ and GD for the more serious and focused discussion, and it’s vexing to have the debate be interrupted by some weenie who thinks he’s being clever with his attention whoring. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/37 "2003-12-14T02:07:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wolf\_meister \* > **Asking questions (especially in GQ) that are _easily_ answered by a small amount of research on the Internet.** But what about the people who Google up the answers for those threads? They would have nothing to post about. It’s hard to play expert when only the tough questions are being asked. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Babbington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mr.Babbington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Babbington)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/38 "2003-12-14T02:20:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wolf\_meister \* > \*\* > • Asking questions (especially in GQ) that are _easily_ answered by a small amount of research on the Internet. Just thinking of a recent posting in which someone said they were having trouble listing all of the 50 United States. Geez, lucky he had the SDMB to rely on. You couldn’t possibly find that on the web (or an almanac, dictionary, etc). \*\* I remember the thread you speak of. **Lobsang** was not having trouble, he could have looked at a map. However, I got the impression he wanted the Teeming Millions to help him because it was more fun. Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/39 "2003-12-14T03:04:22Z")
Those are good ones **wolf\_meister**. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722/40 "2003-12-14T07:41:23Z")
My biggest pet peeve is when I inadvertently turn relaxed threads into train wrecks. I’ve done it twice so far. I just know they will come back to haunt me someday. Regarding not reading the entire thread, not previewing, and complaining about the board being slow, I occasionally do the first two because of the last. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-pet-peeves/218722.md?page=3)