I’ve now seen it twice (the most recent example) where someone quotes another post and then puts “This.” after it; the first time I saw it, the “This.” was the total extent of the quoting poster’s post.
Huh? Is it a new variation of “Word”, basically a shorthand for “What he said”?
And as a meta-question, why do we seem to have this need to make a shorthand for an already shorthand?
This.
(I don’t know the answer to the second question. Maybe somehow related to texting?)
For some reason it drives me up a wall when I see “This.” on the SDMB, it’s doesn’t bother me at all to see it on Fark or something but here?
It’s just a a way to say “I agree with this.” with three less words, people are busy these days.
:rolleyes:
On preview: [shakes fist of rage at ca3799]
Yep, I’ve noticed it too in many threads. I have to admit it rubs me the wrong way.
It’s not so new. The SDMB is actually very slow to pick up on internet message board memes, and I saw this one being used elsewhere at least a year (probably more) before it gained any traction here.
W’not?
“This” is bad.
“+1” is infinitely worse.
The most times I see it it’s written as
^ this
With “^” meaning “that bit I’m pointing at”. I don’t see anymore problems with it than somebody posting “Yes I really agree with that”. Neither are really useful unless you’re in a poll.
“This” doesn’t really bother me so much. I hate +1. Thankfully I’ve never seen +1 here on the Dope.
This…
is an example where people use “+1” and “This” a lot, although ironically. So the Dope is at least away of the concept.
I have. Neither “this” or “+1” bother me. It’d be nice if after someone does the “+1”, that the numbers go consecutively for subsequent posters who also agree, but that might be a bit too anal, even for the Dope.
I wonder if we could do “-1” to demonstrate disagreement? Hmmm…
QFT
I do it. Sorry, habit from previous board. Be grateful I haven’t brought tl;dr with me, which stands for, too long, didn’t read… WTF?? Why are you posting then? It was really more often done sarcastically. We shared a LOT of sarcasm there. We had serious debates but we had a lot of fun too… Too bad they banned me. 
I like it. Brevity is your friend. Why say “I agree with the aforementioned statement whole-heartedly” when you can say “This”?
I need this on a tshirt. Seriously. If you want to show that you agree with a sentiment that someone has already expressed quite nicely, then a one word response is perfect.
Sometimes, it is in response to a post that no one has agreed with. It can get lonely on these boards sometimes. If you are taking a position that no one agrees with, and some lurker comes in to offer support, it can really make the poster feel like they aren’t crazy.
If it bothers you, you’re too old.
Yes, it’s shorthand for “The post above expresses my opinion perfectly.”
It’s useful in forum discussion because it is brief and allows a poster to (ideally) quickly say “I agree with this post” and then to append more.
Because not everyone reading it will know what you mean.
Because it signals a pretentious and exclusive “I’m in the know, and I don’t really care if you aren’t.”
Because it’s lazy. Brevity is not your friend when it’s taken to an unnecessary extreme. You don’t have to go overboard the other way, as in your counter-example; you can just say “I agree”. Not a significantly greater amount of typing, but a significantly greater chance that every reader will know what you are trying to convey.
Judging by some of the responses on this thread, it’s off-putting to some people.
Hey, you asked, don’t blame me for answering honestly.
Agreed
No, I don’t… I mean why not say “agreed” which happens to be the appropriate shorthand for what you quoted?
OK.
For what it is worth, the “the ‘This’ pointer” is an old established entity in computer programming. And I would guess is the source of this little habit.
It is used to dereference an object from within the functions of the object itself so you don’t have to know the name of that object, becuase you won’t, but you can still operate on,and refer to the object as a whole or parts.
If the thread is a poll, then fine “This” can be a valid answer.
In a discussion, it’s worthless. It doesn’t add anything. It reminds me of people who’s face-to-face conversations amount to “Me too.”