# What Are Your Worst Message Board Habits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534 "2004-10-22T02:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/1 "2004-10-22T02:34:06Z")
So, 'fess up. What are your worst habits when posting on message boards, especially in debate/hot topic threads? Mine? Hijacking and going off on tangents. I’m terrible about totally forgetting to address the main point of the OP, because I’m too busy typing up a 30 page post about an aside or a couple of lines tacked onto the end. Example: OP: We got a new cat! What cat litter is the best? Oh, yeah, we got her from the shelter in Our Town, USA. My Answer: Hey, blah blah, congratulations, Fresh Step works well. HEY, I WORKED AT THAT SHELTER ONCE! That is the best shelter ever blah blah blah but one time I got into a really big fight with my boss and she fired me blah blah … insert 20 more pages … and that’s why I’m filing for bankruptcy! Then I scroll through 30 answers to the OP and I’m all “Pft, wtf are these people talking about? Clearly the subject was the fallout of bankruptcy and… oh. No. No, it wasn’t.” :rolleyes: I’m learning to read my posts very, very carefully before submitting now, and trying to clip them down to only OP pertinent information. So, what kinda bad posting habits do you have? ---
**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:** [October 22, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/2 "2004-10-22T02:44:27Z")
I can easily ramble on and on and on and on and on. I try not to, but sometimes I just can’t help it. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/3 "2004-10-22T02:50:42Z")
Sometimes I speed-read and get everything wrong. Oh and congrats on your new kitten. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/4 "2004-10-22T02:51:27Z")
Nto perviewing! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/5 "2004-10-22T02:57:02Z")
Missing the fact that the thread is more than one page long, posting, and realizing that my point was already made on pages 2, 5 and 13 of the thread. And I’m resisting to demonstrate the next one by example, but I also tend to hit submit and say DAMMIT, I wanted to say “xyz” too, and having to double post. SOmetimes, I’ll wait until someone else jumps in so that it’s not a blatant double post. Sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/6 "2004-10-22T03:00:25Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > And I’m resisting to demonstrate the next one by example, but I also tend to hit submit and say DAMMIT, I wanted to say “xyz” too, and having to double post. SOmetimes, I’ll wait until someone else jumps in so that it’s not a blatant double post. Sometimes. I’m guilty of that, too, especially the “Uh… I think I’ll wait until someone else posts…” ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/7 "2004-10-22T03:26:31Z")
Posting just to chime in with a “Me too!” or some variation thereof. I’m trying really hard not to do that. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/8 "2004-10-22T03:27:47Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > Posting just to chime in with a “Me too!” or some variation thereof. I’m trying really hard not to do that. Must. resist. urge. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/9 "2004-10-22T03:51:49Z")
Not thinking out my responses, or checking my posts for spelling errors, as much as I should. Also, Many of my responses tend to be too short. I’d love to make them longer, but damnit, my work/school schedule has been so tight lately it’s cutting off my circulation. I’ve really bitten off more than I can chew this semester, and it doesn’t help that I get called into work all the time. I like to put in my two cents, so I’m usually in something of a rush when I try to write out my thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/10 "2004-10-22T04:16:24Z")
[ul] [li]Not previewing[/li][li]Making a followup post to mention something I forgot the first time around[list][_]Making a followup post to correct something I should have caught the first time around.[/ul][/li][li]Inadvertenly hijacking a thread[/li][li]Skimming[/li][li]Repeating myself[ul][_]Repeating myself.[/li][li]Repeating myself.[/ul][/li][li]Feeling required to post on certain topics.[/li][li]Not knowing when to let go of a debate.[/list][/li] And plenty of others I’m probably forgetting at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/11 "2004-10-22T04:24:45Z")
Can I say over-use of smileys? I just love 'em. For instance, when I scroll through this thread, I notice that I’m the only one with a smiley. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/12 "2004-10-22T04:26:51Z")
Trying to argue with crazy people. My mother told me never to do that. And she was right. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/13 "2004-10-22T04:29:02Z")
Resisting the urge to be a troll. (Note: I’ve been successful on this board and don’t plan to change that.) And sentence fragments. And smileys. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/14 "2004-10-22T04:39:05Z")
Repeating myself, saying the same thing over and over again, and making the same point multiple times using different words. Being long-winded. Trying to take every thread and relate it somehow back to my pet cause (hint: it involves me, other guys, and getting hitched). Also, repeating myself. ---
**Author:** ![BytopianDream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9de0a6/32.png) [@BytopianDream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BytopianDream)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/15 "2004-10-22T05:01:48Z")
Lurking, even in my own threads. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/16 "2004-10-22T05:13:07Z")
> [@Keapon Laffin](#): > > Can I say over-use of smileys? > > I just love 'em. For instance, when I scroll through this thread, I notice that I’m the only one with a smiley. > ☹ Me Too!!! 🙂🆒 :wally 😃 :eek: :rolleyes: :smack: 😉😕☹ :dubious: 😛 ;j :o :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/17 "2004-10-22T11:21:14Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > [ul] > [li]Not previewing[/li][li]Making a followup post to mention something I forgot the first time around[list][_]Making a followup post to correct something I should have caught the first time around.[/ul][/li][li]Inadvertenly hijacking a thread[/li][li]Skimming[/li][li]Repeating myself[ul][_]Repeating myself.[/li][li]Repeating myself.[/ul][/li][li]Feeling required to post on certain topics.[/li][li]Not knowing when to let go of a debate.[/list][/li] > And plenty of others I’m probably forgetting at the moment. You forgot “Blatantly showing off advanced coding skills and making the rest of us feel stupid”. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/18 "2004-10-22T14:01:06Z")
> [@chatelaine](#): > > So, 'fess up. What are your worst habits when posting on message boards, especially in debate/hot topic threads? On the SDMB, forgetting to preview the post, or not catching all the typos when I do preview. On other message boards, I don’t sound half as illiterate as I do here. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/19 "2004-10-22T14:05:02Z")
Terseness. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534/20 "2004-10-22T14:10:25Z")
Posting in the wee small hours of the night and then being afraid to return to the thread the next day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-worst-message-board-habits/270534.md?page=2)