# Your SDMB Habits and Pet Peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 20, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529 "2003-08-20T21:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/1 "2003-08-20T21:21:53Z")
Not that anyone cares, I HATE spoiler boxes. Can’t stand 'em. When I see a spoiler box, I leave the thread immediately and don’t return, regardless of how interesting or poignant it is (please don’t put a spoiler box in this thread - it will run me out of it for good). Why? Because they draw the immediate attention of my co-workers. Nothing like a giant black box that lights up bright blue to distract people to see what I’m doing (i.e. not work). Even more annoying is when someone puts “Spoilers” in the thread title, and then proceeds to use a spoiler box. One warning is fair enough, especially if the thread isn’t a vague one (there’d be a difference between a spoiler box in a “every surprise movie ending ever made” thread and a spoiler box in a “what happens at the end of Fatal Attraction?” thread). I love to see a poster bold usernames. I love to see a poster bold usernames, but not bold other usernames when they’re being an ass. I love callback jokes, and I love jokes that reference other threads that are on-going. I love Og and all references thereto. I love that I can read a thread on the theory of relativity and 18 seconds later try to avoid one about female ejaculate. I usually start out in MPSIMS, then the Pit, then Cafe Society, then General Questions, the IMHO. I also hate when I have to recreate entire posts when they get eaten by the hamsters. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/2 "2003-08-20T21:47:45Z")
I love that ‘cow-orker’ has become part of the SDMB dictionary. I start with a vanity search. Then I use one of the found threads to do an ordinary name search (posts I’ve posted) then I browse pit, mpsims, imho in that order. and cafe, gq and abtmb in a random order. I _Never_ press submit without having ctrl-c’d the whole thread. I remember having a very good defence for spoiler boxes within spoiler-warning threads. alas not any more (sieve-brain) I love getting direct replies from mods or people with over 8000 posts, especially if they mention my name, and bold it. I like that my username is well-known enough to have been used in a vanity-search-trap in at least two different unrelated threads. I am an attention seeking loser, what can I say. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/3 "2003-08-20T23:32:19Z")
I never go into the Comments on Cecil’s Columns / Staff Reports / Great Debates forums unless I’m REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY bored. I like it when people mention me by my full username, as it makes my vanity serches easier. 😉 I hate overly negative people in the forums. I like seeing posters who are in my good books; makes me think I should get to know them better. 🙂 F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/4 "2003-08-20T23:32:19Z")
I never go into the Comments on Cecil’s Columns / Staff Reports / Great Debates forums unless I’m REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY bored. I like it when people mention me by my full username, as it makes my vanity serches easier. 😉 I hate overly negative people in the forums. I like seeing posters who are in my good books; makes me think I should get to know them better. 🙂 F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/5 "2003-08-20T23:34:44Z")
Double-posting is a big peeve of mine. 😃 (sorry Flammi) ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/6 "2003-08-20T23:37:52Z")
Hey, like I can control if it double-posts? 😃 (seems to be doing it a lot to my posts in the past few days at least, and I wonder why…) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/7 "2003-08-20T23:40:11Z")
One of the new features of vB3 is a double-post preventer. If you try to double-post you get a message saying “You just posted the exact same thing less than 5 minutes ago” and it takes you to it. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/8 "2003-08-21T00:28:55Z")
I both love it and hate it when something on the SDMB makes me laugh so hard something comes out of my nose, including but not limited to snorts. I love knowing that there are other people out there who are as demented as I am, and not afraid to share this info with complete strangers. I totally love that under **Cecil** ’s name it says “Perfect Master,” because he _is_. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/9 "2003-08-21T00:44:21Z")
I can no longer scan thread titles without attributing a rather hilarious sequentialness to many of them. I rarely read or see _anything_ on the web without wondering if the folks on SDMB might find it interesting. I cannot control my attempts to be funny (sorry…deal with it). I find myself posting when I should be hard at work. I find myself posting at 3 am when when I should be fast asleep. My keyboard is slowly filling up with dinner crumbs. I don’t like it when I dream about the board and the hampsters come out of the woodwork. I don’t like it when I’m on the board and the hampsters come out of the woodwork. I’ve given the mods cause to slap me silly a couple of times and I didn’t particularly enjoy it. I’ve slapped a few people who didn’t deserve it. I’ve been re-introduced to the creative writer in myself. I don’t think the internet has ever really given me the feeling that I was a _part_ of something but the SDMB has. I’ve taken up quite an interest in the _1920’s style_ of destruction and mayhem. I sometimes find myself wondering where those super tasty ribs they serve in The Barbecue Pit _came_ from. It can be quite annoying when someone beats you to a punchline. Many times as I post, a feel a profound sense of perpetual motion taking place. My friends are beginning to ask me how much _time_ I spend on this board. I answer them with boldfaced lies. I experience a curious fascination when someone announces that they are leaving the SDMB _forever_. I love the SDMB. I hate the SDMB. I’m leaving now and don’t know if I’m coming back. I’m going to the Pit you see. It’s 6:30 pm on Wednesday. If you don’t hear from me call for help…If you smell the aroma of a barbecue soon, for Og’s sake put it out! ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/10 "2003-08-21T04:19:51Z")
So this puts you off then, **Munch**? 😃 Like **Lobsang** , I _always_ copy my messages prior to posting. I browse forums in the following order: GQ, IMHO, MPSIMS and then randomly choose between CS and The Pit. At times I’ll stalk a poster or two 😉 I hate people who constantly mix up: ‘their’, ‘there’ and ‘they’re’ and ‘you’re’ and ‘your’. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/11 "2003-08-21T04:25:11Z")
I hate when people misspell “hamster” or “masturbation.” ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/12 "2003-08-21T04:28:52Z")
I always make sure that Im logged in prior to writing a brilliant response- darn if I dont lose my inspired momentum by having to copy, login, locate thread, post. I always go from cafe society, IMHO, MPSIMS and only go to GQ or The Pit if I am truly sadly bored. My peeve with myself is that I havent learned to do neato things like vb links smiley faces and other creative curliecues. This is the only place I visit outside of my email- where all I do is delete ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/13 "2003-08-21T06:21:59Z")
Relative newbie here, just long enough to have a few habits and pet peeves: **Habits:** Always Preview Reply. More than once. (I’m up to about 7 times on this very post, constantly tweaking it.) Start with Cafe Society, then IMHO, then MPSIMS ( **Nvme77** and I must be kindred spirits), then General Questions if I have time. Late at night before the after-dinner coffee wears off, I might check Great Debates or the Pit. Open 3 threads at a time. **Peeves:** Getting signed in and staying signed in. I must have just been absent the day this was explained. Do I really need to go through “user cp,” and do I really have to do it all over again in order to search? (“You are not logged in.” Yes I am! Or thought I was.) Hamsters. Another forum I frequent has disabled its search function so the site would always be usable. Sometimes I wish this forum would do the same. The practice of replying in order to correct one’s own typo. ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/14 "2003-08-21T07:45:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E. Thorp \* > \*\* > **Peeves:** > > Getting signed in and staying signed in. I must have just been absent the day this was explained. Do I really need to go through “user cp,” and do I really have to do it all over again in order to search? (“You are not logged in.” Yes I am! Or thought I was)\*\* Check your cookies. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/15 "2003-08-21T08:06:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\* Nothing like a giant black box that lights up bright blue to distract people to see what I’m doing (i.e. not work)._\* You need to download [Ghostzilla](http://www.ghostzilla.com/) then. “Hiding level six” eradicates spoiler boxes, (it also hides large graphics like the Straight Dope logo, and makes all text grey). The browser also appears within whichever application you’re meant to be using, and disappears with a shake of the mouse. It’s a godsend for dubious SDMBing… ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/16 "2003-08-21T08:08:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E. Thorp \* > **Getting signed in and staying signed in. Do I really need to go through “user cp,” and do I really have to do it all over again in order to search?** **E. Thorp** , do you have cookies disabled by any chance? I used to have the same problem until I enabled cookies for this site. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/17 "2003-08-21T13:14:18Z")
I generally go to the pit first, because the most entertaining threads tend to be there. I like reading pile-ons, even though I hate them. Figure that out. I then go to Cafe Society, where I can usually find an interesting enough discussion to read/and or post to, and stay up to date with media(don’t watch much TV). Stop into MPSIMS, which usually contains some interesting stuff and some defintely interesting titles amongst the _hi, i’m a newbie post_ threads and stuff like that(sorry guys :(). Those are the forums I go to the most. I hate simple, very common and simple errors such as ‘teh’ or any word with a letter dropped off. Just bugs me. I’m not one to correct such errors as some do, though. I love being able to pour myself into a post, editing and re-editing it so it shines. Unfortunately, those tend to disappear off the front page. I hate not getting a reply to my posts. It could mean one of two things: I said something so wrong/[enter bad adjective here] that no one replied because they would flame me or just call me an idiot in a non flaming forum, or that my reply was good enough that no further comments were needed, but were beneath being told “That post caused me to spit holy water on my tortilla and now it has an imprinted image of Shiva, Jesus and Allah playing a poker game on it and I WANT YOU NOW!”. > [@](#): > > **E. Thorp** > My peeve with myself is that I havent learned to do neato things like vb links smiley faces and other creative curliecues. This is the only place I visit outside of my email- where all I do is delete See that bar above your post but below the post subject? Those are the options provided to you. B is **Bold** , I is _Italics_ and U is underline. Most of it is made in a simple enough interrface, but if you have issues with coding, post to the ATMB. All code begins with a , with the proper word or letter between the 's([b] with no space for Bold). All coding will end with /. You can also quote someone if you want to know how to do something. Smileys are normal emoticon letters, minus the nose(-), so a : ) would turn into this 🙂 without the space. Just click on the smiley to automatically put that smiley if you don’t know the emoticon code. Also, when coding I tend to type out the word, then the [/] then the . ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/18 "2003-08-21T14:04:35Z")
green\_bladder, [not funny](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=206128). ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/19 "2003-08-21T14:56:16Z")
My SDMB habits: [ul] [li] Usual order of reading forums: IMHO, MPSIMS, Pit, Cafe, GQ. Occasionally visit ATMB and comments on Cecil/Staff columns. Never go to GD.[/li][li] Most posts are in IMHO and MPSIMS. In most cases I don’t know enough about the topic to post in GQ. I don’t follow a lot of entertainment trends, so I don’t always have much to say in CS. I occasionally post in the Pit.[/li][li] Favorite threads: polls, surveys, anything in which I can relate personal experiences. As a cat lover, I also read all the cat threads.[/li][li] Threads I avoid: Anything over 100 posts long if I haven’t already been following it, anything pertaining to sports, politics or religion (don’t have much interest or involvment in any of these areas).[/li][li] 75% of my posts are from work.[/li][li] I like to use bulleted lists (just like this). I wish more people would use them.[/li][li]I will bold usernames so the user and others can see it more readily. I never do this to call out someone, however, since it isn’t in my nature to do so.[/li][li] If there’s any formatting involved I will preview it first.[/li][li] For longer posts I will compose them in Outlook (so people walking by think I’m writing an email). I do this so I can spell-check and so I can copy/paste my writing in case the hamsters aren’t behaving well.[/li][li]I often read closed threads just to find out why it was closed and to see if anyone was banned in the process.[/li][li]If I make a mistake or a typo I just let it go since most people will know it was a typo and that I wasn’t just being an idiot. Only if my mistake makes the message unclear or if it changes the entire context of the message will I post a follow-up correction.[/li][li]I don’t use a sig.[/li][/ul] And now, my Pet Peeve list: [ul] [li] “Hi Opal!” Please, please, for the love of God, LET IT DIE! I purposely did _not_ make this the third item in the list.[/li][li] “Og” for “God.” Who started this, anyway?[/li][li] “Mmmmm…donuts!” (or some other item). It’s old. Give it a rest.[/li][li] People who use sigs but never change the quote that was witty-sounding 300 posts ago but has long since become stale.[/li][li] Not being able to edit our own posts, though I know why this is and I understand how this could be abused.[/li][li] Any time the hamsters go on strike. Especially annoying when submitting a post. Sometimes it went through, sometimes it didn’t. I have to back up and refresh to see if my post made it so I don’t end up double-posting.[/li][li]People who quote an entire long post (instead of just a relavent passage) just to add a short comment or question.[/li][li] People who post again to point out a minor mistake. I used to do this myself but have since abandoned the practice.[/li][li] People who post just to point out that it’s their x-hundredth post. For x-thousandth posts I’m a little more tolerant. I really think a person should be up to 5,000 posts before being recognized for his/her longevity or prolificness in posting to the board.[/li][li] I also have to add that spoiler boxes are annoying. They’re tacky, too. The broad black bands across an otherwise well color-balanced page just don’t look right. I don’t like having to stop and mouse over the spoiler box to read it. Still, I understand their purpose and I’m not proposing that they be done away with.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![fizzygoodmakefeelnice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@fizzygoodmakefeelnice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzygoodmakefeelnice)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529/20 "2003-08-21T15:14:48Z")
**jjimm** , that Ghostzilla thing is so nifty. I almost wish I had a job so I had a reason to use it! Anyway, I really like it when people bold my name. Gives me a warm tingly feeling inside. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-sdmb-habits-and-pet-peeves/196529.md?page=2)