I’ve fallen into a habit of immediately clicking on “view new posts” on the main page and scanning as many pages as are there when I first get into SDMB. If there’s a thread I already posted to, I’ll look in on it. Maybe post, maybe not.
Then I’ll do a vanity search to see if stuff that was active a day or two ago had any new action.
Then I’ll go back through the main list looking for:
things I think I know something about and might be able to answer a question or share an opinion on
threads I started
things that look fun/interesting
things I know nothing about and would like to know at least what the subject is
things where I never posted but my nick has been mentioned
There are other ideas that I’m random about but that covers the bulk of it.
I might miss a few bits here or get the order wrong…
When I click on SDMB in the favourites I usually remember which threads I have been viewing or posting to. I go and find those and look for new replies.
Then I do a vanity search, which I leave on in the background while I shift-click on some of the threads it turns up.
Then I browse the forums (nearly always missing out GD, and usually missing CS as well. The pit/MPSIMS being the most common, and IMHO somewhere between MPSIMS and CS) looking for something unique and interesting.
Having failed to find anything interesting (usually) I visit GQ to see if there’s anything there I can answer.
Unfortunately for me the SDMB is full to the brim of geniuses so I very rarely get to be the authority on any GQ topic. Off to the pit I go to see if there’s anything I can identify with.
Not being American, and this board being mostly inhabited by Americans an awful lot of the topics don’t interest me or go over my head (not saying you guys are dull, just that I don’t identify with the topics so don’t find them interesting, or can’t find a way to contribute)
After a few hours of the above I find myself racking my brains for an interesting MPSIMS,IMHO,CS, or pit topic.
Perhaps my strategy is all wrong, but it’s the routine I’ve got into.
I click on the link from my latest e-mail notification, read all of the e-mailed links, then open multiple windows and browse the forum(s) of whatever it was I was reading. If any one forum is boring that night (morning, afternoon, tequila), then I go to the front page to see the new columns and Threadspotting.
I lurk alot in GD and GQ, finding much interesting reading, but seldom anything I want to or can add a post to.
The other forums, though… watch out! I’ve found that many of us in the Pit, MPSIMS, and Cafe act like we’re conversing… so I go with that.
Often times, my general ordinary everyday way of life stream of consciousness is where I get thread and/or post ideas.
I have a major appetite for anything science, sci-fi, artsy, religious, or weird. So, you can see me in almost any type of thread.
I rarely do vanity searches, but whenever I do, I always find something. Go figure.
I use opera and right when I start it up it I have all 6 (excluded comments on cecils articles) forums up and I just go to navigation and reload all of them. I just browse through BBQ and MPSIMS the most, sometimes I’ll open 1 thread from each forum, just for variety ya know.
Once a week or so I do vanity searches.
I love the BBQ though, gives me a warm feeling everytime I hear a good rant… hehe
Jeez, regular vanity searches AND leaving multiple forums open all the time? No wonder the hamsters are choking!
Me, I just kind of dabble where I feel like it. If I’m feeling cranky, I’ll head straight to the Pit. Monday morning, of course, I go straight to MPSIMS for the MMP. Otherwise, I just wing it.
Usually skim IMHO, mindless stuff, sometimes the Cafe & GQ. No really regular routine. Tend to be brief. But lately notice I like the travel type threads best.
I love “View New Posts”. This gives me an opportunity to view the topics in forums that I don’t usually go to (ie. GD) and I can click when something strikes my fancy.
I have my SDMB profile bookmarked so I can click on ‘view all posts by this user’, where I can see all the threads that I’ve posted on recently and it shows whether there are any new replies or not.
From there I’ll start forum surfing, beginning with CS, then to IMHO, MPSIMS, GQ and finally the Pit. ATMB if I’m bored. GD when I’m insanely bored.
I usually browse the threads in MPSIMS and the BBQ Pit and post whenever I feel I can add a new thought or make a joke. Then I sit back and pray nobody sees me for the charlatan I am.
I usually start off tentatively checking GQ hoping that none of my stupid-ass drunken posts are in the forefront. Damn I’ve said some stupid shit, thankfully time retires all posts. My rep can hardly be more tarnished, so I post whenever I have something I feel I can contribute. If there were an “asshole king” title, I’m sure I’d be in contention, I do mean well though.
BBQ pit is great for saying swears though. Fuck yeah!
I use “View New Posts” rather exclusively. The only time I don’t go there first (and reload after I’ve exhausted all of the threads which interst me on the page) is if there’s a thread I’m specifically watching. If I’m watching something, I’ll read it first and then I’ll go back to the View New option.
I start at the pit, then work my way up the forums, reading through the treads on just the first page of each, unless I have responded to something, and usually not even then. I tend to skip GQ, ATMB, and GD.
Using this method, I can sometimes make it to CS before the site starts to hang and I give up.
Start in GD. Open a few threads that I might think about posting to. Open the Pit for reading, I rarely participate. Back to GD to see if anything changed during that time. On a whim I will surf GQ and CS at some point during the day, usually trying to go back three pages in GQ because of the turnover rate.
Every other day or so I end up in MPSIMS. Unless I’m linked there, I almost never check IMHO, CCC, and all of the rest of 'em.
I never do vanity searches unless I’ve been away for more than a week, and only once has it shown me a thread where I was mentioned but not a participant in.
I start in the Pit and open up any threads that look interesting or that I have been previously following but refrain from actually reading them right away. Then GC, GD, and finally CS (and strangely enough MPSIMS today). By that time I’ve got about two dozen ,sometimes much more. Then I proceed to trip them up in random order. I think it’s more fun to read them in random order because it lessens the chance of getting burned out or bored. So many threads…wait, what time is it? <sigh>
I start with any threads I’ve posted to, then I move to MPSIMS, Cafe Society, the Pit and IMHO, in that order.
If I have time, I cruise through GQ and if I’ve got A LOT of free time on my hands I hit up GD and very rarely ATMB.
I never post in GQ or GD, however, because I’ve worked hard to maintain my reputation here as a non-idiot and if I posted in either one of those forums I would shatter that illusion.
I read all my subscribed threads first, then skim Cafe Society, IMHO, MPSIMS, The Pit, and GQ in that order. If I’m really desperate to find something to read, I might venture into GD after reading the other fora a couple times over.
I do vanity searches maybe once every week or two. Since the majority of my posts are related to one specific topic, I don’t seem to get referenced much. Hmph.
I browse GD first, usually followed by the Pit, Cafe, IMHO, MPSIMS and GQ, in that order. I almost never do vanity searches because I 've never seen my username mentioned outside a thread I’ve posted to.
