Posting without reading the whole thread!

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


The very first thread that caused me to join ATS after being linked from an external source had over 1500 replies. It took me more than a day to read them all .. and then when I finally DID reply, my reply was ignored.

But I do know what you mean, and it annoys me too. For example in the thread about the picture of the guy who's supposedly been tortured by Americans. Someone already completely debunked it and showed who the picture was of, but more people keep coming in and saying how horrible that the Americans tortured this guy. I'm thinking "Hey doofus! READ the dang thread, it never happened!"

And apparently to some people ATS is either a personal "fight club" or a personal soapbox. No matter what the topic is, they'll either get into an argument with one of their 'respected foes' or begin to expound upon their favorite topic which may or may not have anything even remotely to do with the OP.
:bnghd:

But, you know, overall it's a great place.

reply to post by whatukno


Well said! Three stars so far!

Yup, I know what you mean. I too am a repeat offender of glancing at the pages within a thread, reading some (not all) posts in no particular order and posting whatever I cannot remember reading earlier except relying (sometimes) on the title of the thread. For me, It's too tiring to read EVERY word, sentences and paragraphs and by far much easier to post whatever comes to mind.

Originally posted by Heike
reply to post by gimme_some_truth
[more



But, you know, overall it's a great place.

So true my friend. So true.

Ignore this post. I screwed up...


Woops!

[edit on 6-8-2008 by gimme_some_truth]

I don't mind so much if someone makes a post at the end of a 9 or 13 page thread that has already been answered a few times.
It's when they ask a question or make a statement that's been debunked on the first page that I really get cheesed about it.
Like that Is it a Megalodon thread. Went on for however many pages because people didn't read past the first few posts.
Occasionally I've seen threads where a page is composed of the same stupid responses from different people, and the question or comment was deunked on the first page.
Even worse is the people who don't read past the title. I used to be guilty when I was first starting out on the internet, but I quicly got tired of looking like an idiot because of it.

Now i look like an idiot for other things.

So true.


I think it should be an unwritten rule.

If you dont read the Whole thread then dont post. As you said, it just make you look stupid. and chance are, what you say in your post has either already been mentioned or debunked.

Which makes any post made without reading the whole thread irrelevant and a waste of space.

You know what I really hate???

When people don't read the other posts and then just say exactly what others did

I'm sorry...I HAD to do it :-p

I am a fence sitter on this one

On one hand I really don't think it makes an argument weak by not looking at others. Often times I will go in with my argument sent and frankly nobody else will weaken it. Then once I have my stance out I can see responses. I think if somebody's opening remarks get weakened already then it's their problem

On the other hand, yes I agree if something is debunked then there is little purpose to posting further on the validity of it

Now myself...I am a different type. Typically on ANY thread I read every single line and pretty much ignore it for opening statement. I don't know why. Then I go back and look at each piece

-Kyo

I couldn't be bothered to read this entire thread, but I wanted to say.......


Just kidding, this too is a peeve of mine. If I cannot stomach reading through all of the flames, I skim over the posts until a normal one pops up. I hate the idea of someone creating a well thought out post and not have it validated or at least read with a nod. I have found that by reading the first sentence of each paragraph skimmed, I can safely determine if it warrants a reply.

a bit off topic.....
Which is preferred someone who creates a new thread about an old topic, or someone who resurrects a relic and adds to that? I read a thread yesterday that was from 04 and some guy added to it. It got me wondering which way I would want to see it.

I think it's unreasonable to expect everyone to read an entire thread before they give their opinion on a subject. Very few people have enough free time to go through page after page of content, and I don't think it's necessary to have sampled everyone else's previously posted opinion before jumping in.

Of course, I only read the first line or so of the original post here so I'm sure a few other people have already made the exact same point as me.

If you don't want to read an entire thread, just quote someone and respond to their post.

It serves as a way to make it appear that you've at least skimmed through the responses prior to yours. Then after you've responded to the quote say what you would normally say whether you've read the past 15 pages or not. So even if you're repeating what's already been said at least by responding to the quote you've brought some new material to the thread and may get some back and forth with someone else.

But really, at least skim the thread. It's not that hard. The thing I hate the most is people beating a dead horse as a result of not even glancing at other peoples' responses.

Is it just me or does reading an entire thread sometimes discourage you to post? Like when I see that a thread has been derailed or when a majority of the posts are two people having it out at each other I'm just like 'whatever' and leave.

MANY times I bail on a thread after reading the nonproductive posts.
It gets so frustrating sometimes that I don't even finish reading the thread before I give up. Stupidity really kills a thread. Who wants to add to something that is riddled with crap. One of my favorites is when someone posts a complaint about others posting in the same thread. What I mean is when a thread has been debunked and others keep posting, then someone comes in a rants about the thread still getting posts. Ironic in a way.