The importance of reading through a thread

Hello friends,

Most of you will agree that sometimes threads are long to read and follow up. But there are key points as to why everyone that decides to contribute to a topic should read what others have said before doing so. And not merely answering a question in the title.

• Provided links
• Added info
• A change in direction
• Truth came out
• A sign of respect


[color=gold]PROVIDED LINKS


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Most of the time, links are where the source is and/or came from. Links often carry the weight of the topic and the base for discussion. Links very often provide other links that complement the story as a whole. It is highly recommended to provide links for external sources. There is a good reason for that. Sometimes the source is highly reputable and sometimes it’s laughable. The only way of knowing is to click it. And read it. It is part of the research to truly find out what is behind the topic at hand.


[color=gold]ADDED INFO


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We are numerous members on this site. Some are very well versed in certain topics. They will add debatable aspects to the table. Some others are simply curious and bring some interesting questions along. Which in turn will sometimes be answered. But the only way to find out is to read the thread and follow up when you return. Sometimes, one little added info on the second page will resurface on the tenth page and add or retract credibility to the topic discussed. Or it may bring...


[color=gold]A CHANGE IN DIRECTION


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Sometimes a topic diverts along the way. Not necessarily being off topic but added info changed the direction of the thread. Your contribution, at this time, becomes pretty much useless if you haven’t followed through on the thread and the ongoing discussion.


[color=gold]TRUTH CAME OUT


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I personally think that this is THE main reason why you should read a thread from beginning to end before adding your contribution. How many times has a topic been put into clarity and yet replies keep on coming in stating this or stating that, which seriously, no longer makes sense.


[color=gold]A SIGN OF RESPECT


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Yes, it is a sign of respect to read what others have said before you. Their comments and replies are as important as yours. Sometimes threads are endless, I agree. But isn’t it better to just pass it up rather than add a reply that is pointless, regardless of what others have replied? I would think so.


This is merely my opinion and some may agree...or disagree...with all or most of this post.

But what is your opinion?

I totally agree with you. Especially reading the linked articles = people seem happy to comment without actually reading the info - perhaps they think they already know everything? lol

But I would make this addition. I sometimes come accross a thhread wehich I would like to comment on, which is upwards of 10 or even 20 pages long. As a dyslexic it would take me all day to read some of these threads and I don't have time for that. So I read the first and last pages. I then link back any interesting conversations in the thread from the last page - you know following quoted posts etc. This is usually a good enough overview.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


i appreciate your sentiment but some things are easier said than done. an interesting or hot topic OP may have several pages of posts in very short time, while one is preparing their own input even.

i find it odd that so many threads are left to linger for as long as they are. the page count can get ridiculous, and on this site it seems more often than not threads will get lengthy over what amounts to a private conversation or a small flame war.

seems logical that threads should be limited, either by time from last post, by date, or some other means. there is just so many hours in the day. if i ran a site i would be concerned with keeping peoples interest so they lingered. targeting and eliminating time-killers would benefit many.

Some of us work(at least for now anyway) and threads can jump to 10 or more pages while I am at work. If I want to reply to the OP, I do not see the need to wade through 5, 10 or more pages before I start commenting. On the other hand, if the thread is that long before I even see it, I generally skip it altogether. It has to be a very interesting or important topic before I would jump into the middle of an established thread like that.

Abridge Too Far

I haven't read through the whole thread, but saw the title and thought I'd chime in. I know what you mean OP. I hate it when people check sources or read through a thread. I mean, what's that all about? Do these people have lives? Do they actually have to read something other than a headline to know what they have to say? Get a clue, sheeple! Don't let other people tell you what to think! Make up your mind and speak before you read!

Oh yeah, what was the ATS motto again?

A great thread with a well-crafted and thought-provoking OP, but as other members have pointed out, it's rarely so cut and dried. As a mod I usually find myself either responding to a complaint or skimming through a thread looking for problems. In "mod mode", I'm so attuned to patterns of disruption (it's amazing how they jump out at you when you're used to looking for them) that I often (and admittedly) don't even pay attention to the actual topic. I just want to make sure people aren't flaming each other.

Again, as other members have pointed out, there are only so many hours in the day, and there's only so much any of us can read. ATS is so huge and full of so many different things, it's hard not to take a little of everything smorgasbord style.

And yeah, some of the hottest threads can jump by several pages in just the time it takes to compose even a short post. It gets pretty crazy around here when something big or controversial happens.

But...

Data Processing Sinter

When I'm "skimming" in "mod mode", if I actually see something I need to take action on, I check the context of the situation to make sure I understand what's happening. It would be wrong for me to act without having a clear idea of the circumstances. Sometimes it's obvious and doesn't require a lot of backtracking, other times it's a lot more complicated and requires reading every post in the thread to be sure.

So what does all this talk about modding have to do with the importance of reading through a thread?

Most of us do the same thing as members. We see a topic of interest, (ideally) read the OP, check the links and then review the thread to get an idea of what other members are saying. Posts that jump out at us will get more attention, other posts less.

Based on that, and after gaining a reasonable understanding of the context, we may feel inspired to post our own opinions on the issues, and we're off to the races.

Ideally.

Pragmatic Field

In reality, most or all of us are going to skip one, more or all of those steps at some point or another, or even all the time. That's just the way it is, especially in a busy world already so overloaded with information with ever more constantly coming at us at a rapidly accelerating rate.

Of course there's always a risk of looking silly by posting something that clearly ignores the OP, sources or discussion thus far. But the "punishment" (looking silly) fits the "crime" (being hasty). When that happens, however, there will usually be another member willing to point out the error in an (ideally) friendly fashion. And so it goes.

In any case, despite the need on the part of every one of us to "triage" what we read and comment on, there's some great advice in this thread, and though we may not always do all our homework, it's never a bad idea to keep the value of doing so in mind.

Now, what were we talking about? I forget.






tl;dr version: Oh the irony.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


I agree. If you are interested enough to take the time to post a comment or reply, you really should consider making an effort to read the thread. That being said, I will admit that sometimes in the case of a thread which has gone beyond 10 or 15 pages, I'll do more of a skim through it and will stop and read the posts and replies that are heavily starred and/or include links or quotes.

The thing that bothers me the most about posters who have not read beyond the OP is in the case where earlier posts have proved the OP to be a hoax or a falsehood, but the falsehood continues to be reinforced throughout the remaining pages because subsequent posters missed those important posts. Example: I was posting in a thread last night where the entire point of the OP was shown to be based on a falsehood numerous times throughout the 10+ page thread, but the thread author was able to get away with continuing to reinforce the blatant falsehood because he knew that subsequent posters were not reading the previous posts and replies that had shot down the premise of his OP. I mean, aren't we supposed to be denying ignorance here?

At the very least, I do not think it is too much to ask that folks at least read the first page and the most recent page of the thread.

Thanks for the responses. As it keeps being stated and as most of you noted, skimming through a long thread is often done since we lack time to read every individual response. I do it at times too ! The point I was trying to make was to at least get an overall idea of the thread before jumping in. Thus avoiding to directly answer a question in the title or jumping to hasty conclusions when it's already apparent that the thread has reached a conclusion somewhere along the way. And I've done that too ! So the post is merely suggestions and by no means, directives.

All in good spirit and good fun !

Thank you also Majic for giving us a Super Moderator's point of view !

reply to post by dalloway

The thing that bothers me the most about posters who have not read beyond the OP is in the case where earlier posts have proved the OP to be a hoax or a falsehood, but the falsehood continues to be reinforced throughout the remaining pages because subsequent posters missed those important posts.

That is exactly one of the points I'm trying to get across.

reply to post by SonoftheSun



I wonder if it would be possible to have a mod change the title of threads which hace been conclusivly proven to be wright/wrong to prompt people to look at the thread. For example a thread which is titled

"My big toe is 2 feet long and picks up internet radio!!! ULTIMATE PROOF!!!!"

By page 4 when this is totally and completly debunked perhaps a mod could change the title to read:

"My big toe is 2 feet long and picks up internet radio!!! ULTIMATE PROOF!!! [MOD ED - DEBUNKED PG 4]"

Possible?

i agree people should read all of it

Originally posted by Majic

Now, what were we talking about? I forget.

oh come on why you gotta single me out sheez

Sometimes we get all fired up over a particular comment and fire off a reply on the spot before we read on to discover a resolution or clarification on the matter and arguments get all twisted and looped around on them selves. I figure it comes with the medium and try to remain patient.

Unless they start locking threads after they become too long it would be impossible. There is a thread titled Young Aussie genius whipping NASA in Moon Hoax Debate! that has 546 pages equaling 10,906 posts. Unless you can speed read all that information and retain it would be an exercise in masochism. Even some of the more popular ones have posts numbering in the 400-500 range which is still too much to go through and read everything.

It would be more practical that after the thread reaches a certain amount of pages and or posts it should be locked because the debate would just end up repeating itself because no one is going to bother going through all of that to see if it's been already covered.

In a nutshell. What info are YOU missing by not reading the thread. There might be something in there that YOU haven't considered before. That said, I'm guilty of not reading threads at times for the same reasons Majic pointed out. And that is MY loss.

reply to post by Shamatt


I like that idea !!

But I would guess that a Mod would need to be alerted to the fact since they can't oversee everything...

Actually, I like that idea a lot ! Feasible though?? Don't know...

reply to post by IlluminatusOculus33

There is a thread titled Young Aussie genius whipping NASA in Moon Hoax Debate! that has 546 pages equaling 10,906 posts. Unless you can speed read all that information and retain it would be an exercise in masochism.

So true !!!

An amazing and very successful thread ! I am sure that some members are following this one since it started, so if decisions were taken to limit it, wouldn't it kill all the fun for them ?

Good point !