Please read the entire thread before replying to it!

Again and again, year after year, I see this problem here on ATS. People tend to read the OP and then reply, not bothering to read any other replies. And the problem with this is that you've turned a conversation into a monolog. Which in turn destroys a thread, turning it into many pages of voices, all talking at once, living in a vacuum, talking to themselves, just to hear their own voices.

So the conversation never progresses. How many times have we seen someone post something that significantly changes the congress of the original topic, such as relaying information that disputes or confirms, only to have 10 more pages of replies that are completely ignorant of the additional information brought to the table? It's not only frustrating, it makes the entire conversation pointless.

So please, please, PLEASE, don't reply to a thread unless you're willing to join the conversation.

I only read half of this so I guess I won't respond.

Sorry.

Can you summarize your thread. I only got to the second line

reply to post by Jadette



have you ever been as far as to look more like?

Originally posted by Jadette
Again and again, year after year, I see this problem here on ATS. People tend to read the OP and then reply, not bothering to read any other replies. And the problem with this is that you've turned a conversation into a monolog. Which in turn destroys a thread, turning it into many pages of voices, all talking at once, living in a vacuum, talking to themselves, just to hear their own voices.

So the conversation never progresses. How many times have we seen someone post something that significantly changes the congress of the original topic, such as relaying information that disputes or confirms, only to have 10 more pages of replies that are completely ignorant of the additional information brought to the table? It's not only frustrating, it makes the entire conversation pointless.

So please, please, PLEASE, don't reply to a thread unless you're willing to join the conversation.

Have had similar when authoring a thread, you end up replying to the same differently worded, but essentially identical comment 35 times.

I'm confused. Am I to reply

Or am I not to reply?

I thought this site was meant to get rid of confusion ... But now I'm even more confused ... Thanks OP

Also nice to see all the original and highly hilarious never before seen comments you're getting on this one.

reply to post by fairguy

Yes well some people are busy but still wish to participate, so maybe a little patience would be nice for those who do not have a whole day to read a thread.

Originally posted by Char-Lee
reply to post by fairguy

 

Yes well some people are busy but still wish to participate, so maybe a little patience would be nice for those who do not have a whole day to read a thread.

Indeed. Sometimes one just about has enough time to read what the OP wrote.

One can hardly always be expected to read through pages and pages of replies before he/she puts a reply forward.

And that's just how it is ... Please ... Just Breathe ...

My response to OP...*ahem*

tl;dr.

RTFM

And inb4 anhero:



(proudly delivered by anons worthy of not giving a ****, courtesy of /b/)

reply to post by faryjay


Wouldn't you feel silly if you walked into a room full of people, joined the conversation, and proceeded to repeat everything that has already been conversed in your absence, over and over and over again?

Originally posted by Nite_wing
I only read half of this so I guess I won't respond.

I read the second half.......pretty much like the first half.

Something about not paying attention or not reading all of the comments I forget now.

Good point but it's a pain to read 15 or 20 pages of comments when you have a life in the real world.

reply to post by Jadette


This used to annoy me, but no longer.

Once you realize this is a natural limitation and consequence of the medium, it's easy not to worry too much about it.

Admittedly, I now do what you dislike on occasion. The truth is, when a thread becomes more than 6 or 7 pages long, it's difficult to read everything given time constraints. (Many of us have a life beyond ATS, ya know! )

One way to look at it, is each thread kind of serves as a mini poll on the topic. That, in and of itself, is interesting enough. But when a topic really interests me, I read every word.

I imagine others do as well.

Stars help pick out posts worth reading too, which saves time. Doesn't always work, but works enough when scrolling through pages and pages of stuff in a thread.

Finally, I find that when something is really important in a thread discussion, even a cursory glance tends to reveal it.

Just my $0.02.

I do this on occasion as I have input on a topic but have other duties here that are quite time consuming. Usually in say a 9 page thread I'll read the first page and preface that I didn't read the whole. Sometimes this actually leads the topic back on topic.

Another thing you may not have noticed is 27(arbitrary#) people, replying basically at the same time.. then all that stacks up and looks bad, you know?

Second line? We don't need no second line!

reply to post by Jadette


I did read through this thread...so far. Which many times I do. However; sometimes I just don't have the time to read through everyone's responses; so I read through the OP; give my reply and go about my business.

Many people are not going to read through entire threads and their replies; before they respond; and this is not going to change.

You nor I do not have any control over other members on this site and their responses; that is just the way it is.

So....there is some repeating in many threads; to me that just means people are agreeing.

Originally posted by faryjay

Originally posted by Char-Lee
reply to post by fairguy

 

Yes well some people are busy but still wish to participate, so maybe a little patience would be nice for those who do not have a whole day to read a thread.

Indeed. Sometimes one just about has enough time to read what the OP wrote.

One can hardly always be expected to read through pages and pages of replies before he/she puts a reply forward.

And that's just how it is ... Please ... Just Breathe ...

Yeah like all the ones hidding their ATS's from the boss at work :-)

I think though, some of you are missing my point.

A thread is a conversation, it has a progression. If you jump in 9 pages later and either provide the same information that 20 people already just did - what's the point?

Let's use an example. Let's say I post a video of a UFO and 2 pages in, someone refutes it, provide evidence that it's not a UFO, but a secret government project. Then, someone else adds to that, and so on, but then on page 4, and page 8 and even page 10, we still have people responding as if none of this additional information has been brought into the conversation and in my opinion at that point it's no longer a conversation.

One of the really great things about ATS is our ability to 'cloud' source data together, to find answers, to help each other learn and be knowledgeable. Endlessly replying to threads without taking a moment to read the thread, or, at the very least skim through it, just creates noise.

If you don't have time to do that, then you aren't really contributing, are you? If you didn't read what anyone else posted, then they certainly aren't reading what you posting and you are ALL just talking to yourselves. See what I mean?