The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI don't start threads in here too often, but I have a question for you old farts.
Last edited Tue Jan 30, 2018, 03:05 PM - Edit history (1)
I've been around for a long time, and I know some of you DU veterans have seen me post over the years. So I have a question regarding what it entails and why do you open and read a thread?
Is it always the thread title you look for or the author or both? Or crosscheck?
And when you open a long thread, do you always hit the "view all" or do you just scan the response title lines and go from there?
I think it is an interesting question, frankly.
How and why do you sort your decisions to look and and or interact with a thread?
Edited the thread title because it was bothering me!
safeinOhio
(32,688 posts)When in a rush.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)so I just see the title and # of replies.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)that interest me.
Open those, and read OP.
If have further interest, usually scan down Replies (the single line summary) to see if I want to open some. Occasionally, I'll open View All, so I can read some responses and see who is posting (it's a little easier in this view).
Occasionally I'll see a Username known for interesting posts, replies or funny ones.
Also have a few groups I subscribe to that I check periodically to make sure I haven't missed anything.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)I often am reading DU on a phone, so I know of what you speak.
underpants
(182,829 posts)Poster is important due to what I think of their history (informative insightful etc) and how much attention their posts tend to get - will my response be seen basically.
I don't like one line posts even though I do them from time to time.
I can't stand when a story that's been on DU gets reposted. Look I've duped stories too but sometimes there has been a full discussion and someone else posts it again. I spend a lot of time here (sorry I'm organized at work and I read and spend time with the family at the same time) so the difference in the time zones for me.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)I joined in '03, so hells bells, after 15 years or more as a member of a discussion board, you don't have to apologize for anything!
underpants
(182,829 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)1. I can only hold a few usernames in my mind, so, poster isn't a consideration for me.
2. If the topic has already been beaten to a pulp, I let it lie.
3. Some ops are obviously inflamatory click bait: I'm not here to argue. I'm interested in learning. So, if a statement is obviously uninformed or overly biased, I don't care what's under there.
4. Number of replies is never a concern for me. I go with substance.
5. View all makes it an easier scan.
6. When you find a funny, stick with reply lines: The punch lines are better revealed one at a time in order.
Keep on hereticing!
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)<cue music> "Here comes the bride....
Schmengie!!!! I'm YOURS!!!!
Liberal Jesus Freak
(1,451 posts)I read everything he posts and Ive actually MET HIM
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)Love you, Doll face!
Hope you and your hubs are well, happy and joyful!
lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)Well....that sort of went as well as I could possibly hope for!!!
rurallib
(62,423 posts)then go to latest threads look for stories I am interested in. Usually don't care about number of replies, care more about substance.
I don't look for specific posters but there are about half a dozen whose posts I will open based on their history.
I always end the night with the atheists and then run over to the Lounge to end the night on an up note. Especially after a night like tonight. Tonight is a scary night in America.
yardwork
(61,650 posts)If it looks interesting, I open it.
Kaleva
(36,312 posts)It could be the subject matter or how the title was written. I rarely look at author or recs.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)regardless of who wrote it or how many recs it has.
UTUSN
(70,711 posts)* "Why"?!1 - Interesting topic; sincere topic (not Onion).
* "Title/author" - Interesting topic for "Title" - authors, some automatic yes/no.
* "view all" - Always.
* "decisions" - Interesting, sincere, reliable author.
**********That said, if I had the formula...
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)I said the poster didn't matter to me.... but wow, I was wrong!!
Truthfully, I have been here for a long time and many of the names I recognized are no longer on DU. I look for people I "know." There are a lot new people now, I have a hard time remembering so many names.
UTUSN
(70,711 posts)An aside: When I said I was "uninvited" in the thread, I should have said that when I saw "old farts" in the title, I automatically felt addressed.
Our numbers seem to be dwindling, unfortunately. But hey, we DU "veterans" will carry on because we must!
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)The author means nothing, with maybe a few exceptions. But a decade or so ago the author meant a great deal more.
Number of views is an occasional curiosity but I don't notice it early.
I don't know how to recommend anything and I certainly have never done it or ever look at that number.
IMO, by far the most worthless post on this site is when someone writes Recommended and nothing else. There is one particular poster who seems to do it all the time.
Texasgal
(17,045 posts)before I decide to engage.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,735 posts)read most of them, especially those written by people who usually come up with good OPs. There are also a small number of people whose OPs I usually don't read - some whose spelling and grammar are annoyingly bad; some whose OPs tend to be kind of silly or uninformed. I usually "view all" because there are sometimes interesting subthreads.
hunter
(38,317 posts)I remember long threads with lots of moving gifs or images taking forever to load at 28K. The Opera browser made it easy to turn images off.
New posters are likely to catch my attention too, not always in a positive way.
I ignore most TV threads because I don't watch TV news or TV news-like swill, ever. Our television plays movies, that's all it does, I never see television commercials. I don't think there's a single television news personality I could identify in a police lineup. I think most I knew from the golden age of television news, Walter Cronkite, etc., are dead or long retired. I'm much happier not knowing what goes on with TV news.
It used to be I wouldn't put anyone on ignore here, but life's to short to argue with single issue posters who never change their opinions and never talk about anything else but their single issue. I don't know which would be worse, that they are paid to post here, or that their interests are so astonishingly narrow.
Obviously you are not on my ignore list and I do read your posts.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)Thanks for the flattery!
After 14 years I still average less than 3 1/2 posts a day, so I'm certainly not the most prolific, but thanks!
LeftInTX
(25,379 posts)So, I will open whichever thread sounds interesting.
rogerballard
(2,889 posts)No cliquish behavior. Frankly, it is not. Grab your pencil and note pad.
rogerballard
(2,889 posts)No cliquish behavior
Soxfan58
(3,479 posts)I'll usually read and respond.
Canoe52
(2,948 posts)resist reading yours. I look for news items more than opinion. As for names of posters, I mostly stay away from names of regular posters, Ive heard what they have said before and can pretty much guess what they have to say now. Except for news items, there is a handful of people here that post some very interesting and informative news items (you all know who you are!). Oh and anything with the word toons in the title.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)Thread title is the most important consideration. Unfortunately, far too many folks are really bad that their thread titles. This probably means their threads are getting skipped.
I will look at the author and reply count, but very few of the author names will stand out for me and my bad memory.
I always hit the "view all".
The first time reading the thread, I will read the whole thing.
If I come back to the thread for the new posts, they are color-coded in the tree at the top due to the "mark as read" feature. Clicking on the new message title takes me to the new message.
If the thread is large, and if I don't anticipate the thread gaining any new messages worth reading, I will hit the "trash" button.
rogerballard
(2,889 posts)I don't start threads in here too much, but I got a question for you old farts.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)Though I rarely initiate threads in the Lounge, I have a query for you most esteemed veterans of DU
Better?
A-Schwarzenegger
(15,596 posts)which there aint as much as there once was,
turning more inward in my dotage,
dont have the stomach for argument as much
as i did, which wasnt much to start with,
why i went for the comic perspective,
seems like lots of the old-timers are long
gone in one way or another, dont think the
place really healed from the last primary, it's
a lot less personal or communal feeling than
it used to be, all the sterilizing changes...
Probably didnt answer the questions you
asked, maybe indirectly, more about me than
DU, probably down or scared about
the state of things, and yet, and yet, it all
could turn on a dime, spring could come
in a flash & the place, America, DU, could
come alive again for real or in my imagination...
Phentex
(16,334 posts)I don't care if something is on the greatest page or not.
What keeps me from replying most of the time is someone has already given the response I would have posted. I often just agree with someone and will post that.
hibbing
(10,098 posts)Fla Dem
(23,691 posts)Poster isn't important, although I have my favorites and conversely a few not on my top 10 list. But generally I'll read anyone who present a cohesive, rational commentary on something I find interesting. Of course except in the Lounge. No cohesive, rational thoughts required.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)I read those first, then Latest Threads. I look at the title first, I guess. Author doesn't matter very much to me. Then I go to The Lounge.
If it's too long, I usually skip it. Since getting hooked on Twitter, my attention span is much shorter these days.
I hardly ever open posts that seem like videos or song titles. Those annoy the heck out of me. I have been railing about that since I joined... why can't they just put the word "video" in the title????
Shrek
(3,981 posts)So good timing!
GeorgeHayduke
(1,227 posts)First, I come to DU for 1) news, 2) to ask for advice or 3) because I'm bored.
Following that logic, I tend to click on threads that are 1) funny, 2) engaging or 3) revealing of something I haven't already heard. That said, I avoid posts that are vitriolic, pretentious or hyperbolic.
Authors of posts are largely an afterthought in my decision making process because of user turnover, however, I'll click a topic authored by a fellow old-schooler if it doesn't immediately seem all that interesting, because bots. I always choose "view all".
I miss the days when the mods weren't so quick to shut a freeper down and you could get in on the juvenile and innane fun of banal political banter, but in my age I just dont see the point in fighting anymore.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,370 posts)I couldn't agree more. Of course, it isn't the mods or the MIRT folks who shut threads all the time, but rather some who seem a bit too quick to send an alert.
As you mentioned, there was a time when folks were free to bat those freeper types around a bit, like a cat with a mouse, before the thread was locked.
I too am tired of the fighting, and the fact is, I see the same old, tired arguments both in GD and in the Religion group where I used to post somewhat regularly.
Anyway, glad you thought this was interesting enough to answer!
GeorgeHayduke
(1,227 posts)Your question fulfilled #2 "engaging".
Long live us old codgers.
logosoco
(3,208 posts)I have been on DU since 01 or 02. I am crap for remembering names, so it's not that!
I would say topic, unless it is a topic that everyone is making a thread on.
I do not always hit view all, unless it is a really good topic. Or there is a good chance for puns! I love it when those get going!
I just opened a thread in GD because it had a vague title. Then I felt a bit offended by the content and started a reply but decided it would be a waste of time. Even though I was a bit insulted by the content, I did not want to make the poster feel bad for making their post.
SCantiGOP
(13,871 posts)I avoid the click bait, such as any thread that starts: Click here to rec...; Rec if you agree...;Check in here if...etc.
RobinA
(9,893 posts)Joined in 02, cant believe its been 16 years. Select by title only, always hit view all. Look at Latest, then General, then Lounge.