META: Title or Popularity

Pip pip!

People should pay far more attention to thread titles.

I must admit that I never choose a thread coz it is very popular. I won't even look at the Iraq violent soldiers thread - apologies, but I have nothing useful to add...I think it's an outrage and that's that.

In keeping with my general tendency to champion the underdog, I think I may sometimes post to threads coz they've had *so few* new answers.

Anyway, title, definitely. Especially if it isn't a Classic/Dud title. If a thread has 800 replies and I haven't read it before, I assume it's about Glasto, arguing, or chatting.

(xpost; yeah, but Mark, that means not creating 100 new threads a week for the same small group of people)

The ideal thread, to me, is about 100 posts.

x-post Kate OTM.

I retain a childish fondness for 'Classic or Dud', at least where it is employed to judge things that it is patently preposterous to reduce to a 'classic' or 'dud'. But I don't like it when people just put 'C/D?'.

Even if it's got 134 new answers, I've only got the last 100 displayed. And it takes too long to read monstorous threads.

"oh wow, 2 new answers! That's short; I can read it all!"

a) someone will have be called a racist
b) the guys will have pretended to be feminists
c) someone will have already made an intelligent, insightful post that answers the question perfectly

[insert good-natured smiley]

See, this is -- and I don't mean offense by it, but there's no way to phrase it too delicately -- why I don't read your threads, or if I do, not for long.

Zzzz. Probably a Googler.

Oh wait, it's Amateurist.

I don't try to be confrontational in my posts, but I certainly won't shy away from clearing up a point about a post, whoever asks.

As for the original query, it depends on how much free time I have. If it's late at night and I've got a couple of hours, I love checking in to the lengthy threads and just reading them. However, most of the time I suppose I let the thread titles dictate what it is that I read, even if it means clicking on a thread link because the title of it makes me feel that what's to be discussed therein is going to be completely foreign to me. I'm trying my best to expand my mental horizons and trying to deaden that within me that would be thoroughly shocked by a particular topic of discussion. It's starting to work, I think.

But. The "oldskool" ilxors who (it seems) are the ones with problems with this, you all used to have AIM conversations together, right? OFF BOARD. Where a ton of stuff, some perhaps relevant to on-board happenings, got said. Leaving anyone who wasn't in on it confused and not up to speed. Posting half a page long AIM conversations on LOL threads is even more tedious.

At least with a "chatty thread" the info is all there, and you can go over it at leisure if you want to catch up. Sure, I might balk at a 200+ thread myself, but if Ive a quiet Saturday afternoon, I will actually sit and read very long threads if they are of interest all thru (and quite a few can be).

Its this "hit and run because I have a LIFE and no TIME for this rubbish" attitude that sticks in my craw a tiny bit. If you've no time for this online banter why be here at all? Get back to work!

:)

(Ooh, descending into pally chattiness, hmm? The unmitigated gall of me! *snort*)

Oh yeah, all those 'pretend feminists'. There are

I like 10-40 new answers, personally. But thread title is far more important than popularity.

See, this paragraph gives me the impressiong that you haven't read the rest of ILX in six months. Which is odd, because you have.