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How NOT To Kill A Thread?
EDIT: Shoot! I just realized that, by using the word "thread" in the title, I may have mislead people into thinking this is about "threads," as in the threads on a pedal crank, etc. Sorry!
This is a semi-serious question, though not related to cycling. I seem to be the last word in most of the threads I post to. I don't think I come off like a know-it-all or someone who is not open to other people's ideas. In fact, I crave the opinions of others whenever I post something. Still, I feel like a thread murderer. A thread can go on for six hundred posts, then I say something and everybody leaves the room. Is it me? Am I being paranoid? Over-analyzing? Or can one of you legit forum members (not one of the trolls) make some suggestions for how not to be the guy who farts in the field and sends everyone scrambling? |
Originally Posted by Papa Tom
(Post 18024688)
EDIT: Shoot! I just realized that, by using the word "thread" in the title, I may have mislead people into thinking this is about "threads," as in the threads on a pedal crank, etc. Sorry!
This is a semi-serious question, though not related to cycling. I seem to be the last word in most of the threads I post to. I don't think I come off like a know-it-all or someone who is not open to other people's ideas. In fact, I crave the opinions of others whenever I post something. Still, I feel like a thread murderer. A thread can go on for six hundred posts, then I say something and everybody leaves the room. Is it me? Am I being paranoid? Over-analyzing? Or can one of you legit forum members (not one of the trolls) make some suggestions for how not to be the guy who farts in the field and sends everyone scrambling? I am presumably a member in good standing on BF since 2008, and I have occasionally noted that I am the last poster (LP) . I do admit to writing long posts, but besides being an avid cyclist, I described this basic tenet of my posting to BF in reply to ”What you got from BF transportation forums?”
Originally Posted by gerv
(Post 17360146)
I often recall how BF played such a vital part in getting me out on the street and in better health....
What about you? What role did BF play in getting you out on two wheels?
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 17360649)
I have been an avid cyclist, as a lifestyle since about 1972…I happened serendipitously on Bike Forums in 2008, and it was frankly incredible to find a community that shared so many concerns I had kept to myself as a lone cyclist.
This enthusiasm has definitely increased my enjoyment of cycling. As far as improving it, what I have gotten directly from BF are:
I suppose one, more objective way to disprove yourself as a threadkiller, is to determine how many of your posts get quoted, or how often you get mentioned, @Papa Tom. |
You aren't one of those admins that can lock the thread after your post?
Otherwise, have no fear, in a half a dozen years, those threads will pop back up with some entirely off the wall reply to the OP who has already long since vanished. |
How NOT To Kill A Thread?
Originally Posted by Papa Tom
(Post 18024688)
…I seem to be the last word in most of the threads I post to. I don't think I come off like a know-it-all or someone who is not open to other people's ideas. In fact, I crave the opinions of others whenever I post something. Still, I feel like a thread murderer. A thread can go on for six hundred posts, then I say something and everybody leaves the room.
Is it me? Am I being paranoid? Over-analyzing?... I may well be the threadkiller of this inactive, short-lived thread. Perhaps an indicator of one’s Forum communication skills might be how many replies do your threads receive? I myself though was intrigued by the question. Might I suggest you post your question to a more widely read sub-forum rather than the Northeast Regional one, e.g. General Discussion, or Fifty-Plus…we seniors tend to be more introspective and voluble. One memorable similar thread I enjyed on Fifty-Plus was ”How Do You Communicate on Forums vs Face-to-Face.” After 94 posts it became so contentious that it was closed with this comment:
Originally Posted by no1mad
Thread has pretty much run its course, so....
Originally Posted by CliffordK
(Post 18025081)
You aren't one of those admins that can lock the thread after your post?
Otherwise, have no fear, in a half a dozen years, those threads will pop back up with some entirely off the wall reply to the OP who has already long since vanished. PS: It just occurred to me that threadkills per last 100 subscribed threads would not be valid since many may still be active. I guess we need a definition of thread death, e.g. how long without a reply...one week, one month, one year? One BF subscriber suggested:
Originally Posted by alan s
(Post 17446662)
You do realize that once this is out of the top 5 threads, no one will read it, and after it drops off the first page, it is ancient history…
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I don't think that Papa Tom, or Jim, are thread killers. All of us get the Tail-End-Charlie spot from time to time. Look at it this way, if you need some positive reinforcement about your discussions, maybe what you posted was the answer, or solved the problem, that the thread was composed for. (Man, I always end sentences with prepositions.:eek: ) You two guys are ones I listen to, for what you have to say about a topic, experience, and using come common courtesy in your posts makes for enjoyable reading.
And, Roccobike, already has the title "Official BF Thread Killer" claimed. Its in their sig line. Bill |
Last.
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
(Post 18030470)
Last.
Originally Posted by qcpmsame
(Post 18030402)
...Look at it this way, if you need some positive reinforcement about your discussions, maybe what you posted was the answer, or solved the problem, that the thread was composed for. (Man, I always end sentences with prepositions.:eek: ) …
“Churchill” on Prepositions The saying attributed to Winston Churchill rejecting the rule against ending a sentence with a preposition must be among the most frequently mutated witticisms ever. I have received many notes from correspondents claiming to know what the “original saying” was, but none of them cites an authoritative source. The alt.english.usage FAQ states that the story originated with an anecdote in Sir Ernest Gowers’ Plain Words (1948). Supposedly an editor had clumsily rearranged one of Churchill’s sentences to avoid ending it in a preposition, and the Prime Minister, very proud of his style, scribbled this note in reply: “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.” The American Heritage Book of English Usage agrees. The FAQ goes on to say that the Oxford Companion to the English Language (no edition cited) states that the original was “This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put.” To me this sounds more likely, and eagerness to avoid the offensive word “bloody” would help to explain the proliferation of variations. A quick search of the Internet turned up an astonishing number. In this era of copy-and-paste it’s truly unusual to find such rich variety. The narrative context varies too: sometimes the person rebuked by Churchill is a correspondent, a speech editor, a bureaucrat, or an audience member at a speech and sometimes it is a man, sometimes a woman, and sometimes even a young student. Sometimes Churchill writes a note, sometimes he scribbles the note on the corrected manuscript, and often he is said to have spoken the rebuke aloud. The text concerned was variously a book manuscript, a speech, an article, or a government document. Here is just a sample of the variations circulating on the Net:... |
First of all, I think you're imagining things, or being paranoid, or over thinking, or maybe some of all three.
However if you want threads to stay alive after you post, just say dumb and/or controversial things, or express an opinion on something for which there's no answer. After all, look how long threads on topics like chain lube or cleaning, an wheel building seem to get. Or visit the P&O forum where people can "debate" nonsense seemingly forever. Otherwise just say what you think, and let the chips fall where they lie. |
If nobody ever replies to your posts, there may be an issue, otherwise, I think that there is a tendency for people (at least if they are like me) to over-analyze.
I actually find the inverse humorous, and I suspect at times it is meant to be, when someone posts a response and assumes that there is nothing more to add, nor legitimate alternatives and declare the thread closed. That seems to be one sure way to keep a thread rolling. |
I would not worry about it. You're only going to give yourself a complex.
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Yes, it's you.
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Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs
(Post 18048637)
Yes, it's you.
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When Person A says, in reference to Person B, "he always has to get the last word in!" obviously Person A thinks this is not an endearing trait, but we also sense his frustration that he always fails to get the last word in, which was his ambition in the first place. Kinda ironic, no?
So in your case, @Papa Tom, the problem seems to be that you don't actually want to get the last word in; but you have a talent for summing up the situation such that readers think "yup" to themselves and move on. It's really not a problem at all. But if you think it is, well, that's your problem.... |
I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a swipe, but thanks...I needed both.
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Perhaps the issue is not that you kill a thread, but that you post on a thread that has basically been killed already. I haven't researched your threads to see, just speculating. I find that if I post on an interesting ongoing thread, and my post is say, unappreciated, it just gets ignored, it doesn't kill the thread. If you just log on every few days, you may be hitting threads that have already run their cycle before you got there.
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