WP Posts--More than just a title!!

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Wasn't completely sure where to put this.. so I figured the section for "everything" might be a good place..

This seems to be a growing trend. Someone sees a post, and then proceeds to respond-- to the title. They respond to the title of the post and only to the title of the post, without even reading the post that the title was meant to describe. What would possess somebody to respond to something said on a forum without even reading it?!
I started a thread in the adult section pertaining to an aspect of my current relationship. I wanted some advice, I wanted to talk about it.. and I did get some very helpful feedback. Then today I log on, and there's a PM from someone trying to pick me up! Well, he claimed it wasn't a pick-up by stating that it wasn't a pick-up, but that statement didn't change the fact that the message was actually a pick-up.
OK, I started a thread for advice on one aspect of my current very serious and long-term relationship. I mentioned, in that thread, how much of the reason I was posting about it was because the relationship is really great, and I wanted advice on how to grow in the relationship and improve certain aspects. I mentioned all about how it's the best relationship I've ever been in and I love him so much, don't want him to feel inadequate, and don't want anything major to change. I was also talking about the fact that some of the trouble communicating is actually just because he's also a bit aspie-like himself, so that actually helps us understand each other better.
So the gist of my post was a request for advice on improving communication in a wonderful relationship. I received some helpful replies, and a PM from someone with some good information and advice.
And then, this morning, I received a PM from someone who quite obviously read nothing but the thread title!! This is not the first time I've seen this done. Why do people take the time to reply to a post they haven't even bothered to read?!
*fumes some more* Urgh!

Ok.. sorry.. I guess I'm done ranting..

I know what you mean... I hate replies (and greetings) that consist of only one line - but then I'm a wordy person.

It doesn't sound like the person who PMed you had only read the title. It sounded like they were just determined to try and pick you up. Sometimes people get weird ideas in their heads and it doesn't matter what you say or do.

Anyway, provided that you responded politely (within sensible limits anyway) and told them... erm... NO, they should go away and leave you alone.

If not, the mods will look into it for you.

What abou wp posts being more than just a title?(lol)

I don't understand what you mean by that. The PM I got referred to the title of the post, but made assumptions that wouldn't have been made if they'd read the post itself. Why do you think that they did read it?
I responded saying exactly that-- that they must not have read my post. They didn't respond, so I guess it was true..

I don't mind short replies that actually do refer to what was being talked about. Sometimes all I have to say on a topic is a sentence.. or an emphatic agreement about something.. or a question..
But it doesn't make sense for someone to respond to the title line of a post without even finding out what the post is about. Most topics could have a wide variety of meanings, so if someone just looks at those few words in the title and responds only to that, most of the time what they say will have almost nothing to do with what the person was talking about in the post.

Perhaps the origin of the topic


I frequently copy / paste the topic title just to get back on topic. problem is, it usually kills the thread I never have been the trendy type

That might be a good place for the thread.

I bet the Mods can help you out on this one, or three.


Let her flow girl, corks are hazardous under pressure, but nice a soft in their natural state

omg....I really feel hit on the spot here as Im one of them who do that sometimes....I dont know anything about your specific thread, what title it was or what it was about as I never enter the adult forum.
I can just say why I sometimes respond to the title and not to the discussions within the thread

I have great difficulties with reading a lot of text, much more than writing much text. Its not often I write alot either here on WP but it happens sometimes, like now. I can never take part of debates and long discussions and much talkings as it require a lot of readings and to take in a lot of information, which I cant

Im aware that I sometimes just only reply a title only but I try to avoid it when I see a wide discussion following it. I know that the discussions had lead the title further and it would only look stupid if I step in and reply title without reading the rest, so usually I dont. But I reply titles that is obvious that the threads purpose is to just reply the title, mainly random or quiz forums

Sometimes I do read the full description of the title from the OP, like in this thread when I know the description is the key to thread, not the title...

^ yeah...what she said

Well, when one appears out of nowhere, has 14 pages of posts, many half a page long, it can take nearly an hour to get to the end. Plus, another problem is threads tend to get hijacked on a regular basis, so after a while, you have trouble holding the whole megilla together.

Add Godwin's law, etc., and after a while, the title has little to do with the direction of the thread.

The Adult forum probably has a higher-than-normal average of people trying to pick other people up, though.

Hope you got some of what you were asking for.

As pakled said; (paraphrasing) Sometimes a giant post appears out of nowhere and grows exponentially.

When that happens, I'll often respond to the OP but later discover that the topic of the thread has mutated throughout the thread so that my post reads like it just doesn't belong.

---

Maggiedoll,

What I was saying before is that some people just get an idea in their heads (eg: "I'm gonna try to pick up that person") and no amount of other data will convince them not to go through with it. It's like they (maybe) actually read the entire post but they ignore anything in it which doesn't conform to their own twisted reality.

I was just saying that it's not certain that your suitor's behaviour was due to them not reading the entire post (though it's probable). It may simply have been that they decided to do something and only read what they wanted to read.

There's a big difference between responding to the first post in a thread without reading all of the replies, and responding to just the title of the thread, though. When someone posts something, it's fairly safe to assume they want people to reply to it, so if you have something to say about what they said, I don't see why it would be wrong to respond, even without reading all those other pages. That's what the "quote" button is for-- to specify what it is that you're responding to.


That's true.


Ok, that makes sense. I mean, the doing it doesn't make sense, but what you said makes sense.