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Do you read the first post in a thread?


SparklingSwirls

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I've seen a lot of threads where people don't respond to everything that's asked in the first post: they only respond to the question asked directly in the thread's title. I assume the reasoning here is because some people jump straight into the thread without paying attention to the OP's intentions. (Of course, some people may read it but just not want to answer every question that's asked. :P)

 

As for myself, it depends on where I'm posting. In the Debate Pit, I always read the first post since I know that it's important to be as informed as possible about an issue before you take a stance on it. Same with the Feedback section; I wouldn't want to give feedback without knowing everything that's going on. In the general discussion/forum games threads though, I only read the first post about half the time. Sometimes when I do read the first post, it makes for hilarious results later on in the thread (example: https://mlpforums.com/topic/130044-would-you-jump-on/page-1)

 

Fluttershy? Lightwing? Pudding bigger than a city? :lol:

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No matter what the topic is about, I'll always read the original first post before typing anything down. Though if there are a couple of questions asked, then I will just answer only a few or a single one, depending on what they ask.

 

And in a way...I also did the same thing with this thread as well, heh.

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Well yeah. I read the first and the last 3-5 posts. It keeps me informated enough to consider writing something myself, but doesn't make me read all of the damned 10+ pages of posts.

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I tend to do so. Only times when I skim over the main post is when the title of the thread itself is incredibly simple in question. For example, if a thread is titled "Socks?" I may or may not simply reply with "Socks." Well, I would, if the character limit would let me.

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I always read the first post. In fact, when I do create a thread, I just can't stand people who give half-answers because they couldn't be bothered to spend some minutes reading the first post.

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i was really hoping that the first post of this topic was going to take a wild swing and then I could ignore it with just "nope" to the title.
 

as a general case, I read EVERYTHING, unless that just isn't really feasible.  if the topic has a million pages, I might just skim a bunch of pages, especially the last 2-3 to see where the current state of discussion is centering around.

 

if you DON'T read even the first post, and just answer the question and move on, you are being a bit narcissistic.

basically you are saying: "what I say matters, but nothing else does". 

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What if I didn't read the first post in this topic? ​ Jk

 

I pretty much always read the first post in a topic. The first post as said sometimes has important information to posting which the title may not contain. It also clarifies what the topic is about better than just a title. For example, a topic called 'Favorite Ponies,' a user may just see it and think that they just say only their first favorite. However the topic could say in the first post 'What are your five favorite ponies?' where they need to list more than one. Even though they can just look at the previous posts, they might miss them.

 

I just like to make sure I am participating properly in a thread. It isn't difficult to go and read the first post, and might have a way they want you to reply.

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Unless stated in the title or it's on a subject of something, then no, I don't.

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I usually do, but then again, that depends on whether or not i find the topic in question of any interest to me. If i have nothing serious to contribute, i might throw in my two cents, if anything -- or i could just leave the topic alone altogether.

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I read everything (even if some of that is skimming) and answer as much as I can. I especially try to do so when it's in the Debate Pit since that is srs bzns.

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I read the first post so I 'm certain of what I'm responding to. And I take a look at the other posts as well. I don't always read them all if there are zillions of them, but I like to know who is saying what, especially the last couple pages (if it's really going the distance) and add my two cents to that. 

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@@SparklingSwirls: First off, may I say that your avatar is gorgeous.  Is that your OC?  That's what Treehugger should have looked like.

 

Anyway, yes, I always read the first post thoroughly.  I couldn't imagine not reading it.  The original post is the whole point of the thread.  It's the question being asked or the topic being posed.  It's important to know what you're responding to.  Like many have said here, I read the first post, then I will skim through a few in the middle if there's too many, then I will read the last few so I know where the conversation has gone.  I almost always read the first few responses because I like to get idea of the immediate reactions to the OP.  If it's a debate thread, I try to read every single post in their entirety.  I feel that's sort of the decent and responsible thing to do if I'm joining a controversial topic, though sometimes it's too difficult in threads like The Clop where it's the size of a giant book.  But I always make sure that I'm confident in the original poster's position so that I'm responding properly.  In point of fact, I've actually made debate pit threads in which I've been criticized for views I don't hold, or had questions or criticisms thrown at me that I already answered, all because the poster obviously did not thoroughly read my original post.  This is an ever-present problem in the entirety of human discourse.  Never criticize or respond to someone in a debate if you can't be troubled to first read and understand their position.

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Limiting perspective to this section of the forums, I tend to do so in topics which intrigue me more - if the question in the title is more ambiguous, or there is something that piques my interest in the topic then I'll read the first page or so. 

 

If it's more just "What were you doing just then?" or something, or a topic I've posted in before, I might just read the last couple of posts and then go for it,

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Only when I'am unsure about what the poster is asking, or am unsure about my own answer is when I actually sit down, and read the first post, and every post afterwards. I've made plenty of mistakes in the past, and ended up posting something irreverent to the question because of that. If its an interesting question I'll look at other posts as well to see their answers.

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(edited)

About 90% of the time. The 10% are usually the threads with very long OPs that I sometimes don't have the time to fully read the bulk of. I still scan through it to get the gist though.

 

I'm also less likely to read the OP when I'm on my phone :P

Edited by Vulcan
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