What's the big deal with recurring threads?

[trappedinthecloset]

Before a barrage of angry emails comes flowing in, consider the following:

-People re-post because they don't notice a previous thread
about the same topic.

-Posting a new thread brings more attention to the issue you want to talk about rather than posting on a really old forum. You may never hear back.

-It's not like people don't have similar conversations in real life, so why is it a problem on a forum? It's not like there's limited room.

-I get more annoyed when I see someone saying "RE-POST! UGH! GOD!" than when I see a recurring thread. (Okay, Zac Efron is a little excessive, but otherwise, I don't get it.)

With that being said, let the hate mail begin.

 

[Wrey]

I must agree. There are times when I would like to discuss a topic andI simply do not have the time to do an exhaustive search for a prior thread which might have, at some point, vaguely touched upon the subject in my head.

(Whew!)

For those who can recite prior threads back to the age of the orthocones, Good God, there is a world outside in need of your attention. Get some air!

Edi: All that being said, this thread is painfully misplaced. It belongs in the Etc. forum.

 

[trappedinthecloset]

im going to re-post it there, just to piss people off

 

[Scorpiorising]

I also agree. On another point, there have been times that I've found a thread I wanted to participate in, only to post in it and find it's just long dead. I mean long dead.

 

[yngjock20]

This same thing happens in some of the Cloverfield groups I've checked out recently (No, I'm not a nerd, but the whole J.J. Abrams secret project thing really hooked me)

The thing is, when you've given and read alot of information on a certain subject; dispelled rumors and whatnot, then some noob comes along and brings up something dispelled weeks ago...it can get annoying.

No offense to anyone who officiated anything like that, I think I've done it myself, but it is best to read most of a thread before you give your $.o2 just so you don't step on any e-toes.

 

[HazelGod]

It's a matter of common sense, which generally isn't, so I'll explain:

If you come in as a noob and start a topic that has been recently discussed and/or discussed ad nauseam, then that signals to the members of the forum that you're a lazy ass who apparently believes the universe revolives around you, because you can't be bothered to look through the topics discussed during the last week.

The period of quiescence required before it's generally acceptable to open a new topic of similar purpose varies based on several factors...these include the inanity or banality of the subject, how many previous discussion threads exist, tenure of the person opening the new thread, etc. Everyone has their own personal thresholds for repetition based on any or all of these.

Understand that there are also personality factors involved. Some people can't seem to resist jumping in your shit on the least pretext because they may not like you, or they may resent a noob starting a discussion amongst "strangers." Some people are just anal retentive about repetition itself and will have something snarky to say about any new thread that might even seem to possibly overlap another topic from any point in the forum's history. The really anal ones will go back and find the topic and link you to it.

Basically, you shouldn't worry about it. If you think something is worth beginning a discussion over, demonstrate the common courtesy to read through the subject lines of the previous week or so for anything related. If you don't see anything, go for it. If you're at all concerned about being sniped for it, open your discussion by saying you looked through recent threads and didn't see anything similar...or that you saw something similar, but wanted to take it in a different direction...or whatever the case might be. The point is to preemptively nullify any impression that you're just some jackass who didn't bother to look around first.

One last caveat: the focus of this site is dicks. If you're thinking of starting a new topic about dicks, do a little more rigorous searching. Just about every imaginable dick topic has not only been covered already, but covered multiple times. Please expect to catch a rash of shit if you create a topic along the lines of "Am I Big?" or "Do (insert racial/ethnic/national/whatever qualifier) guys have bigger/smaller dicks?" or "Are cut or uncut dicks bigger/better/preferable/whatever?" The chance of you having anything to say with enough novelty to justify the creation of yet another thread along these lines is pretty slim, so tread carefully here.

 

[Not_Punny]

^^^ What the man said...

Well said!!

 

[Osiris]

Ditto two fold.

It would be like someone walking into Microsoft today saying "I have this great new OS that will revolutionize computing. It's called Windows 95."

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Repeat threads don't bother me much. I just ignore them if I'm not interested in participating again. However, Hazel God brings up some good points about courtesy (or lack thereof) by too-eager noobs.

 

[SyddyKitty]

People who freak out about repeat threads are OCD freaks, in my opinion. Why do a search for stale material when getting fresh material is easier? Time rules don't matter. If you don't see it, oh well.

 

[trappedinthecloset]

if you've seen a thread before, how about not fucking reading it!? it's not that hard to skim over it to the next issue.

 

[Wrey]

Dear God,

Save me from the smarm.

Thank you,
Wrey

p.s. Oh, yeah, please bless everyone.

It's a matter of common sense, which generally isn't, so I'll explain:

If you come in as a noob and start a topic that has been recently discussed and/or discussed ad nauseam, then that signals to the members of the forum that you're a lazy ass who apparently believes the universe revolives around you, because you can't be bothered to look through the topics discussed during the last week.

The period of quiescence required before it's generally acceptable to open a new topic of similar purpose varies based on several factors...these include the inanity or banality of the subject, how many previous discussion threads exist, tenure of the person opening the new thread, etc. Everyone has their own personal thresholds for repetition based on any or all of these.

Understand that there are also personality factors involved. Some people can't seem to resist jumping in your shit on the least pretext because they may not like you, or they may resent a noob starting a discussion amongst "strangers." Some people are just anal retentive about repetition itself and will have something snarky to say about any new thread that might even seem to possibly overlap another topic from any point in the forum's history. The really anal ones will go back and find the topic and link you to it.

Basically, you shouldn't worry about it. If you think something is worth beginning a discussion over, demonstrate the common courtesy to read through the subject lines of the previous week or so for anything related. If you don't see anything, go for it. If you're at all concerned about being sniped for it, open your discussion by saying you looked through recent threads and didn't see anything similar...or that you saw something similar, but wanted to take it in a different direction...or whatever the case might be. The point is to preemptively nullify any impression that you're just some jackass who didn't bother to look around first.

One last caveat: the focus of this site is dicks. If you're thinking of starting a new topic about dicks, do a little more rigorous searching. Just about every imaginable dick topic has not only been covered already, but covered multiple times. Please expect to catch a rash of shit if you create a topic along the lines of "Am I Big?" or "Do (insert racial/ethnic/national/whatever qualifier) guys have bigger/smaller dicks?" or "Are cut or uncut dicks bigger/better/preferable/whatever?" The chance of you having anything to say with enough novelty to justify the creation of yet another thread along these lines is pretty slim, so tread carefully here.

 

[SyddyKitty]

Wouldn't smarm be the way everyone agrees to what hazel says with praise and whatnot? To the point where it seems fake and stomach-churning. Doesn't quoting do the same?

Edit: This word isn't in my common-use so my assumption may be wrong.

 

[Mem]

It doesn't bother me.
There is no rule against it, just ignore the nasties that come out when you do post a repeat or similar thread. I've tried the search feature to avoid this before and it has not worked very well.

If people do not respond to that thread the worst that will happen is that it will quickly go to the next page of threads and disappear.

 

[earllogjam]

I am tempted to go all bat shit when I see someone start a thread that I have already done but I have done it myself so...

Sometimes I will provide a link.

The truth of the matter is that a continuous thread with numerous postings is infinitely more enjoyable than the same thread subject in 5 different places with a handful of isolated responses. The discussion is better in longer threads, because there is just more stuff to discuss. So I feel it is better to revive old threads you find interesting than start anew. Honestly, most of these revived threads that were started years ago I never saw before so most are new to me anyways.

But, on the other hand I understand the bias towards current topics and interacting with current members. It's why I don't post to many revived threads. It's like eating week old bread...that has been chewed before.

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

Constantly reoccuring threads annoy me. If you search for the subject, and you find a thread on that subject, it doesn't matter if the thread is dead. Once you post on it, it will be brought back to the top of the list, and then people that never saw the post to begin with can add their 2 cents, and the thread will be brought back to life! We have new members here every single day, so it's very possible that you might bring life back to a thread that thousands of people have never seen. Try it sometime.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

I don't have a problem with treads that have been done before. Lots of people wouldn't bother commenting on a thread that had 30 plus pages feeling their comment might get lost amongst so many, the thread subject is often worded differently so it brings a different set of responses, and people's views might have changed so they don't want to post on the old one in case it looks as if they're contradicting themselves.

 

[Meniscus]

I agree with Hazel & earl. I don't understand the comment about smarm.

 

[HazelGod]

I don't understand the comment about smarm.

It had nothing to do with the topic, but was a personal shot at me.

Some here lack the ability to spot the inherent humor in my choice of username.

 

[agnslz]

The big deal is that they are annoying.