Do you read through the thread before posting?

^I've trailed off threads, checking back a few times to see if someone replied to my post. I'm also sure to read back posts if I want to post in it again.

 

if I'm just replying to the OP probably not. If I'm replying to one of the last few posts I saw, then yes I'll read it. One thing that irks me a bit is when people reply to one of the last few posts, and it almost always ends up out of context because they haven't read the entire discussion; so I don't do that.

 

Who replies to the OP anymore? That's sooo Big Blue.

 

I assume I'm the OP anytime I respond.

 

If the OP somehow changes to J. every time he posts, then reverts to the original author afterwards, how does this displacement of identity impact the course of the conversation? Even if you read the Original Post, by the time you get to J.'s answer, it's already gone back again, so the likelihood of the question and answer having any relationship to each other exponentially decreases.

 

Depends on topic, age, and how many posts.

 

It is an interesting topic, and very meta.

 

I'm such an idiot I will forget an early post where I said the same thing as a current one.

I try to scan a page or so to get the flow of the conversation..

 

Usually the impulse to contribute comes pretty quickly after reading the initial post and a few cogent responses. I feel that I don't want to be disuaded from doing so even if I come across an opinion that pretty much mirrors what I'm thinking. On the other hand, I am prone to more than my share of newbie jitters so it's not unusual for me to read all the way through to be reconciled I've got as good a lay of the land before dipping my toes in.

I might read an entire thread about a topic that I find interesting while not feeling particularly impelled to contribute. That happens occasionaly.

 

^Same here. Their are quite a few posts others have beaten me to.

 

Eh, that's okay. Nobody should hesitate to join in on a conversation just because somebody else has spoken up. It's not about being first, it's about socializing. Most of the time, anyway.

 

If it's a thread I've posted in several times, I tend to go to the "Quick Links" option, choose "My Posts" and review what I've written. I don't tend to post all that much across multiple threads, so it's not usually hard to quickly review what I've said.