Topic has reached critical mass

[robakerson]

I don't want to give the wrong impression here so I'm going to preface my topic a bit:
I love the Escapist.

That being said, I find that the most interesting topics are far, far too large.
It's a good problem to have if you're selling adspace, but if you want to make a contribution to an interesting topic you can be sure you'll be doing it too late if you don't find it within the first two minutes of the post.
It seems many of these topics get to 10-11 pages within the first day (maybe 8 hours) of being posted.

So my question is:
For you, when does a topic reach a 'critical mass' point where you no longer feel people will bother to read your post?

I usually don't post in topics that are larger than 3-4 pages for this very reason.
(Not trying to complain, I just feel like I'm the only one who reads the first 3-4 posts, sees the 11 page count, and clicks away)

 

[Julianking93]

I actually think that a lot of the time, if you're past the 20th post, most people won't read it.

If you get the last or first post on each page after though, then people will read it then, but not when you're buried under the hordes of other posts in a single thread.

That being said, I still post in a thread regardless of how many came before me.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I'll read up to maybe, 30 or 40 posts (I read FAST!). I think it hardly fair to post without reading and appreciating what others have said before me, so if a topic goes beyond that number of posts, I'll rarely post.

I like to think maybe, if I read and understand others' points of view, others might read mine

 

[dark_taint92]

I tend to not post in threads +5 pages because it means me reading through the OP then the 100 or so comments attached to it.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

I rarely read anything but the O.P. and the first few posts after it.
And sometimes the posts that jump out.

 

[Emperor Platypus]

Yea I tend to do the same thing. Anything longer then 3 pages is reading material only if you ask me, posting in it will probably result in no one reading my contribution anyway.

 

[iLikeHippos]

I post more often on the topics with some "adspace", that is, before it reaches 36 posts.

But I can sometimes post on the threads that got 11 pages or so... No one might read it, but it adds up to the post count...
I kind of sound retarded there, aren't I?

Anyways, all of my posts gets equally much love that I can spare for 5 minutes time.

 

[Xeros]

The only a time a large thread will discourage me from posting, is when I feel I can't say anything that hasn't already been said by someone in that massive pile of text, so I post elsewhere.

 

[Captain Pancake]

None of my topics do. I'll create the thread and it'll fill about half a page before being drowned in layers and layers of other, apparently more interesting threads.

But I do agree, if I post in a topic with over 4 pages I know that very few people are going to get my opinion on the matter.

 

[Layz92]

I generally don't post on topics over 2 pages. Not so much because I don't think I will be noticed, more that I think by 2 pages the point I was going to make is probably already made.

 

[Snowden's Secret]

I try to post in threads of any length, but on the other hand I don't want to have to trawl through several pages of posts just to see if someone has already said what I intend to say. Plus the fact that if the thread is still very active, what I've said will soon be followed by countless more posts. This would leave me slap bang in the middle of it all, in the very place that people are least likely to read what I have to say.
To answer the original question, probably 5+ pages in length.

 

[Flux07]

I usually read the first maybe second page, but no more. I'll post even if there are loads of pages.

 

[Sonicron]

Agreed with the OP on all accounts. Critical mass is reached for me when there are already 4 or more pages, and even 3 is pushing it - I just don't feel there'd be anything worthwhile left for me to say on the matter that someone hasn't already covered in a competent way.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I post in any thread regardless of length. Most times massive conversations start up on the later pages.

This. If I feel the topic needs a contribution I leave one, regardless of thread length. Sadly this "critical mass" of threads is the one worry I have in trying to compile the site's top 100 games: people will ignore it due to length.

 

[Frequen-Z]

Generally I'll only post in the first page of a thread, but if it's something really interesting I'll post regardless of pages.

 

[Eleuthera]

3-4 pages mostly. I never post before reading the entire thread first, and reading more than 3 pages of posts usually gets too boring.

 

[robakerson]

I'll read up to maybe, 30 or 40 posts (I read FAST!). I think it hardly fair to post without reading and appreciating what others have said before me, so if a topic goes beyond that number of posts, I'll rarely post.

I like to think maybe, if I read and understand others' points of view, others might read mine

I tend to have the same policy, which is why I never post in threads that are 10+ pages, and usually not after the 3 page mark. I like to think that if I'm going to post, I *have* to have read all the other posts, otherwise there's a good chance I'm bringing up a point that has been discussed already (and/or be ignored).

I post in any thread regardless of length. Most times massive conversations start up on the later pages.

This is actually another reason i don't like to post in those 10+ page massive threads. Often times the 10th+ page is full of posts quoting other posts, etc, reaching as far back into the 4-5th page. So you either have to slog through the entire thread just to inject an opinion, or you have to do everyone the disservice of not reading their opinion before you post yours.

Thanks for all the feedback all, nice to know I'm not the only one who gets 'scared' away from posting in massive threads.

 

[wooty]

I guess it depends on the topic in question for me, if its a good discussion, then I'll read most of it and maybe contribute. If its something like "How many pairs of shoes do you have" or a "VS" thread, then I wont go much further until I've seen all the different pictures of flame shields.

 

[Danny Ocean]

I'll read up to maybe, 30 or 40 posts (I read FAST!).

That's only the first couple of pages?

I don't tend to post after the 5th or 6th page, simply because it's highly unlikely my opinion will be heard through all the other conversations that tend to form past that point.

 

[Knight of Cydonia]

I don't really read pages 5+ because I just don't have enough time.

(If its an awesome thread like 'the what if' thread I might read for a bit longer.)