Why do we do this?

[Jedisolo75]

I am curious, really. I have done it, you have probably done it, and so I am not trying to insult anyone, but there is a habit among people who post on forums that I can't explain. Namely the habit of posting on forums that we have no business posting on. The post that nailed this home to me was one I saw a few days ago. Someone asked what it was like on the escapist before Yahtzee came. I was curious about that as well, so I read it, and the entire first page was full of people saying basically, "I only came after Zero Punctuation, so I don't know". Well if you don't know, why were you posting? The OP was asking for the opinion of people that did know. Why do we feel the need to do this? It's just my own personal question of the moment.

By the way, someone is going to be clever and post "I don't know" as an answer, that's kind of funny, and I respect that person, but I just wanted to point out that I thought of it first.

 

[Pandaman1911]

By the way, someone is going to be clever and post "I don't know" as an answer, that's kind of funny, and I respect that person, but I just wanted to point out that I thought of it first.

...god damn it.

OT, yes, I've noticed that, and I think it just really has to do with people who want to be heard. You know, they have an account, they like to just pipe in and let everyone know that they're here and that they've got something to say... me, I make sure I know what the fuck I'm talking about (to some degree, anyway) before I post. I'd probably have double my current post count if I wasn't always deleting my posts going "No, you don't need to comment".

 

[Bas Smeets]

You could take it as a sign of respect or a show of interest. Rather than going, meh, this question does not concern me, people make the effort to respond. Of course, after the first few responses it does become repetitive and runs the risk of hiding responses from people who were here before the invention of sliced bread.

I've been on forums where there were mostly threads with a single starter post and hundreds of views, but no responses at all. It's the silence that kills the neighborhood.

 

[Dango]

I guess people just really, really wanna post for some reason.

I've noticed it a lot, especially within the last few months, people will post in a thread just to say "I don't like what this thread is about", or "I don't know what this thread is about"

 

[Seishisha]

People just love to voice their own opinions even if they are saying the same thing as everyone else, i guess its some sort of psycological compulsion to see validation for your actions, i know alot of the time i have this, for example if somone quotes me on the forums i get a little buzz of elation which is futher enhanced if they also agree with what i wrote.

 

[Melon Hunter]

I think some people like to be heard, even if their opinion is irrelevant in the matter. Notice how easy it is for a flame war to start up: that 'rainbows and cupcakes' thread that just got locked? All it took was one person pointing out the thread subject's link to a certain cartoon that I'm not going to name here, and within a page it escalated into a huge argument over the cartoon. Some people just have to be heard, even if that means derailing the thread to satisfy their overinflated ego.

 

[genericusername64]

Because people saying IDK increases their post count, what those people don't realize, is that they are tools

 

[Jnat]

They are at least bumping the thread, although I don't think that is their purpose.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

They could be wanting to increase their post count, in which case they're tools.

Another explanation is that they don't wish to appear uninteresting and feel they have to 'add' to a conversation, even if what they 'add' has no bearing at all...

...in which case they're tools.

Some people just like the sound of their own voice/look of their own typed words.

 

[Jedisolo75]

You could take it as a sign of respect or a show of interest. Rather than going, meh, this question does not concern me, people make the effort to respond. Of course, after the first few responses it does become repetitive and runs the risk of hiding responses from people who were here before the invention of sliced bread.

I've been on forums where there were mostly threads with a single starter post and hundreds of views, but no responses at all. It's the silence that kills the neighborhood.

That is a an argument that actually answers my question. You have a point that is valid, but the behavior still bothers me. I would hate to "kill the neighborhood" I do love the escapist.

 

[Yoshisummons]

Why shouldn't one post?