What Makes You?

[AlmH]

Seriously I was looking through the threads and was just curious as to what moves people to reply? I mean why are there certain threads that warrants a reply from us and others we choose to ignore?  What do you find interesting in a thread to make you hit the reply button?  Just call it a curious fancy…   

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

I'm not sure if there is anything specific that moves me to reply, other than wanting to help someone and having the answer.  A lot of the time I don't reply because someone else already gave the answer.

I can say that I never reply to big blocks of text or text-talk.  I find both offensive on a site created to bring readers together.  Not really.  lol  The truth is that I can't get through them; it's too hard for me to comprehend these posts and I just don't have the time to apply to translating them.

[Desert_Brat]

I agree with Nallia, it's a desire to try and help people with their problems so they can start enjoying their Nook.

Sometimes it's just simply directing them to the right place where they are likely to get a good answer.

A lot of times there will be a number of folks who jump into a thread because we're trying to work through what a problem might be and arrive at something that works. Sometimes you don't know which answer will work, it's sort of like a think-tank in written form.

[ABthree]

@AlmH

Often, it's to help someone who needs it.  Sometimes that includes heading off some bad advice that someone else gave.

Sometimes it's to greet a friend who's been AWOL for a while, or to back one up on a good point.

I always try to welcome a new user who asks a good question, or makes a good comment.

And sometimes it's just for fun, when a thread takes an unexpected turn into whimsy,or starts out that way, like Nallia's Bacon Thread that unexpectedly lured me onto the NookColor boards to discuss the wonderfulness of cold pizza for breakfast:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/NOOKcolor-General-Discussion/The-completely-off-topic-thread/...

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

Though I have a NOOKcolor now too, I still spend most of my time on this board.  After a year here, this one just feels like home.    I started that thread to try to bring people together a bit more over there.  I have to admit I was surprised to see you there.

No one can resist the lure of bacon!

[gstone]

1. Check to see if anyone responded to a post I previously made.
2. Check out posts no one has responded to. If I have a suggestion, I make a badly worded muddled response even I can't understand.
3. Look for posts that promise entertainment.
4. Look for posts where people that asked for help. Give them a kudo if they respond back to say thank you that worked.
5. Pick posts at random.

This thread falls into the entertainment category.

[ABthree]

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Nallia wrote:

Though I have a NOOKcolor now too, I still spend most of my time on this board.  After a year here, this one just feels like home.    I started that thread to try to bring people together a bit more over there.  I have to admit I was surprised to see you there.

No one can resist the lure of bacon!

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Actually, I was checking your profile to see whether you were still on, was intrigued by the "OT Thread" title, and followed without realizing where I was.  Then I was trapped by the bacon 

I never go over there because I don't have a NookColor, and figure there are already enough people there talking about things they know nothing about, without adding one more.

[ladymis]

I think I have to agree with most everyone here on why I read these forums (looking for help, entertainment, etc).

As for responding, if I have an answer to a question (or think I do, anyway ), or something to add to the conversation.

As a whole, I try to not respond to the posts where all the OP is doing is complaining about something stupid, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

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ABthree wrote:

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Nallia wrote:

Though I have a NOOKcolor now too, I still spend most of my time on this board.  After a year here, this one just feels like home.    I started that thread to try to bring people together a bit more over there.  I have to admit I was surprised to see you there.

No one can resist the lure of bacon!

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Actually, I was checking your profile to see whether you were still on, was intrigued by the "OT Thread" title, and followed without realizing where I was.  Then I was trapped by the bacon 

I never go over there because I don't have a NookColor, and figure there are already enough people there talking about things they know nothing about, without adding one more.

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Heh.  That's OK.  That thread is open to anyone and NC commplaints aren't allowed in it. 

[Po1gara]

I love the amusement I find here and the fact that you just never know when a thread will make an unexpected turn into silliness. Sometimes I participate, sometimes I just drive my hubby to curious distraction over my chuckles while reading the threads.

I do try to help people out when I can and no one else has offered. I also check back when I have posted to read any replies. Otherwise, I'm here numerous times on just about a daily basis. There are certain threads that I always check (Darkin's Old Nook Board Proverb, and Doug's free book thread over in the Nookbook forum, for example).

Other than that, I just check threads that are fairly new or that I've been keeping up with regularly.

[FrogAlum]

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Nallia wrote:

I'm not sure if there is anything specific that moves me to reply, other than wanting to help someone and having the answer.  A lot of the time I don't reply because someone else already gave the answer.

I can say that I never reply to big blocks of text or text-talk.  I find both offensive on a site created to bring readers together.  Not really.  lol  The truth is that I can't get through them; it's too hard for me to comprehend these posts and I just don't have the time to apply to translating them.

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Count me in this all the way! 

I don't understand the negative people and why they take the time to post...  Before I left on my "nook board sabatical" someone posted that I responded too much (they included my post count in the message) and said I needed to get a life.   I averaged 10 posts a day at that point.   I really didn't think that was excessive. 

I'll have to read the "bacon thread" that sounds intriguing BUT did it beat the "early release of the update" thread started by icebike???  That one was fun! 

[Josienjoe]

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Desert_Brat wrote:

I agree with Nallia, it's a desire to try and help people with their problems so they can start enjoying their Nook.

Sometimes it's just simply directing them to the right place where they are likely to get a good answer.

A lot of times there will be a number of folks who jump into a thread because we're trying to work through what a problem might be and arrive at something that works. Sometimes you don't know which answer will work, it's sort of like a think-tank in written form.

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I agree.  I work at home, so it's a bit of a diversion for me - part educational, part entertaining.

[KindleMichelle]

Well, what made me reply here was someone saying Kindle owners are jealous, and then the discussion took over from there. Other than that, and in general, I can't say other than if a topic interests me and I feel I have something to say. I think it helps if the poster has an interesting or thought-provoking point that hasn't been made in a better way recently.  And, of course, if I know the answer.

Glancing over the other responses, I see many people have said it's the urge to help others enjoy their Nooks. That's traditionally what I've done with my Kindle and why I tend to watch Kindle reviews. There was this woman a few weeks ago who was so frustrated with set-up and people were giving her a hard time, can't say I wasn't tempted as she lashed out to follow suit. Instead, I was patient and got her to trust me and now she's up and running.

[CasperAZ]

AlmH, I like how I can reply to various Threads incognito, i.e., by the disguise of a screen name.  This attribute alone is why I like to reply.    A controversial Thread intrigues me as well as an innocuous one. 

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

I try to ignore the truly ridiculous threads (but that doesn't always work).  Other than that I either try to be helpful or lighten things up here a bit.

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

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CasperAZ wrote:

AlmH, I like how I can reply to various Threads incognito, i.e., by the disguise of a screen name.  This attribute alone is why I like to reply.    A controversial Thread intrigues me as well as an innocuous one. 

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I know a lot of people feel this way, but I don't.  I had my first name in my signature for the better part of a year and only removed it because it doesn't fit right now.    Maybe I'm weird, but I don't much care if people know who I am anywhere on the Internet.  Maybe I've just been online too long to worry about it anymore (about 15 years). 

[Conniecats]

I reply when I think I can be helpful, funny or add something to the conversation. I seldom post to technical threads, threads with the word suck in the title or threads that are a kazillion posts long.

I also read threads way more than I post to them.

[AlmH]

haha.... this time I replied bc I was simply curious to read what others' replies were.

[julestrik]

I reply when I feel I can actually help. I never reply or I try not to be dragged onto negative posts. I've been hanging out and reading since 2008 and you can tell by the amount of posts I have that I'm not very chatty. I enjoy reading other posts for laughs and sometimes I even learn things.

[LectorGS]

In the majority of the cases I do it because I have something to say that might help someone else.  There are instances, thou, that I respond because a rumor has to be stopped or corrected.