Sometimes I craft a reply to a thread, work on the post, correct the spelling, edit for brevity (really!), improve the post, change it around, proof-read it again, think about it, clarify the wording, re-work a paragraph, delete a paragraph, improve the flow, think more deeply about the idea I’m expressing, …
… and decide it’s just not working.
It’s not interesting or funny or worthwhile for others to spend their precious time reading. So I delete it.
I delete the post. It’s finished (as good as I can make it). And instead of hitting submit, I hit the X on the browser or go back to the list of threads. I’ve done this with long posts that have taken considerable time to write. And short posts, the most recent being in the Easter Egg thread today. I spend less time on posts that work. Posts that aren’t working require time to fix. Sometimes they can be fixed (and get posted) and sometimes they can’t (and contribute to my unpost count).
Thoughts? Comments? Who does this? What’s your unpost count? Mine’s probably about 30 or 40 (over four years).
I do that a lot too…sometimes I even try to start a new thread, and then think twice and decide not to. There should be a record of how often someone clicks the reply button, compared to how often they actually leave a reply.
Ah, the better posters have higher unpost counts. I shall endeavor to unpost more then.
I wonder if there is a correlation of unpost count and overall quality. On the other hand, I suspect there are those among us who know when to hit the Reply button and when not to, know exactly what they want to say, have the skill to say it well, and make the post. Their unpost count is zero. And then there are the rest of us.
I only delete a few of my posts. It’s not like I have a complex or anything. I’m not worthy! Don’t post this! No!!!
What got me thinking about the issue was how much time I occasionally waste by writing a post and throwing it away. But it’s better that I waste my own time than waste everybody’s time.
You shouldn’t feel like that my friend. You’re a worthy person and nothing or no-one is going to change that regardless of what they say,do or feel. Also you’re always entitled to your opinion and shouldn’t think that you’re wasting other peoples time. If you wrote something to me. I would definitely read it and wouldn’t think you were wasting my time. So keep writing.
Funny I’ve been thinking about starting this thread for a while, I often start writing a reply and then think , ‘who does this actually benefit? am i posting my opinion as fact? am i just trolling? (hence i pretty much avoid gun and religion threads now) am I just time wasting?’ I probably unpost about one in ten posts for these reasons, or because I just can’t express my self clearly.
I read a thread and type up a reply… Then I sort of have that release of saying whatever I wanted to say… I then feel like what I wanted to say doesn’t really matter to the conversation, has been said in so many words by other replies, or whatever… and don’t actually post it.
For me, its like saying something without annoying anyone else…
He probably means that 1 out of 10 posts he does, he isn’t satisfied with them and doesn’t put them up. Either that or he finds it hard to say what’s on his mind and doesn’t type them up because of it. Is that right kington99??
Sometimes I look at a post and say “does this really contribute anything to the thread?” and realize it’s just blather. Sure, it’s popular to post complete nonsense on the fora these days, but I’m not one to follow trends. Ctrl + F4, and I’m done with the thread.
I’ll have written an inflammatory statement and realize the monitor has started smoking, even before I clicked “Submit”. I don’t want to make any more enemies than I have space to bury them, so when I get too hot-headed to post, it’s time to leave the thread. If only our local trolls knew the wrath I’ve saved them…
Unpost count? I’d say one or two each day I’m on the fora. Whatever that adds up to…
P.S. Dave, what happened, how come we can’t argue anymore?
Or most likely it was joke, pretending that he didn’t understand because I said I’d found it difficult to make myself clear. My replied was intended to be in a similarly humorous vane.
Interesting. Deleting a post AFTER posting it is an advanced form of unposting. I usually don’t get that far. I just close the browser or click a different link.
I’ve been wondering where to put this little factoid. It didn’t warrant a new thread. I’ll put it here.
For those of us who type in the superior Dvorak keyboard layout, caution! In Internet Explorer, Ctrl-W closes the browser. Unfortunately, it’s right next to Ctrl-V, which is paste. I’ve pasted text into a long post only to have the entire window vanish. Bye, bye post.
I usually need the mouse to copy text in another window, then click back on the forum window. So, my right hand is off the keyboard as a result. Rather than put my hand back on home row and touch-type the Ctrl-V, sometimes I use the hunt-and-peck method and just peck at the V. Once in a while, I end up hitting the W, which closes the window (maybe I carelessly jab and hit both keys).
The keycaps on my keyboard are still in the ancient QWERTY layout, so W is < and V is >.
For those of you who type in QWERTY, you don’t have this danger. But why are you using a keyboard layout that was devised in the 1800s? Get with the program!*
yeah, I know… I should get with the program and use Firefox. I do, sometimes.
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