Life Is Too Short To Waste On Threads With Non-Descriptive Titles - Or Am I Just Old And Crabby?

[Kano383]

I used to look at just about every thread in the half dozen areas of my specific interests on THR (as well as EVERY thread that included a post from rcmodel), but I find myself more and more passing by ones with relatively non-descriptive titles like 'Sale' or 'Help' with no real indication what it is about (although I suppose the one likely referred to some sort of sale and the other was asking for some kind of help).

A quick look in the Legal Forum and one can immediately have an idea about the topic addressed in practically every thread, but not so much in many of the other Forums.

Maybe I am getting to be a crabby and selfish old jerk, but if the OP cannot take the time to add a little info in the Title, I do not feel it is worth my time to bother with reading it and just go on to the next thread. I realize that the vast majority of times my input is basically useless, so the OP is not really missing anything from my lack of participation, but it seems somehow rude to expect the members to take the time to open each thread with no idea of its focus.

I had a tough day at work today and am feeling somewhat sorry for myself, so I apologize for being selfish about my time, but I think folks could get a lot more help if they would use something more than a vague title.

Is it just me?

Forums are about communication and exchange of information - or opinions. Taking the time to provide a title that communicates what the post is about is... well, communicating, getting heard, letting people know what it is about, so they can either read with interest, or skip because it’s not what they’re looking for.

Simple basic life skills, unfortunately lost on too many. Like when there were handwritten ads on a board in supermarkets, and the majority of them had a bold black title that you could read ten yards away, saying “FOR SALE”, and you had to come right to the board and stick your nose on the damn card with a magnifier to find, on line 4, that it was a baby crib, when you were actually looking for a truck. “FOR SALE”, yes Sir (or Ma’am), I guess so since you took the time to write that card, but WHAT the heck are you selling, if I may ask?

No crabbyness, you just like things that serve the purpose... Like a card saying in bold letters “FORD F150”, that would convey a useful message and not waste your time.

 

[2ifbyC]

I have some health issues and take a beta-blocker; a drug that blocks the effects of adrenaline. If you couple that with being retired, I now rarely pull the trigger on poor communication.

Of course, this formula is not a panacea to life’s aggravations. Gun control advocates still push my dosage to the limit of its effectiveness. But I rarely dawn my grammar police badge or keyboard commando helmet to engage in fruitless insults. Avoidance is a virtue.

There will always be people with whom you disagree. Once you accept that, life’s journey becomes much more enjoyable. And it doesn’t take a doctor’s prescription to cure.

 

[morcey2]

Have a double helping of cheese and go to bed, start over in the morning with a fresh outlook. Your letting the small things bother you, life is too short to police the internet forums. That's the job for the "moderators".

I completely agree.

And you really should have said "You're" instead of "Your" in the second sentence.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

I completely agree.

And you really should have said "You're" instead of "Your" in the second sentence.

I actually laughed out loud.

Hysterical !

 

[old lady new shooter]

I also get just a little frustrated like the OP does. Usually, I just skip a thread with a vague title, and I am thinking I am probably not missing anything beneficial. Not much we can do about it other than just skip it.



His signature line says, "HIT THE REPORT BUTTON IF YOU FIND A PROBLEM". Well, a vague post title is not really a "problem", just something a little frustrating and unfortunate. Do moderators really want us to report that? And aren't the moderators reading entries before they become posts?

I think he meant the one that says "I only have so many heartbeats left. I am not wasting them on things that are not fun."

 

[old lady new shooter]

Kindergarten through 6th grade I went to a private Christian School that drilled writing, phonetics and basic arithmetic. When I switched to public school in 7th grade it seemed no one even knew what cursive was much less how to write it, and needed a calculator for basic math. And I'm only 35.

I like to think my threads and posts are pretty articulate most of the time, being able to think about and edit what one is about to say certainly is beneficial.

I'm not a bad conversationalist, but it's kind of hard to delete in real time, and folks might get the wrong impression taking an exuberant amount of time to respond.

I was a teaching assistant at UCLA in the mid-70's. Bear in mind, UCLA at that time only accepted the top 12.5% of high school graduates. An alarming percentage of my students could not write a clear, grammatically correct English sentence.

 

[bikerdoc]

Old and cranky doesnt bother me, wrinkled and saggy does.

 

[Danoobie]

Nope. If the OP titles their thread, "Hey guys. . ." or "quick question" then I have to assume the rest of the post will be as thoughtlessly composed as the title.

Words do not make the man, but they do proclaim him.

IMO, it's manipulative, instead of only folks who are interested clicking on the thread, most folks have to read the
entire first post, now, just to see if it pertains to something in which they are interested . I just ignore crappy headlines,
I figure the OP is a jack-hole, or trolling, from the start.

 

[shuvelrider]

I completely agree.

And you really should have said "You're" instead of "Your" in the second sentence.

You are right, that's what happens when trying to type, whilst tired-----------------

 

[Mn Fats]

I just wasted life on a thread with a descriptive title. Possibly more than with one that wasn't as descriptive.

 

[entropy]

Kindergarten through 6th grade I went to a private Christian School that drilled writing, phonetics and basic arithmetic. When I switched to public school in 7th grade it seemed no one even knew what cursive was much less how to write it, and needed a calculator for basic math. And I'm only 35.

I like to think my threads and posts are pretty articulate most of the time, being able to think about and edit what one is about to say certainly is beneficial.

I'm not a bad conversationalist, but it's kind of hard to delete in real time, and folks might get the wrong impression taking an exuberant amount of time to respond.

I think you mean exorbitant.

 

[Hokkmike]

I guess that is what I needed to hear - thanks!

I like your point - Life IS too short to spend it 'policing' the internet forums.

No one actually forces me to read anything. Two cheddar cheese sticks and I am off to shower and bed.

I think this is your problem. Cheddar cheese, seriously? You need a warm gooey mild cheese heated to a stringy consistency.

Very often, more seriously now, the success of a thread in terms of interest lies in the correct wording of the title. Often times people (I have done it) try to come up with something catchy, and yes - perhaps slightly misleading, to wiggle as bait to those lurking over the thread titles. The fact is that there is very little "original" stuff out there to post. Well, maybe 9mm vs. .45 might be original, or perhaps; GLOCK - perfection or ruin? But you get the idea. Anyway, point is, a forum is like an open market. Stop at the stands that have signs that attract you and pass the others by. Meanwhile, keep eating that cheese.

 

[rust collector]

I agree with the OP. Teaser titles are in the same league as clickbait on social media. It doesn't require mad skills to put a few relevant words in the title of the post. It's a matter of courtesy and thoughtfulness.
But it's not my circus, not my monkeys so I enjoy what interests me and don't wander into blind alleys.

 

[OneFreeTexan]

Who said “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. And. “It’s all small stuff”. Was it Clint?

 

[Frank Ettin]

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.....

That, the first sentence of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", is one of the most effect first sentences in literature. It both introduces what the story is about and stimulates the reader's curiosity. And thus Kafka gives us all a lesson in grabbing a reader's attention.

One of the best ways to help learn to write well is to read a lot of good writing. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find good writing.

Once upon a time, if someone wanted to expose a lot of people to what he had written, he'd need to get his words printed onto paper, bind the paper into book or magazine form, and convince a lot of people to buy it.

And to get his writing printed onto paper, etc., he'd need to convince someone called a publisher to do it (or pay for it himself). Publishers tended to be critical folks because printing words onto paper, binding the paper, and getting folks to buy it were all difficult and expensive undertakings. And also publishers, and their cohort, editors, tended to have fancy educations and were therefore tough to satisfy.

Of course that meant that a lot of people who wanted to have their words read by others never got the chance. But it also meant that much of whatever did get published out in the world was at least decently written (even if it might also have been dumb, boring or wrong). The fact that there were editors also had something to do with that.

But today so much of what we read is in cyberspace, and pretty much anyone, whether he can write or not, can for a pittance, if that much, see his thoughts accessible to pretty much everyone in the world with Internet access. And writing has ceased to be a craft and become a mere pastime.

 

[rust collector]

Ah, but for those frustrated novelists there is always the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Tempting as it may be to start a thread "It was a dark and stormy night..." no one should be surprised when things run off the rails soon after.

 

[entropy]

Darn; now I have to start all my threads with " It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." or "Call me Ishmeal."

 

[45Frank]

Well hello!
My daighter visited over 4th of July and when she left told me I was a grumpy grouchy old man. Oh well hello world.

I used to look at just about every thread in the half dozen areas of my specific interests on THR (as well as EVERY thread that included a post from rcmodel), but I find myself more and more passing by ones with relatively non-descriptive titles like 'Sale' or 'Help' with no real indication what it is about (although I suppose the one likely referred to some sort of sale and the other was asking for some kind of help).

A quick look in the Legal Forum and one can immediately have an idea about the topic addressed in practically every thread, but not so much in many of the other Forums.

Maybe I am getting to be a crabby and selfish old jerk, but if the OP cannot take the time to add a little info in the Title, I do not feel it is worth my time to bother with reading it and just go on to the next thread. I realize that the vast majority of times my input is basically useless, so the OP is not really missing anything from my lack of participation, but it seems somehow rude to expect the members to take the time to open each thread with no idea of its focus.

I had a tough day at work today and am feeling somewhat sorry for myself, so I apologize for being selfish about my time, but I think folks could get a lot more help if they would use something more than a vague title.

Is it just me?