[rubicon]

Do you believe posters read the comments posted, in a thread, by other members before posting their comments, or do they hastily jump in the fray?

I do understand a poster or more than one poster could be posting in or about the same time and hence miss a poster's comments but that does not explain away other evidence to the contrary.

Is the other explanation a matter of poor reading comprehension due to disability or aging. I say this because if any of you had taken the opportunity for free testing of potential Alzhemiers you know reading comprehension is one aspect of the testing

Finally is it a product of too long a thread or the cause for too long a thread?

[CathyandSteveG]

i read all the comments before i make a comment. if a thread is excessively long by the time i get there...i don't comment. Sometimes i do make a comment and by the time i post it there may be several comments posted since i read the last one.

I tend to not quote other posters...so my comment ends up several past the one i may have been commenting on. I guess i need to quote more often.

I think you will also find that some people read a comment....and translate it in a whole different light than the poster meant it to be read. Is that the fault of the poster or the reader? Maybe we read things into comments that just were not meant to be there....

Anyway...there is only one comment as i post this...lets see if i am already behind.

[Lovey2]

I tend to read all the comments and if what I was thinking was already said, I'll usually let it go. Admittedly, there are times I just jump in the fray tho...usually if I think the OP is being raked over the coals for THEIR opinion, sometimes whether I agree or not. I just don't like to see people jumped on or judged, in a mean or condescending way. Or, someone else's opinion pooh-poohed as not valid.
The written word is tough...there is no inflection to be read, and sometimes this makes the comment sound different than meant.

[MikeV]

Nope

[Villager Joyce]

I think many Posters Jump to a conclusion after reading who posted or 10 or 15 words.

[asianthree]

Not only do I read all the post, I may not post due to what I really want to say. Or I may take a day or two to rethink

[rustyp]

I like to post to stimulate the other side of an issue. I've learned over the years most things are not black and white (oh another statement that can be misconstrued). I find the readers here jump to the conclusion that is my side and rip me apart. Not to many are cleaver enough to read between the lines. I think they are too anxious to be heard than to digest another's post. It does surprise me how inside the box many people on this site are. Watch what's next if your into entertainment.

[2BNTV]

I read all of the posts before commenting and if a thread is long, I try to not comment unless I can add another point of view.

My point of view, has been that some people in their haste to say something, do not express themselves fully, and that sometimes leads to misunderstandings.