Do I Really Need To Ask Your Opinion?

That would explain several reactions I got on discussions, with the title like "Who is your favorite band?" and the original post was about one's favorite band that I don't remember. I replied with my favorite band and their history, and the original poster replied that the post was about his favorite band, not mine. The most bizarre one was "This is my discussion" and told me to leave. But I suppose I'm getting off topic. I considered the questions in your first paragraph to be rhetorical, to enhance your post that I assumed was the question in the title. So I'm still learning.

If the title of the discussion is a question, does it still count as a question within the discussion or was it just asked to get the attention of the reader? Some people use the title to capture a person's interest, but the title really has little if anything to do with the actual discussion. However, you are right that I not only asked a question in the title but also the first paragraph was comprised entirely of questions. I do like how a discussion can go in many different directions and take many paths. Sometimes the inspiration for another discussion comes while responding to a response within a discussion or the discussion itself, and that can also further the current discussion.

Well observed Qaeyious ! Why the title of this discussion without question is a question ?

beanie peeks around corner watching all the interaction, commenting from time to time to show I'm not a complete peeping tom.

LOL! I am not sure what you could possibly referring to, MysD. If I did know, however, I would answer that this discussion came to my mind about a week ago when someone else started a discussion without asking questions and was apparently reported for it, even though the discussion in question provided ample opportunities for back and forth interaction. Then today, I saw something else that spurred me into having to go and start this, because it seems that this is an area of contention for many here. As to your other question, I like you watching me watch you ...

and I watch you two

thanks purple and wit

Hatley - Thank you for the compliment. *HUGS* You did an excellent job of expanding on the topic and backing it up from your personal experience. I do think that sometimes questions are necessary in a discussion, especially as they help others relate to what you are talking about or they make it clear what kind of information you are trying to learn from the discussion. Other times, you might just want a person's reaction to the topic without prompting them in any particular direction, and these are valid and useful discussions, too, in my opinion. Wit - Didn't she do a wonderful job of it?

What is the bet cip ? You are in good shape today !

How nice that you came topffer.I have a bet and I want to win

Topffer, I agree that news and other things make good foundations for discussions, especially since they usually elicit a response, especially if it is something that triggers the reader's emotion, and make people want to respond without any questions necessary. Those are definitely good examples of discussions that do not necessarily need questions as long as they are not just copied from the newspaper or another online site. Cip - We shall see ...

Frustration... I must go and look that word up because a 'frusta' in Italian is whip. So does that nean that PA is conducting this one with her whip close at hand?

Thank you for the compliment, Zralte. It comes from a little bit of frustration and a little bit of wondering whether or not I am the only one that thinks this way. I mean, there are definitely some discussions that are not valid discussions without adding the questions, because the questions are what make them relevant to the general population rather than to one specific member. On the other hand, I see too many people posting one or two line questions and thinking this is a foundation for a good discussion, which it isn't. I think that either format can be a valid foundation for a discussion but at the same time neither is necessarily a discussion depending upon the content of said "discussion".

May be you should make a tutorial on how to make a discussion. Just a suggestion, cos there are lots of members here who does not seem to know. How about some members thinking that the more sentences they post, the better their point is? I mean, it's a bit of grey area there, sometimes you need to write more lines to make your points clear and sometimes I notice that one or two lines would have given the same meaning to the 10 lines. May be you can tackle that in your tutorial.

LOL! I think that is a wonderful reply! I would respond with "You don't have to ask my opinion, because I give it freely whether you want it or not!"

Irish - that only made you giggle, because you know it is true!

LOL! I was talking about both the initial response and the reply!

LOL! Well, when I watered the cat I quickly found out that he does not like it one little bit. By the way, do you happen to know any first aide as I seem to have developed a bunch of lines all over my arms and hands that are seeping red liquid, and coincidentally they appeared immediately after I tried to water the cat. Do you think there might be a something wrong with my water?

LOL @ "it was just out of the purple"! It has been something that I have been thinking about for a while, and something that I was reading yesterday spurred me into starting it. Apparently some people feel this is not a discussion, and I suspect that it has been reported as such, so I really do hope that myLot Admins do not agree with them. Since there seems to be differing opinions on what is and is not a discussion, I think that these responders have actually perfectly proven my point. Some people think that if you ask a question without any "meat" to the topic, then it is a valid discussion. Others disagree and think it is just a series of questions and answers. Some people have a lot of "meat" or "food for thought" in their discussions but do not ask any specific questions, although they give a lot of things for responders to discuss. Some people think these are discussions while others disagree. I was merely trying to point out that just because a post asks a question does not necessarily mean that it is a valid discussion nor does not asking a question mean that a discussion is not valid. Of course, that is just my opinion, but isn't that what this place is all about?

It struck her mind when we were having a great time watching "The Omen" Dont you dare to ask me now-----in what way it is related to this post bro

zed..it was just out of the purple..

Thank you for such nice compliments, Bon. *HUGS* It seems that some people liked this discussion very much while others are disputing whether or not this is really a discussion. As many people, including yourself, found things to discuss and ways to express their opinions, and many of the responses had completely different perspectives than all the other responders, I would have to conclude that this is most definitely a discussion. I do hope that myLot agrees with me!

Agreed.

Alright, but if the only question that I would add to the discussion is "what is your opinion", then isn't that already implied, even if I do not ask any questions whatsoever either in the discussion itself or in the title? Do you really think it is necessary for every discussion to ask that just to make it a valid discussion? For example, if you like baseball and you read my discussion about how I think that "XYZ team" is the best because "blah, blah, blah", then wouldn't you want to respond if you agreed? More importantly, wouldn't you want to respond if you did not agree, because wouldn't you want to tell me how wrong I was on all my points? Similarly, if I said that I believed that all children should be beaten with a belt before bedtime, because it will instill respect for authority and build their moral character (by the way this is just an example and I definitely do not believe that!), wouldn't you want to chime in on the matter? I am sure that I would be inundated with responses, even if I did not ask what anyone else thought on the matter. That was my point here. Some discussions clearly need guidance by way of questions, while others illicit responses with the mere content of the post.

Of course when I say I share my experiences and activities I try as much as possible to be creative so that the discussion would seem inviting even without me going the trouble of asking questions. I don't just enumerate things Sometimes when you post a very inviting and informative discussion and someone replies with just "thanks for sharing" that wouldn't justify your aim to discuss something on the other hand when someone replies with "I'm sorry to hear that" one can say it's valid(situational)because you can say they are just being thoughtful but of course you cannot really discuss anything with just being thoughtful. In the end you'll end up as some individual who just shared his/her experience and nothing more which is totally not what you aim for. This is just what plays in my mind about this things, I'm not totally right on this one

Hex, I was not in the least bit implying that your discussions were just a list of things that needed to be done in a day or anything even resembling that. I was merely pointing out that I have seen a few people start "discussions" doing this, and unless they can add questions that allow users to relate this things to their own lives or experiences, then these are not really discussions. Similarly, just asking a question does not make a discussion. If there really is not anything to discuss other than answering the question, especially with a "yes" or "no" type answer, then it is basically the same thing as just enumerating a bunch of things, even though there is a question present.

Saphy - I think that it would be wonderful if we started another party here, especially since it will give everybody something to discuss as there seems to be some debate here over whether or not this is actually a discussion. Now, you have chosen to discuss topics that were definitely in my post, and these happen to be things that other people have not even touched upon with all the other responses, so I would have to say that there was definitely amply things to discuss in my post. As to your answers, I have watered my cat when he was misbehaving (I sprayed him with the water bottle). Occasionally I feed the plants plant food, but that does not happen very often. I do cut my daughter's hair once in a while, but I have never combed the lawn and can't envision myself trying. Hex - You do not have to make a discussion within another discussion, but I am glad to hear that you are one of the ones that believes that this is actually a discussion.

Okay now I would liked to share mine but I don't want to make another discussion within a discussion and I'm quite lazy today too

You cannot really share without a discussion, you know. Don't be lazy sweetie. Give it a go. TATA.

LOL! See, I knew that someone could turn that into an interesting discussion. Of course, my reply would have to be that I can hold the toothbrush with my toes and still have my hands free to request you as a friend.

And who would have thought that one little question could lead to such a lengthy discussion! I thought that it was pretty impressive that I was talented enough to brush my teeth with my toes, and now you make me feel inferior by wanting me to floss with them, too?! What does it take to impress you - lol?

The discussion then continues with "you use dental floss?" So...we make a discussion about 1 hour Now I receive an friendship invitation If it is from you...I must think deeply ...I accept or not (you finish brushing your teeth)

'...or the post will get deleted and you won't earn anything' If it receives responses but you do not comment on them then you would not anything regardless of how many responses there were. We do not earn for the responses of others, they do. We must comment if we wish to earn too.

Good point, MysD. Also, if we do not respond to comments on our discussions, then there is no back and forth interaction, which would also imply that it is not a discussion.

"You really need people's opinions, or the post will get deleted and you won't earn anything." This statement really is not true. I could start a discussion and not get any responses, which means that I didn't get anybody's opinion on the issue. If my discussion is valid, though, then it will remain and will not be deleted. Just because a discussion does not get responses does not mean that it was not a valid discussion. Similarly, if I start a discussion and get 100 responses, then I will have received many people's opinions on the matter. However, if my discussion was a violation of the guidelines, then it will be deleted no matter how many people responded to it. Yes, I agree that there are many different kinds of discussions. However, isn't asking for help on an issue still requesting a person's opinion? One post asking for assistance could receive responses from ten different people, and each responder could have a different approach and view on how best to handle the situation. Isn't each way just their own opinion of what is best in any given situation? On the other hand, there are some things that can be backed up by facts, which obviously are not opinions. Even with this, however, each person could interpret the facts slightly differently, which would also give rise to differences of opinions on what they mean or how they relate to a given situation. I am not saying that it is bad to give your opinion on a topic ... in fact, I welcome people's opinions. I also care what people think. I was just trying to make people think in a different way and perhaps get a glimpse of a different perspective on what may or may not be considered a valid discussion.

Sorry it took me so long to get this response ... notifiers have been sketchy at best lately. LOL @ "if I'm making any sense at all it's a ruddy miracle" - Does that mean that I am just as crazy as you are if I understand what you are saying? Yes, I agree that people should not feel the need to add an often times irrelevant question at the end of a discussion for fear that otherwise it will not be considered a "valid" discussion. That was very much my point here, because many times the discussion is entirely valid without a question as long as there is something to discuss. Other times, there is a question but not really anything to discuss, which would not be a valid discussion. Unfortunately, if some people do not see a question, then they do not think it is a valid discussion.

You make a good point that asking a question does give a good starting point for a discussion, even if the responders choose to ignore the original question and take the discussion in an entirely different direction. Also, if you form the discussion properly, then more than likely people will feel compelled to respond whether or not there is a question present. Your last statement, however, was really my point. This is a discussion forum, so I thought it was implied that people want to discuss a topic, even if they do not ask whether or not you agree with what they are saying. Yet recently I have read several people complaining about ... uhm, I meant to say "discussing" ... whether or not a discussion is valid if it does not ask a question. In my opinion, if there is something in the contents of the discussion to talk about, then it is a valid discussion, even if the original poster does not ask any questions. I was just wondering how other people felt about this.

Thank you, but what are you agreeing with? Do you think that a discussion needs a question or do you think that a discussion can be valid without a question as long as the original poster of the discussion provides ample information for people to talk about? Do you think that we need to ask for people's opinions every time we post a discussion or is it just understood that we want to hear them, because we are posting them on a discussion forum?

He is right! I agree too I agree with him and you too so in the end we all agree and we are happy

I do have to agree with you that the participation of the myLot members, especially when the original poster of the discussion joins in, can turn a rather drab and perhaps borderline "non-discussion" into a very interactive and interesting discussion. I have also seen discussions that have no clear "question" at the end turn into heated debates or interesting and fun interactions. That is exactly the point that I was trying to make here ... just because there is a question does not necessarily make it a "discussion", while the lack of a clear-cut question does not necessarily mean that there isn't anything to discussion, and therefore it would be a discussion.

You can tell them that discussions that require yes or no answers without any kind of follow-up explanation are normally violations as they are considered poll-type questions and include a link to the Guidelines (well, you can include a link once your count reaches 500 anyway). If you do not want to do this, then you do not have to, although myLot does ask us to help out when we see these types of things. I have had several discussions that have not gotten many responses, but that really does not bother me much, especially if the responses that I do get have a lot of interaction. The discussion that I had that got the most responses is actually one that I consider to be not very successful, since I got a lot of negative ratings from it and many people seemed to miss the point of the discussion.

Yes, I agree that a discussion is back and forth interaction between two or more people. However, since myLot is a discussion forum, which encourages us to exchange ideas, experiences, opinions, viewpoints and cultures with other members, then do we really need to ask everyone what their opinion is every time that we start a discussion? Shouldn't we, as responders, realize that if a person starts a discussion, then they are looking for our input and feedback, which would also include our opinions and viewpoints on the subject?