Why do a lot of members respond to discussions without reading other responses?

Philippines
December 19, 2010 2:32am CST
I wasn't really in the mood to respond to discussions today so I decided to just read some interesting discussions and I noticed that a lot of those who replied did not read the other responses before theirs. I must admit that I'm guilty of this as well, but only for discussions that have over 3 pages of responses. However, I'm seeing some mebers not bothering to read responses even if they're just in the same page, meaning there're only less than 10 responses. This sometimes results in repetition of the same responses over and over which unfortunately doesn't really add much to the discussion. Don't you think?
7 people like this
23 responses
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
19 Dec 10
We are told to read previous responses before posting our own to avoid repeating what others have said. If a response says something along the lines of what we were going to respond then we can comment on that response and add something else instead of repeating the same thoughts in another box. Many of the users who do not read previous responses and post something similar to a response already posted are probably not earning much for their own response. Maybe they are thinking that myLot pays only a little too but if they did things in the manner that myLot suggest then they would proabbly see a difference
2 people like this
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
"If a response says something along the lines of what we were going to respond then we can comment on that response and add something else instead of repeating the same thoughts in another box." I gotta quote you on that for emphasis. I totally agree. I do this too but I'm afraid not consistently. Aside from avoiding needless repetition, adding a comment to a response similar to what you're going to say in itself shows that you are reading other's responses.
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
That is so true. It happens too even when that particular user presented a question, you'd see someone reply to the question but the one who answered made no further comment. I guess that's not as bad as when the owner of the topic him/herself don't come back to check on the responses. It happens often too.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
19 Dec 10
It does indeed! It adds to the discussion and furthers the topic too but sadly too many users do not come back to check if they have comments on their response and there is no follow-up
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
I'm guilty of that as well. But the truth is, I don't want the other responses to affect my own response. I only read them after I posted. To each his own, i guess.
2 people like this
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
You're right topics like that usually get deleted. I'd still respond though if only to help a clueless newbie regardless if I won't get credited for the post. I figure if the user needs help he/she would have a lot of time to read my post before the discussion gets deleted.
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
I posted something similar to your answer on another discussion which is kinda related to this one. Like you I also want to avoid being influenced by other's responses, but that is true for certain topics only. There are topics I believe that you must check first if anyone has said already what you're thinking of saying to avoid redundancy. One example I can think of right now is for a topic like "How do I put a picture in my mylot profile?" If you know the answer to that but you see that there like 5 responses already, wouldn't you bother checking whether someone has given the information already and post it anyway? If it was me, unless I know a different way of how it can be done that hasn't been given yet, I won't respond anymore.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
19 Dec 10
Your example is perfect there silentwill! I see so many of those topics, all with the same responses. I find it absurd that users post the same thing over and over again, especially as 99% of those discussions are deleted anyway
@sumanadep (1228)
• India
19 Dec 10
I think I do this many times.. the reasons varies.. sometimes I am just too lazy to read the comments by others... sometimes the topic is so interesting that I respond to it immediately and sometimes the topic of the discussion is such that you don't have to read what other are saying... I don't think in such cases a repetition of responses is a problem.. if you have the same opinion about the topic you can say so.. and the creator of the topic will know how many people think the same...
2 people like this
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
Yes, it's really tempting to respond right away to discussions you find very interesting and I agree as well in some cases the topic creator would want to know how many people think this way or that but it only works for some topics and not all. It becomes boring if for example: topic: true or false? response 1: yes it is true. response 2: no it's false because... response 3: true. response 4: false, as what response 2 said and might I add... response 5: true very true. response 6: uh, huh, true. Notice the lack of acknowledgements to the posts of responses numbers 2 and 4 even though they presented arguments to the contrary? That's what I saw in some discussions that I'm talking about.
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
Hello Silentwill, I don't know about the other's opinion. how ever it is very clear on the discussion guidelines about the don'ts on this discussion. and this is purely one of them. [u]Mylot Don'ts Respond to a discussion until you've read all of the responses[/u] not a referral link. http://www.mylot.com/o/guidelines.aspx I can say it must be crazy but true, you don't read the responses of others when making your own response. i don't know what serve in this matter but i guess it supposed to prevent similarity or plagiarism.
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
Plagiarism only happens if one copies from a copyrighted material. What mylot is trying to prevent is repetitiveness. If mylotters would give the same responses over and over to a discussion, it really can't be called a discussion at all.
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
It doesn't have to be verbatim for a writing to be considered plagiarism. As long it is obvious that the idea has been copied and one presents that idea to be his/her own, then it is plagiarism. However, this discussion is not about plagiarism at all.
@visavis (5934)
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
As I said in my separate response only it happened if the responders copy and paste the other responses. But same ideas in one discussion I think you cannot avoid but it will different on how to represent, how to explain such ideas. If the responses are identical this is I consider repetitive. see you around
1 person likes this
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
19 Dec 10
I think everybody should read the previous responses to a topic. In fact, we are guilty of violating a discussions guideline if we don't do so. I think it's a way of showing respect to the discussion starter. If she/he comes back to read the responses, it will be borring to read the same response over and over. I usually read the other responses and, if I don't have anything new to add, I don't respond. I can't say the same thing about discussions with over 3 pages of responses. I must admit I usually choose not to respond to such a discussion.
2 people like this
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
Yeah it's better not to respond anymore after reading the responses and you find that what you would've responded has already been said and there's nothing else you can add.
@zenkey23 (416)
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
Agreed! Some people do not read others responses because of the fact that they just want to earn and have many posts in a day. And i also agree that sometimes people didnt notice their post is the same as others. But as other said on their previous posts. It is just good to post with the same idea as the others but it is bad to COPY it. And same as you i also admit that i sometimes do not read others responses especially if responses are too many :) Thanks for sharing this topic and i hope that i contribute a little but on this thread. Happy mylotting. :)
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
That is exactly what I'm thinking zenkey23, all they are concerned about is increasing their earnings in mylot. Thank you as well for your response.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
20 Dec 10
I try to, but I don't always have the time...
1 person likes this
• Philippines
21 Dec 10
Very straight forward and I guess it's true for a lot of us here. Reading pages of responses would take a lot of time that some of us don't have. Thank you.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
22 Dec 10
When someone asks for advice about a problem they introduce the topic or the situation in the first post, but they often add more details when they comment on the other responses. When I read the other responses and the comments I find it easier to understand the situation and I find it easier to give advice. I also like to read the responses, because I am interested in the topic, but it depends on the length of the discussion. If there are many, many pages of responses I just have a quick look at the other responses and don't read all the details.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
23 Dec 10
Glad to hear that you do read responses before posting, but there's always a limit to what we can read otherwise we might just spend all our time in mylot reading rather than responding to discussions.
• United States
19 Dec 10
I am not quite sure what others do but I am one who does read all responses and if I see something that I want to add I will go to the comment box that I had a similar thought and always say: In order not to duplicate your response I thought I reply here, and I wanted to add, then I will add something that perhaps can contribute to the reply. Sometimes I have noticed that I open a discussion where as a member is asking for something from the guidelines so as I type my reply and hit enter response after the page loads now I am the second and not the first, while I had initially opened it and there were not any. So sometimes it is a matter of simultaneous responses as I have seen this several times.
• Philippines
20 Dec 10
In order not to duplicate your response I thought I reply here I have also experienced the same thing many times that I became the second or even third response, especially if I had a rather long response, but still, you'd see that the timestamps of the responses were almost simultaneous and that was not the case with the discussions I read and am talking about now because there were many more responses in between those that were almost exactly the same.
• United States
20 Dec 10
Yes so true.. I too have seen that..thanks for the laugh.
• United States
28 Sep 11
It certainly is a preference, but have found that going through the boxes for me gives me even more to say. Sad I am a chatterbox.
@kodukodu84 (1569)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 10
It is a rules for members to read all the responses before posting their own response to any discussion. I do of course read other people responses because from there, you know what to add to the discussion and we can also comment on someone else's response if we have anything to reply about. I did notice the same thing as you did and I hope it will not last for long. Thanks for sharing and have a nice day
1 person likes this
• Philippines
20 Dec 10
If only we have more members ;like you who take time first to read the responses for a better discussion, but alas, I am not holding my breath that this will not last long. Thank you for your response too.
20 Dec 10
I see where you are coming from on this. I must admit i do this often but only because i do not have that much spare time on my hands like many people do on here. When answering a discussion i know that really you should look at what others have put, that way the same things aren't being said that have already been said. But, as i work a full time job and i am a single parent i do not have the time to read through everyones responses to all the discussions i receive through email. If i did read all the responses then i would not get to respond to all the discussions and they would just pile up and i won't play favourites on peoples discussions so i just like to respond to them how i feel is appropriate. Maybe what i put has already been said, maybe not but atleast i do leave a response and don't ignore them. However sometimes i do have the time to read discussion responses and do so, that way i can and will put something different if i can think of something.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
21 Dec 10
Yes, apparently this is one common and I'd say more valid reason to not read all the responses in a discussion since a lot of us here are also busy with work, family and other stuff.
@visavis (5934)
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
I think my friend no problem of same ideas of responding only the problem is if copy paste response from other mylotters, if the case unable to read all responses in one discussion. Because presenting ideas are all different from responders unless copy paste from others... I think we cannot avoid some. see you around
• Philippines
19 Dec 10
You're right same ideas can be conveyed differently, but there are also cases of different phrases, although not exactly word for word, but basically mean the same thing and do not in any way add or give another meaning to what was said already.
• Philippines
22 Dec 10
I only read if only few responses because it wastes lots of time if there are too many and there's no more time to post response.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
22 Dec 10
Yes a some of those who responded to this discussion reason the same thing and I agree, sometimes we just don't have the time to read all the responses.
@cachalot (60)
• Australia
20 Dec 10
Hi silentwill I can't speak for other responders, but I can speak for myself. I have to admit there have been a few times I didn't bother to read other responses before jumping in with my own. Some mylotters start discussions that are so popular that they get far too many responses (I say that with much envy). Probably like some responders, I can't take the time to read all of these. But, nevertheless, you are right. Not reading them all encourages lots of repetition. I'll try to mend my ways, within reason. (As a matter of fact...I hardly dare mention it....I have only read one or two of the replies to this discussion that you started....)
• Philippines
20 Dec 10
Thank you for your honesty. Like I said I too am guilty of this for very popular topics like you say that have lots of responses, but I'm trying to change that, though it's hard to change what you've become used to. I just almost responded to another discussion without reading any responses, thankfully I remember to stop and check so I went back and read them first before hitting the button.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
3 Jan 11
look I can and do think for myself and wi th my years of experience I do not like to read response after response as I want to use my own mind and think for myself. I notice that my responses are seldom any sort of repeat as for one thing we each one are unique and will use different ways of expressing ourselves. I seldom just reply with one word or one sentence for example but will flesh out my response in my own words.
• Philippines
3 Jan 11
So what are you angry about?
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
21 Dec 10
so if theres only 10 responses, that just means it wasnt a popular discussion. doesnt mean people are answering with the same responses to many times. we are just asked to read the discussion and reply if we see it interests us. we are not required to read the whole of respionses, etc. so, no, unless im really, really into a discussion i dont waste precious time reading every response. plus, i dont want to get others responses into my head where i respond exactly like them, where it would seem im copying
• Philippines
21 Dec 10
I don't know about you but for me when I read responses I definitely won't be inclined to respond the same exact way as what has already been posted.
@ifa225 (14460)
• Indonesia
30 Dec 10
it takes much time to load a discussion especially when the discussion has more than 10 responses. we need more time to read all the page right? those who are quiet busy and try to save time are easier to make a response through email notification. we know that many member are trying to take target like maybe 10 posting per day. and honestly i do that too and my internet speed is quiet low. so i get rush every time i make posting here .
• Philippines
31 Dec 10
There's obviously different reasons why I found that out now but for me I still think it'll better if everyone who responds to a discussion will be able to read other responses to understand more what the topic is and make it more interesting conversation.
@ifa225 (14460)
• Indonesia
31 Dec 10
sometimes interesting conversation happen to those who feel connected to each other. like those who have good friends here. but in stranger's discussion, sometimes they only want to make a response and go.
@marrie1 (255)
• United States
31 Dec 10
I'm someone e who likes to make comments below a person's response if I have anything to say but in order to do that I have to respond to the discussion before I can see the comment button. Maybe it's my browser acting up, (I use safari) I dunno but I try and read then I'll comment after I respond to the main question. I don't want to write a million pages quoting other users. And adding my 2 sense in so that's my method to my madness, but yes I do try and read before I respond. Take care all.
• Philippines
31 Dec 10
That's weird that you need to respond first before you can comment on other responses... It could be your brwser. I'm using Opera and I sometimes encounter weird issues in myLot too like missing buttons but they don't happen frequently. Anyway I'm glad to hear you do read other responses before making your own. I hope you keep that up! Thank you and happy new year!
• India
20 Dec 10
I do not read all the responses from any discussion and do not feel that one should read every response and than only post own response. may be my response will be similar or same with already posted responses but I care only my response direct to the discussion. I should care about my response, let other reply the way the want. I think it's not a concern if people think alike and respond similar. Thank You for sharing.
• Philippines
21 Dec 10
Yes it is in the guidelines of mylot. Somebody posted it in a response to this discussion which apparently you did not read. Glad to hear that at least some try to read responses now. This would definitely make discussions more interesting since we can all interact with each other and not just interactions between the topic creator and the responder.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
20 Dec 10
As it states in the Guidelines that we should read other responses before posting our own, it is also extremely possible that a similar response would not earn much don't you think?
• India
20 Dec 10
Not sure about earning part, may be that is there, if so probably I will start reading all . I mostly reply from notifications and that directs me to the response box directly an ddo not get a chance to read all. So probably need to change my way of responding a discussion . Thank you for bringing this point to my knowledge
@RamRes (1723)
• Argentina
31 Dec 10
I guess it's a matter of individual patience, lack of it really. From my own experience, when I found an interesting discussion I read all the original post and some responses, all of them if they're not so many or the topic happens to be very very interesting. But if I found there are, say, 4 full pages of long answers, forget it, I'll read the first responses and the last page, I'm sorry for the intermediates. For me it's the time it consumes the main problem. I'm rarely in the mood of spending half an hour reading a whole discussion for simply posting my own response, I can give my opinion without the need of seeing what others think. I don't see the problem of posting the same that you say. We have diverse opinions, and it's not rare that two people think the same about a topic, as long as the response isn't a copy-paste of the former, we can say more or less the same point of view each with our own words, can't we?
• Philippines
3 Jan 11
Right. Sometimes you find the topic very interesting that you already know what to respond right away and you might forget it if you read all the responses firt. Thank you for the response.
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