How many responses do you reply to?

I always read and rate every response I get to a discussion. I try and add a comment on each one as well, if nothing else, just to take the time to thank them for their time in replying to my discussion. (Mind you, I am way, way, way behind on this part right now.) I think it is nice and the polite thing to do, to acknowledge their reply. On average for number of responses, it really varies. A discussion may only get one or two replies the first day, and the second it may get twenty. It just depends on the discussion itself and the mood of the other users. I know that isn't much help.

I try to respond to each one unless I feel that the discussion is going ugly, then I will abandon it. I have only done that once. I will still mark best response and rate everyone. I don't bother to answer duplicate posts, though. And, sometimes, I've been known not to answer posts that contain yes or no answers. I wonder how many people check back. I used to check back often, but so many people don't comment on my responses, that I don't do it as often as I used to.

In the beginning I responded to every response, because I could. I would even respond with thank you if nothing else. I later found MyLot rules said to not do this, so I quit responding unless I actually had something to say to each response. As my discussions grew quickly I was unable to respond without using all my time on the comments and no time for me to start new discussions or to respond to ther discussions. Now I respond to at least one per page so everyone will know I have visited that page and given a rating. After awhile I only respond when I want more responses, because everytime you respond you bring the discussion back to the front board. I found this out one day when I was tweaking the system to get more responses. Now I save my responses for when I want more recognition to my discussions.

I always respond to all of them. It might take me a while and I might not do them all at once but I will do them all. I am not sure how many people goes back to read a comment though, but if they do I want them to see that I actually cared about what they had to say!