Does the person startng the discussion matter more to you than the topic?

I answer only the questions that I am interested in. I hardly ever even look at the person that started the thread.

Yes, there would be discussions I will respond to based on who posted them. For instance, if somene responds to one of my discussions, I think it is good manners to return the favor. They may not have anything I would normally think of responding to, but I do make an effort. If someone gives me a best response, even though we are technically 'even', I make a point of trying to answer additional discussions. Then some people on my friends list just post wacky or interesting things that are easy to respond to, so I will check a page or two back into their discussions looking for something interesting.

I look at the topic and will respond on topiscI am interested in discussing. I will follow up on my friends discussions because I respect their ideas but not always thier point of view.

I choose discussions I respond to basically because of the topic, and not because of the person.

While there are those who post that I specifically look to see if they have a topic going, for instance I do like to read posts by one vega, but there are topics by this poster that I don't have anything to contribute to, so I don't respond to those topics, this is true of a few other posters such as emeraldisle and feralwoman, but again if they post on a topic that I don't feel I can contribute to I do not answer those. So I suppose I respond mostly based on if the question or topic sparked a response in me as seeing yours did, and I have something real to say. So for me while I will check topics started by my friends first, I still only reply to topics that are of interest or where I feel I can say something real I don't respond with a line just to have responded especially if it is a topic I have no knowledge of.

I always respond to the discussions that are of my interest and I feel like reponding.I never give importance to the person who is starting the discussion.Neither do I look for the members rating or things like that.Even in the case of friends , I only respond to the topics that I like and not all the discussions. Though till now I have never given importance to the member but if that happens then I will choose a member by whose responses I really gets impressed and whose responses/discussions I always found of good quality and thought provoking.

Generally, it doesn't matter who started the discussion. If it is a subject that interests me, I will answer it. There are some people here that have gotten on my nerves so much that I will not respond to anything they have posted, but only a few. I usually give everyone a chance. I will more likely answer a friend's posts because they are easy to find under the "discussions my friends started" section. So, I'm more likely to see them than other people's.

if it is a friend of mine i will always try to answer otherwise it doesnt matter who has launched it i will then go for the discussions blessed be

no i dont look or based on who started the discussion im more interested on the contents of it and if i think i could possibly responses it..even my friends here..if i think i cant understand what theyre posting about then i will not reply it..

You see both are inter-linked a friend and his/her discussion. I believe you befriend those fellows who are on the same wavelenth, as you are..you tend to reply to their discussions... because their discussions are appealing. It is a two way process.... they also post their responses to their discussions because they are your friends and they like you and your discussions. However, if any of my friends start a discussion and I find that I am not able to write something substantial on that due to one reason on another...I do not attempt a reply because I feel whenever I am going to contribute something... it should have some substance... otherwise I feel there is no use just for the sake of replying to a discussion.

Actually it does! We are all people with no little prejudice. Sometimes, I know I wouldn't answer that discussion. However, seeing that it was started by a friend, I would just go.. HECK IT, and answer it to show support. :P

In general, I choose the kind of topic that I want to respond to. Seldom that I consider the person. To me the more interesting the topic is the more I am attracted to responding to it.

I see how your trying so hard to determine exactly how to get as many responses you can out of your discussions. This is pretty wise. I think the person starting the discussion is really important if it is a friend of someone. I don't think it is important if someone is randomly browsing through discussions. The topic is the more important factor when one is randomly looking for discussions to answer because people will go to whatever is eye catching.

i only look if the person is a friend otherwise i look at what the conversation is and hope that i can help, if i cannot i look for another, however it does seem to slow my progress as i find areas when no questions suit me so i feel i have done well and been on for ages but actually i have only answered 10 posts

I generally respond to interesting discussions when I notice them but there are certain people on here whose profiles I check regularly to see what they posted recently - this is mostly because I have a good discussion with them about any subject rather than the actual discussion they start.

I welcome anyone who starts an interesting discussion because there are so few of them.

what really catch my attention in answering discussions here in mylot are topics which i find most interesting and dearer to my heart. i never count at all if discussions are coming from friends or not. what matters most is the quality of discussion i am participating of. if the questions or topics seem relevant and sensible to me, i have no second thoughts of answering them right away.

I always try to respond to discussions to which I have a personal view.I browse my friends' discussions, since I most often find interesting posts from them, basically because I chose my friends on the basis of the quality theu exhibit in discussions. If someone else attracts me, it would be based on the significance of the discussion. I don't know whether I ever have anu vested interest in choosing a discussion.

Not always. But usually, my friends (the ones I have chosen carefully after following their quality discussions) make it a point to post good discussions. Most of my friends share some areas of interest with me. So, I always try to see what my friends have posted, but I respond to the ones that truly interest me.

Topic matters for me more than person.