Should you read an entire thread before responding?

[walkerk]

... Thus, I have found myself replying to threads to which I have already replied. This most often happens in resurrected old threads, so I try to check the date of the first post in a thread before replying, but sometimes I forget that also(see CRCS above). And, I did, at least scan every page in this thread looking for my name to see if I had already posted.

Jerry, the icon on the message list will indicate if you have already participated in a thread. The "bent arrow" shows this (see the icon legend at the bottom of the page.) Hovering your cursor over the icon should cause a pop-up message to appear telling how many replies you have in the thread.

(Same disease here - but called CRS syndrome. )

[Jock Scot]

Yes I should,but I don't always.

[The Wizard of BC]

Welcome Jamie,
I think you will find some good answers here to your question.
I hope you enjoy your visit here.

[Bugbear]

It's not the members who post without reading a thread that bother me. It's the members who do read the thread, see fifty of the same answer or several requests to stop posting, then go ahead and post...

[Carolina Kiltman]

Old professor speaking here: I look upon these threads as group discussions. One of the first rules of good manners in such a situation is that you LISTEN(in this case read) what the person(s) have to say before responding. If you have nothing to ad, then just "second" what is said, or say nothing at all. So yes, read the entire thread before replying. (Just use good sense, however, some threads take an entire evening to read through)
Just my tuppence worth.

[Chase]

Hey, did you guys/gals read the thread on the thread about what kind of thread to use when threading your kilt???

I think I prompted the vote with my article on the Seattle Postman who wanted to wear a kilt to work...I saw the other post about the article, but my post had different pics.

Whew!!! Got by with that one.

[Chase]

Also, I probably wouldn't read an entire thread with multible replies...Gets to be a little time consuming...I generally don't post on long threads to avoid duplication unless it applies to me or holds my interest.

[mudd]

You should always read the entire post before you post, otherwise you may post something that someone else has already posted. (Did someone already post that?)

[turpin]

Depends on the nature of the thread. If it's a "look at my new kilt" thread, then it's not likely your immediate response will be inappropriate at the end. If it's an opinion-driven thread, then at least read representative posts throughout to ensure your answer is on topic.

[Edward Teach]

It's a time honoured tradition over at Slashdot to post opinions without bothering to read the article in question.