How does the title of a thread affect the tone of your reply to a thread?

[chemgoddess]

I was thinking about this awhile ago and thought I'd get some other EF member's opinion on the matter. How much does a title of a thread affect your mindset about the thread and how you respond?

I've found that the title and how it makes me feel kinda effects the tone of my reply.

Now this is just a recent example and I'm not trying to give the poster a hard time but this is the most recent example I can think of:

Bus drivers can be so much dumb!

Title of Thread: Bus Drivers can be so Dumb!

And then I go in and read the thread and it's not that bus driver's are dumb it's that they have certain legal liabilities.

My response probably would have been completely different if said title of thread was:

What are the legal liabilities of bus drivers?

Am I the only one this happens to or am I just crazy?

[My2pups]

Not crazy...at least about this

On another forum I frequent, I chose a poor thread title, and no one seemed to see the 2nd question that I asked (the 1st question was in the thread title).

It appears that (some) people read a title, make a judgement and then read the post...

fduvall

	Quote:	chemgoddess
	I was thinking about this awhile ago and thought I'd get some other EF member's opinion on the matter. How much does a title of a thread affect your mindset about the thread and how you respond? I've found that the title and how it makes me feel kinda effects the tone of my reply. Now this is just a recent example and I'm not trying to give the poster a hard time but this is the most recent example I can think of: Bus drivers can be so much dumb! Title of Thread: Bus Drivers can be so Dumb! And then I go in and read the thread and it's not that bus driver's are dumb it's that they have certain legal liabilities. My response probably would have been completely different if said title of thread was: What are the legal liabilities of bus drivers? Am I the only one this happens to or am I just crazy?

[Louis Wu]

	Quote:	chemgoddess
	I was thinking about this awhile ago and thought I'd get some other EF member's opinion on the matter. How much does a title of a thread affect your mindset about the thread and how you respond? I've found that the title and how it makes me feel kinda effects the tone of my reply. Now this is just a recent example and I'm not trying to give the poster a hard time but this is the most recent example I can think of: Bus drivers can be so much dumb! Title of Thread: Bus Drivers can be so Dumb! And then I go in and read the thread and it's not that bus driver's are dumb it's that they have certain legal liabilities. My response probably would have been completely different if said title of thread was: What are the legal liabilities of bus drivers? Am I the only one this happens to or am I just crazy?

A good question, I think that it's perfectly possible to be influenced by the title, especially so if it's a controversial one or one which implies a yes I agree or No that's worng style answer. With the bus driver thread you read the title and expect to see a rant about bus drivers and to see whether you want to write I agree or disagree

[southie]

	Quote:	chemgoddess
	I was thinking about this awhile ago and thought I'd get some other EF member's opinion on the matter. How much does a title of a thread affect your mindset about the thread and how you respond? I've found that the title and how it makes me feel kinda effects the tone of my reply. Now this is just a recent example and I'm not trying to give the poster a hard time but this is the most recent example I can think of: Bus drivers can be so much dumb! Title of Thread: Bus Drivers can be so Dumb! And then I go in and read the thread and it's not that bus driver's are dumb it's that they have certain legal liabilities. My response probably would have been completely different if said title of thread was: What are the legal liabilities of bus drivers? Am I the only one this happens to or am I just crazy?

It's funny you picked that thread because i have ignored it thinking it was just another winge against the Swiss. So yes i do agree and no your not crazy.

[peachy]

I didn't respond to that thread because I probably would have got banned, the thread title made me think the OP was dumb.

[Deep Purple]

A very valid point to raise. The title of the thread is very important.

In those few words you have to sum up the reason for your post, the response that you expect and possibly your mood. If you get any of these wrong, the responses will not be as expected.

Some people have used this to their advantage to attract interest in a less important thread. Others have been frustrated at the lack of responses to a genuine enquiry.

[J.L-P]

Definitely, although some of us aren't as clever as others- finding a "hook" isn't always easy.

I didn't read the bus driver thread either... because of the title.

[starry riflyk]

Well well! When one is mad and one incident spoils 3-4 days .... no one (at least me) cannot think of decent topic. Other thing like most of you (Americans and British), english is my 3rd language... and I do not have good vocabulary. Words like "legalities" is something I never use... I thought this forum was a informal place for sharing ... anyways....

Other thing it was not one of the incident that I have came across. I do not is it being colored or just bad karma with public transportation, I have many times being behaved not so good... even when I was not wrong. One of the worst incident was "Me and boyfriend was waiting for bus, it was raining and cold. The bus came we were just going in from the back door... the driver closed the door.... i even got bruise in my hand... so we went to the front door and asked why he did it? He said he wanted to check our tickets (why us when he let the other lady in, without checking)... we had valid ticket!" I have found sometime that just being colored people makes me targeted by these control and bus drivers..... I have frequently notice how they take time to see my halbtax and tickets... which they do not for other white people.

So, it was accumulated tensions which I gathered was let off. Anyways, I will try not to post anything unless very important. Sorry for being stupid and rude. If anybody thinks it was incorrect and want to ban me.... no problem... you are welcome.....

[chemgoddess]

	Quote:	starry riflyk
	Well well! When one is mad and one incident spoils 3-4 days .... no one (at least me) cannot think of decent topic. Other thing like most of you (Americans and British), english is my 3rd language... and I do not have good vocabulary. Words like "legalities" is something I never use... I thought this forum was a informal place for sharing ... anyways.... Other thing it was not one of the incident that I have came across. I do not is it being colored or just bad karma with public transportation, I have many times being behaved not so good... even when I was not wrong. One of the worst incident was "Me and boyfriend was waiting for bus, it was raining and cold. The bus came we were just going in from the back door... the driver closed the door.... i even got bruise in my hand... so we went to the front door and asked why he did it? He said he wanted to check our tickets (why us when he let the other lady in, without checking)... we had valid ticket!" I have found sometime that just being colored people makes me targeted by these control and bus drivers..... I have frequently notice how they take time to see my halbtax and tickets... which they do not for other white people. So, it was accumulated tensions which I gathered was let off. Anyways, I will try not to post anything unless very important. Sorry for being stupid and rude. If anybody thinks it was incorrect and want to ban me.... no problem... you are welcome.....

Huh? What are you on about? I'm white and always get checked for my halbtax and ticket.

[J.L-P]

	Quote:	chemgoddess
	Huh? What are you on about? I'm white and always get checked for my halbtax and ticket?

Ditto, and I've usually at least one child with me.

I had the door closed on my hand only last week (details in your own thread).

I suspect it's because the driver could see that I'm English.

I must stop wearing that top hat, red waistcoat and union jack shirt on my way to work in the morning...

[J.L-P]

	Quote:	starry riflyk
	You would not understand the humiliation... only who faces will know the pain of being humiliated!

We have all known humiliation, please do not assume otherwise.

[chemgoddess]

The same rules should apply to the forum as does drunken emails and angry work emails. Never do it. Maybe write it, but wait until you're sober or less p*ssed before posting/sending.

Point is, titles are important. It will heavily affect the types of responses or complete lack of that a thread will get.

Your native tongue should have nothing to do with it. If a thread title is insulting to a group of people, people either won't read it or will immediately be put off by the topic.

A little bit of thought should always be put into the title. Not just thought by you, but thoughts of how someone who has no idea what's going in on your head might take what you have written.

And there are many other threads where this is the case, the bus drivers are dumb thread just happened to be the most recent example.

Back on topic: I am very easily influenced (I could put a full stop there, and the sentence would remain true, but I shall continue relentlessly because this is a topic that has been dear to my heart for at least a minute or so now) by the titles of threads.

If they appear to signify threads concerning sport, finance or the American election, I ignore them. Alas, in doing so, I missed out on all the hilarious stuff on Polorise's Sarah Palin thread. I am now following the election assiduously, not because I give a bollocks who shall be the next leader of the free world, but just because all the characters are so entertaining.

Nevertheless, my time upon this earth is limited, and much as I am aware of the fact that I'm missing out on all kinds of goodies by ignoring threads on serious topics while making a somewhat predictable beeline towards the threads of the disgruntled, the deranged, the deluded and the dodgy, I will freely confess that I always judge a thread by its title, and frequently ignore it as a result.

Fortunately, I do not apply the same principle to antiquarian books: Nineteenth and twentieth century writers of travel journals and related literature generally proceeding blithely unaware of the importance of marketing, bestowing such uninviting titles as 'An Affair of the Heart' or 'Raggle Taggle' to wonderful and informative books about Cretan archaeology and east European gypsies respectively. There are more, slightly more bizarre ones ('Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star', anyone?) I could mention, but I've already veered far enough from the topic as it is.

So, er, yes I do. Isn't it?

	Quote:	starry riflyk
	life is difficult when you felt you are being treated differently than others.

We all know that feeling - most of us are foreigners, too, and have experienced what we perceive to be xenophobic behaviour at some time or other. And, indeed, it may have been.

Or, on the other hand, maybe the driver knew the other woman already. Maybe she was a friend of his. Maybe he didn't see her. Maybe he realised too late that the door should be shut.

There are all kinds of reasons why people do things, and just because we perceive their actions one way, doesn't mean that's what is actually happening.

Anyway, what has this to do with the driver to whom you refer in your original thread as 'dumb', who was simply doing his job?

You are entitled to rant - in fact, I love reading a good rant on here - so there is no need to apologise. But getting all sniffy because people respond to your rant is a little over-sensitive, don't you think? If you want to rant without comeback, paste it on the bus-shelter wall. If you want to stimulate an interesting discussion about whether a bus driver should break the rules because you are late for a meeting, then please feel free to post on here.

Just don't be surprised when people don't agree with you.

I forgot to respond to this:

	Quote:	starry riflyk
	When one is mad and one incident spoils 3-4 days ....

Frustrating as the situation was, the chap wasn't doing anything to spite you - and was it really worth being angry for three to four days? Even the fat, greasy peasant who wouldn't shift his wobble-thighed leg so I could perch on the edge of the seat this evening, and who then pushed his way past me to get off the bus, without an 'entschuldigung' or a 'merci' to moisten his passage to the door, even this nasty little example of rustic barbarity didn't annoy me for more than a few minutes.

If he'd groped my balls on the way past, I might still be fuming about it, but I shan't let a wee little annoyance like that ruin my evening, let alone half my week.

The mordacious little prune that stole my sausage, on the other hand... well, she's well worth holding a grudge for...

[gooner]

This thread is being derailed. And we all know what happens when threads get derailed

If you want to moan about bus drivers, please do so on the bus drivers thread. This thread is not about self-defence.

This thread is about whether or not the thread title influences Your reply.

Now, as someone who is supposed to read everything, I can pretty much tell what a thread is going to contain, and very often, the quality of the thread content is determined by the thread title.

Sharp, clever and clear titles tend to elicit better replies than blunt, daft fuzzy ones. At least initially, until some internet forum rule determines that the longer a thread runs, the more chance it stands of going to pot.

I do see a lot of thread titles that make me think... wtf? Do I really want to shave off a few intelligence points by going in here?

[Deep Purple]

Another thread with an ambiguous title is this one:
How it all started

Some people may have ignored the thread as there is no mention of the subject matter: How all WHAT started?

For others, there could be the inquisitive looks of "What's this all about?"

It is down to the poster to decide how they consider they will get the appropriate response.

Obviously, if English isn't your first language it is going to be more difficult to get it right every time. Don't be put off by this, virtually all of us get titles wrong from time to time.

Another point is when the thread has a specific geographic reference, e.g. Sales or Wanted, it is usually best to ensure this is included in the title. Mods have been helpful on occasions to add this, but don't rely on it.

[Sada]

I do look at the Thread title quickly.
But then who started the thread and/or who is adding a comment... influences me quite a bit too.

I agree to a certain extent. When I saw that one ("Bus drivers can be so dumb"), it looked like overreaction and expected a rant. I read it to see if it was justified. The OP had his/her point but the bus driver had his responsibilities and duties.

Thread titles can look more interesting with a bit of colour or personality but too much emotion might skew it. In any case, I always appreciate more info in the title.

	Quote:	chemgoddess
	I was thinking about this awhile ago and thought I'd get some other EF member's opinion on the matter. How much does a title of a thread affect your mindset about the thread and how you respond? I've found that the title and how it makes me feel kinda effects the tone of my reply. Now this is just a recent example and I'm not trying to give the poster a hard time but this is the most recent example I can think of: Bus drivers can be so much dumb! Title of Thread: Bus Drivers can be so Dumb! And then I go in and read the thread and it's not that bus driver's are dumb it's that they have certain legal liabilities. My response probably would have been completely different if said title of thread was: What are the legal liabilities of bus drivers? Am I the only one this happens to or am I just crazy?