If I ask for help, I always check back and post a "Thank you", but if I'm just giving a quick reply to someone else's post, I don't go back.

ArizonaRose, I'm so with you. I probably over do it in checking a thread I've started, but there are times when I get delayed. Though I agree, when someone replies, often involving lots of time to search for something, then it's only right to come back and let them know you saw it and thank them as soon as you possibly can.

I feel this way with items posted on Craigslist too. It's so nice to hear from the seller even when something has been sold. I've twice now gave up on something and found something else because the seller didn't get back to me for so long that I had to research to find out what they had for sale.

Sorry to get a bit off there, but it's the same thing really. Check your messages and reply to them, or don't post in the first place.

Luckily this is a rare occurance when you consider how many posts are on these forums. It can be very unsettling though.
~Becky

I feel the same way. Thanks for bringing it up. I try to answer each reply to me when I make a thread.
However I wish there was an easier way to find each thread on each board. The search option brings up all posts not only new ones.

I have found that sometimes people post just to vent... or to brag... or to show off a photo... and they don't really want comments or opinions.

Considering how trivial it is in the big scheme of things, I don't let stuff like that bug me.

I don't want to seem like I always have to "have the last word" so I just let things die.

If you look at some of the posts on various forums that seem odd,outrageous or controversial, you will see that the person just joined like 10 min ago and you wonder if they are a real person. They post a lot for the first day and never are heard from again. I wonder what that is all about. I wonder if its to get lots of responses and people are on line longer. I don't understand why.

I love when people ask for advise and then get mad if they don't like it. They are waiting to hear what they want to and if you don't know they get mad. I have seen that quite a bit on different forums.

Hi AGAIN.... just checking back to see what the response was to my post.

western_pa_luann , i'm talking about people that post asking for advice and then never respond to the people that take the time to reply to them. It's not a REALLY BIG deal, but it's rude and it bugs me.

Seems like most of you agree...

anyway, i just wanted to check back so i'm not a 'fly by' ( that's what i call posters that don't come back) :-)

There have been times when I wanted to thank someone for advice a while after I'd started the post and then can't locate it when I do a search.

Case in point was the advice I'd gotten for buying a special attachment for my bathroom light that has a plug attachment. So I can now use my blow dryer in my bathroom. I don't remember who told me about this so if you're reading it, thank you.

Sometimes, I feel that if I say thank you early on in the thread other people won't chime in with other ideas, thinking that my question was already answered.

Marie, if you start a thread you can choose to have a notice in your email that someone has replied. Just look for the box to check. That's how I keep track on busier boards like the decorating one. Here you really don't have to. It's more intimate. I like that.
I understand the thanking early and then other's not bothering to post their ideas since they feel you've found what you are looking for. If I haven't then I thank whoever posted and add "KEEP MORE IDEAS COMING" or something like that.
~Becky

I like to thank people early and often for their replies, and I also write something like, "Keep the ideas coming!" so that nobody gets the impression that I am no longer considering any new ideas. Unless, of course, I have acted on the advice received, in which case, I feel it is important to offer it as feedback to everyone concerned. Even lurkers who might be helped by listening in to the conversation. Might bring them out into the open so we can meet 'em.

MaryLiz
It's very cloudy today in Michigan.
Maybe we'll finally get some rain!

When you start a post just check the box that say you want an email sent to you whenever someone replies. I've gotten an email sometimes for threads I started a long time ago that died and then someone adds a new response to it. I never would have gone back to check all my old threads on a regular basis.

You can also just do search for your own screen name and find all the threads that your screen name is in in every forum. I think they are always listed in chronological order so you can go to the approximate time that you know the post was placed.

I don't check that e-mail box anymore--too big a risk that it'll blow up on me.

I don't worry about the no-returns that much. (for one thing, it doesn't happen here that much, and this is almost the only forum that I *really* care about the personalities and ongoing community).

It's nice to have it turn into more of a conversation, but it's not that necessary--the rest of us can take over quite admirably. And I don't think the OP needs to worry about getting in the last word w/ the "thank you."

And it's awkward, I think, when the OP comes back and says "thank you" after EVERY SINGLE comment on the thread. That's just too much.

The ones that get me are the ones who say, "I need a different way to store my kids' crafts stuff," and then they get six suggestions, and they say, "I'm going to leave it the way it is, thank you very much."

On another forum, someone asked for suggestions for a waterproof substittue for tissue paper for the signs she makes, and someone suggested florists vinyl, saying that it's papery in feel, crinkly and thin like tissue, but waterproof, and the OP said, "I really don't need you to tell me how to do it better; the way I do it is just fine!"

It ticks me off as well. I don't need a thank you - I'm more interested in knowing if the OP tried any of the ideas and whether they worked.

Although Gardenweb is one of my favorite internet sites I wish their forums were set up differently. I, too, find it difficult to find threads after being away from the computer a few days. Many websites have a way that you can "subscribe" to a thread, which I prefer. But you can't have everything.

I've found the "search" function to be all over the place on this forum! I use it, but don't expect much. I never thought of searching my own user name. I guess I thought you had to match something in the title of the thread. Good tip.

graywings, you make a great point! I want to know the result the OP got, which method was used and details!