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General discussion

Terrible, Stupid, & Borning Subject Lines

Apr 29, 2006 12:04PM PDT

Why oh why can't people put what their actual subject is, in the subject line? Here's a clue, it's called a Subject Line. Put something there which actually gives a clue to what the discussion will be about. What clue does one get from;

Have you heard about.....

I just saw this on TV.....

I was watching the News and.....

(yeah, we figured that's where you saw it)

This is so ridiculous it's absurd.

Inbox

(we all got one, what's so special about that?)

Just received good news
Just received bad news


(maybe we can overlook those, obviously they are personal news, if we care about the person we are going to look.)

This is Cool!
This is Hot!
This is Neat!

You gotta See This!

Did you hear the one about....

You Though YOU Were Having a Bad Day.....
(great, if we read about someone else's we will have a good day? Thanks for the warning)

Why agree with this?
Why disagree with this?
Do you agree with this?
I can't agree with this!
Who could agree with this!

This Just In!
Do You Remember This?

Sign of the Times.
A Sign of Our Age.
(theres a lot of those, this must be one more)

For Those Old Enough To Remember
(does that include those too old to remember much of anything anymore? Thanks for the age reminder and showing how much we've already forgotten)

One Year Later
Two Years Later
Three Years Later
Four Years Later
Five Years Later

(for gosh sakes, what is this, an almanac post coming up?! Can anyone guess what one item from X years ago might be hiding in such a post?)

It's a Brave New World
Orwell was Right
Aynn Rand was Right
"Anyone" Was Right.

(warning; this usually means some doom and gloom posting, best avoided on a "Ever have a bad day" type of day)

They're Back!
(great, hope you enjoy them, I'll assume it's your relatives and bypass the post)

I Don't Know What is Worse

(looking for qualitative advice? We don't either, unless we feel like looking at some worse things that day)

Was This Posted Before?
(probably if you had to ask, and thanks for warning us off)

Another Smoking Gun!
(Dear God, it must be a battlefield out there. Too many smoking guns, not enough dead bodies.)

Talk About Blunders
Talk About Screwups
Talk about...........

(maybe we will, and maybe we won't, but we sure won't unless we overcome the urge to bypass the post that fails to tell us what the Talk is about)


I could go on and on, but there's probably other out there who can remember some real groaner, over used, eye blurring, "avoid this at all cost" type of Subject lines used way too many times.

Is it too much to give an idea of what the subject actually is? If you think non informative subject line is going to pull people to view your thread, I think only those with too much time on their hands will take the plunge, instead opting to read a thread with a subject actually stated in which they might have some interest. But, keep putting them up there and many of us will keep avoiding them.

Discussion is locked

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Allow other members to contact me by email.
May 1, 2006 12:04PM PDT
Allow other members to contact me by email.

I put a clk by that area in the profile if that's to what you refer.
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(NT) (NT) So just skip the thread. That saves even more time!
Apr 30, 2006 10:48PM PDT
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(NT) (NT) HUH! i dont understand:)
Apr 30, 2006 5:24AM PDT
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Why do you have to denigrate people here?
Apr 30, 2006 10:47PM PDT

EVERYONE here has a life outside SE. We're just not so petty as to check in to see who we can post nasties to in virtual anonymity.

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Why do you have to denigrate people
May 1, 2006 12:16AM PDT

This one's a keeper

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Everytime you and Glenda disagree wit h me
May 1, 2006 1:20AM PDT

protecting at least one of your 3 person pack, you tell me to "GAL" or "Get a Life". Well this is now my 1st time telling you to get 'a life' beyond SE. How in the world you can supposedly even do a half decent job at home (are you not a on line teacher of some type) is beyond me, as you are constantly posting here.

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Nasties Evie, you should talk......
May 1, 2006 1:30AM PDT

Every time I post involving Glenda or Mark, it is the absolute truth and not vulgar, I have never lied. 'Course like someone has said, 'The truth can hurt', and sometimes the truth can hurt the one you love.

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Actually clicking on a message taking too much time, James?
Apr 30, 2006 6:16AM PDT

Clever subject headers can increase the interest in the topic beyond a straight recitation of the facts. That's why newspapers employ headline writers!

-- Dave K, Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

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That's what I want
Apr 30, 2006 5:59PM PDT

Yes, that's what I'd like, clever, smart and on the subject thread openers. I'll settle however for informative. But, "Hey everybody, check this out" for a subject line reminds me of more than a few redneck jokes.

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zzzzzzzzzzzzing!!
May 1, 2006 12:54AM PDT

Wow! You hit just about everyone here, James; or at least darn near. I will give you credit for being an equal opportunity zinger. Wink

Some of your comments regarding particular subject lines were actually quite humorous. It must have taken you a bit of time to find these and think up something clever as a response. I salute you for your creativity. Grin

My thoughts (as if it matters) are about the same as with Rob's thread regarding all caps in a subject line: Not a big deal.

Life's too short to sweat such small stuff when you stop to think about it. I learned this in an entirely life-altering manner almost one year ago (June 13, 2005, to be exact).

The subject lines here in SE will not change because of this thread. A bit of discord has hit the boards for a short while until this thread drops off into the ''back pages'' as they all do.

--Marcia


.

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Reply to: zzzzzzzzzzzzing!!
May 1, 2006 12:02PM PDT

It wasn't intended to be directed at any one person, or particular people. It's just a thread born of weekday frustration of having maybe 30 minutes to browse some threads during the day and hitting nonsensical subject lines that give no clue to the inner content of the thread. I could care less about subject lines within the thread, although I wish the software would automatically fill in the subject line to be same as the opener if we don't want to make our own within a thread, maybe it would encourage better thread opening subject lines. The older software did that, although one could change the subject line if they wanted on their particular post, but sometimes it meant their post went unread within the thread unless someone chose the threaded view and realized it was part of the thread they were reading.

Angeline had a good point about how we often start conversations with lines like, "guess what happened to me yesterday....". Why do we talk like that? Maybe in conversation it's a "feeler" to see if anyone's interested in having you continue to speak. I rarely see such approach used on a professional discussion group like perhaps on McLaughlin Group or others, but probably because journalist are trained to avoid those, and to open with an informative statement.

I think a forum is a bit different than conversational flow, especially since we do have a Subject Line given to fill and don't just start typing into the posting box like we were trying to insert ourselves into a verbal "round robin" discussion group.