Damn, I guess I'm a "failed joiner."

[Dervill Crow]

I am usually quite content to be a loner, but today I'm in a funk. Out of 12 posts on DU in the last 48 hours I have amassed zero responses. This takes me back to high school.

Pitiful.

[Stardust]

1. I know what you mean. It's like, Jeez, you don't even know me and

you still don't wanna be with me. And then I wonder if they'd just as soon that I not even bother cluttering up their threads and what I have to say is so irrelevent and hardly worthy of a read, much less a response.

Remember, Blue, if you're on the left coast, most of them have gone to bed when you're just gettin' fired up.

[Dervill Crow]

4. I feel better now.

Welcome to DU! Love your user name.

:hi:

[mainegreen]

2. 12 failed posts? Thats all?

I think my record is in the high thirties!

Plus are your posts organized and erudite? That's your problem. Your post needs to read like:

Title: Dudes! I'm the undead matcom!

Show me your kitten picks! :crazy:
I series!!!! Its hughh!!1!@0!

Kidding! :silly:

;-)

[Dervill Crow]

3. LOL! n/t

[DireStrike]

5. Am I the only one who self-censors posts?

About 40-50% of the time I decide there is something fundamentally wrong with the comment I'm about to post, even if it's really long and I typed the whole thing out already.

[bemildred]

6. I throw out a good half of what I write, for various reasons.

I consider that not bad. For serious work, you have to rewrite at least three times, four is better, and even then, often when you step back, you see it is crap. Here, the standards are low and the effort invested is low, so it is to be expected that lots of it will be discarded for one reason or another. Sometimes I just realize I am not that interested in arguing about the subject.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. Me, too. After all, nobody takes your writing seriously here unless

you're Will Pitt. There are a lot of fine writers here, many of us published, but not so many astute readers.

[Pakhet]

13. nope

I've been here since 2000 and only have how many? posts... someone else always says it better than I could before I do

[bemildred]

7. Thank you, a nice term: "failed joiner".

I shall treasure it.

[LWolf]

8. I still prefer "loner."

DU is no different than anywhere else; people like to be in a "group" that thinks the same. If you post something that is not cheerleading the latest DU media pet, or bashing the latest DU media whipping boy, or cheerleading one of the select few candidates that the group "likes," or spouting canned talking points ad-nauseum, you won't get the average DU response. Let's face it, the threads and posts that get the responses are either those that are cheerleading conventional dem "wisdom" or provoking an emotional response, positive or negative.

Post something that requires thought processing to "get" and respond to, and it will be passed over most of the time. Loners are loners, not just because they like it, but also because their pov often stands alone and isn't in the group's comfort zone.

[DemBones DemBones]

10. Most people never get out of high school, emotionally speaking.

That's why they have their cliques and their cheerleading, etc. It's not just DU, it's every internet forum.

[nolabels]

11. I take it the other way, no response is an indication the post is somewhat agreeable

I don't always do good responding to the responder so maybe it's better that way, what do you think?

[mtowngman]

12. I feel you, I think it's nice to be acknowledged when I post

something, but then I feel compelled to continue the dialog with the responder and that becomes awkward pretty quickly for me.

[Dervill Crow]

16. Good point. n/t

[Dervill Crow]

15. I think you are probably right. n/t

[Oddball]

14. response time

Have Patience. Remember what I always say, time is the way the universe keeps everything from happening at once. That and waiting for my wife to finish in the bathroom. It takes a long time at the deli too, now that I think about it. And the DMV! Don't get me started on the DMV.

Anyway, I found your post when I found the "Loners" category. I was grazing and found something good. Keep it up.

And stay away from the DMV.

:hide:

[Dervill Crow]

17. Why, thank you! That's the best advice I've received all day.

Even though I guess it was actually six months ago or so . . . guess that's a good illustration of your point.

:think: