usenet ponder (& sick update)

[jinian]

I'm doing better, though I'm still really not feeling well. Thanks for the good wishes. Wim came by and brought a few necessities.

Why do people want to post that they've marked all posts as read in a newsgroup? I've never understood that. If I had to do that sort of thing (which I don't, generally, since I read very quickly), I'd just do it. It feels to me like people are assuming stuff is directed at them (and that therefore they are terribly important people, therefore presumptuous, therefore negative feelings from me). The way I see it, I've left the party to go to the bathroom, and if someone needs me for something they'll track me down. I'm sure people who do that sort of thing feel differently about it. Why do you or do you not tell people when you're absent from an online forum?

Extra credit: And is LJ different? It is for me because my friends are called by name and I'm careful not to let the list get above what I can be sure to keep up on. How do people with bigger friends lists feel?

Comments

[jenett]

I think it's partly a 'If something happened to turn up which you were sort of hoping I might reply to, please point me at it.' and partly a 'If you've made any announcements about good or bad changes in your life that you want to make sure I know about, I didn't see the post, so you might want to tell me again that you're getting married/moving/your cat died, whatever'

I personally don't much see the point if someone's only been gone a few days - but I can sort of see the point if it's been a few weeks or more, as a 'Ok, I'm paying attention again' sorta thing. Ä