Why is the untrained birddog like a forum member?

[coberst]

Why is a forum member like an untrained birddog?

A well trained birddog has total focus upon hunting certain types of game birds. The untrained birddog goes chasing the first rabbit that jumps up. It will often abandon the first rabbit and chase the second and the third etc.

[Tarantism]

are you saying all forum members are like this?

[Jay-qu]

Im sorry but I fail to see how the analogy relates.. do you mean they chase ideas them drop them and case others? maybe you would care to explain it a little more

[Tarantism]

perhaps you mean that they dont get in depth enough into a topic before moving on to another one? i can see basically what you mean, but i cant say that i agree.

[coberst]

I am new to this particular discussion forum and thus my experience is not of this forum but is of many other forums.

I have been posting on forms for thirty months and it is my experience that seldom does the discussion focus on the essential point of the original post.

What I have discovered is that often the responder is replying to the title of the OP. Many times I discover that I am in a discussion with someone who has not read beyond the title. For some reason that I do not understand readers are inclined to find a phrase or word that is interesting and they focus on that.

My experience also tells me that often people approach the forum as if they were going into battle. Often they are coming with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.

Another observation is that very often if my OP says 'X' is true the response is often 'not X' is true. I have come to the conclusion that many members are 'responders'. They respond much like a 'gun slinger' in that their purpose is to put another 'notch' on their gun. Their joy is in getting their response 'count' as high as possible.

[InfiniteNow]

Isn't a bird dog by definition already trained? If it were untrained, it would simply be a dog.

[Turtle]

According to the Urantia Book, Jesus trained bird dogs in Afganistan when he was a boy and then used them to fish for guys to carry the game bags.

[Eclogite]

Originally Posted by coberst

A well trained birddog has total focus upon hunting certain types of game birds. The untrained birddog goes chasing the first rabbit that jumps up. It will often abandon the first rabbit and chase the second and the third etc.

Excellent analogy. Your cogent explanation in reply to Jay-Q and others also rang true. This particular forum is less tolerant than many of the 'girded for battle' approach, but the inability to stay on topic is, in my view rampant.

Please don't bother responding, as I am off now to another thread to pick a fight and get my post count up.

[TheBigDog]

I think you are onto something with the analogy. But to examine it a bit deeper there are different types of posters. For instance, coberst, you have 167 posts, of which 49 have been the start of a new thread. You are an active conversation starter. At the other end of the spectrum is Eclogite who has 419 posts, but has only ever started one thread. Eclogite is a conversation joiner. Nothing wrong with either style. Both of you make great contributions to the forums.

One thing in particular in your posting style, coberst, is that you make good teaser titles for your threads. Your aim is at getting people into the thread by dangling something juicy out there, but very often the title and the subject are not quite in sync with each other. This thread is an excellent example of it. Your title appears to be a riddle, yet your thread is trying to make a point about posting styles. It may be that others do not see the same phenomena because they tend to keep the title and the thread on the same point. But because you have not you have stumbled upon something that may not have otherwise been noticed. Very interesting indeed.

Back on topic though, I think that it is unfair to stereo type dogs by profession or level of training. It makes those dogs who are not well trained feel inferior, and is cruel.

Bill

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by TheBigDog

Back on topic though, I think that it is unfair to stereo type dogs by profession or level of training. It makes those dogs who are not well trained feel inferior, and is cruel.

Bill

The ill-training of any dog is the owner's fault. While I agree it is cruel, dogs tell me it makes them feel more angry than inferior; they show this clearly by the sophistication of the jokes they make about humans.
As to the analogy, .... For one thing, bird dogs don't choose to be trained wheras forum members choose to join.
Back on topic, I have noticed Eclogite's 1 only ever thread too, which was his introduction by-the-by. This is highly unusual & unmathched by any other member. I have to ask, what breed of dog is he?