Current Events > why do people respond to topics that don't apply to them

(+) Yeah! (+)

like, if somebody asked "what's your favorite beer?" the tc would undoubtedly get a few "i don't like beer" or "i don't drink" or whatever posts

is it like the forum equivalent of just liking to hear yourself speak or something
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its like a vegan that has to prove they're vegan
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I don't like topics
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People want to be heard!
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*shitposts*
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Because it's the equivalent of clicking 'other' or 'none' on a poll. They are still allowed to voice their choice.
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Ive never done anything like that.

Oh wait....
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Kajagogo posted...

Because it's the equivalent of clicking 'other' or 'none' on a poll. They are still allowed to voice their choice.

it's nonsensical to do and adds nothing to the discussion

it's a display of some weird sense of self-importance and nothing more
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truly_FLCL posted...

Kajagogo posted...

Because it's the equivalent of clicking 'other' or 'none' on a poll. They are still allowed to voice their choice.

it's nonsensical to do and adds nothing to the discussion

it's a display of some weird sense of self-importance and nothing more

Or boredom. It's a topic on a forum on a dying video game website. It's not like people are solving the world's problems. Who gives a shit if someone voices their opinion in a topic that doesn't apply to them? Nothing important is being discussed. Even in your example it's just a conversation about beverage preferences. It doesn't matter in the slightest.
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who said anything about the topic's importance

it's still nonsensical

and it still does nothing for a conversation/discussion
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truly_FLCL posted...

it's still nonsensical

Life is nonsensical. Stop taking online conversations so seriously. Just keep scrolling.
Why does it bother you so much?
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Does this topic apply to me?
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you've already responded twice, yet are telling me to "stop taking online conversations so seriously" (the same guy who is analogizing this to "life" itself)

i've already said why it bothers me; practice some reading comprehension
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Because other people consider it participating in a conversation even if you do not.
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truly_FLCL posted...

Kajagogo posted...

Because it's the equivalent of clicking 'other' or 'none' on a poll. They are still allowed to voice their choice.

it's nonsensical to do and adds nothing to the discussion

it's a display of some weird sense of self-importance and nothing more

Doesn't every topic and post come from a sense of self-importance?
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imma be honest i don't think before i click post message a good 75% of the time i just say whatever comes to mind while i'm reading

i think it's better that way
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LordRazziel posted...

Doesn't every topic and post come from a sense of self-importance?

yeah, but at least they accomplish something (e.g. starting a discussion, bringing a new perspective to a discussion, etc.)

responding non-topically to a topic doesn't
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This topic does not apply to me but I'm posting here anyway.
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truly_FLCL posted...

you've already responded twice, yet are telling me to "stop taking online conversations so seriously" (the same guy who is analogizing this to "life" itself)

i've already said why it bothers me; practice some reading comprehension

And I'm asking, more specifically, why does the fact that it fails to contribute to the conversation bother you so much? Get off your high horse, man. Don't come at me like I'm not understanding what you're saying when you're failing to dive deeper into the issue you brought up.

I understand that a comment that doesn't contribute to the conversation bothers you because you recognize that it doesn't contribute to the conversation. You've made that clear. When I ask why that bothers you I'm specifically asking why you care whether or not a comment contributes to the conversation. Why does a comment need to contribute? Why can't you just scroll past it? Why do you care about something so insignificant?

Shitposters are gonna shitpost. Why does the lack of contribution get under your skin?

I've responded twice (three times now?) because I'm bored. If you didn't respond I would have forgotten about this topic by now. I'm just having a lazy Saturday waiting for my laundry to be done. I just don't understand being annoyed by someone on the Internet acting contrarian. They're just words on a screen. Now if someone was coming into a topic with more weight to it and acting that way I could understand your beef a little. If someone was having a serious discussion about the Holocaust and a random person popped in to comment "I'm not Jewish lol" that would give me pause. I still would probably just ignore them though.

There are plenty of reasons to be annoyed with people on the Internet, but rarely are there any good ones unless the person is being intentionally malicious.
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