Wednesday's Most Active Threads

The most active thread yesterday was titled, "Just for fun: like the full name but not the nickname, like the nickname but not the full name" and posted in the "Off-Topic" forum. Threads about names — normally asking for suggestions in the "Expectant and Postpartum Moms" forum — are very common. So, I guess it was just a matter of time until one made the most active list. The purpose of this thread is clear from it's title. One example provided by the original poster is liking Tamara but not Tammy. There are two types of responses that can be expected in name threads. One is posters inventing names that they believe are funny. Most often they are not. The other is posters getting offended, generally when their own name or a name they love is criticized. I haven't read all of this thread but several posts were reported so I know that offense was taken in at least a few cases. I am not sure if any made up names were posted but I certainly wouldn't be surprised. For the most part is appears that posters stayed on topic and stuck to the original poster's intention for the thread. Some posters posted their own names, which they love, and nicknames that they hate and hope that nobody uses. Others posted their children's names and nicknames they either liked or disliked. I wouldn't expect to learn anything new from this type of thread but actually found out for the first time that "Topher" is a nickname for "Christopher". Heretofore, I thought it was its own name and it did not occur to me that it is a nickname. Based on this thread, one would conclude that the name "Rebecca" is the name with the most associated nicknames, but nearly all of them are hated.

Yesterday's second most active thread was posted in the "Political Discussion" forum and titled, "DeSantis was Asst. Urinalysis Coordinator in the Navy". The thread discusses a document released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that lists the duties performed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during his military service. The original poster highlights one of DeSantis' collateral duties which was serving as an Assistant Urinalysis Coordinator. The original poster then goes on to say that this shows that DeSantis was not a fighter pilot as he has claimed. In fact, it has been known all along, and stated in the document, that DeSantis was an attorney serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. DeSantis did run a campaign commercial in which he dressed as a fighter pilot, which may have confused the original poster, but he has not claimed to have been a pilot. Much of the initial response in this this thread is focused on how former President Donald J. Trump might use this revelation (which is actually not new) against DeSantis if the two end up running against each other for the Republican presidential nomination. Despite the jokes being made about the job, it actually is reasonably serious duty due to the importance of drug tests in the military. Other posters focused on a potentially more important period of DeSantis' service during which he served at Guantánamo Bay. A former detainee of the prison facility has claimed that DeSantis oversaw force feeding and torture of detainees and would laugh at their humiliation. Of course DeSantis has his defenders who insist that any criticism of DeSantis is an indication that liberals are afraid of the potential presidential candidate. I am not sure this is the rebuttal that those making it think it is. Given DeSantis' authoritarian actions in Florida, any sane person should be afraid of DeSantis getting anywhere near the White House.

Next was a thread titled, "Family taking advantage of beach house" and posted in the "Family Relationships" forum. The original poster explains that her immediate family has been renting a small beach house for two weeks for the last several summers. Years ago, they invited her husband's parents to spend a weekend with them, and then the next year the parents and the original poster's sister-in-law's family all stayed for several days. That was was a little too crowded for the original poster. Now the in-laws are already taking about joining them at the beach house again. But when the original poster suggested renting a larger house for which they could help pay, they showed no interest. The original poster doesn't want her in-laws to join them at the small house while her husband is willing put up with the inconvenience. She asks what others would do. This thread is 9 pages long and I don't want to put much effort into reading it. Because there were some reports suggesting the original poster might be a troll, I took a look at the thread from that aspect. I have no reason to believe the poster is a troll. But, oddly, despite the length of the thread, the original poster only replied once. So, most of the discussion in the thread is taking place without her input. This actually does not seem like a difficult problem to solve and I am sure that among the nine pages of replies, the original poster will find an appealing suggestion. If not, she can always post a second response.

The last thread at which I'll look today was posted in the "Private/Independent Schools" forum. Titled, "Holton vs RMIB", the original poster says that her daughter was accepted at both the Holton-Arms School and the International Baccalaureate magnet program at Montgomery County Public Schools' Richard Montgomery High School. Because the two programs are so different, she doesn't know how to compare them and asks for feedback. Because the thread was posted in the private schools forum, one would expect that responses would favor the private school. For the most part, this is the case. One poster did post a lengthy description of RMIB, only for the next poster to say that everything in the post was wrong. But, it then turned out that the poster meant that earlier posts in the thread were wrong and that she agreed with the long post. As usual, I haven't read very much of the thread but what I have read suggests that a significant amount of this thread is devoted to arguing about SAT scores. Both schools have their supporters and their detractors and there is considerable competition over which school is the most challenging. As the original poster points out, the two programs are very different. One is private, one is public. One is girls-only, the other is coed. One is a traditional education, the other is an international baccalaureate program. These are stark differences and one would think that a few points difference in SAT scores or small differences in college placement would pale in comparison. But, I guess others see it as more complicated than that. The thread is filled with lengthy responses so, if you are going to tackle this thread, bring your reading glasses.