Thursdays Most Active Threads

Yesterday's posts with the most engagement spanned quite a range of topics. I'll touch on the top 5, but spend a bit more time on the leader in number of replies, not because it is an interesting or important thread but because it demonstrates a more frustrating side of the DCUM Forums.

Titled, "colleges on the decline" and posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum, the leading thread in number of replies also led in number of views. Several things bother me about this thread. First, the topic. Obviously, such a thread will mostly be used by posters to put down colleges that they don't like regardless of those institutions' performance trajectory. Second, the original poster immediately posted the first and second replies to the thread without identifying themselves as the original poster. This is basically sock puppeting. The original poster eventually posted at least 23 times as of this morning, even giving "+1" responses to their own posts — which is textbook sock puppeting and really stupid besides. The poster was posting from an Elon University IP address, so more than likely the thread is just simple trolling by a college student who should probably be doing their homework rather than trolling DCUM.

Over the years, DCUM has attracted quite a collection of trolls and I could probably write a book on the topic. Some are quite obviously mentally ill and DCUM may well be doing society a favor by keeping them occupied and away from more destructive behaviors. But some, probably including the original poster of this thread, seem to just be bored. Still, I'd think that the Internet provides a lot more interesting opportunities than just the chance to troll DCUM. Maybe try Wordle or something?

Yesterday was not a big day for long threads so the thread with the second-most number of replies only reached five pages. Titled, "We had the pre drywall inspection today and plumbing leakage was found in several rooms." and posted in the "Real Estate" forum, the thread describes the original poster's experience with a new home build that seems to be having a considerable number of problems. As best as I could tell without reading the thread very carefully, there was a consensus among responders recommending that the original poster walk away from purchasing the house.

A thread titled, "Has anyone started an HOA?" was originally posted in the "Off-Topic" forum but I moved it to "Real Estate" where it was more appropriate. This thread was third in number of replies, just one response short of the drywall thread. I haven't read the thread and, therefore, can't really say anything about it. I will note that most HOA-related threads on DCUM seem to hate the very existence of such things so this is a clear break from the norm. That is represented by the first response which asks why the original poster would want to do that.

Next in number of replies was a thread titled, "Toddler pushed other kids at daycare" and posted in the "Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers" forum. I've only read the original post of this thread and was inclined to be sympathetic because — let's face it, we've all been there — but I was a bit put off that the main point of the post turned out to be the original poster's determination to put responsibility on the teachers. Hopefully those who replied in the thread were able to offer supportive and effective solutions.

I've included the thread that was 5th in number of replies because it was third in number of views. Titled, "Has anyone regretted leaving over infidelity?" and posted in the "Relationship Discussion (non-explicit)" forum, the thread — as the title suggests — asks whether anyone who has left their spouse has later had second thoughts and wished they hadn't. The thread is clearly written with women in mind, though I don't know why the same question couldn't be posed to men. Once again, I haven't read the thread and, therefore, can't say much more about it. But, given the number of views, there appears to be considerable interest in the topic.