I at least read the first post and usually at least skim the first couple pages, then if it’s a long thread I’ll jump to the end and read the last page or two, so I know both what the thread originally was and where it is when I’m going to post. I do this before posting so I know if my post is actually relevant or helpful or whatever, sometimes just the title doesn’t tell me that, plus long threads can end up going in several different directions and most of the newer posts may have nothing to do with the original post. Also I try to remember to check the date of the first post so I know if it’s been necroed.
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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"