Should you read an entire thread before responding?

[herminator]

You should always try to read a whole thread before responding!


I don´t always succeed ...

[kiltimabar]

I always try to read the whole thread--usually somebody has already contributed what I was about to say, and said it better, accounting for my low ranking for having been around as long as I have; I try to add someting substantive instead of a "me too" so the discussion stays fertile and concise.

I don't mind old threads being resurrected when someone has new information to offer--they may not have been around at the original discussion, and it shows their interest that they root around for all our previous wisdom. In fact, would that more people did such research before bring ing up a question that has been thoroughly beaten to a pulp.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Old professor speaking here: I look upon these threads as group discussions. One of the first rules of good manners in such a situation is that you LISTEN(in this case read) what the person(s) have to say before responding. If you have nothing to ad, then just "second" what is said, or say nothing at all. So yes, read the entire thread before replying. (Just use good sense, however, some threads take an entire evening to read through)
Just my tuppence worth.