No, I do not like having to click through posts that have no information content. It's just a waste of time. Except for those that offer a bit of humor.
Linear-thinking how-to posts are interesting to me if, and only if, they are about something truly different. Otherwise, I am blessed to have a fine analytic mind, and I will enjoy figuring out the details for myself.
Maintenance and repair post are potentially of great value. But I am unlikely to read them closely unless I am currently experiencing the problem in question. Which I rarely am. So I just salt away the knowledge that the topic has been posted, and assume that either a automated or human-assisted search will find it if and when needed.
I ALWAYS enjoy posts in which the author shares experiences that made him happy, regardless of what those experiences may be.
Likewise, bitch-and-rant posts unfailingly turn me off. I ignore threads as soon as they head in that direction.
Rbursek sometimes makes me cringe a bit, usually when he makes a careless remark that is bound to offend someone. Bob, put the brain in gear first, and filter that crap out before you click the send button.
That said, I admire Bob's energy and enthusiam. If you review his posts, I'll bet you will find 95% or more to exude positive energy. If you can actually decipher his spelling, that is.
As for derailing/hijacking threads, I think that I have finally hit upon a common-sense approach. Certain regulars here clearly do not like it if someone takes their thread off-topic. I respect this, and do my best to stay strictly on topic if contributing to their thread. Others place a high value on spontaneity and humor (which I personally find more entertaining, and occasionally educational). On their threads, I'll post anything that I think they might get a kick out of.
It does bother me when threads started by newbies get derailed. We don't know which way they lean, and they could easily get disoriented, so I'm inclined to play those very straight.
Now that's just my $0.02, of course. But I do believe that it is our differences that make us interesting. Lord knows that the world would be a dull and boring place if inhabited only by engineers like me!
