D&D General Poll: Should a poster be expected to read (or at least skim) all posts before posting in a thread?

[UngainlyTitan]

That's no fun.

Think before you flame then flame with intent.

 

[Cadence]

I kind of like the posts that show up every 40 or so pages in the longer ones that ask where the current state of the conversation is.

 

[Parmandur]

It is polite to read the posts, and even useful for people who are interested in the thread topic.

It is also polite to welcome newcomers to the conversation who found the original post interesting but havent slogged thru the entire thread yet.

I sometimes respond as I read a thread, just to get my thoughts down, while reading the whole thread.

 

[turnip_farmer]

Nope. People can join in conversations when they want and leave them when they want. They should read the OP at least, but other than that, I don't see the rules as any different to joining a conversation at any other social gathering, especially if there are like 200 posts to read.

The difference to joining a conversation at a social gathering is that the newcomer doesn't hear a snippet of what you were talking about 3 hours ago before butting in. I think I would quickly try to extricate myself from a conversation where, every 30 seconds, someone new joined and repeated "actually, you're wrong, there are rules for poisons in the DMG".

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

It's been 45 minutes and already this thread is 2 pages long.

I am soooo happy to see the poll results. I always feel like I need to read all the posts before I get involved. That's why I don't post very often. Regardless, I voted "no", with trepidation, against my nature, and boy-oh-boy what a relief--I'm free!

And what is "the conversation devolves after 8 pages" nonsense? I don't read anything after 3 pages. It's usually nothing more than four people running around in circles at that point.

 

[turnip_farmer]

I think requiring someone to read the Halfling thread may be a form of torture.

I wouldn't even allow someone to start reading unless they could demonstrate a decent familiarity with the 2000-post long first edition of the halfling thread from a few months ago.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Hell no. Have you seen how long threads go?

It is polite to at least say "I'm addressing the OP" instead of just quoting the first thing you see and responding to that.

Btw, this is addressing the op, I didn't read any of the comments.

 

[Yaarel]

Sed contra, as pure separated Intellects, all Angels have complete and total knowledge of dancing. However, on that point, since they have no material extension, they cannot dance, so an infinite number of angels can not-dance on the head of a pin. So, infinite divided by zero.

Quod Erat Demonstratum, y'all.

It depends on which theology and when. The Renaissance speculative theology had an elementalist worldview comprising a Great Chain of Being, which transitioned fluidly from solid matter to ethereal spirit: Earth (solid), Water (liquid), Air (gas), Fire, and Spirit. In this sense, an angel that was made out of Spirit was perceived to take up some space even if their substance was more fine and less course. Similarly, a fairy was made out of Spirit thus was also able to shrink down its size − to about the size of a thumbnail. The fairy was fine, but not as fine as an angel who could shrink down even finer.

For D&D, I view the angels as constructs made out of aster, the mindstuff of the Astral Plane. The angel is pure thought, an "intellect", and lacks substance. However the angel can manifest physically within the Material Plane as a solid. To do so, the angel physicalizes via the ether of the Ethereal Plane. The ether is the fifth element that potentially comprises the other four elements. The ether itself is "spirit" as a material element. This element is the interface between the mindscape of the Astral Plane and the physicality of the Material Plane. Ether itself is pure force, including gravity. Force is energetic like fire, and fluid like water, but is itself immaterial. Ether is the element that keeps the moon and the other "stars" in their orbits. The mind of the angel manifests via the ether and physicalizes as a temporary force construct.

The Feywild and the Shadowfell are also made out of ether. Fey neighbors the Positive Plane, and Shadow neighbors the Negative Plane.

When mages "summon" spirits, such as Elemental, Fey, Shadow, Celestial or Fiend, the body that appears is a construct made out of force, aka ether.

If a person kills a Fey animal, the temporary force body vanishes but the animal is still ok. The mind of the animal reverts to its planar source, wherever that is. Similarly an angel.

 

[Alzrius]

I didn't look over the thread to see if this joke has been made already, but yes, they absolutely should.

 

[Yaarel]

I sometimes respond as I read a thread, just to get my thoughts down, while reading the whole thread.

Yeah, one kinda has to, to engage a thread. Comment while the idea is fresh. If one waits until finishing the entire thread, one might forget some of the important points.