Why do people Opinion Dump?

[Rechan]

Rechan, I feel my irony sense tingling. Did you have a question, or is this just a post about, "I think X about opinion threads?"

I have highlighted where the questions were asked:

This is more a "Why is this done on messageboards period" sort of topic, but I see this on EnWorld a lot.

What's the purpose of this? Why go on a messageboard to let people know if you're not looking for a dialogue?

But Opinion Dumping is just "Here's my stance on something and that's it". What are you supposed to even do with that? "Um, okay, thanks for your treatise on why you eat chocolate". What does the poster expect from the reader?

Also, the title of this thread is "Why do people Opinion Dump?".

The questions were not rhetorical.

 

[pawsplay]

Well, what are we supposed to do with this?

 

[Rechan]

Well, what are we supposed to do with this?

Posters should respond to those sentences, the ones I quoted and bolded for you, with answers.

 

[Nifft]

Posters should respond to those sentences, the ones I quoted and bolded for you, with answers.

I did, but nobody responded to me.

Maybe I needed to put in more "flavor text" (aka opinion dumpage). Cold, hard facts are boring, no?

Cheers, -- N

 

[jonesy]

I think people who do that really are looking for dialogue.

But what they want is other people agreeing with what they've said. They want validation for their opinions. Like any normal humans.

 

[diaglo]

truthfully, i have to agree with Pfft and pawsplay.

this thread is just another example of an opinion dump.

 

[Umbran]

it totally reads like Rechan is trying to get others to say they see the same thing as he does so he can justify his opinion.

Yeah. You know that thing where we strongly suggest you not get into the habit of trying to ascribe motives to people? This is an example of a place where it applies.

 

[diaglo]

Yeah. You know that thing where we strongly suggest you not get into the habit of trying to ascribe motives to people? This is an example of a place where it applies.

duly noted. i have taken care of the problem on my end. thanks.

 

[Mark]

Some people like to put forth their opinion and their support for it without framing the discussion by asking questions, prefering instead to allow others to come at it from any direction they desire, thus not steering the conversation or limiting the responses inadvertently through survey bias.

 

[jdrakeh]

I see this "opinion dumping" at pretty every message board that I visit. I'm not sure that it's problematic behavior. I am sure that it cannot be easily explained in one or two sentences by Joe Average. Human beings are highly complex lifeforms and their social behaviors are the subject of study in multiple fields of medicine and science. Why people act as they do is a question that not even the world's most educated researchers can answer definitively.

[Edit: Wait. Did I just opinion dump?!?]