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Bait Threads

post #1 of 18
4/22/09 at 6:59pm
Thread Starter 
Define them, please. Is it any thread designed to get people to post? That sounds like 'good thread' to me. Is it any thread that gets you irritated? That sounds like 'in your head' to me.

As the apparent prime purveyor of bait threads, I'm curious to find out what it is that I'm doing. I'll cop to making threads that I know will rile people up, but I've never made a thread like that where I wasn't being honest/expressing an actual opinion. It seems to me that a bait thread implies saying something just to be outrageous.
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post #2 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:22pm
An opportunity to bully? I think that's why people get offended at threads they think are bait threads, because they feel an inherent mean-spiritedness in them. Granted, a lot of the threads that have been labeled in the past as bait threads (admittedly by myself as well) were probably just random non-sequitors that you were throwing out, and people got their panties in a bunch.

On the other hand, if you really didn't give a shit in sandals and cell phone clips, but decided to start a thread anyway to watch nerds complain, that I believe would be a bait thread. You didn't really feel the need to express your opinion, you just wanted to shake the hive.
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post #3 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
I really think men in sandals are retarded and cell phone belt clips are ludicrous.
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post #4 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:26pm
It's a big, retarded catch-all bucket that people can throw stuff in whenever they feel slighted by a...message board discussion.
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post #5 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:27pm
If I started a thread entitled "it must be embarassing to be 24 and not to have had sex yet" and directed it at no one, and people got offended, then that's not a value judgement on what I said but personal insecurities.
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post #6 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:29pm
Then the sandal thread would not have been an example of a bait thread. Let me throw out there, I don't think there's anything wrong with a bait thread. I also think you earned a reputation for starting them. Where or when I'm not sure. If you start a thread in the catch-all with a specific question, people think you're trying to be a dick. If anyone else does it, people treat it normally. I have no idea why this really is, aside from people know you have an enhanced sense of sarcasm.
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post #7 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:29pm
Saying something you know is going to offend people isn't a bait thread.

Saying something you know is going to offend people for the purpose of sitting back and enjoying them getting offended is a bait thread.
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post #8 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:31pm
I think people throw around the term bait thread to try and lessen the impact of the inherent truth that has upset them so.
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post #9 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall View Post
I think people throw around the term bait thread to try and lessen the impact of the inherent truth that has upset them so.
Totally.
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post #10 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:54pm
Spike has a point. But I also believe bait threads are threads in which statements that are known to stir shit up whether baseless or not are said. And that the reaction isn't a civil discussion but an up in arms internet riot.
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post #11 of 18
4/22/09 at 7:58pm
http://www.fishingmessageboards.com/...highlight=bait

Seriously, what makes a bait thread a bait thread is all in the intent of the originator. And the fact is none of us can really know what the intent of any of these threads are unless the OP spells it out (and if they did that for bait threads, they wouldn't be very effective). So because no one can really know, people just refer to any thread they don't like as a bait thread.
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post #12 of 18
4/23/09 at 12:56am
Does the presence or absence of direction at a specific person (express in particular, but implied as well) factor into it? Would the sandals thread not be a bait thread, but just plain ol' fashioned kvetching, but a thread containing a poster's name followed by comments (perhaps sarcastic or nasty comments) about that person be a bait thread? I thought the idea was to bait the specific person into starting an angry rant in dtheir defense, and sit back and watch the meltdown, perhaps fanning the flames w/ additional comments? That was always my understanding, but I'm far from the most savvy of internet posters.
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post #13 of 18
4/23/09 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by IggytheBorg View Post
Does the presence or absence of direction at a specific person (express in particular, but implied as well) factor into it? Would the sandals thread not be a bait thread, but just plain ol' fashioned kvetching, but a thread containing a poster's name followed by comments (perhaps sarcastic or nasty comments) about that person be a bait thread? I thought the idea was to bait the specific person into starting an angry rant in dtheir defense, and sit back and watch the meltdown, perhaps fanning the flames w/ additional comments? That was always my understanding, but I'm far from the most savvy of internet posters.
I think Iggy is nailing it right here. To use Devin's posts as an example, the sandals thread is not bait, the Moltisanti one is.
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post #14 of 18
4/23/09 at 11:46am
As the Molt thread clearly demonstrates, being honest in your opinion doesn't make it any less of a bait thread.
If you honestly think Molt is a putz and you start a thread designed to rile him up that's a bait thread.
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post #15 of 18
4/23/09 at 11:57am
True, but a lot of people seem to use it when something they like is being randomly disrespected, which all stems from a perceived lack of respect.
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post #16 of 18
4/23/09 at 12:03pm
Some chewers instantly think a thread started by Devin outside of the movie sections and main section is instantly a bait thread.
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post #17 of 18
4/23/09 at 12:11pm
Any thread stating an opinion can be perceived as a bait thread as long as you choose to be offended by said opinion. It's all in the eye of the beholder.
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post #18 of 18
4/23/09 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IggytheBorg View Post
Does the presence or absence of direction at a specific person (express in particular, but implied as well) factor into it? Would the sandals thread not be a bait thread, but just plain ol' fashioned kvetching, but a thread containing a poster's name followed by comments (perhaps sarcastic or nasty comments) about that person be a bait thread? I thought the idea was to bait the specific person into starting an angry rant in dtheir defense, and sit back and watch the meltdown, perhaps fanning the flames w/ additional comments? That was always my understanding, but I'm far from the most savvy of internet posters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan S~ View Post
I think Iggy is nailing it right here. To use Devin's posts as an example, the sandals thread is not bait, the Moltisanti one is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobClark View Post
As the Molt thread clearly demonstrates, being honest in your opinion doesn't make it any less of a bait thread.
If you honestly think Molt is a putz and you start a thread designed to rile him up that's a bait thread.
Does a bait thread fail if it doesn't draw out the intended?
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