What Percentage of the Time Do You Click Links on DU and

[MineralMan]

read the whole article excerpted in an original post? This seems like a worthwhile question to poll. Just choose your best estimate, based on your own experience. Thanks for participating.

9 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	90-100% of the time
	0 (0%)
	80-90% of the time
	0 (0%)
	70-80% of the time
	1 (11%)
	60-70% of the time
	0 (0%)
	50-60% of the time
	1 (11%)
	40-50% of the time
	3 (33%)
	30-40% of the time
	1 (11%)
	20-30% of the time
	1 (11%)
	10-20% of the time
	1 (11%)
	0-10% of the time
	1 (11%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Xyzse]

1. I have to be honest... Only 70-80% of the time.

There are some threads that have multiple sources, and I can't fully explore the issue that quick.

Many times, the reason I don't reply to a thread is because it gets lost before I finally figured out where I think I stand at that moment.

[MineralMan]

2. I clicked 60-70%.

I'd like to think it was higher than that, but I doubt it for myself.

[Xyzse]

3. Wait, if I add OPs that I just clicked since the "Title" was interesting but...

The actual article in question was not really something I'd want to bother with, I guess my score would go lower.

I'd probably be 60-70% too... Maybe less...
I may have to change my click then.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. 50-60

I typically click the link, but sometimes I just scan the linked article. Ones of interest to me, I read the whole thing. If it is one of those articles that are broken up to many pages that need clicked through, it has to be VERY interesting. One page articles I read much more often. Also many subject matters here are recycled, so you end up reading slightly reworded articles. I avoid reading those too, if too similar to something else I have already had exposure to.

[MineralMan]

5. Thanks for the details.

This poll can't really be precise, but it might provide some idea of how people treat links. That's all I'm trying for.

[CrispyQ]

7. Ditto on the one page articles.

And it has to be super intriguing for me to go to huffpo.

[randome]

6. If the excerpt doesn't convey the point of the article from the get-go, I usually don't bother.

And reading others' responses often fills in any blanks.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
Leonard Cohen, Anthem (1992)[/center][/font][hr]

[TexasProgresive]

26. That's me as well. n/t

[el_bryanto]

8. Not usually - 30-40% usually

only if it's a really interesting concept or if I am not sure I am reading it correctly. Most news stories I don't.

Bryant

[underpants]

9. I prefer patties more than links

[MineralMan]

15. I'm with you on that. If you order the links, they're all

pretty much the same, but if you order patties, there's no telling what will show up. I've had some very interesting ones.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. 50 - 60%. If the excerpt doesn't sound interesting, I'm not likely to click the link.

[OriginalGeek]

11. I haven't counted but

I'm guessing it's really low - 10~20%
I never click on links from posts where the link is the only thing in the post. If the OP can't go to the trouble excerpting even a little bit, I'm just not going to go read it. If there is an excerpt that gets my attention I might go.

[Armstead]

12. Depends on the article

Sometimes articles go into way too much detail than I want to know about something, in which case I scan and get the cogent points.

Sometimes I read all of a long article, when it's something I want to know more about.

Some links go to quick shorties, then it's not an issue.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. It depends on what it is, but I always read it if

I intend to respond to the post. Don't want to make an ass of myself (any more than usual, anyhow) by commenting on something I haven't actually read.

[MineralMan]

16. I try to do the same. Often, once I read the linked article,

I discover that the question I might have had is answered. Other times, I find that the part that was excerpted doesn't really relay the information correctly from the article. That's why I really try to click links most of the time.

[KamaAina]

14. Depends. If I'm in LBN or GD, often.

In Teh Longue or the Sports group, not so much.

[Common Sense Party]

17. 0% if the OP doesn't excerpt anything.

I saw that today. Again. A cryptic, emotionally-charged headline to pique your curiosity and get you to open the thread.

And then...just a link.

Sorry. I'm not clicking there without some idea of what it's going to be.

You have to give at least SOME context, or you're just wasting everyone's time.

[MineralMan]

18. I'm annoyed by those, too, and back up right away

if I get to one. It doesn't take long to excerpt something. If you're posting from a smart phone, it's not so easy, though, but if you can't excerpt, why post?

[Common Sense Party]

19. Exactly.

Yes, there's the chance that I might miss out on a very interesting or informative article...

But there's a much greater chance that it's something about which I couldn't care less, or some profanity-laden, hyperventilating rant that all sizzle and no substance.

[MineralMan]

20. I often look at the link to see if it's a source I trust,

in that case. If it's yet another blog, I usually don't bother. I've also stopped clicking on HuffPo and Salon links. Too many ads and too much time to actually get to read the material. I'm intolerant of advertising that blocks access to the information, and refuse to visit such sites.

[Common Sense Party]

22. Yup. The one I saw today was a Huffpo link, I think.

The OP headline had something cryptic, apparently relating to Hillary (without saying so), and then you open up the thread, and all there is in the body is a link to Huffpo.

To the front page of HuffPo.

Not to a particular story.

I'm not bothering with that.

Forbes is another site like that. I like business articles, and Forbes sometimes has some good reporting, but their site drives people away with all the craptacular pop-ups.

No thanks.

[MineralMan]

23. A lot of sites are doing questionable things to try to come up

with a business model that makes sense. Right now, the big, full-page ad or request to sign up that blocks you from reading what you clicked through to read is very popular with big web sites. I hope they're monitoring their analytics, because I want them to know that I always click away when that happens, and never go back to that site.

They could, if they wanted to, check the referring link and bypass the splash page nonsense if it comes from a reliable site, like DU. But, they don't, and I think if they watched their analytics, they'd see a very, very high bounce rate, from some pretty serious visitors. I don't think that's what they're looking for. Maybe that trend will die down.

[Egalitarian Thug]

21. Other. It depends on who is writing the OP and what the link goes to.

For example, I will never click any link that goes to FauxNews, and only rarely Huffpo because I know that what is presented has between 50% (Huffpo) and 100% (Faux) of being nothing more than corporate press releases and outright lies, and I'm not giving their site any traffic.

[MineralMan]

24. That figures into my percentage. A lot of the links I don't click on

have to do with the source and the poster, as you say. Most frequently, though, if it's a poster issue, I never click on the thread at all. But links that have proven to be untrustworthy or that have two scrolls of Ghostery stuff, I don't go to any longer. I don't need all that tracking.

[herding cats]

25. I always read it if it turns out to be something I'm interested in.

Most of the posts I open have a clear enough topic to tell if I want to know more or not, so I'm guessing 60%-70%. If it really interests me I then hit Google and start looking for more info on the topic from other sources. Sometimes I get so carried away I end up forgetting to reply to the post here on DU. Which is why I try and rec if it's good before head off to read the article.

[murielm99]

27. I am around 60-70% - however,

I often save the link to read or use later, in my own arguments or LTTE's.

[lpbk2713]

28. I've entered some sites in my hosts file.

Huffpo for example.

I'd just as soon not waste my time with some sites that are linked to.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

29. tl;dr

[Niceguy1]

30. I click as often as I can

Itnisnt unheard of for the OP to leave out important details..sometmes major ones that present the topic in a different light.