Examples of people who answer an Internet posting without even reading it?

[drumwolf]

My single biggest pet peeve is when I make a posting on the Internet -- whether it's a help-wanted ad, a dating profile, or comments on a discussion board -- and someone responds to it without having even bothered to take the time to properly read what I had to say.

And I see it all the time to varying degrees, but some examples are just jaw-dropping and makes you wonder if the offender was dyslexic or illiterate. Here are some of the most extreme examples that I've seen:

----I emailed a job ad for my company to an Internet industry listserv (this was in 1998, when email listservs were still more popular than web-based boards). My very first paragraph was: "If you're interested, email the person whose address is listed at the end of this message. Do not email me or the list." Well, one applicant directly emailed me anyway. Needless to say, her application went right into the trash, figuratively speaking.

----Around the same time, I was frequenting a web site with a chat room where there were a lot of teenagers and early-20s people. I was 27 at the time -- it was an indie-pop-oriented chat room, which is why I hung out there. (By the way, if you care, it's a site called tweekitten.com, and no, I haven't been on their chat room in many years.)

Anyway, I put up a profile of myself on the web site's profile section, and got an email from a 17-year-old girl who wanted to chat. She was shocked and disappointed when she found out I was ten years older than her -- even though I had listed my date of birth and it was very clearly listed on my profile.

Good Lord. Anyway, do any of you have any other examples like that?

[autorank]

1. I have no idea what you're saying

[autorank]

5. Well, now that I've read your post...

This happens a lot "out there." "In here" people may, from time to time, selectively read material or misinterpret. It is annoying when they simply miss the point entirely. These are "process" people who get so taken by the availability and immediacy of the medium, they have their own emotional logic, which is largely internal, and they just let it rip. I've responded to a post on DU that I thought was offensive, only to find out that I mis-read the post and it was from a user I truly admired. Abject, total apology right after the fact is discovered goes a long way.

[ghostsofgiants]

2. Wait...

so the cops knew internal affairs was setting them up?

[NNadir]

3. Examples of what?

[matcom]

4. i agree 100%

brussel sprouts SUCK! :puke:

[Robb]

6. No sex threads!

Wait....

:D

[DemBones DemBones]

7. You know the old saying:

RTFM. There's good reason it's an old saying!

[Der Blaue Engel]

8. I think it's horribly irresponsible of you

to post personal ads on job boards trying to seduce teenagers. That's just sick, and you should be ashamed. Especially when you're lying about your age!

[drumwolf]

10. Hey! You didn't read this thread properly!

Robb already said, no sex threads! :7

[In Truth We Trust]

9. I couldn't agree more......Paper ballots NOW! Hand counts NOW!!