"Didn't want to read & run/can offer no advice but.../hopefully better informed posters will be along soon/blah blah...

[Botanicbaby]

Jeez. So you 'didn't want to read & run'; and you can 'offer no useful advice'; and you 'hope that more experienced posters will be along soon'; yadda yadda.

Just don't post yet (at least you could wait until the 'more knowledgable' posters have commented) It's not compulsory to comment asap. You can express sympathy/acknowledgment/recognition/all of the above without resorting to a catch all, ineffective 'can't read & run' bleat?

[Thatisall]

Didn't want to read and run but....

[TheWitTank]

I thought this was a helpful way of bumping the thread? No? I sometimes genuinely have nothing to give, but I go with the thinking if I answer and push it up someone else with experience/advice might catch it before it disappears to page 2...

[daisychain01]

I drafted this up - then realised that the thread has moved on a lot - but bugger it, I may as well post it anyway - sorry for x-post

I have always thought when reading the "didn't want to read and run" - how thoughtful that someone cares enough even in an on-line setting, to read someone's issue/problem/request and not casually flick through it onto something else - sometimes it isn't just about entertainment, there are people in genuine need.

It shows that MN'ers rally round (often vulnerable people) to "give them the time of day" and support. They do their fair share of 'flaming' but when push comes to shove, they are right there 'on the money'.

[JapaneseMargaret]

Yeah, I think a lot of people do genuinely feel bad for reading that someone is distressed and upset, and looking for advice or support ... and then just clicking off that thread to move onto the next me.

You know YABU, so all good, but there are several reasons why people do this, and they're all pretty much motivated by kindness. :)

[GrumpyRedhead]

I always thought the "couldnt read and run" comments came from people who used forums which show view counts, so the OP wouldn't see their thread being read loads of times and still being unanswered.

Sorry that sentence is so badly put together, I'm too tired to make it any better!

[toffeesponge]

No one actually knows how many people have read their post so no need to post they don't like to read and run, but it is a way of offering support.

On ukparents and womanandhome it shows how many views and how many posts so it can be upsetting if 200 people have read your post and only 3 have posted. Could just mean they couldn't think that to post though.

OP, why are you being so sneery?

[sandfrog]

If I see the unpleasant accusation "bleat" anywhere, I know I'll disagree with the rest

[JapaneseMargaret]

She was being sneery in the OP, but to be fair, she has since fully admitted to not getting it, and BU.

[toffeesponge]

I saw that after but she was still a bit rude I thought.

[daisychain01]

In fairness to the OP botanic, if you read her post of 23.02 she gave a very conciliatory and intelligent apology and concluded she understood things better. Agreed she did used the bleat word in a previous upthread post but, lets face it that is hardly the worse word we have read on this AIBU board

Then another poster called monty had a go , after her apology !

So I think we can reasonably cut her some slack now, otherwise it will deter people from admitting to being unreasonable won't i? ...

Just saying....

[Vivacia]

Looking forward to the non-thread-reader's over the top reply to the original post...

[daisychain01]

I agree, Vivacia, this thread has moved on such a lot that someone coming in from 'new' may well go off on one without seeing how the discussion progressed.

Oh the absolute joys of AIBU

[Beastofburden]

What does the tardis icon mean?

I do the post'n'run thing if I see someone in distress with no answers to their OP, so they don't feel nobody cares.

[Vivacia]

I don't actually like the phrase "didn't want to read and run" because I feel it's twee. I realise that this is unreasonable of me.