# Is it necessary to leave side comments like "cross-posted"?



## Jeff Jacobs

Is it necessary to leave side comments like "cross-posted"?


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## DonnyB

Probably not, but opinions seemed to be a bit divided last time we discussed it.

Here's the previous thread:  
*Post Crossing*
*  *


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## elroy

I think it’s helpful and can prevent misunderstandings.


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## L'irlandais

Some members frequently post "Thank you"  even though we now have a reaction button to show if you agree or to say Thank you for a post.  This is white noise, in terms of a forum which backs up a dictionary.


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## Myridon

When someone posts pretty much what you posted, it can be a little annoying. You look at the timestamps and think - Could it really have taken them 15 minutes to come up with what I typed in 30 seconds or are they just ignoring me?  Am I invisible?
In another forum, we used to call posting the same idea that someone had already posted "mantling" because they had forced you to wear the mantle of invisibility.


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## Michelvar

Myridon said:


> Could it really have taken them 15 minutes to come up with what I typed in 30 seconds or are they just ignoring me? Am I invisible?


I'm often unable to type in 30 seconds, because I moderate on WR while working, I'm often interrupted, so when I type "enter" you may have sent your answer in the meantime and I can't see it. Or, as I'm not sure about my answer, I take some time to check online, meanwhile you post and it doesn't appear on the page.
Then after having pressed "enter", the page updates, and your post appears, it was sent before mine. Two solutions : I delete mine, or I leave it as a confirmation of yours. If I choose this solution, I edit and add "cross-posted" out of respect for you.


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## L'irlandais

30 seconds?  What’s the rush?  What happened to giving a considered response to any given question ?
I often take my own sweet time to answer and will come back and edit my post as necessary afterwards.  There are no prizes for speedy replies, as far as I am aware.



Spoiler: As they say in Blighty



Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure:
Act in haste, repent at leisure.


To be honest, it’s a storm in a teacup.  Those who consider not acknowledging cross posting to somehow be rude, might like to consider that much of their chat is most  unhelpful on a forum which supports dictionaries.


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## Myridon

Some people can't see the forest for a tiny little pebble.


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## L'irlandais

The forum keeps your draft for 36 hours, so they obviously thought some posters might take longer than 30 seconds.  Some folk do genuinely want to sleep on it, before hitting the send button.
How long does WR save your draft posts for?


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## Jeff Jacobs

What is "cross-posted" really mean?


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## L'irlandais

Perhaps పరస్పరం పోస్ట్


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## TheCrociato91

Jeff Jacobs said:


> What is "cross-posted" really mean?


Cross-posting occurs when two or more posters post a post (  ) simultaneously and/or containing the same/a similar answer. This is how I understand it at least. I usually leave a side comment because I agree with Myridon said in #5.


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## L'irlandais

@TheCrociato91 How often does it happen to you?  To cross post with someone, I mean.


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## TheCrociato91

L'irlandais said:


> @TheCrociato91 How often does it happen to you?  To cross post with someone, I mean.


Not all that often, to be honest. But speaking of non-simultaneous cross-posting, mind you, I don't get _annoyed _if another user, after some time, posts the same answer as mine without acknowledging it. I'm just left there wondering: what's the point of that? What does giving the same answer as a previous user bring to the table? (Of course I'm not talking about answers such as "Yes, I agree", but more discursive answers. Hope you see what I mean).


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## Jeff Jacobs

L'irlandais said:


> Perhaps పరస్పరం పోస్ట్


Google translate is a another form of Y2k bug. I never recommend this site for learning languages.


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## L'irlandais

In over 10 years on here I don’t think it’s happened more than 2 or 3 times to me, that I have felt the need to mention that I’d cross posted with someone.


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## swift

I think the first time I ever saw this kind of notes was in WRF. I have been a member of other forums, but this is the only one where people consistently acknowledge or apologize for cross-posting. In the beginning, I thought it was a matter of politeness, so I adopted that practice as well. However, it also became apparent that some forums were enforcing it more than others. Some members even got upset when someone forgot to acknowledge they had cross-posted and called them out publicly, asking why they were saying the same thing they had just said. It was a bit toxic, to be honest. Some people forget that manners and politeness are very country-specific and what they believe to be the ultimate offense is just part of the local culture of that particular forero. A good example is the initial greeting.

When it comes to cross-posting, I think the acknowledgement is a vestige (or a reflection) of the phatic function of language. It is the equivalent of apologizing for cutting someone else while they are still speaking or saying _excuse me_ when you accidentally bump into someone and jostle them because you didn't see them.


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## machadinho

I thought cross-posting meant asking the same question, or posting the same message, _across_ multiple forums. Maybe WRF have given it a new sense?


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## swift

machadinho said:


> Maybe WRF have given it a new sense?


Maybe so, Machadinho. This is the only place I have seen it in use with that meaning.


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## entangledbank

This is the only forum I've been on where answers can appear within a minute, so the only place where our sense of the word might be needed. On any other forum I would come back looking for an answer later that day, or over the next few days.

Among BrE posters you will also occasionally see _snap_, from the childhood card game.


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## L'irlandais

So not only unnecessary, but also unusual.


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## Şafak

L'irlandais said:


> Some members frequently post "Thank you"  even though we now have a reaction button to show if you agree or to say Thank you for a post.  This is white noise, in terms of a forum which backs up a dictionary.



By the way, what is the correct course of actions when someone answers your question? Should I simply use the thank you reaction button or be like "Oh thank you very much dear Sir" which results in bumping up the thread (which does not really make much sense to me)? I honestly do not know what is considered mauvais ton and what suffices most of the time here.


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## DonnyB

Jennifer Weiss said:


> By the way, what is the correct course of actions when someone answers your question? Should I simply use the thank you reaction button or be like "Oh thank you very much dear Sir" which results in bumping up the thread (which does not really make much sense to me)? I honestly do not know what is considered mauvais ton and what suffices most of the time here.


Obviously in those forums which don't have 'reactions' enabled, you don't get a choice.

But the tendency now otherwise is for most people to use the 'thank you' reaction rather than adding a post which essentially just conveys the same thing.  If on the other hand you want to add something else as well, then by all means go ahead.


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