it's helpful to know what I've already read. if it's not a shit reply, it gets a bear. ofc, this means I read shit replies multiple times and get angry all over but at least I know what's probably new (to me).
you get a bear, and you get a bear, and you get a bear, and everyone gets a bear.
Yeah, in the trans mega. Because I usually read almost everything that gets posted there.
Just in my own posts because I habitually upvote almost everyone who replies, which also makes it easier to see new comments
Sometimes I go on auto-pilot mode and upbear every post I see on a thread and then I have to go back an unbear the shit replies.
upvoting almost everything i read just because i want all the bears to be golden
Yes actually, I'm glad I am not alone in this (I feel weird doing it). Especially on the trans megathread, I'm checking often enough where I want an easy way to see whether or not I've read certain comments.
yes, but have you considered clicking the bear = dopamine? it spins and turns gold. and other people get dopamine because bigger number. win win win
Only on the news megathread, really.
Here's my breakdown as one who mostly lurks, for whatever it's worth: Aside from the news mega, I would guess maybe around 70% of threads I only give a once-over, or maybe twice, so there is really no point or need for a "read/unread" mark.
Some interesting ones, maybe 20% I'll come back to to refresh and see what's new, but usually not more than a few times and I can remember at first glance what I've read. Also there will still be lots of upbears on the stuff that was good or that I agreed with (I hand out upbears pretty uh... sigh... "liberally") so it's not hard to tell if I've read through a thread. I don't usually sort by "new" so when I see the thread for the first time, it's usually already been up for a bit.
On maybe 9% that are very interesting or are struggle sessions and whathaveyou will I keep refreshing. On those, using upbears as an "already read" marker would be helpful, but I still don't want to just give them out totally freely, especially in struggle sessions for obvious reasons. And the very last 1% are ones I comment in which I will also refresh a lot but will depend on the context, where sometimes I will upbear nearly everyone especially if they respond to me, or in other cases if it's argumentative, commenters definitely gotta earn it.
But the newsmega, when I read it, I almost want to be a completionist about it and will do exactly what you describe. When shit is going down, I will scroll through multiple times a day, even several times an hour if it's hopping. I will upbear everything simply to know if I've already read it so I can scroll through it fast for anything new without having to even re-read at all. Only comments I really don't like and would feel angry or dirty if I did, don't actually get one. But I also go through phases where I don't read the newsmega, or much of any news, just as a mental health break. And sometimes those breaks last longer than they should, and I feel bad for not keeping track of what's happening, but that's a different topic.
Thank you for reading my dissertation on my upbear habits, I'm sure you found it deeply enthralling.
Oh! One more thing to add. Back when the hexbear code made it so comments and upvotes updated in real time without needing a manual refresh, I would sometimes upvote and de-upvote a comment multiple times over like 10 or 20 seconds right after it appeared. If the comment was freshly made as I was reading the thread, I knew the person who made it was probably still looking at their screen with the comment they just made. I always hoped they'd see their upvote count flashing up and down repeatedly, and it would be like my way of saying "hi! I see you there! I'm here rn too. Nice comment." I kinda miss that.
Yes it's actually the only reason I miss downbears. I don't want to upbear everything but then I keep pausing my scroll to realize I saw it and didn't like it
Equal parts that, and also I want to give a little reward to people just for having posted, y'know? Encourage more discourse. It takes a really shit post for me to rethink making that little golden bear.
This is the way. Anyone revisiting threads multiple times should be upbearing generously for their own sanity.
, is a way of life
