Responding on the thread

karmasBFF
karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question:

Well, let me start with background...

There are some members on here that do not reply or comment on people's success or status updates. That's not the issue. I've also noticed that the more I am on MFP, the more comments I get on my status. Now, I wouldnt call myself an attention junkie, but the comments definitely do help keep me motivated.

When I dont get "Great job!" Or "Yippee!", I definitely feel a change in my mood from when I do get motivating comments.

Because I've noticed the change in my mood, I try to comment on EVERYONE who shows up on my feed, even if I NEVER "see" them. You never know when not commenting or motivating them might give them that PUSH OFF the wagon instead of that PULL back ON.

What's say you? Do you only comment on those that comment on you?
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Replies

  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    I have a couple people that I like to make sure I pay extra attention to. Folks I know have struggled, folks I know IRL. I mostly tend to respond to notes that folks have done something cool.

    "Tom completed his diary" - <Yippee-doo,,, who didn't :yawn: >

    "Tom burned 90,000 calories wrestling a wildebeest" - < Wow,,, Ok,,, "You rock Tom!!!" Wow again>

    Make sense?
  • bjberry
    bjberry Posts: 665 Member
    I like responding to these areas, but only when I have an inkling what they are talking about.
    If someone asks a question and no one has responded yet, I look up the answers on the internet and give them that info.
    I hate seeing no responses to questions. Does that help?
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
    It depends. I respond to everyone at first, but if they don't return the comments, than forget them, and on to people who comment back.
    Sometimes I don't have enough time in the day to respond to everyone, so I try to change it up each day and get to talk to everyone on my friends list.
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
    I have a couple people that I like to make sure I pay extra attention to. Folks I know have struggled, folks I know IRL. I mostly tend to respond to notes that folks have done something cool.

    "Tom completed his diary" - <Yippee-doo,,, who didn't :yawn: >

    "Tom burned 90,000 calories wrestling a wildebeest" - < Wow,,, Ok,,, "You rock Tom!!!" Wow again>

    Make sense?

    A wildebeest, huh??? You are hilarious!!
  • ican♥and♥iwill
    ican♥and♥iwill Posts: 176 Member
    I try to comment on people's success and updates when I see them. I like getting comments and motivating tidbits as I'm sure everyone else does too. So I try to return the favor.

    I don't comment on everyone's status, but I do make an effort to help people along the way.
  • I have a couple people that I like to make sure I pay extra attention to. Folks I know have struggled, folks I know IRL. I mostly tend to respond to notes that folks have done something cool.

    "Tom completed his diary" - <Yippee-doo,,, who didn't :yawn: >

    "Tom burned 90,000 calories wrestling a wildebeest" - < Wow,,, Ok,,, "You rock Tom!!!" Wow again>

    Make sense?

    With numbers like that, you find a wildebeest and I'll wrassle it!! lol - I agree with ya Casper - I think with all of the notifications it gets a little cluttered, anwyay, and it's easy to miss things - that being said, I do my best to interact and to encourage people that express that they're struggling and appreciate the same being done for me- it's a two way street though. I think that if people don't reach out and mention they're having difficulties, they can't expect others to be mind readers and 'sense' that there's something wrong.
  • sniffles
    sniffles Posts: 295
    Heh - Casper you're crazy fun.

    But I agree. I normally only comment on things that catch my eye. People log their calories every day - I'll only comment on that if I know someone has been struggling to meet calorie goals, otherwise logging isn't really anything special.

    Exercise? That's pretty amazing sometimes but if someone is consistent after awhile what's the point of commenting on every single logged exercise?

    Basically I think you (general you, not OP specific) need to learn to be self-motivated and while it's cool to be motivated by people's comments eventually there comes a point where your OWN comments should be enough to push you forward. :)

    That said I do like getting the ocassional comment but I don't rely on them by any means!!! In fact I'm glad I don't get more comments... I'd probably become an internet junkie if I got too much attention. HAHAHAHA.
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
    Basically I think you (general you, not OP specific) need to learn to be self-motivated and while it's cool to be motivated by people's comments eventually there comes a point where your OWN comments should be enough to push you forward. :)

    You know, this is sooo true! I've often thought about that...because I honestly hope that I dont HAVE to be on MFP for the rest of my life...I'm hoping that I learn things here that become 2nd nature. You're right, about being your OWN motivator because the opposite of that is having no motivation if someone is not motivating you.
  • RedneckWmn
    RedneckWmn Posts: 3,202 Member
    I have a couple people that I like to make sure I pay extra attention to. Folks I know have struggled, folks I know IRL. I mostly tend to respond to notes that folks have done something cool.

    "Tom completed his diary" - <Yippee-doo,,, who didn't :yawn: >

    "Tom burned 90,000 calories wrestling a wildebeest" - < Wow,,, Ok,,, "You rock Tom!!!" Wow again>

    Make sense?


    A wildebeest! That made me giggle!

    I try to comment on as many as I can. I don't live on MFP...well at work I do! If I know someone is struggling or had fallen off the wagon and is now exercising again I will make a point to comment or check on them.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    I try to keep a managable number of friends for that reason, so I can get to know them more individually. So I can comment on the new folks that send me friend invites. Lots of new folks everyday that could use encouragement so I try to make a note and do that. But mine are genuine I don't say something merely for the sake of saying something.

    We all like to feel the personal touch no matter how long we've been here, I'm more likely to drop a note on a person's newsfeed if they don't typically gets comments than if someones gets 30-40 a day on one issue from others. I don't get too many myself so I know how it feels when I do get one or two, it makes me feel visible!!! It makes me feel like I matter and that my presence here is known and ppl care. So I try and pay attention to how others are doing and pay it forward so to speak so others don't feel they are out there alone.

    Interesting topic, hopefully one that makes ppl stop and think about all their motivating buds on the newsfeed. I think when you have over 50 or even 300 friends :ohwell: :laugh: or for me anyhow I couldn't possibly feel I could keep up and be very indivualized let alone deal with the mess of all the newsfeed data all over the place. Thus why for me, it is best to keep a smaller amount of buds so I can get to know them more:flowerforyou: and see how they are doing in life.:drinker:

    Becca:heart:
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    When someone is doing over what I think is necessary, I'll comment...or if I check their diary when it says they were under and their foods for the day were VERY good and healthy, THEN I'll comment. Typically, when I see they were under, I think "Hmmm... what did they eat?" and I usually reply to statuses if it pertains to me or I feel I can help in some way.
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member

    Interesting topic, hopefully one that makes ppl stop and think about all their motivating buds on the newsfeed.

    Becca:heart:

    This is the EXACT reason that I posted it...

    Ive heard "around the way" people comment about only commenting on those that comment (make sense? LOL), and I just think when you have a great support network it makes it easier...and even the non-commenters can make use of that!
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member

    Interesting topic, hopefully one that makes ppl stop and think about all their motivating buds on the newsfeed.

    Becca:heart:

    This is the EXACT reason that I posted it...

    Ive heard "around the way" people comment about only commenting on those that comment (make sense? LOL), and I just think when you have a great support network it makes it easier...and even the non-commenters can make use of that!
    It's very unfortunate if that's the only way the newsfeed is being used. If someone comments on something I did or said, I do respond and I may comment on something they did or said. But if they had not said anything, it's very likely I would have commented anyway. lol
    Becca
  • paulaswrld
    paulaswrld Posts: 49
    Interesting thread.....and I like your perspective. I've been a bit of the opposite. Recenyly I find myself reading posts and seeing others's replies and I say WTF?!

    One friend finishes under calorie goal every day and gets an average of 3 "good job"'s but the food diary is horrific. We're talking fast food, soda, enough crappy food to make me barf. So I pass that on by.
    Another friend is "back on the bandwagon" about twice a week. It's exhausting to keep up and there's only so much motivation one can give before you, yourself , have to take responsibility and have the willpower to stay ON THE DAMN BANDWAGON.

    I guess I should clean out my friends list, HAHA!
  • LilMissAngi
    LilMissAngi Posts: 127
    I try to motivate as much as possible.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Interesting thread.....and I like your perspective. I've been a bit of the opposite. Recenyly I find myself reading posts and seeing others's replies and I say WTF?!

    One friend finishes under calorie goal every day and gets an average of 3 "good job"'s but the food diary is horrific. We're talking fast food, soda, enough crappy food to make me barf. So I pass that on by.
    Another friend is "back on the bandwagon" about twice a week. It's exhausting to keep up and there's only so much motivation one can give before you, yourself , have to take responsibility and have the willpower to stay ON THE DAMN BANDWAGON.

    I guess I should clean out my friends list, HAHA!
    Nothing at all wrong with weeding through your friend list, I find if some ppl pull you down or are no longer around anymore, it might be time to clean house. I've done that a bit as have others on here (it's been shared a few times). I think friends work both ways, motivating and encouraging and if you don't feel they do then you can only do so much for them, they may not be ready and if they pull you down, it's likely a person simply might not be ready and also may not be helping your path.

    You can though hide the friend by clicking on the box next to the picture so you won't see their feed. It will show if they are friends of other friends though. I've done that a bit, that way you can pop them back if you don't want to drop them completely.

    I don't think of this as mean, more of a taking care of myself deal :) I mostly do it to declutter my newsfeed to folks that are working hard and towards their goals.
    Becca
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
    Interesting thread.....and I like your perspective. I've been a bit of the opposite. Recenyly I find myself reading posts and seeing others's replies and I say WTF?!

    One friend finishes under calorie goal every day and gets an average of 3 "good job"'s but the food diary is horrific. We're talking fast food, soda, enough crappy food to make me barf. So I pass that on by.
    Another friend is "back on the bandwagon" about twice a week. It's exhausting to keep up and there's only so much motivation one can give before you, yourself , have to take responsibility and have the willpower to stay ON THE DAMN BANDWAGON.

    I guess I should clean out my friends list, HAHA!

    The diary situation you just mentioned is exactly why I dont post on the completed diary status. There are sooooooo many food diary cheaters (for those that remember the INFAMOUS thread a few months back!) and I dont have time to check eveyone's diary before I congratulate!
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I try to comment often on the people who comment on mine, or if someone has done really well too. There's a few that frequently comment on mine (like you, Karma, and rjadams) so I almost always try to comment back to you guys. :smile:
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
    I try to comment often on the people who comment on mine, or if someone has done really well too. There's a few that frequently comment on mine (like you, Karma, and rjadams) so I almost always try to comment back to you guys. :smile:

    thanks, toots! Its definitely noted!!! :flowerforyou:
  • DeathIsMyGift
    DeathIsMyGift Posts: 434 Member
    To be completely honest (as I often am)...I would be doing the work outs, logging food, logging into MFP with or without comments from friends. I did it for two months on my iphone without once coming to the actual website and nothing has changed. I still eat right and exercise. So regardless of the generic "nice job", "awesome", [insert random praise here] that I get...I'd be doing it anyway. I only comment on things that truly impress me. I don't do the same ol' "good job!" that I often see on this site.
  • SraArroz
    SraArroz Posts: 238
    Most of my "friends" on MFP are those whom I've met through specific threads, like challenges, etc. So I tend to keep up with them that way. I love having the newsfeed, but it does get awfully cluttered with how often MFPmember #1 has logged in and when MFPmember#2 hasn't logged into the site for 3 days....
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    I try to comment on things that are truly impressive or on people who I know are struggling. That being said, there are some days when I am more "chatty" than others. Some days it's all I can do to get on and log my food. Other days I have a little extra time and I'll comment on everyone's losses. What I REFUSE to post on is every single "Completed food journal" and every single "whaaa" post. And... there are some people that I competely ignore... because they seem to always have a problem, hate what they're doing and in general... don't get it, aren't going to get it and are miserable.
  • leavinglasvegas
    leavinglasvegas Posts: 1,495
    I don't think this is something that I've ever thought about. Like DeathIsMyGift said, I'd be doing this regardless of the newsfeed. I do like the news feed as it seems more personal. Many people whom have been my forum buddies are now feeling like "real" friends because we can chitchat outside of the boards without sticking to a topic, debating, or whatever else we do in these forums, lol.

    I have the friends that I have because they are AWESOME! I don't comment on every little thing because I don't always see the point. And sometimes I log in and all I see is SoandSo burned (X) amount of calories, is under their calorie goal, blah, blah, blah....I don't always see the interesting stuff. I hope there are not friends that think I am ignoring them just because I'm not commenting.....
    I don't always have time to sift through everything. I try give praise for losses, when I SEE them posted. I comment on other comments for the sake of conversation. Just never felt like it was an obligation, more of a thing you do. You know?
  • nolachick
    nolachick Posts: 3,278 Member
    I have a couple people that I like to make sure I pay extra attention to. Folks I know have struggled, folks I know IRL. I mostly tend to respond to notes that folks have done something cool.

    "Tom completed his diary" - <Yippee-doo,,, who didn't :yawn: >

    "Tom burned 90,000 calories wrestling a wildebeest" - < Wow,,, Ok,,, "You rock Tom!!!" Wow again>

    Make sense?

    you are too funny! I just love reading ur posts and responses to threads
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Interesting thread.....and I like your perspective. I've been a bit of the opposite. Recenyly I find myself reading posts and seeing others's replies and I say WTF?!

    One friend finishes under calorie goal every day and gets an average of 3 "good job"'s but the food diary is horrific. We're talking fast food, soda, enough crappy food to make me barf. So I pass that on by.
    Another friend is "back on the bandwagon" about twice a week. It's exhausting to keep up and there's only so much motivation one can give before you, yourself , have to take responsibility and have the willpower to stay ON THE DAMN BANDWAGON.

    I guess I should clean out my friends list, HAHA!

    The diary situation you just mentioned is exactly why I dont post on the completed diary status. There are sooooooo many food diary cheaters (for those that remember the INFAMOUS thread a few months back!) and I dont have time to check eveyone's diary before I congratulate!
    diary food cheaters? wow, I must not be checking up that closely on ppl's diaries. LOLOL I guess I figure if someone has the need to be dishonest to themselves, it's not my business as it won't effect my goals only theirs. I'm having enough of a time living life, working, logging and enjoying life let alone chase down "food diary cheaters" I'll let the foodie police keep their eyes on them!:laugh: :tongue: :smokin:

    WOW I had no idea we as members were being so closely scrutinized, perhaps someppl have too much time on their hands?:huh:
  • bowbee
    bowbee Posts: 77 Member
    I try to keep a managable number of friends for that reason, so I can get to know them more individually. So I can comment on the new folks that send me friend invites. Lots of new folks everyday that could use encouragement so I try to make a note and do that. But mine are genuine I don't say something merely for the sake of saying something.

    We all like to feel the personal touch no matter how long we've been here, I'm more likely to drop a note on a person's newsfeed if they don't typically gets comments than if someones gets 30-40 a day on one issue from others. I don't get too many myself so I know how it feels when I do get one or two, it makes me feel visible!!! It makes me feel like I matter and that my presence here is known and ppl care. So I try and pay attention to how others are doing and pay it forward so to speak so others don't feel they are out there alone.

    Interesting topic, hopefully one that makes ppl stop and think about all their motivating buds on the newsfeed. I think when you have over 50 or even 300 friends :ohwell: :laugh: or for me anyhow I couldn't possibly feel I could keep up and be very indivualized let alone deal with the mess of all the newsfeed data all over the place. Thus why for me, it is best to keep a smaller amount of buds so I can get to know them more:flowerforyou: and see how they are doing in life.:drinker:

    Becca:heart:

    My philosophy exactly! I just don't know if I could have put it as eloquently as Becca!! computer3.gif
  • bowbee
    bowbee Posts: 77 Member
    I'll let the foodie police keep their eyes on them!:laugh: :tongue: :smokin:


    lol!!
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    Oh no, let's not start down that path again! :laugh:
  • leavinglasvegas
    leavinglasvegas Posts: 1,495
    Oh no, let's not start down that path again! :laugh:

    I remember that, hahahahahaha!
  • sniffles
    sniffles Posts: 295
    Oh no, let's not start down that path again! :laugh:

    I remember that, hahahahahaha!

    What path? *confused*

    I hate accidentally stumbling down thorny paths. ):
This discussion has been closed.