How often do you write a question or answer, and delete it before ever hitting the button to post it?

Every day I visit Fluther. (I just realized that I didn’t answer the other questions…how ironic is that?)

not often. I do hate however when i have a long answer written and it doesnt post and I cant get what i took the time to write. Can never rewrite it the same way either..:(

As anyone who ever read a single one of my posts would instantly know, I virtually never delete anything that I have written. I can’t recall ever deleting a question once I have written it, and I think that I may have deleted only two answers I ever wrote. I almost never edit, either. What editing I do is done on the fly as I write.

I don’t know. Why write it if you’re not going to post it? Don’t get that. Maybe it’s because you use your real name.

Once a week at least. I either don’t like what I wrote or I get interrupted and can’t continue.

Probably about 33% of the time. Maybe more. I never do it with questions because I either ask immediately on a whim or consider asking it for a day or two before typing anything. All of the reasons you give have been behind it at times: sometimes I don’t think my answer will be very interesting, sometimes it isn’t really an answer, and sometimes it reveals too much.

But I’ve also deleted answers for other reasons. Sometimes the answer just isn’t any good, even if a better version of it would be interesting. Other times, I’ll write out an answer and then realize that the questioner isn’t really looking for an answer to the main question but rather something else that I cannot answer. And once in a while, I’ll decide that the inevitable fight isn’t worth it (though that’s a bit of a rarity).

Questions: about 1 in 10. Usually it’s when I decide that my question is just plain dumb or boring.

Answers: probably one to three times a day. Those are most often times when someone else’s post (or the question itself) has ticked me off. Luckily I’ve learned that just about anything I write out of annoyance or indignation is going to make poor reading, and I’ve trained myself to stop, hit Delete, and abandon the thread instead.

Sometimes I stop myself from posting something too personal, and sometimes it’s when my comment is either brainless or just worthless.

Not I.

Sometimes I delete responses. I might start writing and realise I am not saying anything new (probably post plenty where I do that too) or perhaps I just don’t want to share what I was going to say on reflection, or sometimes, I realise I just can’t be bothered answering that question. I would happen every week but not every day.

I don’t think I’ve ever done it with a question, but answers are a different story. Probably about twice a week, because something has irritated me and I’m just being pissy. I don’t want to get into an argument if it’s not really worth it.

Never with a question. But I’ll stop writing an answer about 10% of the time. There are various reasons. Either I get busy, or I realize it has been said already, or I figure it just isn’t worth the trouble.

I do with both. The one I almost deleted was the ‘The Jelly Below Me’; I wrote it for about 3 or 4 days and kept deleting it before saying what the hey!, the worst it could be is a dud. What’s the worst that could happen?

I’ll stop writing an answer if:
– Someone else said the same thing, or said it better, in the time while I was typing
– I realize that my answer is more babble than substance
– I write something that is snarkier than necessary and posting will be inflammatory

I’ll stop writing a question if:
– I realize it’s essentially the same question that I’ve asked before. If I’m going to be irritated with people who ask the “how do I get him/her to like me?” question 3 times in 12 hours, well, I shouldn’t do the same thing myself!
– I can’t figure how to word the question without it sounding like a muddled mess.

I have done it a few times, mostly because my answer sounded too harsh. That and I’m sometimes not sure of my answer.

Interesting how varied the answers are.

Not as many as I should I do start and then stop a few times a week for sure.

I delete maybe 1 in 25 for all the reasons you suggest, plus I often think the question has been satisfactory answered and I can’t really add anything.

Probably 1 in 20. I’ll delete them if I realize I’m reacting in anger, or if I realize….that just made no sense!!

I delete answers maybe 5–10% of the time. I’m not particularly eloquent, so I often find myself unable to express what I’m attempting to say. I usually realize that I won’t be able to manage a particular answer before I begin to compose, but when I don’t figure it out in advance, the attempt gets deleted. It’s frustrating when I know I have something valuable to add and I cannot figure out how to get it from a thought to an understandable paragraph.

I rarely delete questions because I usually think about them for at least several days before posting. With those, I have a good idea what I’m going to write before I start, so I generally do not end up needing to delete them.

@blueiiznh Have you considered copying your responses before you hit the answer button? Then you don’t have to worry about whether they post, because you can simply paste them and try again.

Maybe 1 in 50. I do this when I don’t like what I’ve written or when “speech is silver and silence is golden”.

I would so totally LOVE to see the questions you’ve deleted, @mattbrowne!