Do people choose the "social section" vs the "general section" based mostly on their personality?

It is a forced divide that previously did not exist. The silly or fantastic occurred spontaneously in the general section such as this and this. One has even occurred very recently, this one. Indeed, there was no social section, just general and meta.

I go straight to “Just for you”, usually. I think I get an equal amount of questions from both sections.

All my questions go in Social. I don’t want potentially helpful answers to get modded.

@anartist LOL! That thread just….belongs in a class of it’s own! I know that some threads did go off on their own tangent with no interference, but that’s because the mods weren’t looking! And by the time they saw it, it was tooooooo late!!! :)))))

@Draconess25 Me too.

@aprilsimnel I meant…what section would YOU be most likely to post in?

I read first from “Just for you” and then if there are not enough questions, check each section. When posing a question, I will usually put it in “Social” because I am happy with a wide range of responses, but occasionally, for a question like the one I asked about keeping my car longer, I will ask it in “General” because I don’t want bullshit. I think some of it has to do with whether you’re here for answers or for the peeps; most of us who have been here a while, are here for the peeps.

Please un-archive the Frizzer question!!! PLEASE!!! Suppose we could take a vote??

Send me a link to your car question @janbb

I stay in the social section. The general section requires us all to stay on topic and I don’t want to limit my interactions to just facts, sometimes I’d like to know how the facts make others feel or what they find funny about the facts etc. I also like the freedom for spontaneous bursts of imagination and wit the social section allows.

You won’t get to see “Now go make me a sandwich.” in the general section.

@Val123 I lied; I did put it in Social”. I guess I did want bullshit!

http://www.fluther.com/87240/when-do-you-decide-that-your-car-is-too-much-of/

HA HA!!! @janbb Now, as I said, is it due to your personality?!! I’m not sure if Meta falls under “general” or “social” guidelines so we better stay on track here!!

I ask few questions here but put them in the Social sections for the same reasons as others mentioned in that I want as much freedom in the responses as possible. I also check my fluther first then the Social and General last is there is time to really enjoy fluther.

Definitely due to my personality; I’m a pretty informal sort of bird.

@Draconess25 I do the same thing.

I try to avoid the General section now, unless I can give a straight factual answer then not follow the question. With the restrictions now in place, you can get about the same result via Google.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Most of my questions aren’t Googlable.

But…@janbb, you have on a tux….

Hi @stranger_in_a_strange_land…...

@Draconess25 I think his/her(?) point is….with the General section you get as much help there as you can with Google, only with Google you don’t get the human interaction. Which is why, I think, we tend to gravitate to the “social.”

Congrats @Draconess25! You just created a new word! Try saying “Googlable” 10 times fast! Hail. Try saying it once! Good show! :) !!

I don’t want my arse to be smacked by the mods, so, I’m awfully careful what I put…where..

Unless, it is Auggie. She can smack away. <eyebrow waggle>

I nearly exclusively visit the general section since I’m not interested in side conversation and I’m not interested in forum-style questions.

I spend most of my time in the General section for the same reason as above ^^.

I just realized that I rarely if ever go to the social section. Since the division, I have been with the General questions. Just happened to look here in the just for you, and saw this question, that is interesting. So, this opened my eyes—I will peruse here as well.

Probably. It also depends on the requirements of your question to be posted in each section.

I try to mark my questions as Social, since I don’t like the way that the webmasters used the term “General.” In most places, “general” refers to the kind of thing that “Social” refers to here.

For me, it completely depends on the type of question I’m asking. If I need real answers, real quick, it goes in General. If I want some conversation along with the answers, Social it is.

@Draconess25 What I meant was that I would post a serious question in Social so that folks are not subject to tight restrictions when answering. For the same reason, I’m now reluctant to answer a General question unless I can write a terse answer, strictly on-topic, without the slightest hint of humor (I usually hit “Stop Following” immediately after posting a General answer, to avoid being drawn off-topic in followup discussion).

My answers frequently make use of personal anecdotes, which could be considered off-topic (or, gawd forbid, humorous); all the more reason for me to avoid answering General questions

@Val123 – General. I want a question answered about something practical or something that I can’t really joke about, usually.

I have noticed I’ve tended to post the majority of my questions in the General section, and I guess it’s indirectly related to my personality, but really it’s just because I’m looking for serious answers and not a lot of bullshit, snarky answers, or jokes.

However, the Social section has its place, too, and I’m sure I’ll post there eventually when I have a question that fits.

When it comes to posting a question I only ever post in the general section when I need serious help/advice. Most of the time I post in the social section because, whilst I may still be looking for advice, the majority of the time I don’t mind a bit of humour along the way. Maybe this just means that, on the whole, I prefer a more relaxed atmosphere and, because I can’t always have that in my day to day life, I tend to seek that out here on Fluther.

When viewing and answering questions I tend to check both sections so I don’t miss anything.

I always post in Social. I honestly can’t think of anything so serious that it has to be in General. Even if I have a serious Q I’ll put it in Social since I can just skip over any joky or unhelpful stuff. And you just never know when someone’s quirky take on something might be just the thing needed.

The unfortunate thing is that all users automatically get the General section by default so many of the new users may remain there and post there Qs there without ever realizing what they’re missing.

The other reason I won’t post in general is that I don’t care to risk getting it yanked and delayed because some mod figures it belongs better in social. The demarcation line between what can qualify for general is quite murky and subject to many different interpretations.

We are told that it’s up to us but in reality, any mid can overrule that and the Q can be sidelined for half of forever.

I’m just not in the mood for guessing games so all of mine will go into Social or Meta. Period.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Oh, same here. But I made a new word! XD

@stranger_in_a_strange_land It seems that if you satisfy the minimum requirements for a General response (i.e. be helpful and on-topic), you can do what you like in the rest of the post.

Very, very interesting! Especially @andrew‘s comment!
I’d say the answer is yes. It is very dependent on one’s personality. Thanks you guys!

Actually, I’ll revise—I’ll browse the general section, but I participate in both.

@andrew So do I. But I get all clenchy when I see that a question is posted in General. If that makes sense. You guys could change it from “General” to “Damn Serious,” you know!

@Val123 I think that, really, is a personality thing. The only stuff that really gets moderated on general are the responses that have nothing to do with question—the side conversation stuff. Still doesn’t have anything to do with seriousness—just no side conversations.

@andrew I understand. But I really, really appreciate the advent of the “Social” section. But, you probably already know that. BTW….I actually just posted a Q in the General section because I don’t think that particular question lends itself to any kind of spontaneous laughter! But we’ll see. They’re pretty creative here!

Here’s another gem from General!

@Draconess25 Well, that’s from 4 years ago, before we had any sections at all.

@andrew But it’s still hilarious!