@nowic2 what?

Lol.. i couldn't leave it like that...but seriously.. why would you jump to such a conclusion? This is a general pet peeve that could apply to anyone, people who are integral to my life and those who are passing through, ..many family members.

Im sorry if I brought up some bad memories

@RogueLodyte i just noticed the quotation marks in your last sentence/paragraph. Is that a typical reply from you to them? ..Awesome reply! Its going into my snarky reply quiver. 👍

Im drifting off topic here, but I'd like to know your thoughts on the term, "thinking to myself?"

It turns out to be a controversial pet peeve just because its such a common term, used by people from all over the spectrum who dont like being part of a pet peeve thats based in so much logic.

I just dont like the waste of time and effort. It just goes against my natural grain.

My point being that to say "I think," already strongly implies to whom they were thinking. I mean, for 99.9998% of the world's population, probably 100% but if i say 100%, that leaves room for the psychics to chime in looking for a beef with logic ☺

..i post this reply knowing there's written and audio proof out there somewhere of me violating my own pet peeve in a goofy what I'll call punk rap song I wrote way back in 1984. In my defense, it was written way before it became a pet peeve of mine, and the extra syllables were needed for beat and flow.

Anyway, this is way more than i was planning on saying but sometimes it all comes out in a tangled clump.

@in10RjFox its also a way to keep juggling conversations like a plate spinner in the circuis

But they usually reply with more engagement to the conversation.
Which is why I do not reply. Stop the nonsense immediately.

@Gusman it all depends on the perp. Its not just new acquaintances who will reply like that. It could come from anyone. A lot of times its from a notoriously busy friend who's juggling conversations or trying to get all their notifications all addressed. Sometimes thats what the goal was in the first place (more engagement).

While im on the subject, do you want to know an effective trick to get someone to call you back?

A: leave them a slightly insulting message. ..nothing that you cant recover from when they call, and they will call.

@Lilymoon grrrrrr😤 yes. That's the worst. It's passive aggressive and dismissive all rolled into a simple one letter reply.

Its usually meant with full knowledge of that, while "what" is meant as a way to buy some time, ..usually

@Jayciedubb yup!

@plungesponge but by doing so, you reinforce undesired behavior, which, for me, is a habit of making people who are practicing effective communication put in double effort for their bare minimum effort .

Sometimes it affects me the same way it did Jules (Samuel L Jackson) in Pulp Fiction and I wish I had the same resolve. ..Sometimes.

There are so many implications if i put some thought into it. ..like, why even reply if it's a message. There's no need if they don't have anything useful to add

@Virgo79 if i know their online habits and they seem to be avoiding my message, I'm not to proud or polite not to send a follow-up, "hello?" ..or, "..really?"

..or, "ok"

@BuzzedLightyear try reading it out loud if you couldn't hear what i wrote. 😁😉