Generally I read it all and think about a response.

i read all of the first page, then i skim the rest, if i am very involved i will find my last post and read on from there tho

Depends on how much I have been drinking. I post more easily crap if I had a few. Like tonight.

Well, if it is a rather short thread (<10 pages), then I read it, if it longer, I just read the initial and the last posts to get an idea where the discussion went, and then I answer.

In general, I'll skim the thread, but I'll also think carefully about posting.

I read it all and try to think out a response, or don't respond at all.

I skim through the thread is it's short but I sometimes miss important things. Now that things have quieted down in my life (exams are over, easier classes, no boyfriend, etc.) then I will have more time to read through the threads and compose decent responses instead of my cheesy one-liners.

I don't have the patience to sit and read long post. I just quickly skim through.

How do you respond to a thread?

With the reply button. Duh!

Well, I read the whole post through, but then threre are sometimes so many pages that I don't have enough time or energy left by the end of the thread to reply...So, no wonder I've been around for a few years but have so few posts :(

lol purple good one!

what's this post about, i just check the first box, yeah i rule

I generally read the entire thread in detail, checking and weighing all assertions and references. I'll often refer to historical threads in the current and other forums, to see what opinions and conclusions were developed in different contexts.

Finally, after lengthy cogitation and analysis to ensure that I'm not unduly swayed by personal bias or prior judgement, I'll post a smarmy bullshit response just to piss people off!