a simple question

[Dinkleberry2010]

There are many terms used on this site that are abbreviated to iniitials, such as PM for private message. I am wondering what OP means. Can anyone enlighten me?

[Paulclem]

Overly Pompous?

[Paulclem]

Outwardly Pestilential

[Quark]

"OP" stands for "original post"--that is the post that started a thread. In this case, your simple question ("There are many terms used on this site that are abbreviated to iniitials, such as PM for private message. I am wondering what OP means. Can anyone enlighten me?") is the OP. Sometimes, OP also refers to the "original poster" that is the person who wrote the first post in a thread. You would be original poster of this thread since you started it with your question. Typically, the OP--whether it be the original post or original poster--dictates the topic of conversation, but frequently the discussion will devolve into other issues as one thing leads to another. Sometimes a poster will call for a return to the OP, though, if things get too far away from the intended topic. Yet this has to be done with some tact because it can sound like you're criticizing recent posters. It can sometimes seem like you're saying "the original post is more interesting than what you're talking about," and people might just decide to leave at that point.


http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd300/Quark3/luther.jpg
It is believed that the Catholic Church was the first OP. Martin Luther replied to the thread in 1517.

Coming up with a good OP is then critical, as is knowing when to return to it and when to leave it behind. Sometimes the ensuing conversation is better than the issue raised in the OP. And, after hundreds of posts, you can't expect people to go back to the OP and read all the comments up to now. It's best to just pick up where the thread is at the moment, and leave the OP behind. A good OP then is something that's more like a theme than a specific topic.

[Dinkleberry2010]

thank you very much Quark for clearing that up for me

[Helga]

I preferred Paul's first one...