When a person starts a posting on a message
board, or forum, or Facebook, that others are able to comment on, that original posting and the comments on it are called a thread. A thread hijacking occurs when one or more individuals commenting on the original posting, go off topic, creating a separate
conversation. This is rude, and bad internet etiquette. If
people want to discuss a different topic, they should start their own thread.
Below is a thread, consisting of an original posting and comments on that original posting. They illustrate a thread hijacking.
original posting: I'm so excited that my
cat has learned to use the toilet with City Kitty! The training seemed like it took forever, but it'
s so worth it to not have to deal with a litter
box any more! Has anyone else done this?
comment 1: Ugh! I just started training my
cat, but he can't seem to move beyond the
orange stage. How'd you get through that?
comment 2: I'm training my dog at PetCo classes. She's very smart. She learns the commands faster than the other
dogs.
comment 3: I'm training my dog in PetCo classes too. They have great trainers. They're patient with the
dogs and the
people.
Comments 2 and 3 are off topic and are hijacking this thread. The person who made comment 2 should have started their own thread. The person who made comment 3 is guilty of continuing the hijacking.
