happens to me rather regularly. What's an even bigger pisser is when someone starts a thread that is for all practical purposes, identical to one you started just days before (and got no responses)...

...and the new thread gets 100 posts in the first day.

It's all an evil plot.

kidding aside, it's usually what catspaw said -- it's all about thread title. You can count on longer threads if you are one of the regulars here -- you'll get responses from online "friends" -- but the quality of the resonses won't necessarily be all that satisfying.