Do you read really long posts?

[BillyTheAdult]

I'm just curious if there are people who skip them entirely. I have to admit that sometimes it makes me skip them, but not always. If you don't want to say publicly, just vote.

[SatvikBeri]

Depends on the poster usually. If it's someone I like I'll read the post, otherwise I'll skip it.

[beast]

I almost always skip them, unless the person is an exceptionally good writer/the story is really juicy.

And if they don't do paragraphs, fuhggedaboutit.

[ssandra]

I usually start reading them, and depending on how interesting they are I keep reading or skip most of it...

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I usually start reading them, and depending on how interesting they are I keep reading or skip most of it...

I do this too. If it doesn't capture me, then I won't continue...like with any novel.

[Cado]

It depends on whether or not the length has a point. There's a world of difference between packing a lot of information into a small space and turning a simple thought into a convoluted mess.

I don't have patience for anyone or anything that would waste my time.

[Lucidism]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I usually start reading them, and depending on how interesting they are I keep reading or skip most of it...

Exactly. Ditto.

Sometimes posts are long because there are many interesting points to cover. But sometimes posts are long because people are rambling.

Concise writing takes a lot of practice.

[Mounds]

Just out of curiosity, what do you guys consider a long post? An approximate word count would suffice

[Lucidism]

Originally Posted by Mounds

Just out of curiosity, what do you guys consider a long post? An approximate word count would suffice

Anything over 350-400 words, I guess. This is short for a blog post, but kinda long for a forum post.

It depends, because if the poster is responding to many different people at once, then of course their post will be longer.

With some it doesn't matter. ALG's posts were frequently over 400 words, but people loved every moment of them.

But usually, it's easy to get our point across in less than 200 words, if we try.

[Solipsist]

Sometimes.

I studied and wrote history. I really prefer that something written come to the point as quickly as possible. Then, explain. I don't usually want to have to figure out what one is trying to say.

[Andrew Brunelle]

I have this program that reads things to me. If the post is kind of long, I copy and paste it into the program and it reads to me, very fast, as I have it on max speed. I don't read every long post, but i read most of the ones I come across, especially the first post on a thread.

[Mounds]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

I have this program that reads things to me. If the post is kind of long, I copy and paste it into the program and it reads to me, very fast, as I have it on max speed. I don't read every long post, but i read most of the ones I come across, especially the first post on a thread.

Thanks for the idea Andrew. I just downloaded a free one and I'm loving it.

[Angelique]

Depends on the writing style and the topic. I usually skip them.

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

I have this program that reads things to me. If the post is kind of long, I copy and paste it into the program and it reads to me, very fast, as I have it on max speed. I don't read every long post, but i read most of the ones I come across, especially the first post on a thread.

I didn't realize this was available. This is great!

[veloci]

Do you mind sharing with me your program?

[Lioness]

Originally Posted by Lucidism

Anything over 350-400 words, I guess. This is short for a blog post, but kinda long for a forum post.

Yeah, I'm not sure why I will read a blogger's novella length blog post, but my eyes glaze over at a long forum post.

I had to learn my own lesson in this regard. I took the time to compose a detailed response to someone and they came back with TL;DR. I had to realize that we have short attention spans and reading electronic pages can be taxing.

i guess it's better to do a short post, wait for feedback, then make the rest of your point in a give and take. Lots of white space/paragraphs is best for a longer post.

***Congrats, Mounds, on starting your blog!***

[Lucidism]

Originally Posted by Lioness

I took the time to compose a detailed response to someone and they came back with TL;DR.

Argh! That's a little rude. If I skip over someone's post, I'm not going to throw it in their face. "Hey, that was too long so I didn't read it, FYI!"

But at least it gave you some feedback, I guess.

[James81]

If the really long post is the first post in the thread (i.e. The threadstarter) I read it. Most of the time I'll read it a couple of times actually. If I'm replying to a thread, I want to make sure I understand the issue before I post.

I tend to skim replies to the threadstarter. Most of the time I'll move through a thread only reading the thread starters responses (and the quotes they are responding to).

I make long posts myself, though, so this is interesting. I might start playing around with ways to grab and hold peoples attention with my longer posts. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for that.

[Weena]

No.

Unless it's about a topic I love (e.g: Akashic records). Long personal rants... I skip.

[cacheborn]

I skip. I also skip the discussions that run above 3 pages. (Unless they are on interesting topics like ménage à trois )

btw, why is this in the Steve Pavlina section?

[marinik]

Sometimes but only if it's one of you guys or an interesting topic. But mostly skim.

[ChrisGinsburg]

I think we can all shorten up our posts a bit. I've written long posts when I felt it necessary but I do also frequently skip other long posts.

To be honest it seems like the majority of long posts are just ego orgies over who is the most intellectually superior and can use the most big words. I guess that's what you get in a forum where people think they are automatically smart because of the subheading at the top.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by ChrisGinsburg

I think we can all shorten up our posts a bit. I've written long posts when I felt it necessary but I do also frequently skip other long posts.

To be honest it seems like the majority of long posts are just ego orgies over who is the most intellectually superior and can use the most big words. I guess that's what you get in a forum where people think they are automatically smart because of the subheading at the top.

To be fair, some topics require a lot of effort to really delve into. Polarity is a fine example. I've never seen a concept which is simultaneously overcomplicated and oversimplified to such a degree, and the discussions which spawn from it require a very nuanced approach if the written word is going to do it justice.

I think of that as one of the strengths of this form of communication-it can accommodate both short and long form discussions. The latter isn't going to be for everyone but it never is, regardless of the medium. It's for the enthusiasts, not the curious. And that's fine; not everybody digs everything. That's what makes it interesting.

[James81]

Originally Posted by ChrisGinsburg

I think we can all shorten up our posts a bit. I've written long posts when I felt it necessary but I do also frequently skip other long posts.

To be honest it seems like the majority of long posts are just ego orgies over who is the most intellectually superior and can use the most big words. I guess that's what you get in a forum where people think they are automatically smart because of the subheading at the top.

I write longer posts because it always drove me nuts to seek advice and get short, cliche answers.

[lookcloser]

If the posts are from known members, I do read, even though I rarely reply. Lol, I always wonder if people skip my some of my advice-seeking posts because of its length. Sometimes I can't help it, I mean certain life situations are just that complicated I guess. But I'm not a great writer either.

[lookcloser]

Originally Posted by James81

I write longer posts because it always drove me nuts to seek advice and get short, cliche answers.

And that's why I like you

[marinik]

Originally Posted by James81

I write longer posts because it always drove me nuts to seek advice and get short, cliche answers.

I started to read some of them about a year ago and just skipped them. I had the feeling you were venting and writing for the sake of letting it all go out there into the world.

[BillyTheAdult]

Originally Posted by cacheborn

btw, why is this in the Steve Pavlina section?

I didn't know quite where to post it. I figured it's a question about the forum, and this is sort of the forum section (I guess. If there was a shrugging smiley I'd put it here.)

[taylor]

yo guyz sry for something i dunno maybe i read them but then again maybe i dont it depends on the situation and how busy i am and how high my blood sugars are and various otter factors that i wont go into now because of ima gettin hungry but i guess what im trying to say is that if its formated well like all my posts than i will look it over and see if there any value there that i extract or any value that i can add but if is on something i'm not really interested in then ..NO WAYZ!!!!.. i WILL NOT read it i notice that a lot of long onformatted posts are in the social and relationshits sections and the emotional sections where people just sort of voomit things emotionally into a text box like a bad dostoevskies novels and you kind of have to sort of sort through the mess and try to make sense of it but what i really think these people needs is to get a journal BEFORE THEY WRITE ALL THIS STUFF OUT becuz that way they get it off theri chest before actually formuloting a clear quest which is a problem half solved as i'm sure you guyzz know cuz when you lack clarity and put it out there then in unformatted mess then that means ppl will lack clarity on the prob you are trying to solve so i guess what i'm saying is that if instead of writin a long ramblin mess publicall if you just did it privately first and then broke down into clear solveable parts then more peeps would be willing to help you but when you don't we don't want to read it and go to the extra trouble and so it's going to be more less likely for you to get helped ya know what i mean guys can i get an amen WUT WUT and it i guess what i'm saying is that you need to actually know your question before begin posting although now that i think about it its not just rambling questions but there can be rambling insights as well which tend to be butter formatted but not always which is strange because they should have clarity on the tissue and want to share their realizations but they write it in such way as to hide their message which seems cunterprodoctive to me since the whole point of writing the post to begin with is to share it message with others isn't it and so i guess what i'm saying with is that it depends... please help.

[James81]

^ This is how NOT to format your long posts. Wall of freaking text.

[taylor]

I made sure it had no punctuation, no structure or paragraphs, an ambiguous message, bad grammar, typos, "i guess what i'm trying to say" repeated, and a desperate cry for help at the end.

It's almost perfect. Maybe I'll add some finishing touches...