How Many Of You Read Really Long Posts?

[mikeintexas]

WildBill wrote:

I will not read posts that do not have proper sentence and paragraph structure.

I'd add proper spelling to the quote above.

Like I tell the grandkids, spelling "does" count!

[mgood]

It's going to have to grab my attention early on to entice me to plow through the entire thing. Either it's a topic that I'm really interested in, or something about the first few lines makes me think I should read it all.

And I agree that the single, monster paragraph is much more difficult to read than a post that is broken into sections that are easier to tackle a little at a time. It's easy to end up reading the same line several times or skipping a line now and then when you don't have the paragraph breaks as landmarks. When I see a post like that, it's already got a couple strikes against it when I start trying to decide whether or not it's worth reading.

Sometimes, when I see the huge first post, I'll scroll down to the first two or three replies to see if the original post has stirred up some interesting conversation. Also, replies might focus on the interesting parts, giving me a hint of what's in the original post. If those pull me in, I'll go back and read the whole thing.

[USA1]

SIA is right on the money with:

"The bee in my bonnet is when someone starts a thread with an ambiguous one-word "Subject" like "Oops" so you have no idea what the heck's in there"

But it sure makes ya look . I know it makes me look.

[dicion]

If I open a topic, I read the entire thing.

There are, however, topics that I skip entirely.

I also tend to occasionally write long posts, with various quotations of statutes, etc

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm one who tends to write long posts, but I have a lot to say. I really enjoy writing, but perhaps others don't. I do try to make it interesting and readable; but if someone doesn't want to read what I've written because they think it's too long, that's no skin off of my nose. I figure it's their loss.

I guess what I'm having trouble with is why on earth this topic is worth a thread... let alone a two page thread. Does anyone really think that someone else is going to change their posting habits because of it? It seems kind of pointless to me.

Let's see... what else can I ramble on about....

[mgood]

Sometimes seeing who wrote the piece will also influence whether or not I read all of it.

TAM,
I've enjoyed reading your posts and learned that they are well worth the time it takes to read them.

[Drewthetexan]

Like mgood, I tend to pay attention to who wrote the post as much as the content. Some of you guys/gals almost always have valuable input, and longer posts are usually worth the read. Fortunately, many members who have things of value to say also say them succinctly.

[Abraham]

Maybe some of the most tedious will get the message with this thread.

No one individual is being pointed out...

Let's face it, if your posts, whoever you may be, are not read no matter how much care and effort put in, why bother...?

Wouldn't keeping a journal make more sense?

[Oldgringo]

The word is "CONCISE" : marked by brevity of expression or statement : free from all elaboration and superfluous detail <a concise summary> <a concise definition>

[USA1]

Sometimes seeing who wrote the piece will also influence whether or not I read all of it.

I can take a hint.

[The Annoyed Man]

Maybe some of the most tedious will get the message with this thread.

No one individual is being pointed out...

Let's face it, if your posts, whoever you may be, are not read no matter how much care and effort put in, why bother...?

Wouldn't keeping a journal make more sense?

Maybe this place IS a journal for some.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I guess I'll be the minority voice here. I understand that some/many people don't want to read long posts. That's easy to fix -- don't read them. Other people don't mind and perhaps enjoy reading long posts if they are on a subject that they find interesting. Whether the post is long or short, it has an audience.

Chas.

[bdickens]

Now there's a thought!

My answer is: it depends. If the post is interesting and readable, I'll plow through it. Readable to me means reasonably decent spelling, grammar, capltalization and punctuation, logical, coherent sentence structure and paragraph breaks.

[The Annoyed Man]

I guess I'll be the minority voice here. I understand that some/many people don't want to read long posts. That's easy to fix -- don't read them. Other people don't mind and perhaps enjoy reading long posts if they are on a subject that they find interesting. Whether the post is long or short, it has an audience.

Chas.

Exactly.

[mgood]

I agree with Charles 100%.
I'm not telling anyone not to write them. The question was asking who reads them. I replied that sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, depending on subject matter, etc.