Can I make a suggestion?

Al Launier

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Bedford, NH
I'm probably as guilty of this myself, but in the interest of staying awake could the posts be kept to a reasonable length? Short concise posts are more easily read with more interest. Perhaps a limit of 200-300 words. I want to read all topics of interest, but 1500-2000 word epitaphs tend to put me to sleep. Sorry & hope I haven't offended anyone.
 
Well, We don't have any rules that require every member to read every post.

There very well might be other members that do find the information interesting and or relevant.

I'd suggest if a member sees a post that is too long, or doesn't interest them, to just skip it and go to a post that is more interesting.

No offense meant by this either...:wave:
 
With looonngggg posts - I sometimes print them out and read them printed. It's sometimes easier.

Personally I often post long posts.

Often times in order to convey a thought - 2-3 lines just cannot do it.

Yes short posts are easier to read - but they just do not convey complex information very well.

I sure do hope Family does not limit the length of a post.

Sometimes I scan - rather than read in it's entirety.
 
Al, I think we have been conditioned to handle only "sound bites". Maybe it is because that is how most of information is now being presented us or maybe it is a response on our part to the immense amount of information available to us now. We just don't have the time to truly digest it all, so we are all like honey bees going quickly from flower to flower. I remember before the internet and cable television that I relied on a newspapers, magazines and books to gather all my information. I would read everything that was available in my area of interest. You just did not have the overabundance of source material we have now, so you savored it and sucked every bit of information out of it you could. Sometimes I miss that. I find that I also do not fully digest what I read anymore. I rush through it so that I can move on to the next "flower". I worry that my knowledge is shallow without real depth because I don't spend enough time to understand what I am reading. I am only hitting the highlights. Right now about 50% of the people who started reading my post, have probably moved on to the next one.
 
actually bill i read it all and some posts i dont read all of some i dont read at all and others i will read every word. it just depends on what it is about and who wrote it.
 
al, it would be pretty tough for people to post tutorials, or flat work projects with descriptions of jig making, steps they used, limiting to 200 words. your suggestion, just that couple of lines is probably 1/3 of the allotment youre suggesting.
I don't see any reason to limit anyone if they want to post.
 
I write either for my own entertainment or to convey information. Neither one leads to short posts! I do break things into pretty small blocks even if it means breaking a paragraph into more than one section.

Learned long ago when it comes to the written word if there is any way to be misunderstood you will be. With company profits, sometimes the company's existence, sometimes lives riding on what you write you learn to write however much is needed to make yourself clear. In the nuclear plant most things required following a written procedure. If the procedure said remove a Philips head screw for access and you were looking at an Allen head you were a stuck puppy until the procedure was rewritten!

I illustrated every procedure in the local nuke and checked every other drawing created in the drafting department. Nitpicking and painful detail is what I do!(I apologize for the brevity of this post. I can make it much much much longer!)

Hu
 
actually bill i read it all and some posts i dont read all of some i dont read at all and others i will read every word. it just depends on what it is about and who wrote it.

That is a good point Larry, not everything will be of interest to you in this forum. We each are different in what interests us. But even those things that interest me, I find myself not taking the time I should. I can understand skimming those topics that I might have little interest in. Maybe it is just a symptom of growing older; the desire for life to slow down and be simpler so that you can savor more of it. I don't mind someone writing a long post. I try to avoid too much of that, as I realize we are mostly interested in sound bites and pictures. I really should have a picture to keep the interest going but I don't have one that would fit the bill. Where is Vaughn when you truly need him?
 
If a poster wants to go on ad nauseam, it's their privilege. One thing they have to understand is that most people will probably NOT read the entire post! There are many times that I scan a thread and see an individual post that drones on, so I scroll down the page to the next post. It's not that the long post might not be interesting. I have a short attention span and look for "meat" in a post, not a bunch of unrelated prose. If a long post annoys you, scroll on down the page.
 
...I really should have a picture to keep the interest going but I don't have one that would fit the bill. Where is Vaughn when you truly need him?

Ooh look! A duck!

look-at-this-duck-lolol-s526x402-60938-580-jpg.jpg
 
WOW! Looks like my thread really evoked a lot of feelings. Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. Probably shouldn’t have posted it, but was frustrated trying to read a post that was almost 1,800 words long; interesting at first, then…. :zzz:

I think Bill may have nailed it with: “I think we have been conditioned to handle only "sound bites"; “We just don't have the time to truly digest it all, so we are all like honey bees going quickly from flower to flower”; and “But even those things that interest me, I find myself not taking the time I should…… Maybe it is just a symptom of growing older; the desire for life to slow down and be simpler so that you can savor more of it”.

I was not at all referring to descriptive tutorials that involve jigs or flat work projects especially with pictures. Pictures are worth a thousand words and really help flow a posting.

As I noted earlier, my comments were not intended to offend anyone.
 
Hey, I am long winded and while I have both hands to type, I am making the most of it!
If you know the word count, next time don't bother counting the words and just go to reading the material! :D:rofl:
I find I don't visit many other forums and especially those that are the canned, "looks good" type answers. I like to hear what people like or dislike about my projects. I especially like to ask questions about items posted so I can hopefully learn more about it. Won't bother me if you see my long posts and just pass them by. But I'll hound you for details on a project if you don't answer my questions!:stick::thumb:
 
WOW! Looks like my thread really evoked a lot of feelings. Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. Probably shouldn’t have posted it, but was frustrated trying to read a post that was almost 1,800 words long; interesting at first, then…. :zzz:

I think Bill may have nailed it with: “I think we have been conditioned to handle only "sound bites"; “We just don't have the time to truly digest it all, so we are all like honey bees going quickly from flower to flower”; and “But even those things that interest me, I find myself not taking the time I should…… Maybe it is just a symptom of growing older; the desire for life to slow down and be simpler so that you can savor more of it”.

I was not at all referring to descriptive tutorials that involve jigs or flat work projects especially with pictures. Pictures are worth a thousand words and really help flow a posting.

As I noted earlier, my comments were not intended to offend anyone.


Speaking for myself, you didn't offend or even trigger strong emotion. I very rarely read books because of vision issues. I don't have TV. I live alone on a hundred acres. I have zero cold tolerance so am confined indoors away from my lathe if it is even a might chilly. Whenever possible I am outside and active, when that isn't possible I am generally reading or wearing out the keys on this laptop. Reading and writing on the net is what I do! Fortunately my interests are wide and varied so I don't usually inflict too much of myself in one place for too long.

Hu
 
Hey, I am long winded and while I have both hands to type, I am making the most of it!
If you know the word count, next time don't bother counting the words and just go to reading the material! :D:rofl:
I find I don't visit many other forums and especially those that are the canned, "looks good" type answers. I like to hear what people like or dislike about my projects. I especially like to ask questions about items posted so I can hopefully learn more about it. Won't bother me if you see my long posts and just pass them by. But I'll hound you for details on a project if you don't answer my questions!:stick::thumb:

Looks good. :thumb: :rofl:

I should not have doubted you. It is good to know that I can still count on you!

I'm just here to help. :D
 
reminds me of the scene from the movie 'lincoln', where he tells the story of the preacher who gave rather long sermons. when asked why, the preacher in question said that he could write shorter sermons, but once he got started, he found that he was too lazy to stop.
 
Ill keep this post short.
middle of winter, 19 degrees outside, I found an Adirondack chair on beach sand, so I did what comes natural to me. took a short nap..gotta be honest, I prefer long naps
 

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