You know who I can't stand?? --->Wynona

[Wynona]

She's just so ....

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

My theory is that people see a title that grabs their attention and go to typing immediately without fully reading the first post in the thread.

I have to admit, I have a limit too. If an initial post is a wall of text or super long, I don't want to read that either. If I see that people respond to the title of this thread without having read this, that will help me remember to keep my OP's as brief as possible.

 

[Stumpmaster]

She's just so ....

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

My theory is that people see a title that grabs their attention and go to typing immediately without fully reading the first post in the thread.

I have to admit, I have a limit too. If an initial post is a wall of text or super long, I don't want to read that either. If I see that people respond to the title of this thread without having read this, that will help me remember to keep my OP's as brief as possible.

My approach is to work with the medium we have here rather than against it.

Some use social media to dominate, intimidate, manipulate, or seduce, so for them it's about controlling the narrative rather than contributing to it.

Be blessed.

 

[quietthinker]

She's just so ....

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

My theory is that people see a title that grabs their attention and go to typing immediately without fully reading the first post in the thread.

I have to admit, I have a limit too. If an initial post is a wall of text or super long, I don't want to read that either. If I see that people respond to the title of this thread without having read this, that will help me remember to keep my OP's as brief as possible.

 

[Pearl]

She's just so ....

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

My theory is that people see a title that grabs their attention and go to typing immediately without fully reading the first post in the thread.

I have to admit, I have a limit too. If an initial post is a wall of text or super long, I don't want to read that either. If I see that people respond to the title of this thread without having read this, that will help me remember to keep my OP's as brief as possible.

Spot on @Wynona Nothing as off putting as a wall of text, specially if it hasn't got spaces between the paragraphs.

 

[Lambano]

My job involves writing technical reports, not to mention a copious number of emails. I was taught to ALWAYS put a short synopsis up front. Just gimme the bottom line: What's the conclusion, what needs to be done, what needs to change, where do you need help? Then they can read the nitty-gritty details if they want.

I personally think it's because anyone higher up the food chain than a first-line manager has the attention span of a 7-year-old ADHD child on a post-Halloween candy buzz.

I think the same principle applies here.

 

[dev553344]

I think you do pretty well Wynona as people do respond to your threads. If I encounter a long OP I probably won't read it as reading can give me headaches. But yeah yours aren't too long.

 

[Wynona]

I think you do pretty well Wynona as people do respond to your threads. If I encounter a long OP I probably won't read it as reading can give me headaches. But yeah yours aren't too long.

Thanks! I often feel self conscious and try to edit my posts to make them shorter.

 

[Wrangler]

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

Nothing as off putting as a wall of text, specially if it hasn't got spaces between the paragraphs.

Agreed. Long OP's serve more as a form of therapy for the writer.

I find it far more effective to begin a thread with a short thesis, followed by at least one question you want people in the forum to respond to. I did this just a moment ago in a thread entitled "The Big 3."

Also, one reason I have a high post count is that I break up my responses to long posts. If a poster writes 12 paragraphs, I might write 1 or 2 posts for each paragraph. So, anyone can quickly read both, what I am responding to and what my concise response is. IMO, this facilitates communication and reduces confusion.

 

[Bob Estey]

She's just so ....

So I have a theory that if a post involves reading past the title and more than one paragraph, many will not read it.

My theory is that people see a title that grabs their attention and go to typing immediately without fully reading the first post in the thread.

I have to admit, I have a limit too. If an initial post is a wall of text or super long, I don't want to read that either. If I see that people respond to the title of this thread without having read this, that will help me remember to keep my OP's as brief as possible.

I love to discuss theology, but I refuse to read long posts. Your post was a little long, but I enjoy your threads.