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Very long posts
Very long posts
Could the moderators limit the length of posts to something reasonable? I ask this because, although I never read overlong posts, I think they might make people abandon this forum. A good idea should, in any case, be expressible in few words!
Re: Very long posts
I absolutely, definitely and, totally agree.
Re: Very long posts
If you can't say it
In fourteen syllables, then
It's not worth saying
In fourteen syllables, then
It's not worth saying
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.
Re: Very long posts
If you're referring to the posts by Pahu, then he has been warned about his posts - more because they are simply copied from elsewhere and are not original rather than their length (although the large graphics are unnecessary).Ninny wrote:Could the moderators limit the length of posts to something reasonable? I ask this because, although I never read overlong posts, I think they might make people abandon this forum. A good idea should, in any case, be expressible in few words!
Alan Henness
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?
Re: Very long posts
well yes, Ninny, what is wrong in principle with long posts? I don't agree with what Lewis said, and I think that one good feature of TH is that one can argue a point at some length, if necessary, and trust that readers can cope with, and respond to, such posts. I and Emma Woolgatherer and others had what was, to me, an incredibly interesting debate on free will a few years ago, and this conversation featured many long posts. More recently I posted some thoughts on space and time - which in fact did not elicit any responses, but at least I felt free to try and express what I felt. Why should a good idea be expressible in a few words? I would in fact think the opposite, and that our trashy media demonstrate the lesson that sound bites are just that - snippets of opinion which seek to persuade without properly addressing complex issues.
As a poet, are you opposed to long poems?
As a poet, are you opposed to long poems?
Re: Very long posts
Animist, I am reminder of a Nobel laureate who was invited to describe his Nobel-winning contribution to science in a few words. He replied that if it were possible to do so, then he wouldn't have been awarded a Nobel Prize.
- Tetenterre
- Posts: 3244
- Joined: March 13th, 2011, 11:36 am
Re: Very long posts
Didn't see that; may well have interested me. Can you point me to it?animist wrote:More recently I posted some thoughts on space and time - which in fact did not elicit any responses,
Re length: It depends entirely on content, IMNSVHO. It's when it's long and rambling/vacuous that I LTWTL. (OTOH, I have suffered from the opposite; I often tend to be terse, especially around this time of the month (*), and this has led to being misunderstood.)
* No, not that! End of month = article deadlines.
Steve
Quantum Theory: The branch of science with which people who know absolutely sod all about quantum theory can explain anything.
Quantum Theory: The branch of science with which people who know absolutely sod all about quantum theory can explain anything.
Re: Very long posts
Ninny is right. If you can't express ideas with brief clarity, you are not writing well. In fact, a senryu is seventeen syllables, not fourteen. I made a mistake when I typed it. However, the lesson is a good one.Ninny wrote:A good idea should, in any case, be expressible in few words!
If you can't say it
In seventeen syllables
It's not worth saying
We have an Islamic poster who rambles on the page. He needs to express himself clearly and in about a quarter of the length. Others on the forum generally don't go over the top but the brief, concise post is much easier to respond to.
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.
Re: Very long posts
I will dig it out some time, Steve, but I should warn you that it was philosophical rather than scientific and more about our perceptions of time than time itself. You are far more informed on stuff like space and time than I am, and I had been meaning to email you in order to thank you for your scientific and other posts (not that I understand all of them!) We have occasionally been a bit "terse" with each other, and I regret my part in thisTetenterre wrote:Didn't see that; may well have interested me. Can you point me to it?animist wrote:More recently I posted some thoughts on space and time - which in fact did not elicit any responses,
Re length: It depends entirely on content, IMNSVHO. It's when it's long and rambling/vacuous that I LTWTL. (OTOH, I have suffered from the opposite; I often tend to be terse, especially around this time of the month (*), and this has led to being misunderstood.)
* No, not that! End of month = article deadlines.
Re: Very long posts
concision is good, but as Tetenterre points out, acceptable length depends on what content there is. I don't think that "ideas" are tiny self-contained snippets; instead they can form arguments, ie bigger ideas, so I have to disagree with this insistence on brevity. Longer posts can anyway be broken up and replied to in bits; on TH we do this all the time, as you knowlewist wrote:Ninny is right. If you can't express ideas with brief clarity, you are not writing well. In fact, a senryu is seventeen syllables, not fourteen. I made a mistake when I typed it. However, the lesson is a good one.Ninny wrote:A good idea should, in any case, be expressible in few words!
If you can't say it
In seventeen syllables
It's not worth saying
We have an Islamic poster who rambles on the page. He needs to express himself clearly and in about a quarter of the length. Others on the forum generally don't go over the top but the brief, concise post is much easier to respond to.
Re: Very long posts
Animist! In my days as a primary teacher, when we were embarking on a piece of writing, children would often ask, 'How long is it to be?' They would be annoyed with my response, 'as long as it is'.
We can't dictate the length of a piece of writing but it should not be longer than it needs to be. I taught the children the concept of tight writing by using the Senryu and making them put more meaning into the words, starting by scoring out any redundant words in the piece and reshaping it to add more meaning, using words that added meaning.
If you want to convey a complex notion, then simple language with clear and accessible layout is best. It's good manners and it allows you to make your point better. It's not about making a virtue of brevity for its own sake, rather brevity as an aid to communication.
We can't dictate the length of a piece of writing but it should not be longer than it needs to be. I taught the children the concept of tight writing by using the Senryu and making them put more meaning into the words, starting by scoring out any redundant words in the piece and reshaping it to add more meaning, using words that added meaning.
If you want to convey a complex notion, then simple language with clear and accessible layout is best. It's good manners and it allows you to make your point better. It's not about making a virtue of brevity for its own sake, rather brevity as an aid to communication.
Carpe diem. Savour every moment.
Re: Very long posts
I suppose my original point should have been that long posts are daunting in appearance, and therefore not often read. If I see a post on here that I can't read in a minute, I simply ignore it. Which is not what the writer would want.
Re: Very long posts
so, to repeat my question, what about long poems?Ninny wrote:I suppose my original point should have been that long posts are daunting in appearance, and therefore not often read. If I see a post on here that I can't read in a minute, I simply ignore it. Which is not what the writer would want.
Re: Very long posts
cannot disagree with this, but you seem to have shifted your ground and to be uttering tautologies and truismslewist wrote:Animist! In my days as a primary teacher, when we were embarking on a piece of writing, children would often ask, 'How long is it to be?' They would be annoyed with my response, 'as long as it is'.
We can't dictate the length of a piece of writing but it should not be longer than it needs to be. I taught the children the concept of tight writing by using the Senryu and making them put more meaning into the words, starting by scoring out any redundant words in the piece and reshaping it to add more meaning, using words that added meaning.
If you want to convey a complex notion, then simple language with clear and accessible layout is best. It's good manners and it allows you to make your point better. It's not about making a virtue of brevity for its own sake, rather brevity as an aid to communication.
Re: Very long posts
Sorry I didn't respond to this at the time. I didn't think you were making a serious comparison between an art form (poetry) and opinions (rarely poetic). All I can say about long poems is that they are long. You can choose whether or not to read them. Some are good, some are not. The only thing long poems and long posts have in common is that they are long.animist wrote:so, to repeat my question, what about long poems?Ninny wrote:I suppose my original point should have been that long posts are daunting in appearance, and therefore not often read. If I see a post on here that I can't read in a minute, I simply ignore it. Which is not what the writer would want.
Re: Very long posts
and also that you can choose whether or not to read them. as you can with long articles on anything under the SunNinny wrote:The only thing long poems and long posts have in common is that they are long.