Discussion lengths what do you think?
By ctrymuziklvr
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
United States
May 26, 2007 9:12am CST
It's really a catch 22 here. If a discussion is too short then most likely there's nothing to respond to and if it's too long the writer loses out because people don't like to read long discussions. Depending on the subject I sometimes find it hard to shorten it because I would be leaving out information.
I've read discussions from members who say they don't even read a long discussion and will pass it by. That makes me feel bad for both them and the writer. They could be missing out on something of interest to them and the writer loses a response. I've noticed that if I have a long discussion many members obviously didn't read it and will respond with a very short answer to get their few pennies.
How do you feel about the discussions of longer length? Do you read them, scan them or dismiss them? Do you look at the title and reply with a few words that make it look like you read it?
8 people like this
25 responses
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
26 May 07
I generally look for any topic that I feel I can give an answer to that is not a yes or no and feel that I have something to add . If the topic is long I will still take the time to read it as most of the time these are the topics that ask more then one question so there is more to answer .
I find when asking on a topic that I try to ask more then one question so it makes it easier to be able to answer with more then a yes or no and find that it doesn't make the discussion too long . If one is interested in your headline , I believe you will get more to read it as by the headline it will either strike you as interesting or not .
2 people like this
@trinidadvelasco (11401)
• Philippines
26 May 07
i read them before responding. it really takes time to read long discussions. but it is fine if the discussion has really something notable and noteworthy to say. the sad thing is, there are some very long discussions which are senseless. i find myself being sorry for the wasted time. there are some discussions which are obviously copied items from somewhere. it is easy to see conisdering how deep the discussion get to be in language and in details. only professionals with so deep backgrounds can come up with something like it. oh well, we are a good mix of people here hence, we will always encounter a good variety.
2 people like this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
26 May 07
I respond to all discussions I can relate to whether they are short or small. It all depends on what the subject or title is also that catches my attention the most. I read all discussions and respond to them if I have some feedback or knowledge for them.
@winky73 (1404)
• United States
26 May 07
It really depends on the subject of the discussion.Sometimes it's intersting enough to where you want to read the whole thing.....but other times the poster just rambles on and on about the same thing....not really offering any new info.
I try not to answer if I didn't take the time to read the complete discussion....after all my respons should be based on the whole thing not just a few words.I know for a fact that some people don't read a discussion all the way through....because a lot of times they miss some very importend points that have been made and if they read the whole thing they would have caught on to that.
So I scann a discussion to see if it interests me....if it does I'll read it....if it doesn't I move on to the next one without leaving a half hearted reply.I guess that penny or two is just not that importend to me.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
26 May 07
I can't see the point in responding, except of course for the pennies, if your not interested in the discussion...sometimes I find it very hard to figure out. And I believe I'm rambling now..lol
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 May 07
As you said it's a catch 22 - I very very rarely respond to the 'short' discussions, meaning the one liners, it's just too difficult sometime to respond but most often I feel if someone hasn't put any effort into the discussion why should I put effort into a response.
Unless a topic realy interests me I often won't take the time to read an extremely long discussion but this depends completely on my mood also. Sometimes I would rather read than write so will take the time.
I liked this discussion length - not too long but not too short :)
1 person likes this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
26 May 07
I was thinking about this after I posted and also realized that there have been some 'long' discussions that kept me entranced - I couldn't stop reading because the author was excellent at catching the readers attention and keeping it. I've also read some that put me to sleep :(
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
26 May 07
I feel the same way but don't think I put it in the right words in my discussion. If the writer doesn't feel the need to take the time then why should I?
After writing this I felt the same way....not too long and not too short....good feeling when I was done.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
26 May 07
It goes to show that there are some people who have the knack for writing and some who don't. Takes all kinds of people to make up a web site like this one.
@easy888 (10405)
• Australia
26 May 07
Hello,ctrymuziklvr,I think the length of the discussions may not be very important but one line posts should be hard for other to replies even they may have attractive title. In order for other members to reply with quality,there should be some desciption or thoughts in the discussions so that other members can share their opinions there.
For those which are of long length,i will still read them if they are interesting,if not,i will just scan them but not reply to them.I will not just answer with few words,i will try my best to say something that i know.
Good luck.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
26 May 07
I've noticed that you are one of the more quality responders and discussers on the site. Even your responses give me something to reply to and I thank you for that.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
27 May 07
Often to me it depends on what the person is trying to portray here. To me sometimes that is better than replying to the Short discussions that are maybe a sentence and expecting a response back from. But to me, the topics and discussions I choose to reply too, depends on the mood I am in. I know that sometimes I will only choose one topic, and then reply to all of those type of discussions and then go from there. But if a discussion is exciting I feel it deserves a response no matter what the length.
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
26 May 07
For me I prefer to read discussions that are longer because they require a bit more thought for the response. I always try to find longer discussions because they are the ones filled with details.
When leaving a response I always try to leave as much detail as I possibly can so that I can get my point across and why I have that opnion.
It is up to the rest of us if we want to read it or not. I agree with you that i you dont read the whole thing you might miss something important but there are people out there who dont care about the mylot community as a whole they just care about the money.
1 person likes this
@bobbyjoe143 (1287)
•
26 May 07
personally i prefer longer posts, it means that the author has taken the time to write something that they know about or are passionate about.
sometimes, the answers that people give in response are short purely because they can't think of anything lengthy to put, even if the discussion interested them alot. sometimes, you just really can't think of the exact words you want to type lol.
not all of my posts have been long, but i try my best to steer very clear of starting a topic if it is only going to be one or 2 lines, there really isn't enough in that for someone to apreciate your views in such short topics.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
27 May 07
When I first started here and noticed lengthy discussions, I would read the first couple of lines and then try to reply to it (even though I didn't actually answer the writers questions LOL), now I try to read it all especially all my friends discussions. Sometimes they ask a question at the beginning, then they go onto asking more at the end, and I have been one to miss a few at the end. I think I more or less skim read and then try to give a response.
1 person likes this
@PunkyMcPunk (1477)
• Canada
27 May 07
I don't even think of something like that when I am posting or responding or commenting etc.. I just write until I ahve made my point or said what I need to say. I don't try to draw it out for the sake of making more money nor do I worry about it being too long and people will pass it over. I say what I need to and that's that! lol!
1 person likes this
@ellie26 (4139)
• Malaysia
27 May 07
Hi ctrymuziklvr, I read and try to respond to lengthy discussion. Sure it takes time to read the whole discussion just to be able to get what the message they are trying to give and respond accordingly. Sometimes I read them but dont respond to them because I dont understand what the discussion is all about. There are also one liner discussion who gets a lot of response because the way they word their discussion is interesting.
1 person likes this
@piasabird (1737)
• United States
26 May 07
I must admit that I don't read long posts very thoughly unless it's something that I'm really interested in like politics or star gossip. My AADD just acts up on me and I get lost.
I think there are probably ways to do a longer discussion and still keep it interesting. Adding some humor helps. Paragraphs help so that everything isn't run together, which I feel makes it harder to read.
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
26 May 07
Sometimes it isn't easy finding a discussion that interests us is it? lol....
I've recently realized that making paragraphs does make discussions so much easier to read and less tedious.
@fengbo (731)
• China
27 May 07
Hi,ctrymuziklvr.I don't like to read the longer discussion.My English is poor so i don't interest in so longer discussion.But i like to read the easy comprehend discussion.But if the discussion is too short,i think i don't respond longer.I wish the mylot members
will start new discussion with the easy understand words.what do you tink of?Sometimes i see the some words i don't understand so i don't make the respond.I think i should studying hard.I wish...
1 person likes this
@RAMPersona (2033)
• Philippines
26 May 07
personally, it really depends on the topic or subject matter..even if it has a myriad of words, i'll stop time just to read it (no, i was just exagerating..) anyway, the reality is there are gifted writers among us here who are virtousos in pressing keys and quick thinkers, and 'nice', no not the boring ones, but those who have the ability to connect even talking cryptic things.. i guess they have taken double PhDs to master it? ...i wish i have that skill. sigh
1 person likes this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
26 May 07
I read whatever interests me be it short or long. I try to be as brief yet quality filled with my responses to make them appealing also. I don't hate the really long discussions but some just go on and on repeating a lot of things already said. So maybe that's the problem some member have. As I said I read what interests me. Thanks and have a great day/evening.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~
@lkbooi (16070)
• Malaysia
20 Jan 08
It depends on the situation. If they are the posts of my friends who always reciprocate responses and comments with me, definitely I will read the long posts with much patience. Otherwise I will see whether the beginnings of the long posts are attractive. Anyway I did find quite a lot lengthy posts which were interesting and informative.
@marty3888 (2355)
• Acme, Michigan
26 May 07
Believe it or not, I almost skipped this one! I also don't like reading long discussions. Try and think of the most important points. I do agree that it depends on the subject matter but some people just go on and on. just try to keep the most important points in mind. As far as your 2nd question, no I don't respond pretending I read the whole thing I just don't respond.
@marty3888 (2355)
• Acme, Michigan
27 May 07
No, actually this was just about perfect!
1 person likes this
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
27 May 07
Some of my discussions end up being longer than I want them to be because I have a difficult time explaining what I'm trying to say and always end up using a lot of words but saying little.
Did you almost miss this because it was too short? lol...
@naty1941 (2336)
• United States
26 May 07
It depends on the discussion. If the discussion is interesting and long I tend to read it. However, some long discussions answer their own questions. I tend to answer discussions that are the size as of this discussion that you have posted. Short discussion sometimes don't give enough information.
1 person likes this
@beaniegdi (1964)
•
26 May 07
It can be hard to read a long post,it can take more time then reading and responding to a few shorter posts. Remember that if people get paid then time is money. Also it can be harder to make sense of long posts so makes responding correctly more difficult. I try to read the longer posts if it seems interesting but it is understandable why some don't. You are right that some will scan the post and hope they have understood without fully reading it so they can make a reply.
1 person likes this
