BigBen

Just got off the Tilted Politics board (I swear I should stay away from there, but something keeps pulling me back) and I came to a drastic realization...

I don't read all of the content on some of these threads! I scroll down and start reading the first few lines, and even if interesting I see the SHEER MASS of reading ahead of me and say "Fuck it" and I skip to the next thread...

Am I alone in this regard? Am I disrespecting the people who love to type and exhaust us lazy readers? Should I shape up?

Can I make a suggestion that noone will incorporate? Write like a newspaper article: Give me the 'hook' in the first paragraph, and convince me that I should continue reading...

edit: Yeah, this is focused on that damn politics board, but decided to put it here to get everyone's opinion, and not to get a reply just from those nutballs.

__________________
3.141592654
Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

la petite moi

When I see a HUGE long article, I say "screw it" and end up not posting on that thread.

My eyes just can't take it (and neither can my poor force-fed brain).

Redlemon

Yeah, I reach "fuck it" pretty quickly in Politics. Even if I make it past the first three posts, and no matter how well those first three posts are constructed, it seems to quickly turn into a game of Red Rover. I fear that the sides are too fully drawn in Politics, and if you aren't posting with the ability to convince someone else to change their opinion, you are just posting to hear yourself type. I posted a couple times in Politics, and quickly learned that it isn't worth it.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

RogueHunter65

Sometimes I do skip over longer posts as well. But, it usually depends on the forum and thread. Like if I find a long thread on the politics or finance board, I will usually read the entire thing. Sometimes I read the entire post because, I want to give my opinion on it and I won't post on a topic unless I have read all the posts and replies.

__________________
I suffer from amnesia and deja vu at the same time... I think I have forgotten this before

blktour

WOW!! I thought that I was the only one that did this. I dont see the need to read all of that. There are times that I get so bored that I read them and it ends up being interesting. Then on the flip side, I dont like to type that long either, becuase my mind will just wander and my typing will be unreadable. <-- word??
I also think that the people that do type these big posts, are people that have something productive to say. unless it says //end of rant// at the end..

maleficent

There's another politics board that I used to spend entirely too much time arguing at is... and while it wasn't near as civil as TFP's politics...the posts were much more succint, there was a very commonly used phrase that would almost guarenteed to be seen after a very wordy tome... and that was... ... and your point is.. WHAT?

If a point in a few sentences, I'm gonna have a tough time reading it.

__________________

StanT

While I like arguing politics as much as the next guy, everything I need to say about a particular issue can generally be stated in a single post. I may revisit a topic once for a quick rebuttal, but it really seems pointless after that.

If I read condescension into the responses, I'll just blow the topic off. It isn't worth my time.

snowy

Totally depends on the topic. Some topics are worth sticking with for several pages. Politics, however, is not frequently one of them.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jimellow

I generally look for quotes.

I figure if something is being quoted, it's indicating a reaction of some sort, and thus, quality material.

I generally don't read entire threads though, unless I am curious about how those responding relate to the original post.. Which isn't too frequently.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

ShaniFaye

The politics board pisses me off so much, I usually only go in there by accident (if the topic title looked interesting in the view new posts list and I dont notice its the politics forum)

but, nope, I dont read the threads that are 3/4's of a page long from "quoted" text

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

BigBen

I'm sorry, but the irony of quoting this forced me to.

__________________
3.141592654
Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

Demeter

I don't venture into serious discussion threads unless the topics interest me...and I too, skip the overlong posts. The internet is my recreation, not my job.

For the same reason I often skip threads with pages of replies. Too much to absorb.

__________________

I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
William Shakespeare

mmm...kyle

I tend to read the first few lines of any long post then make a decision on whether or not to continue, usually I dont bother though, as I hate reading large blocks of txt on computers, if I ever have to read anything significant and long, I tend to print it out, I dont value most peoples threads enough to print them all out though

Cynthetiq

I try to keep them short if I can... but sometimes the text of the link is quite long.

I try to read as much as I can, sometimes I can't do it, while other times I find it easy to read pages and pages.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Trisk

I'm quite the reader in general, so reading a lot online or on paper doesn't bother me, especailly if it's a topic I find interesting or intruiging.
However, for things like politics, I just get the feeling that if I AM reading the posts, I'm the only one...and if I were to respond to anything said, it would go unheard....most political threads on the internet, I find, tend to be a bunch of people saying what they think (which they firmly believe before even reading the post) and not expecting anybody to challange them or even wanting to try and accept whatever anybody offers against their arguments.
In real life, I love political conversations/arguments, but on the internet, I find them tedious and frustrating.
For most other topics though, I'm quite tolerant.

greytone

I rarely go to the politics forum because I got turned off the first few times by the mass of reading required to make sure I was adding something new. I come here to relax, not work hard. Still, I appreciate that the TFP is here when I am in the mood for continuing the debates I have at work.

__________________
I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing.
Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

Seeker

I read pretty much all posts in a thread. I don't actually venture into Politics as I don't feel as if anything anyone can say or do will make any difference to political issues. There are so many people that can make great points in regard to politics, but I find it an area that disregards common sense despite the fact there are many people with a practicle opinion.

__________________
To those who wander but who are not lost...

~ Knowledge is not something you acquire, it is something you open yourself to.

raeanna74

I almost never get to politics or philosophy for that matter. A lot of what's posted there is opinion and everyone has their arguements. I either feel strongly about something and get pissed and then have to restrain myself from flameing or I feel apathetic and depart quickly before I spend too much time on it.

If I'm interested in the subject I'll read the whole thread - if no - screw it.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

kramus

The longest and most interesting threads rarely get read through. I have had a thread in a window for days, untill the computer needed a reboot or something. I keep forgetting to subscribe - and they go off unread because something else has popped up. Butterfly, yah I know.

__________________
And now to disengage the clutch of the forebrain ...
I'm going with this - if you like artwork visit http://markfineart.ca

guthmund

What? I didn't read the whole thread, what was it about?

I read almost everything someone has bothered to put up EXCEPT in politics. Then I read what's interesting and comment if necessary.

__________________
No signature. None. Seriously.

SaltPork

I read the first 5-10 threads, even if they're long, but it has to be interesting. I haven't posted much in a while, mostly because a lot of the topics are rehashes of things from the past. I've been around for a while.

As far as TP goes, I was pretty involved in the beginning, but quickly faded out because I wasn't going to be able to maintain my remarks within the charter of TFP...I stay away from posting in politics board now.

__________________
It was like that when I got here....I swear.

Squishor

I pretty much read until people start arguing, which I can usually spot by the multiple quotes and rebuttals. Basically at that point I feel I'm reading a bunch of people's opinions rather than some interesting content or new information. I don't enjoy arguments and it's too much work just to end up feeling like I just got my brain drilled out by a cucumber.

777

If the intro is too long (won't fit on the screen without scrolling down), then I'm not reading the thread. Other wise, I'll read the first 50 and the last 20.

__________________
"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something - or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Roger Zelazny

Rdr4evr

I normally tend to avoid link/article infested threads that seem to go on forever in politics myself. In the past, I posted quite a bit in that section, but it's now become the same non-sense arguments over and over and I figure, what's the point?

MsNobody

If I see that it is rather long, I just avoid the whole thread, I like to know everything that has been said, prior, to putting my foot in my mouth, so to speak. If it starts out as a novel, I'm not even going in.

billege

Politics is a pretty useless forum, really. For the most part it's posters who really just want to hear themselves think. The other part is posters spending what must be hours of thier free time trying to prove some other guy wrong on a point of opinion (which is pretty much not possible).

EX:

"The sky is azure today."
"Sure, all you liberals think the sky is azure, it's blue damnit."
"Oh sure, all you conservative right winger fundies think Jeebus made the sky blue when it's a known fact Darwin proved it's azure."
"If you could just open your mind to the fact that no one can really see the sky, you'd believe it was blue, and abortion is wrong."
"No, it's a choice not a blog, and my car goes really fast but gets bad gas mileage which is all the fault of the right wing fundies."
"Yeah, well listen you liberal hippies caused my daughter to not practice abtinance with 10 guys and I hate you."

From there it's pages of trash. A true waste of my time, that much I know.

If the discussions were actually "discussions" where each side presented a point, and then the points were considered, that'd be something.
But, the posters aren't considering other POVs, they're spending an hour poking holes in the other POV, and defending their own.

It's all about seeking validation for a viewpoint, very little meaningful discussion is had. Frankly, I don't have time to waste on that.

On the upside, the forum keeps all that mess out of other forums. As general rule, I like keeping useless clutter in a closet where I can ignore it. Especially if I can't just throw it away.

__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

maleficent

Oh that so perfectly described most every thread in there... brilliant

__________________

Astrocloud

I'll admit I just skimmed this thread and say -yeah I do that.

Ustwo

I had a long post written up about the politics board and the problems with it, but thought better of it.

Let it just be said that it is a mental waste land. Some people put politics in place of the empty spot in their soul which is traditionaly filled by religion. When your politics become your religion you are offically a bore.

__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

Zeraph

Really depends on my mood and the subject matter, but ya I skip through sometimes. One can loose a LOT of time reading messages boards, there is a lot to read without reading all the really long posts too and frankly I have better things to do than devote that much of my life in reading random persons opinion. Not that it is a waste of time for everyone, we all learn differently.