Do you ever read long replies?

Question

If yes, when is a long reply a good one? When is it a bad one?

If no, why?

I find myself feeling a little insecure about my sometimes rather lengthy replies... I apologise for that, and I also ask for some input to make my replies more readable.

What would be your rules for writing a helpful answer to an R&S question?

Thank you everyone for the thorough and thoughtful replies. I really appreciate it... and it comforts me. Thank you! xo

Answer 1

Hi, I don't like reading long replies. but if the subject is of great interest then I do read them.

Sometimes I write long replies, and used to be too lazy to make it interesting, now though, I have found a few things that help when what I have to say is long.

First of all, you must separate like as you see here, (you can also number your points that is very interesting as well) so that a person who is scanning can quickly see the different points you make. (and it is not lumped in one mass of words)

Make sure that you don't repeat yourself, that is annoying.

Read your reply, and make sure it makes good sense. Usually when I read my replies, I find all kinds of ways to shorten it, or change it to more precise and enjoyable language.

Use proper grammar. Avoid run on sentences. Better to break them up for more easily digestible pieces of info.

Abbreviation and slang is ok, if that's the mood your looking for, but you still have to make it understandable.

- I edit my replies till I like how they sound to me.
:-)

Answer 2

I'm more into 'answering' than 'asking' here on Y!A and, like you, some of my responses do get quite verbose..

However,...
... when I do post the occasional question, the respondent I am most likely to award the, albeit dubious, award of "Best Answer" to is the answer that I feel was the result of someone who took the time to proffer a 'thoughtful' answer to my query.
That's the reason why I usually scroll to the bottom of the page of answers and work my way back up; for the more serious answers are usually the last ones posted.

I've even been know to give a BA to a response that I disagreed with, - and only because I felt the effort given to 'create' that answer was more worthy of the distinction than than any one-liner posts I may happen to agree with.

I do have a few pet peeves, though:
I DO NOT LIKE COPY/PASTE ANSWERS:
C/P excerpts within an answer are fine,.. but to offer just a C/Ped piece from, say, a WIki article is NOT an answer: It is plagiarism...:-))
'TEXT SPEAK' AGRAV8S ME:
Y!A is a Q&A forum, not a chat room. There is plenty of time on here to completely spell out the words to an answer.
SPELLING COUNTS, - AND SYNTAX MATTERS:
We all make mistakes, and that's okay,...
...but there is little excuse for the deplorable orthographics I frequently see displayed here on Y!A, - particularly when there is easy access to the 'Check Spelling' feature.
LONG ANSWERS ARE NOT ALWAYS GOOD ANSWERS:
I've found that the intolerably lengthy answers are usually the result of of an over-zealous 'cut-and-paster'.
I will give a thumbs-down to such answers in order to facilitate my access to other answers.

I think that's about it...:-))

So, MumOF4,...
... if you see that I've posted a question, feel free to answer it with 'maximum verbosity', and know that your response will absolutely be given my attention...:-))
-

Answer 3

A lot of the long replies I see in here are people just cutting and pasting Bible verses. I don't bother reading them at all. A Bible verse should never be used in an answer unless the question specifically asks for a Bible verse. If someone continually cuts and pastes them as an answer, I assume that they do not have an original thought in their head. A lot of the other longer replies are very well thought out. Those get my thumbs up nod because they put a lot of thought into their answer.

Answer 4

I am humbled when someone takes time to research a meaningful response and, of course, I read it and thumbs up it.

Very seldom do I "best answer" a short reply unless the others are off base.

Sometimes a long answer is obviously pasted. If it is relevant to the question, I read it. If it preaches on another topic--thumbs down.

Some of my answers are so long that they end up at the bottom of the list and when I check a day later, it is not rated by the poster, which means my efforts were wasted. Such is life; if you read this, Momof4, give it a thumbs rating.

Sorry for the long answer

Blessings, Balaam

Answer 5

I write them, so I am probably not the best one to answer.
The least valuable replies are the long string of quotes cut and pasted and not applicable to the particular question.

Some short responses are pithy. They get to the point with good insight and originality. But these are rare. Most short responses are just votes- little more than yes or no responses with no reasoning set out.

Personally, if I ask something I want to know why people give the answer they do, I don't want to take a poll. I rarely care as much what a person's opinion is as why it is what it is. And short answers rarely provide substance.

Some people don't want to read longer answers. Frankly, they don't care what others think- they just want to see who agrees with them. Those people can easily spot that my answer is long and are free to skip on by it, I'll never know.

Answer 6

I start to read long replies, but if they don't get to the point quickly or they appear to be pasted, I'll skip them.

I think it is always bad to post an answer (whether long or short) that doesn't specifically address the question. This is very common in "copy and paste" answers.

I think it's good to write questions and answers in newspaper article style with the essential information up front. That way people can easily skim or even skip the remainder as desired.

Answer 7

Only if it is dealing with the subject. As soon as it gets nutty, or is somehow attacking or threatening, I stop reading. One of the worst offenders is Punter. He pastes long scripts that have nothing to do with the subject. So I even give him a thumbs down just to get his post out of the way.

Sometimes long replies means that the person is qualified to answer the question. So I try to read all of it and understand what it is that's being said whether I agree with it or not.

Answer 8

If it is long and nothing but a rehash of the same old garbage I don't finish reading it. If the writer is making a point at least once in every paragraph, I will read it. If it is just a reprint from the bible, I don't bother. I have already read it in the bible. It has to hold my interest. It has to have words spelled correctly; grammar is important but won't turn me off if it is not offensively incorrect. A good answer is clean, clear, precise, and to the point.

aen

Answer 9

i don't know i try to be as short as possible,and get the point across, the only time i do write a long reply is if i have a short story to illustrate the point.

i find long replies are from people that use holy books and by putting in 15 verses they think they are giving the people many reasons to buy there point of view.

I'm not that good a writer and the shorter it is ,the less likely ill put my foot in my mouth.
_____________

rule, no mater what you do others will like it or hate it so if they don't like it don't get bummed out

for me it short ,concise,and one example.and a link if i have one.

Answer 10

Yes I do read the long and the short replies for that is how we learn, and even sometimes can respond and teach others. Some things you can say in a short space, some things it takes a long space. God has a whole big Bible written about everything, and to try and put enuff together to say what He says about something, is jsut necessary at times. Either you are searching for truth and read it or you arent.
I found that many of the short replies dont answer the question at all. But some do, cant judge a book by its cover, you know......
Jsut write truth when you asnwer, thats all anyone expects, and if they dont have time to read or dont want to, they can just ignore you. But some will hear and some will listen, to those we speak truth to.