ajqtrz
Chef - loquacious Old Dog
My initial response to your response was not pleasant. Why? Because, honestly, I skimmed it. I saw the all to familiar "wall of text" and read it as a negative comment. And maybe it was, but then, because I'm working on being more understanding of what others have written, I went back and read it carefully. My initial reaction was wrong as it was more a comment about what you expect in a forum.FWIW, I read for a living, so when I hit a wall of text in a game forum, it better be captivating or my eyes grey it out. For example, @crackie your post was very informative for a literary type who also loves technology. I do remember responsive design from one of the cs classes that I took when I decided to change careers and then realized that I would be competing with kids who grew up with computers when I graduated.
Any other text walls might have been greyed out by my eyes, or I just didn't have anything to add.
I often get the "wall of text" or "TLR" response. More than I like. I've tried to shorten and condense my writing and anybody who follows me may see that I've improved. On the other hand, while there is such thing as a "wall of text," I doubt I've ever posted one, in spite of my critics claims. But I have a more nuanced idea about what constitutes a "wall of text."
A wall of text, is, to me, built of repetition, extraneous or off topic comments, or other things which do not advance the story, argument or ideas of the post. It generally means the writer, didn't re-read and/or take the time to edit, and/or was unaware of the rules for concise writing.
Concise writing is not the same thing as short comment, though it may be short. In concise writing each and every word you write is needed to explain and advance communication. It may look like a wall of text, but it's a wall of dense, and sometimes cogent ideas that deserves respect. A "wall of text" does not. Sadly, too often readers "grey out" the words before them precisely because they have come to expect the text to be "repetitious, rambling, off topic, and so on. In other words, they see a large post and think, "not for me, it's a wall of text." Sort of what we did when we were kids and had to do a book report. We looked for the shortest thing we could find and anything over fifty pages was just too hard. On the other hand, which do you think you would have gotten more out of? "Fun with Dick and Jane" at ten pages or so, or "To Kill a Mockingbird?" at about 150? You probably know what you'd have done as a kid, but you aren't a kid anymore. Judging a bunch of writing because it looks like a wall of text, is, in my opinion, being an immature reader.
In any case, here here are some ideas I use in my attempt to become a more concise writer.
1) The first write of anything is for you as you work out in your own mind what you think. So never post the first draft. The second or beyond is for public consumption. So, edit your work.
2) When you edit, you being the process of writing for others. Put yourself in their place and listen with their ears. Then change, even throw out, what you've just written. Editing is saying to your readers that you care about their time and emotional state. Removing insults, staying on topic, moving the argument or story along, are not always easy. And doing it with the understanding that while you may understand what you mean, the readers may not. The greatest sign of respect for your readers is that you stop and read what you said, consider it from their perspective, and often dump it and try again.
3) Remember, you aren't writing for everyone. In fact, it's probably a small percentage of the potential audience to whom you will speak. Those interested in the topic, interested in what you may have to say about the topic, and willing to listen to you say it. This is a small group, more than likely. Write for them.
4) You may have to repeat yourself, but do so in a different place. Why? Because saying the same thing more than twice -- in two different ways -- in the same post, is not effective. By the third take the reader has either gotten it or won't as the human mind becomes dulled by the third iteration of the same idea, no matter how clever that iteration may be. So if you have to say it again, wait and find another place to say it.
5) Don't be too hard on yourself, or anybody. You are going to make mistakes and they will be pointed out to you. Acknowledge them, apologize for them, and be thankful because you need to grow and sometimes the only way to do that is to blush and carry on.
I could go on, but won't. I'll, instead, spend the time editing this to make it more concise.
AJ