i, for one, think have some of the longest posts.
one primary reason, is i parse, almost after every one or two sentence, as i believe, this makes reading the posts easy.
this is only out of my own experience in reading multi lined paragraphs, where i tend to mix the lines and feel the contents somewhat crushed.
in such cases, in fact, if i highlight the paragraph, it appears easy for me to read.
another point, too i agree. threads, i have found are like rivers with a mind of their own.
it might frustrate some to see their favourite topic 'hijacked' - an appropriate word used by hari, sometime ago, when i did such a thing.
i have an issue to present then - in the course of an answer, many points are brought out, and some of them are so interesting in themselves, that one is forced to deviate.
for this habit, i think, i can venture to say, that all of us, at one point or the other, may be guilty.
such interesting points' repartee, do not necessarily warranty opening a new thread, for then it loses the juiciness of the answer, or the momentum of the query.
and it is such a shame, because sometimes these subtopics build up such interest, that they even eclipse the original intent of the thread.
hence, my view that the thread has a mind of its own, and it manipulates the posters to its whims and fancy.
seriously, i do not know, if all replies are confined to yes, no or maybe or extensions of these to a few lines (because once we advocate brevity, we are obliged to come up with a definition).
we cannot get away with saying that only brief replies are allowed, without defining what it should be.
which may mean, a half baked answer, as sometimes, many thoughts are just yarns, which have to be threaded to be posted here, and that takes words and time.
also, people like me, touch upon two or three related topics of an answer, and such a broad brush, appears that my replies are out of focus?
i don't know, but considering the enthu with which this thread has started, let us wait for a few more posts.
perhaps, we can come up with guidelines, for what use is a thread, with a suggestion, if a solution is not forthcoming.
personally, i tend to skip threads which are of no interest or which i cannot fathom. also answers which are long and not parsed.
back again, let us view some more response and also suggestions from the public re
- how many maximum words per answer (suggested ofcourse
)
- what about interesting side topics that spurt out?
- can the thread starter be considered a de facto owner and perhaps mildly 'police' the contents
- .. and perhaps suggest at what point a new thread can be justified?
i see raghy, now on the verge of opening up a new thread.. maybe he can give pointers as to why he wished to do so, instead of continuiing with the existing thread re brahmins' pets
to close off: personally, i am always reluctant to start new threads, because my track record has been horrible. very few such threads have taken off, and i have always felt ignored. i had no such issues with posting in existing threads, which always appear to get answers to my queries.
thank you.
