Paragraphs.

Oops - guilty as charged m'lud.

From henceforth I shall ensure white spaces are abundant.

I believe as more and more of us use our phones for all text situations, the paragraph situation can become "confusing" to say the least.

Phones and speech to text software are wonderful for quickly getting all manner of things done, but users can be looking at a small section of the document they are typing or dictating due to the size of the device screen.

Therefore, users either do one block of text for the entire document or paragraph each sentence. Either way, the result can look ridiculous.

I did read that an industrial tribunal chairman did "have a go" at a solicitor a few weeks ago in regard to documents being drawn up in one block of text. That I believe demonstrates that paragraphing has become quite a significant problem due to documents being drawn up on phones.

Many GN members may think I have used too many paragraphs in this post, but that just makes it easier for me to edit (if needs be) on the phones small screen.

However others, without a doubt, would have written this post in one block of text and then just scrolled through to edit it at the end.

Problems of the modern age I suppose......

As I said earlier Melanie I think sometimes people are very stressed when they post and just want advice or help.

I agree that paragraphs make a post easier to read and it is also easier if the post is written grammatically. I honestly don't mean this in an unkind way but it is hard to read posts when words are written wrongly, there are numerous typos and the grammar is incorrect. It makes it hard to follow.

I hope people won't be too cross with me for saying this. I truly don't mean to start a quarrel or hurt anyone.

Jalima ??

You read it kathsue?

I am impressed
(it was a load of old rubbish, but yes, I am still hurting from my fall which was true!)

Jalima exactly right. I held my breath reading that.

I'm all in favour of paragraphs, also tend use double spacing in emails.

It's definitely easier to read if there are paragraphs, especially if you're reading on a phone or a small tablet. Not quite such a pain on a bigger screen but bad enough.

I confess that I have given up on several new threads recently because I just CBA.

No I don't think youre being unreasonable because sometimes I look at an OP and think I cant read that its so long and in all one paragraph and I lose track partway through and quite honestly lose the will to read any more even if someone is anguished and asking for help I think if you just put it into paragraphs it would be more comprehensible perhaps bullet points are too reminiscent of reports for work so may not be so suitable on a chat forum what does everyone else think is it a sign of ageing perhaps or is it just me losing my concentration I do seem to be losing my concentration lately which is a bit worrying because I fell over the other day in the garden which was entirely my own fault because I forgot I was on step up and went flat on my back.

Deep breath!

I agree Nanawind - perhaps a new OP may get more response if their post is in paragraphs, shorter and to the point.

Even though it is not grammatically correct, I have recently started to leave a white space between many sentences within my posts, not just between paragraphs, to help the reader. That's because my own brain often switches off on when there is a big block of text without any big visual breaks.

I hate HTML !!!

@ maw {grin}

What I find hard are the “stream of consciousness” posts where the only punctuation is a few dots between phrases or sentences.

I feel I have to read them without pausing and am often gasping for breath by the end! ????

I agree, white space makes a post easier to understand and read.

Its not hard after all is it?

I agree, Nanawind. I go cross-eyed sometimes trying to read a long post that's just one solid block on the screen.

YABU
Sometimes life is too short to stress about such trivialities.

Good point about being stressed when posting sodapop
I too find the lack of paragraphs off putting and when the OP turns out to be an essay. Yes, we need a few details but not your life history in one post please.

Yes I think that's better as well. One long post puts me off particularly if the poster has several issues to air.
Nothing wrong with bullet points
merlotgran I find that easier to follow. I understand though that often people are stressed or upset when they post and just want to get it all down.

I agree, Nanawind. I probably use too many paragraphs and my posts sometimes look like bullet points but the sight of a large block of words for an OP has me ignoring it until a few people have replied and I can get the gist.

If there's a need to explain everything you can always start the ball rolling with the OP and then continue with another post. Don't leave it too long though or people will be annoyed that they don't have the full picture.

Good idea,
I think I personally have become very lazy regarding anything grammatically correct as was taught ( teached?) at school .
Perhaps it is more prevalent because of texting,etc,
You are quite right Nannawind .I for one will make an effort.