GN members with problems

Yes, use paragraphs .... short sentences .......

I do sometimes get lost in complex situations about DILs, MILs, ACs, DDs, DS, GCs!

Some of us are used to writing in a succinct manner, but some of us are not.

I do sometimes give up reading lengthy indigestible posts. But by trying to keep it simple and then previewing before posting, it helps!

Keeping it short, I would never ask for advice on an open forum about a personal/family problem. Having said that I did once a couple of years ago. Not since.
But maybe I'm too reserved.
We all have these family problems, I could write several books.

I’ve not seen the problem post but I have noticed that long OPs with few paragraphs often result in those replying obviously missing relevant points.

The main thing to remember when posting is to use the Preview Message key.

I get the general point, and agree some long and involved personal stories can be hard to digest and respond to. Haven't any idea who this thread might be aimed at though. Probably for the best.

?

Try it for suggesting that a specific post is too long and see what happens, Rufus.
Elegran; Oh for goodness sake; stop beating around the bush(es) and tell me who the poster is and where to find the offending post. I think what is needed here might be a male's non-patronising, light- handed sensitive approach and if I'm given the above info. I'm prepared to give it a go via p.m., provided the poster has not already fled, thinking, like I did, that a "going over" was in the offing.

janeainsworth

A strategic comma or fullstop changes the meaning completely
Quite so, sparklefizz
Don’t shoot, Grandma!

Generally I have now stopped reading any posts that don't have punctuation or paragraphs. It takes far too long to make any sense of what is being said. A strategic comma or fullstop changes the meaning completely.

I understood the said poster.

Maybe just not allow membership to people whose written English isn't up to scratch....
That'll do wonders to help the site stay up to date and fresh.

"private messaging" if any one feels they have some useful advice to give to a nervous poster. Try it for suggesting that a specific post is too long and see what happens, Rufus. I suspect you would find yourself in trouble for sending "nasty PMs" and "targetting vulnerable posters". Better to discuss the subject generally.

Perhaps people who want to help could ask the person questions to get a clearer picture.

No specific poster is being "done over" ! I still haven't had time to find and read any current threads that need this advice, but it sounds from this thread as though the comments are being confined to here and the relevant threads kept clear.

It takes a lot of patience to decipher a solid block of text some thirty or forty lines long, however sympathetic you might be by the time you reached the end. In a face-to-face conversation you can stop and ask a question to clarify what is being said, online you are dependent on how the story is presented. Have all those who complain that it is patronising to say it is difficult actually waded through it, and given advice? and is it patronising to even give advice, as if the advisor were an expert?

If the general guidelines don't include anything about breaking up a long post or about it being even possible to start a new line without sending the post to the page, where else is it going to be aired? Should this whole thread be moved to "Site stuff" and be aimed at HQ, to try to get the subject into the guidelines? Should we just ignore pleas for help entirely without pointing out why they are going unanswered?

No wonder some DiL's run for the hills !

I don't see this as being aimed at any one member. No names mentioned, no content of the post. (I haven't seen it)
We are just saying, that posts with punctuation are easier to read and understand.

Dont like this thread. I find it patronising
Rafichagran; I fully agree! No-one wants to see themselves "done over" in public. What's wrong with using "private messaging" if any one feels they have some useful advice to give to a nervous poster.
I thought that's what it's there for

I think it may be shift/enter or maybe control/enter. Trial and error needed.

In some social media, the enter button or what would have been carriage return on a typewriter sends the post at once, whether you are finished typing the story or not.
It happens when trying to type FB messages, although I think that there is a way to stop it. I haven't found that yet so the DC often get a string of messages from me!

If there aren't many replies because of the long block of words, the poster is likely to think no-one cares. That is at least as bad as being given a bit of advice on making the post more readable.

You don't need a Word document when you have the text box to type it into.

I have just thought of a possible reason why people don't break up their story. In some social media, the enter button or what would have been carriage return on a typewriter sends the post at once, whether you are finished typing the story or not. Someone who posts more on Facebook than on Gransnet may not know that on GN they can start a new line without finding their post has vanished to the net, and want to get the whole story down before sending it.

Dont like this thread. I find it patronising. If you do not want to read the post don't. I just feel by posting this you may make a poster feel awkward
This is Gransnet, for everyone no matter what their writing style. We do not need to be told about making word documents by another poster we are not at school.

Oh - er I ve just accidently opened that thread and I do see what you mean I got three quarters of the way down and lost consciousness whose doing what to who or when
Oh dear that was War and Peace
Hope she was happy with the replies anyway

I have been out of the house most of the day, so I haven't read that thread and have no axe to grind with that particular poster (whoever they are and whatever the problem is)

I have in the past, however, left threads without even reading to the end, when it was going to be a mammoth task to work out just what the poster wanted to tell us and what they were asking advice on. It is not always problems either, sometimes it is a chatty post that keeps going like a continous monologue in one long sentence.

Just pressing the enter key after a sentence or two so that there is a pause for breath every so often would be enough to let us understand the post. It is not only in speaking that pauses are need, reading needs them too. Authors know that. How often do you read a novel that is not divided into paragraphs? Never!!

Ideally the pauses would be between "chunks" of the story, but that is not essential - just give us a pause here and there, and there will be a lot more readers and so a lot more advice. Try reading it through before pressing "post" and thinking, "If this came from someone else, would I read all of it?"

Yes I gathered that Squiffy and agree they are hard to read when they go on and on I guess some people just write as they talk and it all comes pouring out
I hope the lady got the advice an d help she was obviously needing

A poster doesn't really need to cut and paste a Word document though.

It's simple enough to use paragraphs, and a message can be previewed before posting to ensure it is legible and easy for others to read and understand.