Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

You're welcome.

You're such a jerk trollolololol.

Well, I'm not offended ("someone is wrong on the Internet!"), but I hope others don't feel personally attacked. (Except Squirrel. She knows what she did.) People who know me in person seem to think I am plenty warm and friendly, though certainly passionate in my viewpoints and yes, sarcastic. I will attempt to better convey the caring side of my personality, but I don't feel inclined to temper my outspokenness.

You all have clearly forgotten Thor. Or Cognoscente. Or some of the secondary 'nyms from 5, 8 years ago. When Laser Jock is what passes for a "mean writer," (??????) you're too darn sensitive.

Portia wrote:You all have clearly forgotten Thor. Or Cognoscente. Or some of the secondary 'nyms from 5, 8 years ago. When Laser Jock is what passes for a "mean writer," (??????) you're too darn sensitive.

I was thinking about Cognoscente when we first started this discussion. He was such a wonderfully caustic writer, if there is such a thing.

Portia wrote:Well, I'm not offended ("someone is wrong on the Internet!"), but I hope others don't feel personally attacked. (Except Squirrel. She knows what she did.) People who know me in person seem to think I am plenty warm and friendly, though certainly passionate in my viewpoints and yes, sarcastic. I will attempt to better convey the caring side of my personality, but I don't feel inclined to temper my outspokenness.

You all have clearly forgotten Thor. Or Cognoscente. Or some of the secondary 'nyms from 5, 8 years ago. When Laser Jock is what passes for a "mean writer," (??????) you're too darn sensitive.

I didn't find Coggers mean, but I must admit I AM kind of a bitch in real life. That might be why.

I thought this reader's question was a bit harsh, and I don't think the board has become overall meaner, but I do think there is a higher percentage of "mean" answers. I think a better word for "mean" is probably apathetic though. There are a lot of quick, simple questions that come in now, more than it seems like there used to be.

Citation? Can someone (Laser "Jerk" :P ? ) run a macro on question length? I don't have that impression at all. Plenty of novels.

Portia wrote:Citation? Can someone (Laser "Jerk" ? ) run a macro on question length? I don't have that impression at all. Plenty of novels.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'd be interested to see an average question length compared to before. You've been here longer.

There's a balance between making things too wordy and making things brief. Sometimes, all it really needs is a simple link or quick explanation with not much more. It is possible to try and make it longer (when it only needs a quick answer) but it's usually not worth it, and it ends up sounding overly long.

Tally M. wrote:There's a balance between making things too wordy and making things brief. Sometimes, all it really needs is a simple link or quick explanation with not much more. It is possible to try and make it longer (when it only needs a quick answer) but it's usually not worth it, and it ends up sounding overly long.

Sorry, I realize I wasn't clear. I mean that readers seem to be asking lots of questions that lend themselves to those types of shorter answers - not that writers have become lazier or anything.