How do you feel to read a long question?

Anything beyond 2 or 3 short to medium paragraphs loses my interest. Unless it’s a compelling subject for me personally, my mind starts to wander.

I think this is a product of how I was taught to write in high school. Don’t use five words when you can clearly and effectively use five.

I get a little frustrated, but I usually answer them anyway.

I “try” to work through them if the topic interests me; but I think for the relationship questions, the poster is simply too caught up in his/her own drama. They use the question format as a type of therapy to tell the story.

I did read most of your long post, @Mimishu1995—but I don’t really have any good advice to assist you. Your relationship is toxic, IMHO; and I’d advise you to cut your losses and run. Easier said than done.

I did answer your question but I confess I skimmed and got the gist of what you wrote. It didn’t need all the details; it is easier if a question is condensed. But it is an important issue for you for sure.

I don’t mind if it is a topic I am interested in answering.

The question you refer to is too long for me to read. Often, one can skip a lot of the details and simply define the problem in a few sentences.

I usually don’t read the really long ones. I did read yours, however.
You’re about the same age as my son, I believe, I could feel myself going into “mommy mode”.

Edit:
I had something to add to the long question. It’s gone. It must have been sent back to you for editing.

If the details really relate and are necessary for clarification I would say up to 4 short paragraphs is ok. But, the shorter the better.

There are some people who habitually write very long questions or responses and I have to admit that I just skim them. When I read the responses to very long questions, I may go back and read the question. It depends on the subject being discussed.

I don’t like them much, I do this for fun sometimes but usually for information, so although I will answer personal questions sometimes, they aren’t very interesting unless they are very unusual.

I usually don’t read long detailed postings, unless the subject matter piques my curiosity or interest. That being said, I think some of my posts have been pretty long, and I understand the need to include the details in order to attempt to make the question as clear and concise as possible. I admit that some of my posts have been fairly long.

It feels like two minutes of my life that i’ll never get back, so I don’t bother.

It’s called a WOT – a wall O’ Text – I ignore them.

The Late Great Mark Twain wrote: Sorry for writing such a long letter – I didn’t have time to write a short one.

Welcome to Fluther. I know you are from China, but if your English i good enough to write all that, then it’s sufficient enough to write a brief, efficient question.

Best way to learn – read the questions here, and use them – changing a verb or noun here and there – til you get the idea.

:-)

I rarely read anything that’s more than about a dozen lines, unless it’s a question on a subject that REALLY interests me, like gender issues, art or history. Relationship questions don’t stand a chance, I turn off at the first line.

Honestly, unless it’s a topic that I’m very interested in, I don’t. (It seems as if the long ones have to do with relationships, and I have very little interest in drama.)

Many times, I Fluther in small segments. Only when it’s something that relates to me and I am not Fluthering in between happenings, I’ll take time to read it and respond.

Like @zenzen, I say, walls of text be damned. I will read long questions if the subject interests me though. Sometimes you need all the details, and sometimes it’s just fun to read other jellies.

There’s one dude on here, I won’t name his name but it starts with the letter ETpro…XD…he always has long questions, and he posts a lot of stuff about space, and this is not my field. I don’t understand anything he asks, but by reading the questions, he still teaches me some thing I didn’t know before, so it’s worth reading even if I don’t participate. I don’t always have answers, but I do think big questions are cool. I get a bit frustrated when someone makes a big question and it’s actually really just a big blog post though.

Your long question was well presented and included details that explained the motivation for you choices. I appreciate such a question and I take the time to read it and understand your question. Perhaps my psychologist characteristics come into play here. I like to help other people better understand the behaviour of themselves and others.

I don’t mind them once in awhile. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, but I agree with the answers I saw.

LoL! I just re-read my answer. It’s too late to edit, but I meant “why use ten words when you can clearly and effectively use five.

^^ I was wondering about that and assumed I wasn’t getting it ;)

“How do you feel to read a long question?”
Stevie Wonder uses braille.

More details are way better than not enough. If people can’t take the time to accurately describe a problem I won’t spend 20 minutes trying to figure out what they meant.

Well, you asked… and I have to admit that I usually avoid reading through questions with as much length as the one you posted—unless it’s a topic that really snags me. For me, 3 paragraphs or less is usually enough detail, and if I need more I’ll either ask in the thread or send a PM.

I rarely read through very long questions, unless something about the topic appeals to me strongly.

On the other hand, I have a greater dislike for questions that leave out too many details and the thread becomes a lot of questions back to the original poster (OP) to ask for more information.

I’m a fast reader. If the topic was enough to hook my interest, I’ll usually read the whole thing.

As long as it is well written, I am good with it.

It depends upon whether the length of the details is necessary, and if the details are concise and written with high quality.

I did read your very long question about the friend who asked you to do her homework. I think you added way too many unnecessary details.

If I had been writing that Question I would have said something like this?

Title Question: My friend asked me to do her homework for her, what should I do?

Details section: First of all let me tell you that English is not my first language, so bear with me.

I have a school friend, who I have known for a long time. She was a friend and a schoolmate from High School and now we are going to the same University. She recently presented me with a “deal” in which I would do her homework and school assignments and she would reward me with candy and snacks.

She is going to travel abroad to study in the near future and she told me that she doesn’t have time to do her school work. She used to be very nice, but since we have started at University, she has become very childish and bad-tempered. Because we had been friends, and I didn’t want to upset her, I agreed to the deal.

I am now regretting my decision to do her work, but I’m afraid that if I refuse to do it, she will get very angry and I don’t know what she will do. I was thinking of telling her that my parents found out about the “deal” and have told me to stop doing her work, even though my parents have no idea about this situation.

What should I do?