How many lines are you willing to read in a post?

[Capper Al]

With the exception of the initial post or an example from a specific race, about how many lines in reply is reading worthy? For me about 12 lines. I'll usually read about the first dozen lines or so and determine if I want to continue to read on or not and, most of the time, I'd rather not read to the end. I believe posts should in general be brief with exceptions.

[GaryG]

It depends who made the post. If it is someone whose opinions I respect I will read it all. If it is by some yahoo I will probably not read it at all.

[Inner Dirt]

It depends, sometimes I will read a whole page and other times just a few words. If on a football forum and a post starts with "The refs screwed us again." I stop reading right there. Nothing annoys me more than someone who thinks the refs are always conspiring against his favorite team and they would win every game if it wasn't for the refs wanting the other team to win.

[thaskalos]

It depends on my psychological state. If I feel the need to punish myself for some expensive gambling mistake that I've made...then I'll look up some of the highly mathematical posts that we occasionally get here...and dive right into them.

I find that this practice is effective in helping to reduce the FUTURE mistakes I might make...

[Nitro]

Originally Posted by Capper Al

With the exception of the initial post or an example from a specific race, about how many lines in reply is reading worthy? For me about 12 lines. I'll usually read about the first dozen lines or so and determine if I want to continue to read on or not and, most of the time, I'd rather not read to the end. I believe posts should in general be brief with exceptions.

Heaven forbid that the eyes or brain gets too stressed out by trying to read too much! Yes some posts are gibberish and many others are even off-topic, but those can be easily ignored. The suggestion of reading a limited number of posts in a given perhaps interesting topic is exactly what causes things to be taken out of context by those later responding and creates so many unfortunate misunderstandings. Since this is only the 5th post on this thread it might be read. Who knows?!

Personally I enjoy reading some threads thoroughly even if I find the commentary nonsensical and contrary to my way of thinking. I guess you can just grin and bear it. You can sometimes even get an idea of what type of people you're dealing with and better yet their level of involvement in the game. But contrary to what seems to be the norm on most forums, I’ll purposely avoid just posting something for the hell of it, just to intimidate someone.
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[Cratos]

Originally Posted by Capper Al

With the exception of the initial post or an example from a specific race, about how many lines in reply is reading worthy? For me about 12 lines. I'll usually read about the first dozen lines or so and determine if I want to continue to read on or not and, most of the time, I'd rather not read to the end. I believe posts should in general be brief with exceptions.

I am a voracious reader and I read a post for content, revelance, and interest. Sometimes a poster is making a salient point and he/she needs to support that point with a longer than normal post which is okay with me.

[cj]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

It depends on my psychological state. If I feel the need to punish myself for some expensive gambling mistake that I've made...then I'll look up some of the highly mathematical posts that we occasionally get here...and dive right into them.

I find that this practice is effective in helping to reduce the FUTURE mistakes I might make...

FAVORITE LIKE

[jk3521]

I want to read comments about horses, handicapping horses and nothing else. All complaints about jockeys, stewards, takeout,exotic payouts etc. are out of my control. And of course I definitely keep away from political off-topics.

And most people think of me as being very cynical !

[Fingal]

Originally Posted by GaryG

It depends who made the post. If it is someone whose opinions I respect I will read it all. If it is by some yahoo I will probably not read it at all.

And I'll look to see who contributes to that thread. Without naming names, it's an easy way to see if it has merit or not. And then I'll go to the last page to see if there were any relevant overnight additions.

[raybo]

Depends on the poster and what they are contributing to the thread, and how effective they are supporting their views/opinions.

Many here invariably make a statement, and either provide no support for it, or get all wishy-washy and sidestep the real issues. Others are here only to whine and complain, and thrive on controversy of their own initiation. These people don't get read thoroughly by me.

[Midnight Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Capper Al

With the exception of the initial post or an example from a specific race, about how many lines in reply is reading worthy? For me about 12 lines. I'll usually read about the first dozen lines or so and determine if I want to continue to read on or not and, most of the time, I'd rather not read to the end. I believe posts should in general be brief with exceptions.

Probably 2 graphs max

[ultracapper]

until I get the jist of the post.

[barn32]

A better question might be:

What percentage of threads do you even bother to open?

[Capper Al]

Originally Posted by barn32

A better question might be:

What percentage of threads do you even bother to open?

Good question.

[HuggingTheRail]

For me, formatting makes a difference. If the post is in paragraphs, with a space between each, I will read more if the content inspires me. As others have mentioned, the poster is a factor as well....