Help make your posts readable

I love reading all the posts here. Most people have good stuff to add.

There are a few prolific posters here who I would love to read there posts, but their contributions fall into the category of "wall of text" with little punctuation or spacing. I simply skip these posts, even though there is probably something thoughtful buried in the words. I won't spend the time to struggle with it.

Using paragraphs and punctuation makes posts so much more readable.

If you put a carriage return at the end of every sentence, that would be better than typing a run-on paragraph.

Please help us out. If you have something long-winded to say, use paragraphs and spacing. If you don't, your passionate words will likely go unread.

The same paragraph with no spacing...I love reading all the posts here. Most people have good stuff to add. There are a few prolific posters here who I would love to read there posts, but their contributions fall into the category of "wall of text" with little punctuation or spacing. I simply skip these posts, even though there is probably something thoughtful buried in the words. I won't spend the time to struggle with it. Using paragraphs and punctuation makes posts so much more readable. If you put a carriage return at the end of every sentence, that would be better than typing a run-on paragraph. Please help us out. If you have something long-winded to say, use paragraphs and spacing. If you don't, your passionate words will likely go unread.

I have the same issue. I won't call it a complaint because the posts here are contributions and one does not complain about voluntary contributions.

However, as GarlyDog notes, posts that are difficult to read go largely unread and having your posts read is the purpose of contributing. At least I think that's the purpose, please correct me if I'm mistaken.

We are trying to help so please take this as friendly critique.

NH, I'm not as good with the 'stream of consciousness' writing style as you are.

I need the paragraph breaks or my eyes get lost trying to read the words in a big block of text.

It's my own failing.

I manage to get through most posts unless they use text messaging abbreviations, ALL CAPS & no punctuation.

Is it really that much work to throw the odd period in there?

I have been a member for years and have learned much. I often feel I have something to contribute but do not because there seem to be a lot of grammar snobs on this site. I know it is an important skill to be able to communicate properly, however most people can dig the meaning out even if it is not written properly.

I'm not asking for perfect grammar, that's not me either. Just look at my first post in this thread, i used 'there' incorrectly and I mis-capitalized 'i' in this sentence.


I am just asking for some spacing, paragraphs(pressing the 'enter' key to create space) and a period every now and then.

Let's eat grandpa!
Let's eat, grandpa!

Punctuation: it can save lives.
-Blast

While I don't think I am an offender on this model of writing, guilt forces me to nevertheless respond on my behalf or the behalf of others. I occasionally respond to threads using my iPhone. It makes logical typing structure more difficult to maintain typing with thumbs in a small space.

Not like this post in which I'm using a desktop pc and a 42" monitor. In this case, I'm just a horrible typist with almost zero formal training in sentence structure.

I totally understand the frustration though. My dad in our family websites and emails writes in 100% caps, doesn't proof his work and usually writes in one long paragraph.

I try to tell him that all caps is code for yelling or anger but he says, "I can see the words on the screen better." As to the other issues, like say a squiggly red underline under misspelled words, he is less forthcoming with a response.

I'm pretty sure train-of-thought doesn't count as a "style." Probably more like the written equivalent of verbal diarrhea.

That being said, I'm pretty sure it's not you he's referring to!

I think we can all understand iphones and the like, especially in regards to auto-correct issues.

Callahan ... uh ... welcome? 3 years and 2 posts? That's some impressive lurking

Sorry about the grammar snob thing. One of the things I like best about this site is how civil the conversations are and here I am using childish name calling. I guess I am just embarrassed that I cant spell, type or put together a proper sentence.

I got a funny auto-correct this morning from my wife. She meant to type that she is bringing home 'computers'. Instead auto correct turned computers into 'litters' some how. When you own 5 dogs, the last thing you want your wife to bring home is litters.

Callahan, that post required no digging. You were clear and easy to understand.

I promise that I am not picking on anyone in particular. I think we all do it from time to time.

Nighthiker If they where completely optitional we would not be having this conversation.


Naro, Thank you and thanks to Word Processor for correctly spelled words.

3 years as a lurker is a long time but if I wait long enough someone usually says what I was going to say anyway. Seems great minds think alike.

I'm probably on the other end of the spectrum. I think I'm an effective writer. However, I have relatively little survival knowledge to share. So, unless you want hucksters like me being heard the most on this site, make your posts more readable.

I think we can all manage obvious spelling and grammar errors just fine.

All I am asking for is a carriage returns after a complete thought.

It's not about grammar. It's about making the text more comfortable to read.

Apparently I'm not the only one who ignores "wall of text" posts

C. You have no worries. I think everyone likes your style best. You get right to the point.

Well said Russ.

I wish I could read these types of posts more effectively, because it seems to be an acceptable standard style of writing in just about every forum.

I think someone needs to invent an "auto-paragrapher" tool to re-format the wall text posts. Then Add the link right next to 'Reply' function.

Until that glorious day, please just hit the "Enter" key every now and then when you make a post.

count me in that group.

the run-on paragraphs drive me crazy. those folks have spent some time and effort to say what's on their mind, and i'd like to be able to hear them out.... unfortunately i do tend to ignore those.

spelling and grammar have -0- impact.

I cannot spell either. That is why I use a word processor.

Jeanette Isabelle

Firefox has a spellchecker function which works in the ETS text reply window.

I believe I'm the culprit!JB referred to my style as a Haxxor,of which I consider an honor,though that is not something I was trying to acheive.I've never had typing lessons & my calligraphy skills are even worse!I consider my spelling to be above average without the use of spell check,so I don't use it,I don't text on the phone either so nothing derived from there has influenced my writing capacity.I know one thing for sure,It is much easier to change your reading prowess,than it is for me to change my writing style.If one prefer's not to read my posts,so be it.Adapt & Overcome!

Ifyoucanreadthisyoudon'thaveenoughtodo.

If aneewon wants mee too korekt there speling and grammer; eye wood bea mor then happie two. Jest let mee no.

i dont see what the problem is with longer posts just read them naturally just as you would any other post punctuation grammer capitalization are all commie plots to do away with our freedoms in this and other countries a plot that must be resisted by all who love freedom which by the way i know many of us do so these very foolish though perhaps well meaning ideas on post clarification must not prevail grammatically correct is just as evil as politically correct to my point of view

my daughter who is working on a PhD read my wall,the post canoe trip story of being wet and burned out.she was a teaching assistant grading papers and such before going to the UK to finish her thesis.i had her read my post..."hummmm action writing"....
like i have said before,if i was any good at this i would have my own blog---and a few.....'s

Good writing demonstrates not merely your level of education, but also consideration for your readers. As Blast points out with a humorous example, sometimes a tiny punctuation mark can make a big different in meaning, and those who intend on imparting tips on survival surely want to be as clear as possible.

No, we need not live up to the professional standard of a publishing house, but we can strive for clarity and readability. It's not too much to ask. As readers, we respect the time that people took to write their postings to share their thoughts. Naturally, as writers we must also respect the reader's time. Don't make it difficult for your readers.

Let's face it: people who write poorly and carelessly don't deserve our attention. They are ignorant jerks who waste our time.

Da Bing

Woah! I hope you were just being dry and not serious.

Some of the most capable people I know don't have the best writing skills. More importantly, the expert knowledge they possess can't be easily transfered by spoken/written word anyway.

It has to be experienced.

GD: Agree absolutely.

There are a couple of regular contributors here that I had to 'get used to' in order to be able to easily follow their thoughts. I enjoy reading their contributions and the nugget-mining is easy, as they get right to the point. Not everyone has great writing skills by school-marm standards, but this isn't a technical writing forum.

I would rather have everyone concentrate on their contributions to the discussion than hold back because they are now self-conscious about their writing or grammar.

I would say to the grammar snobs; Skip the imperfect posts if they irritate you. In the long run, it's your loss.

Mostly agreed. I submit I can probably self-spell check, punctuate and add line breaks, but brevity and clarity aren't always my strong point - I had an English teacher who said I was cursed with Germanic sentence / thought structures, when translated to the page. I will take 100 words to say what most men can say in 10.

I'm not offended by anyone else's sentence structure or writing style, its all good. I don't mind reading some difficult to parse posts, as long as there aren't ugly thoughts behind the words. I think the ultimate consideration is consideration for different points of view, which most everyone has here. Goebbels was a helluva writer, fronting for some very ugly thoughts / people. Hey, now that I've mentioned the Nazis, can we invoke Godwin's Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law on this thread? :-)

Here is a "bookmarklet", its a javascript bookmark
If you click it while reading this forum (or any UBB forum), it will turn wall-of-text more betterer readable by inserting paragraphs
Save it as punch2para

This next one will wrap text after 80-90 chars, save it as wrapBody

Tested with the latest firefox browser, I don't care if it works with others
I've posted this once before, but apparently the sheriff nixed it instead of fixing his css stylesheet
Enjoy

If you have an important point you wish to get across to your audience, good organization, phrasing, and at least decent grammar are your friends. Why place obstacles between you and those trying to understand your post?

A really long text with no organization, and chaotic grammar will send me to the next post, with whatever thoughts were contained therein lost forever....

Wow! How do I use it?

Wow, this thread exploded.

I'm a self-admitted spelling-Nazi, which is ironic b/c often I don't care about one or two typos in my writing. I strive to curb this desire, unless it's one of those words that's pronounced the same and spelled differently.

I agree w/ Bingley, to a point, about writing reflecting education. That being said, I know my cousin did phenomenal in college, better than me, and he's dsylexic (just like his dad and uncle). His writing is atrocious (if I even spelled that right!) but he's a pretty smart guy.

Fortunately, most of the people on here with "imperfect" grammer still come across rather clearly. Sometimes I have problems, but almost always, the content is worth the effort. For that, I applaud everyone - as has been mentioned in more than one thread over the last few years, ETS is truly one of the more courteous and civil boards on the web. Thank you all!

You click on it
Or you could use your keyboard
Alt+Bookmarks+punch2para+Enter
Alt+Bookmarks+bodyWrap+Enter

Post deleted. It was too much hassle for Firefox users.


Edit - It was too (adverb as in 'excessive' and not the word 'to') much hassle for Firefox users.

As a French Texan would say, "Bonjour y'all."

Most Texans are not uptight over something like this; "y'all" must be used correctly. "Y'all" is a contraction of "you all" so it needs an apostrophe after the "Y."

Jeanette Isabelle

Transparency, here. I honestly don't think I am a poor composer of words or sentence structure. However, I think I use too many words to get my point across. I write almost exactly as I speak, as most people can speak and hear faster than they can read, it adds a lot of words to my prose.

Having spent a fair amount of my career in dispute resolution every word had to be studied so that it can't be used or misconstrued in emotional situations. This often means over explaining a simple process to deter needless follow up.

Now I'm just trying to write with an economy of words.

This is what I love about this forum: solutions. Great job with the code guys!. It works with Chrome.

I guess I'm not the only one...


Thanks!

i browse with firefox.

why, all of the sudden, do i have to scroll horizontally to read the messages in this post?

all of the other posts on the board are fine, just a problem with this one.

did someone fix this good?

if so, please unfix.

to me it's 3 x more annoying than run-on sentences and paragraphs.

Nothing is changed, as far as I know, with the original post.

Try reading this post on a smartphone...excessive scrolling.

The problem link and code is in Am_Fear_Liath_Mor's post. This extra long link and code snippet needs to be shortened... I reported the post so that a MOD can fix it.

10 times more annoying for me

thank you! at least i'm not the only one.

and now a pertinent hijack - i guess this means we all have the potential capability to modify this board in our own various ways.

not sure that's a good idea.

mods?

Good writing is not the same thing as good grammar or other conventional rules typically drilled in school. One cannot write well unless one has thought through the ideas. Often people who write poorly because they really do not have that much of an argument or insight to share. If they haven't worked out the ideas in their heads, they cannot explain them logically and coherently. Often, they are also not informed, and their internet posts reflect the strength of their emotion rather than the soundness of their conviction. A smattering of misspellings, occasionally run-on sentences, lack of grace, etc. can be overlooked if the author propounds a logical, well-thought-out argument full of facts and analysis. A writer can be dyslexic or a non-English speaker, but he/she can still think, right?

In this sense, good writing reflects your expertise. For some reason, people today seem to think that writing is just rhetoric or ornamental language. They can do without it. This belief is quite mistaken. If we find a piece of writing that is devoid of content or logic, do we call it good writing just because it has perfect grammar? This is absurd. The logical, persuasive presentation of ideas comes first. Of course, the presentation will be damaged by poor grammar, etc.

For examples of poor writing, one needs to go no further than Youtube or, in fact, most comments on news sites. Many comments exhibit base, vulgar, thoughtless, mean-spirited personalities, and I can only surmise that these personalities do indeed reflect the people in front of the computer. It is no surprise to me that the same comments tend to offend the rules of grammar, spelling, etc. These are inconsiderate people, and we are better off without them.

As for experience trumping expression, as a student you can only extend yourself so much to get the wisdom of the tongue-tied teacher. Language barrier aside, I am unconvinced that someone with the necessary experience cannot eventually find a good way to explain his ideas. If he does not have the courtesy to take a bit of time to think about what he wants to say and how he should say it, perhaps he shouldn't drop his stream of consciousness on readers who have the courtesy to read his posts.


Da Bing

No one is modifying this website, the problem is with your browser on your computer which isn't wrapping/justifying the text conveniently for you to read.

The Javascript code shown implemented as a Bookmarklet is telling your browser how to format and justify the text if you want to implement it on your browser.

Anyway I've broken up the longish Javascript text strings with some carriage returns and you could always use the Zoom in and Zoom out functionality on your browser.

You shouldn't have a problem if using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Opera.

The difference is somewhat like using notepad instead of wordpad on a windows OS.

yes, someone has modified the code.
when i read the messages on this post i have to scroll HORIZONTALLY to read them. this does not occur with any other messages in any other post on this board.


so you are saying there is a code that is telling my browser how to format and justify the text - you just proved my point.


i do not want to "zoom in" and "zoom out" with my browser. i would like to read all the posts in the same way.
i would also like to know that no one can modify this board for their own purposes.


i do not want to use any of those.


i really don't care.
if you caused this problem, would you please uncause it?
thanks.

We do get fisety around here sometimes don't we?!

Is language important? Of course? Can the way someone says/types something be a problem? Of course! (Thanks Blast!)

BUT.... My grandmother (the former old school teacher and high school english teacher) has always said that we shouldn't let the way someone says something get in the way of what they're saying. If we can understand them, sometimes that's good enough. She also lives by a code that says if you must point out a challenge with the way someone is speaking or writing, you should do so privately, not publically, unless you're in a Toastmasters meeting, writing course or profession.

Treslinhiker:

Cliff-in-mod-mode here.

I looked over Am_Fear_Liath_Mor's post, and it seems the code snippets are there to illustrate the code itself, and not something that could be shortened by hyperlink. I viewed it on my phone, and yes, it is a bit of a scroll-fest. I will look to see if there is a way to limit the quote window width.

Which brings up a good point for all. We need to be conscious about how our posts will be viewed, since the reader may be using a 24" monitor, a laptop, or a 2" x 2" smartphone screen. Some may have DSL or T1, some may have 3G or Edge. Or 9600 baud.

The more simple we try to make the world, the more complex it becomes.

.....CLIFF
(like, who else?)

Only if you want to implement it on your browser using the instructions I have given as a request from another post requesting how to implement the javascript.

If viewing this post on this website and you press F11 on your keyboard, you cannot say that the different view you will get is down to any information or code examples posted previously.

Interesting that only page 5 of this thread has the word wrap issue.

gee, that's where there's code, huh?
ok, so maybe it's not the code.
maybe it's something else.
but if you are logged in - it's all of the pages.
and only this post / messages. no others.

I'm logged in and only show a word wrap issue on page 5. This page (6) looks normal, no horizontal scrolling required.

I've taken the code examples from the embedded quotations and made the code examples bold instead. Hopefully this should solve the issue. I hate computers.


Edit;

Nope that didn't work, must be a Firefox issue as it didn't even wrap plain text.

I agree. Please un-cause it. In a weird way, I am longing for the posts with poor grammar, as long as I don't have to hack my browser just to use this forum.

Everyone should take care not to upset the Grammer Nazis

Yes, it was deliberate.

Thanks Cliff.

The easy answer is instead of posting super wide snippets of code, the poster should just supply a link to the website where he/she found the code.

Speaking of links, when I reported the post, there was also a long (wide) web link that was part of the scrolling problem. There are plenty of web link shortener services around that will resolve this.

So it was pasted text that caused the thread's format to go screwy?

Yes...

Yes and No. It was only users of Firefox and some Smartphone browsers that seem to have the problem (compatibility issues?). Not all browsers show the exact same web pages identically. Internet Explorer, Opera, Chrome etc didn't seem to have a problem (the ones I tested).



Easier said than done, when the code isn't displayed as plain text on a website. Anyway the issue was only how the browser displayed the width of the page which required horizontal scrolling, which was a very minor issue when using buggy browsers.

Indeed, some people aren't effective communicators. I find many excellent artisans/craftsman in that category. They get frustrated, and this shows especially when they assert their professional authority by asking you to take them at their word without an explanation of any sort. In person I can communicate with such people, since there is much more to communication than words in face-to-face encounters. But on the internet where you could be a dog and words are the only thing that counts, you do have to exercise discretion quite often. I usually skip over postings that make my eyes/brain hurt, but since we're talking about the issue of making posts readable, I offer my opinions. Regrettably they have ruffled a few feathers.

As for your second paragraph, good writing doesn't have to be "neat and sterilized." Take a look at masters of the English prose: Mark Twain, Matthew Arnold, Paul Fussell. They differ greatly in style, and none of them could be characterized as "neat and sterilized." You're probably thinking of newspaper writing, and that tends toward a bland uniformity, I agree.

Sure, this is just an internet forum, not Knopf's editorial room, but is it really too much to ask people to make their posts a bit easier on the rest of us? I regard this as basic courtesy, and postings aren't "gift horses." We are here to discuss topics of common concern, so let's respect each other's time.

Argh, now I have to come back to this: journalists, so-called or real, are letting us down. The quality of news reporting and other forms of public writing has really gone down. Now any blogger can spout his opinions online, and if he gets a following, then he is in the right. Might might be right, but might is not quality. Many internet forums are little better than mob rule. Fortunately Equipped.org is a good site. People here are informed, helpful, and courteous. I posted something to that effect a few weeks ago.

I intend to do my part by paying attention to my writing when I post. We can make this virtual world a better place one step at a time, if we all do our part.

Da Bing

Well, dang, that kind of trumps this whole thread. I agree that you must give a pass to people who speak English as a second language, and even to people who speak multiple languages. If you give a pass to one anonymous group, then you must give a pass to everybody. (It would be different if you knew a person's background.) I would hate for someone who speaks Spanish or Japanese to get mad at me when I butcher their language. I am never going to become smooth in their language.

Having said that, there's no excuse for paragraphs that are 1,000 words long, or sentences that are 200 words long. Drop a period or a new paragraph every now and then. I'm in shock whenever I see a post that's a long wall of text, hardly any punctuation, and people who actually reply. There's is NO WAY the repliers read the whole thing. I don't believe it.

we could of course go really "off the wall" at this point and try and make a persons ability to read a post all the way thru despite their distaste for the improper paragraphs and such link to their survival success-----if you can't work thru a "wall" how would your react to being down to the last match in a storm??.."this is not the way it should be!!!,i can't take it not being the way i want!!..why won't this fire light!!!"... OK..just kidding......

The problem is this sites css stylesheet

href="/styles/common.css?v=7.5.6"

Code tags are rendered using inadequate css rules.
Moderating/editing a post is the wrong solution.

The cheapest right solution is to add one of the following to common.css , should work on all modern browsers





For which browsers support pre-wrap see
http://www.quirksmode.org/css/whitespace.html

Friend of a friend teaches at a small college. She says that the best writer among the students at her school tend to be people from other countries who have undergone rigorous language training. Yep, they write better than many native English speakers, who often take writing for granted.

Now, that might be a special situation, but I have noticed that the really, really bad verbal diarrhea tends to come from (you guessed it, kids) native speakers. Foreigners are often more cautious writing in English. (Imagine that your Japanese is good enough to participate on internet fora, but you don't feel very confident about it. Naturally you'll dot your i's and cross your t's, or whatever it is you're supposed to do in Japanese.) Indeed, I daresay that the sort of stuff that prompted this thread probably comes mostly from native speakers of English. Only we would be so bold as to disregard the rules of writing.

Da Bing

Well, then your experience is much different than mine. In my experience traveling the world, the best English writers I know are native speakers of English. While you may be able to find a few non-native speakers who write English quite well, those exceptions don't nullify the rule.

It's highly likely for a non-native speaker of English to butcher the English language. In fact, it's expected. Likewise, I'm fully capable of butchering other languages, and I do so quite often.

That is an apples and oranges comparison. While you speak of "the best English writers I know are native speakers of English", the post you compared to was "the best writer among the students at her school tend to be people from other countries who have undergone rigorous language training". (emphasis added)

While you speak of Hemingway and Steinbeck, the college instructor talks about students, one of whom has been extensively schooled in proper English and probably took the instruction seriously. This says nothing about the education of her other students and it doesn't hit on accents and understanding how they speak, it's about writing.

How many of us end our sentences with a preposition? That's a rhetorical question.

opinion, $.02

It is your choice to discriminate (filter) based on style and presentation. Read it or don't read it accordingly. I think the whole thing boils down to this: we all use the language differently. Finally, in the spirit of The Forum, we welcome and relish all comers regardless of language skill or use.

My $.02

I don't. I encourage you to search all 649 of my posts.

Anyway, I commend you guys for being politically correct, being the rescuer, protecting the little guy, or whatever you want to call it. However, you should also realize that people here all come from different backgrounds. Again, the following statement has not been my experience at all: "the best writer among the students at her school tend to be people from other countries who have undergone rigorous language training".

You can argue all you want. In my experience, the best English writers I know of any style of writing, at any education level, have been native speakers of English. Your backgrounds and experiences are different. So be it.

I had a training on creating texts. The trainer had a good quote. "For understanding the text, one person has to do substantial work. Either the author or the reader."


Towards that group it would be a special courtesy to at least try and add some structure to the text. Lack of punctuation and paragraphs may make it hard to read for native speakers. It makes it almost unreadable to those who are not.


Structures, good grammar and good spelling are pretty widespread standards for writing. Occasional errors are normal and cannot be considered to be careless (after all that still is a forum and not a proofread paper). Not trying is careless and maybe even rude.


You are right on this. However it is not only about advice that is given. It also is about posts that ask for some kind of advice. How are you going to give good advice if you don´t understand the request? Would you really take the time to repeatedly read a question only to understand it? Many people wont.

It is always interesting how discussion topics take on a life of their own.

This topic started as a simple request for additional "white space" (limited punctuation and some carriage returns) to improve the organization and readability of some posts. It has since wandered through auto formatting techniques, css rules, browser capabilities, the importance of overall grammar and english as a second language.

Sticking with the original request - there are literally hundreds of studies of language readability (any language - even "programming languages"). The general conclusion of the ones I have seen is that using white space (lateral and vertical) and other cues (capital letters, simple punctuation) to organize what you are trying to communicate is critical in helping the reader get the point(s) your are trying to make. Interesting thing to note is this seems to be due to human physiology and it appears to be consistent across all forms of written communication (even music and math) as well as being independent of first or second languages.

With the above in mind, if you are making the effort to post something it is because you have something to say. Why not say it in a way that is more accessible to others? That isn't saying you need to be grammatically perfect (no one is).

Interesting (if wide ranging) discussion,

- Eric

Not to do so much with posts being readable but being able too read between the lines so to speak, sarcasm is really hard to translate to written word.

IRL (In Real Life)(#sarcasm), I use dry humor, light sarcasm and been dubbed the King of the backhanded compliment by people who I talk to. Be that as it may, very difficult to do that in writing, it will come across as superiority, ego, anger, when trying to convey the polar opposite. So much of how we are interpreted by others when we use sarcasm is based on factors that are not able to be interpreted in writing such as syntax, body language, innate familiarization of the topic, inflection.

Something to also consider.

I would like to thank all contributors to the forums. Diversity in thought and style while challenging leads one to consider the many options of problem solving. I have always found spelling, writing and the use of proper grammar to be a challenge, but found that the more one attempts to utilize the written word, the more one becomes comfortable in expressing one’s thoughts though writing.

Writing clearly and concisely is an art and one that develops over time. Writing so others might better understand our thoughts can be challenging, but it is an essential part of communication. As a community, I believe we need to be patient and encourage expression of thought without being too critical.

For those of us who might be the source of people’s frustration with our writing styles, try and heed the suggestions of those who are proficient writers, your communication skills will benefit and allow you to express your ideas so other may have the opportunity to analyze your thoughts.


My 2 cents-
Pete
comms not directed at you, just the last post in the thread)

Wow, a huge thread. Don't have time to read through, just throw in my 2c. To make any text easy to read online just shrink your browser window so to resemble the width of a single newspaper column design in width - proven by ages way of feeding long text (6 words in a row). Especially important if you have a modern wide screen monitor.

That's a great suggestion. Thanks!

A complicated topic! Among Americans it seems like it partly comes down to age. As an over 40 guy I don't make much distinction between writing a letter, a text or a forum post. I attempt to use "white-space" (a term that didn't enter the lexicon for our average person until the late '90's) and correct grammar. But since a forum is often a free-wheeling, off-the-cuff environment I don't try to be a Nazi about it. And I'll use a few abbreviations, since this isn't formal correspondance.

The only real "capital crime" against readability is ALL CAPS, theendlessrunonsentence, and the steadfast refusal to use paragraphs.