I know this thread was posted a while ago, but I thought I'd take a shot at it.
There have always been comments on the forum that people don't like reading long posts. This is exactly why I've always preferred written communication to phone calls -- people can skip over what doesn't apply to them or what they find fatiguing. However, it can make it difficult for someone to then contribute to the actual discussion.
I write a lot of threads in which people just want (or only have the time to) answer the thread title, which is perfectly understandable -- we all do it. But the body of my threads are often from a different perspective, and sometimes even in polar opposite to the title, so it makes for very interesting results.
As for short and simple posts vs. lengthy, I think it all depends on your own writing style, what God puts on your heart, and what information is needed to start the discussion. I've seen some instances where threads were started with two sentences, which could work just fine, but it usually didn't give people enough context to know what was really being asked. I almost always include a story about my own situation because I feel it's not fair to ask others to share without laying down my own vulnerability in front of them first.
My personal view is that different people are going to write in different ways, and it's going to resonate with the different types of people in the audience. Like will gravitate towards like -- some enjoy shorter posts, some are drawn to deeper dives. Both have a place.
I'm never offended when people say my posts and threads are way too long to read -- I understand, and there are times when I skip over things that are too long or not keeping my attention as well. We all do. Maybe that person wasn't meant to read that post anyway. I have faith that if there IS anyone out there who was meant to read what was written, God will lead them to it, even if it's just one person. And if not, then everyone has the option to skip over it, and I just see it as another writing exercise that is preparing the writer for the next post.
My only exception is when I get people criticizing what I've written and it's obvious that they didn't read the entire beginning post and its context. I'll try my best to listen to what they're saying but in order to gain credibility, I also think one has to demonstrate that they took the time to at least try to read and comprehend your basic premise. I can't take criticism from someone who doesn't at least try to hear out what I have to say. It's just a basic courtesy of communication.
And when the most critical answers come in, you can often tell right away if the person actually read your post.
Personally, I've always seen writing longer posts as a bit of an advantage over the years. I encourage anyone who doesn't like long posts to skip mine (do what you believe God is leading you to do,) but for me, long posts might attract fewer people, but it also leaves the ones who don't mind the deep dives. Over the years, this has led to several connections with others that led to long-lasting friendships and even real-life meetings.
As much as I do my best to convince such people that I'm perfectly harmless
, I think one of the reasons several of my CC friends seemed to have no issue inviting me to visit them and their families in person for the first time is because I've been here a while and since I write so much, people know I don't have anything to hide. With this much time and writing, if I were a catfish or trying to be someone else, I would have tripped up enough to where someone would have caught on by now. (Well... maybe not. Lol. I think it was in this past year that a newer poster said he thought I was a catfish and also that I was really a man.) Ha!
But that's the other benefit I see to the posting style I'm comfortable with. It seems to attract people who don't mind putting the work into reading long posts and building online friendships. (Not that people who write shorter posts can't, of course, but I do think it's more challenging that way.)
And I'm certainly not saying that those who write short posts are hiding anything; I'm just saying that people have said that all the writing made them feel like they knew who I really was long before we actually met in person.
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