A "Gentle" suggestion...

[RodKirby]

Guys - please don't beat me up...

All the wonderful information that flows from our more prolific forum members would be MUCH easier to read/understand if the posts were broken into more paragraphs - at least for me.

When I see a paragraph that runs for half a screen I tend to simply not look - to hard to read! I know I'm missing things.

These comments are offered only in the interests of learning - see below.

"Guys - please don't beat me up...All the wonderful information that flows from our more prolific forum members would be MUCH easier to read/understand if the posts were broken into more paragraphs - at least for me. When I see a paragraph that runs for half a screen I tend to simply not look - to hard to read! I know I'm missing things. These comments are offered only in the interests of learning"

Your comments?

[leehljp]

It hurts my eyes also. I get business email that way and it takes me a lot longer to focus on the specifics of the subject. LOML writes that way all the time. I just tell her not to email me that way. When she is helping me with my work, she writes that same way and lets me add the paragraphs. A pain.

My eye's peripheral view grabs words from the lines that are above and below the line I am reading - once I get into a paragraph of more than 7 or 8 lines. Then I have to stop, back up, and read slow to make sure I am not getting the above and below peripheral words mixed in.

No problem with up to around 8 lines.

While reading long paragraphs is not a problem for most people that I work with (so _they_ say) we do have more email and document communication problems with long paragraphs. As such, I have taken to a slightly unconventional format in sending out documents:

1. Three to seven line paragaphs with double spacing between paragraphs that are closely related.

2. Triple space between major subject changes and I request others in or organization to do the same. I get a little bit of griping feedback, but communication is primary to me.


Where clear communication is necessary, the wrong format can certainly hinder it. This includes online posting too.

[gugie]

DON'T FORGET NOT TO YELL!

And well placed use of the formatting capabilities in this <s>place</s> <s>site</s> forum is helpful, too.

When addressing an email to several people, the person who should take action should be in the to: line, everyone else is cc'ed. It's considered bad form to use the bcc: line in almost all cases.

If several people are to take action, I will often use boldface for their name-it draws instant attention to the right person.

Unfortunately, my biggest gripe is my biggest sin-too wordy!

[Jeff]

Rod, I got it. You didn't have to tell me twice.
You didn't have to be reduntant, either.

I do agree with Rod, however I have found (for me) that readability really depends on the use of punctuation properly, and add to that sentences that don't run on so long that you forget what the beginning point of it was, like this one.

Interesting related side note: I was listening to the radio last weekend while driving. It was Leo the tech guy on KFI, discussing home movies. He mentioned that sometimes the best home movies are the ones with shots taken in short takes, multiple scene changes, etc.
Just like real TV or movies, your attention can be lost or gained depending on the use of the shot, which is why they rarely focus on one thing for more than just a few seconds. Unless, of course, the scene needs to be long, as in certain movies.

I think the same concept would apply to reading.

[RodKirby]

quote:Originally posted by gugie

DON'T FORGET NOT TO YELL!

And well placed use of the formatting capabilities in this <s>place</s> <s>site</s> forum is helpful, too.

When addressing an email to several people, the person who should take action should be in the to: line, everyone else is cc'ed. It's considered bad form to use the bcc: line in almost all cases.

If several people are to take action, I will often use boldface for their name-it draws instant attention to the right person.

Unfortunately, my biggest gripe is my biggest sin-too wordy!

GUGIE - where can I find a full list of those "tags", please?

Particularly for changing font size.

[RickLab]

Rod, you don't mean to change colors and fonts, do you?

They're right on the screen when you click "reply to topic" so that can't be it ???

[RodKirby]

quote:Originally posted by RickLab

Rod, you don't mean to change colors and fonts, do you?

They're right on the screen when you click "reply to topic" so that can't be it ???

Oh BOY

I humbly apologise this is (so far) my biggest Senior moment for 2005!

I have never even looked "up"

Think I finally got the spelling right!

Thank you RickLab

[RickLab]

Oh, that was too easy.. glad to help!

[Jim Boyd]

Sorry Rod, I fluked writing[8]

[leehljp]

Dadgum Jim, you got too much time on your hands!

Gugie,

I request family and friends to BCC me all the time. I hate receiving copies of email with my email address mixed in with a dozen or two dozen other names. That is a good way to get on all kinds of mailing lists that I don't want to be on.

Also, concerning business and organizions doing work in third world and medium security countries, it is best to use BCC instead of CC. One of the best ways of dealing with email in these situations is to send an email to self and BCC the real receipient or receipients. I use it often.

[Pappy]

quote:Originally posted by Jim Boyd

Sorry Rod, I fluked writing[8]

Flucked writing? Ya didn't score none to good in spellin', neither, Jim![:0][B)]

[JeffW]

LOL

[Kristofor]

quote:Originally posted by leehljp
Gugie,
Also, concerning business and organizions doing work in third world and medium security countries, it is best to use BCC instead of CC. One of the best ways of dealing with email in these situations is to send an email to self and BCC the real receipient or receipients. I use it often.

Exactly!, I ask people to do this with any type of "mass" emailing. It keeps things cleaner, more private, less prone to virus spread, and avoids 15 extra messages sent to thousands of employees when the goobers hit "reply to all".

As long as you're not BCCing to set someone up I'm all for it.

Kristofor.

[Handy Al]

This is what I like about BT3Central forums. A polite, gentile post slowly evolves to sincere insanity.

P.S. Rod, I agree with you.

[Bruce Cohen]

Well Guys,

As a Graphic Designer, I can tell you that some of you have broken every rule there is concerning good typography (you know who you are).

In other words, YOU KILLED IT.

If I ever teach design again, I would very much like to use some of your posts to illustrate just how badly a grown man with a computer can butcher the "writen" work.

Bruce