Some people have observed that my writings tend to be long. Sometimes a bit long and sometimes very long. Indeed, a few people have even resorted to the term “TL;DR”.1
To which I simply say “bleh”…
The TL;DR version of the post you are reading right now is: If someone really can’t bring themselves to read one of my posts then it’s their loss, not mine. Have a nice day!
I could leave it at that (and thereby keep it short and sweet for my critics), but I can’t and I won’t.
Will you keep reading? You should. I assure you this won’t take long…
To begin I will admit that, sometimes, I get carried away. I’m not a writer; I’m a forensic scientist. And, yes, I have a wee tendency to diverge onto related, and sometimes unnecessary, side-topics. Believe it or not, I do try to keep things on track and focused. And, for what it’s worth, I repeatedly review and edit posts in an effort to shorten them without losing key information. Sometimes that is possible and I’m always open to suggestions if you have any — beyond a mere “tl;dr” which is completely and utterly unhelpful as feedback.
It does bother me a bit when people say they don’t have time to read a given post.2
On the one hand, that claim might be true. Time is precious, after all. If that is so, then all I can say is “okay”. It’s a personal choice and everyone has to decide how best to spend their time. Enjoy your life doing whatever it is that you do.
On the other hand, is it really true? It seems to me that a lot of people use this as nothing more than an excuse. In today’s culture people don’t want to spend the time needed to learn about something. Everyone want things to be ‘quick and easy’ and many won’t even attempt to do something when it isn’t. Far too many people are simply lazy and unwilling to expend any real effort.
Sadly, this ‘short-cut’ mentality doesn’t work well for some things. ‘Quick and easy’ often equates to superficial and, ultimately, meaningless or incorrect communication. In which case, why bother? It may be quick but it gets you nowhere and is truly wasted time.
Now… I don’t know where you, dear reader, fit in this. Really I don’t. Maybe it’s one, or the other, or something in-between. You decide.
If you truly feel my posts are TL;DR… well, you don’t have to read them. Again, it’s your loss, not mine. I say that with a big and honest smile… I have no hard feelings about it at all.
Should you decide to persevere and read through completely, please let me know what you think. I am open to criticism and would love to hear what you think, including ways to ‘shorten’ or improve a post. I really do understand the desire to get this information in short, easy-to-read posts and I am willing to make changes — so long as the message isn’t lost when doing so. 🙂
Notes: