March 19, 2008
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Xanga Dreams, tl;dr and Tristram Shandy
(Hi to the newbies who are here because of the Top Model post – if you
guys have any questions, ask! I thought about writing a “who’s who”
post and back-dating it so anyone could check it when I reference Matt
and Andy or Ellie, but it seemed a little smarmy on my part. Let me
know if you really want one.)As is customary for any real Xanga enthusiast, I had a dream about the
site over the weekend . . . we get a bunch of emails asking about
turning their blogs into books, which I always found a little bit silly
and overindulgent, but in my dream, a company sent all the Xanga
Teamers our blogs in neat little notebooks and I couldn’t stop grinning
and reading mine – it was orange and I remember being fascinated that
someone had known to decorate mine in one of my favorite colors.Anyway, with the advent of archives,
my dream has come true, minus the orange color scheme. It’s organized,
easy to navigate and I can’t stop looking at old entries on both this
and my old site. So cool. It’ll be fantastic come November when I
attempt Nanowrimo for the sixth time.Yesterday I was looking for FC and found eadie‘s
blog on the FC Recommendation chatboard (we really read it – promise) .
. . knowing that people wouldn’t read all of it was half the reason I
chose it, the other half being its dripping sarcasm and amusing format.
Anyway, I tried my best to warn dear eadie beforehand that having
readers actually read a whole post is somewhat of a phenomenon and that
many people would read what they interpreted as the gist of the story
and then respond as they saw fit . . . which they did.I saw
more angry comments followed by concessions (but not necessarily
apologies, which was interesting) than I expected, which made me wonder
if there was a sort of science to how people read information online.
Most people read the first paragraph, missed the large
“</satire>” at the bottom of the site and ranted about how the
original poster was an idiot, Heather was making too much, blah blah
blah. Essentially, without blatantly saying it, these readers yelled, “tl;dr” and judged the poster based on an incomplete picture of what he wanted to say.Is this a case of multitasking, impatience or laziness? Do people just
read what they want to hear and sound off accordingly? None of the
above? Would love to hear what you guys think.Last semi-related thing – I bought Tristram Shandy over the weekend
because it was $4 and I wanted a reading challenge. Have any of you
read it? From what I saw as I leafed through it, chapters are out of
order – should I read it chronologically by chapter or by page number?
I’m assuming it’s like Catch-22 . . .Okay, off to answer emails and peruse the Why Wednesday picks. First
one to write tl;dr in comments will get dropkicked by yours truly.
Comments (44)
I don’t want to get drop kicked… so I will avoid that..
Lets see where to begin… I LOVE NANO… This year will only be my third year doing it though…
Tristam Shandy… I enjoyed the movie haven’t done the book yet though…
I think people skim posts for all kinds of reasons… laziness is a big one… Lack of reading comprehension, lack of time… If I skim a post it is usually lack of time of the auther has failed to hold my attention… I don’t like posts that go ON and ON… especially when things can beaid with fewer words…
i’m jealous of your position at xanga. can i be the freelance assistant executive creative consultant? it’d be ever so cool. maybe then i’d have some good xanga dreams instead of the boring ones i have now.
Tristram Shandy! I knew what I meant! lol
Oh… the posts I find funny are the ones where some one says… if you type the word yello in the comment box i will know you read the post… and then of course it never works because people wonder why others are typing yelloe and they go back and reread until they find it.
Ha…that’s some dream
Your very own Xanga book* …:) I love that new archive feature…I have to spend some time there ..especially now 
Congrats on the Top Model Post***thanks for the definition on the tl:dr thing . That’s a great question…I dont’ leave my ‘opinions’ on something unless I have read the entire thing..that would be sort of silly..if it’s a long post..I sometimes scan it…and leave a comment to a friend…but opinion is another thing all together. Also, sarcasm can make for some funny posts…too bad if someone ‘misses’ it…Great question….and now I’ve learned a new ‘term’. too..:) take good care…have a great day..hugs* Lee 
wow. people really didnt get that blog. i thought it was funny and written well. but i seriously did not get offended by it like so many did.
@angi1972 - i know. i had to retype it, like, eight times – tristam? tristram? tristram. anyway, yeah, i liked the movie, but i feel like i would like it even better if i’d read the book because i have a feeling it’s got some literary jokes in it that went over my head. and that’s not a bad idea about asking people to write things to prove they read it. i really have no problem with people not reading posts, but i think it’s very presumptuous to assume you know what the person is gonna say and comment accordingly. don’t read the whole thing? don’t comment, yo.
@chesspieceface - well, i don’t really have normal dreams . . . occupational hazard, i ‘spose. and maybe. ask john
@priorities - archives are a blast. and i agree with you – read the whole thing, nerds! hope all is well with you
@wowselesta - it’s pretty hilar . . . and sad
i’d love a who’s who entry!
@Natalia - Very good point!
Usually if its something important and I want to comment but don’t have the time to read… I leave a comment saying Sorry… I’ll be back later… I don’t know what it is… I just feel compulsive about having to leave a comment if I go by someones site… IF I never intend to read it… I might make a commne that totally disregardes the post… that way they know I haven’t read it but I don’t look like a poser who whats to pretend she has… know what I mean.
DId you enjoy Idol Last night. Chicezee… Darn I hate trying to spell that… Sang one of my favorite songs… I wish he would have sang it one speed all the way through though… it was not good.
@AmusedYetConfused - ooookay – will start on one now
@angi1972 - yeah. i love your blogging neuroticism! and none of the songs last night were very good. i don’t think they could get the clearance for all those songs for next week yet so they put it off by saying they’d do another beatles week. i don’t understand most of the choices, though – it makes me wonder if i was the only one their age who was raised on that stuff. thankfully, though, none of the performances were terribly scarring so i won’t associate the actual songs with any of their renditions . . . although katharine mcphee destroyed my favorite beatles song last week and it’s still making me mad!
@Natalia - Ahhh yes… the dangers of being an Idol watcher. lol
You never know when they will take down your favorite!
I know I couldn’t believe some of them hadn’t heard of the Beatles… I was thinking WHAT? Were they living under a rock?!
Ok I had to follow the link for “tl;dr” – thanks for the link!
Bloggers have short, little attention spans. Blogging is perfect for ADD/ADHD types (like me). If you don’t know the person well, it is harder to pick up sarcasm on a blog. Although, the big sign at the end of the post should have been a tip off.
I don’t think most bloggers have the luxury of being a stay at home mom like me and have the time to really read a long post like that.
My 18 year old son has informed me that people are rude online just because they can be. I’ve had it happen to me and regrettably I have done it, too.
I love the new archives thingy – although it kind of shocked me how much I have written!
I wish I was getting paid per word.
People do the same thing online that they do in r/l. They get a gist and decide based on vague impulses and generalized ideas. Then, they react angrily to anyone that doesn’t agree.
Also.
I had a very insightful Professor who pointed out once that many Americans have a difficult time responding without being confrontational to anyone they disagree with. Sort’ve the American way.
Ive never heard of tldr. Thanks for the heads up.
Alot of people didnt catch eadies satiracle take on it all. that certainly shows in the comments. I guess in light of that, I wouldnt want to be featured. Hope you are having a good day!
Not too long, did read. (ntl;dr)
Wow, interesting dream!
I think most people are not reading through because it actually takes time. I also find myself sometimes tempted to not read a whole post, but then I wouldn’t comment it
Nothing cries tl;dr more than unfitting comments
now that RYC is dead, i’m glad we have a new acronym to use. i’m well aware of the tl;dr problem, that’s why i tend to keep my posts rather succinct.
@wutuwaitn4 - yeah, i should keep mine shorter . . . i just wish people would be honest and say they didn’t read a rambling post rather than posting inane replies.
hahaha, I tried not to make it too long, but it didn’t really bother me, it was actually quite entertaining to see who all did read it and who all didn’t some of the responses i absolutely loved, like the ones who read it all at once and left comments like
“i was about to leave a comment talking about how much of a complete dumbass you are, but then I got to the end and realized what a brilliant post it was”
i liked reading those better than the ones from people who claimed to get it from the very beginning
i don’t regret that post getting featured at all, I learned alot about many xangans from it, and had a very entertaining time reading ALL the comments.
and encyclopedia dramatica’s page for tl;dr would have made a more entertaining link
Oh no! The obligatory after-featured post!
that be a so cool! but an offer like that might end up costing Xanga a couple of bucks.
>also i don’t know why some people on here reply with angry comments (makes me think if i should stay here)
>plus, what’s the book about? never read it. but wondering.
dude, natalia. tl;dr.
“concession” is better than “concussion.”
nifty dream. nifty addition to an already cool feature. happy pip.
hey,turning ur blog into a book is what japanese blog have done…it is for real. other than xanga,i’ve been using japanese blog myself. i dont know why but the looks and pretty seem pretty catchy.
just take a look at the link i give below:
http://blog.ameba.jp/content/amepon/top.html
although u might not understand it, u can just see the pics.
sooooooooooooo cool!
@farahamizah - oh, cool! i don’t know if it’d be anything i would want for myself, but it’s a good idea anyway!
Wow. You have dreams of Xanga? I just have dreams of being on Cash Cab and getting kicked out for answering the first question wrong. Jk.
LOL…nice post.
I’m pushin’ 290lbs…try drop kickin’ me…
tl;dr (too long, did read)
LOL…laters.
(always a joy)
Oooh, I’d never heard of “tl;dr” until now.
I normally read posts in their entirety, unless there are too many words and I’m too tired to divert any more attention to picking out words one by one. Having said that, I skim (both mandarin and english) with amazing proficiency and somehow “read” even though my eyes are flying across lines.
Brevity is a notable virtue, but generally, I’d condemn the advance of technology. Soon humans will be running around with the attention spans of hamsters and anything that doesn’t work instantly will be killed off.
So much for patience.
I love that! The tl;dr! Amazing! I have a feeling I’ll be using that often. When it comes to long posts, if it’s interesting and in large font (because I start seeing double when it’s small font, bad eyes and such), I may read it all and then comment. But I wouldn’t read just some of it, and then comment if and when I read something “offensive” without reading the whole thing first. That’s just stoooopid.
And that’s a fantastic dream you had… that would be the next best thing, along with fire and sliced bread. Perhaps better.
I would love to read a Who’s Who post! Lookin’ forward to it
That’s great that you’ve tried Nanowrimo so many times. I’ve been tempted but have never attempted. I think I’m going to have to wait until I’m finished grad school before I can devote sufficient time.
I never understand “tl;dr” comments. Why comment in the first place?
Aww, sorry I just missed you. Got up to get coffee.
”
Is this a case of multitasking, impatience or laziness? Do people just
read what they want to hear and sound off accordingly?”
Good questions, and I don’t have answers. It might be all of the above, plus some mental defects as well.
My entries have always tended to be long and, as my husband calls them, “information dense.” In general, that has had a filtering effect on my regular readers, so that few of the ones who can’t be bothered to spend a little time reading bother to come back after a while.
There are exceptions, of course: drive-by looky-loos who leave irrelevant comments just on the chance that I or someone else will follow their trails back to their sites, and the occasional comment saying that my posts are too long. None of my longtime readers complains.
@SuSu - i think that’s better, though – i would rather have few readers who actually read what i had to say rather than people who only read every third word at most. also, drive-by looky-loos reminded me of the kids’ song “looby loo” and now it’s stuck in my head!
thanks for replying to the question i emailed xanga a few days ago [:
“Is this a case of multitasking, impatience or laziness? Do people just read what they want to hear and sound off accordingly? None of the above? Would love to hear what you guys think.”
IDK. In a lot of cases, I read whatever I feeling because a lot of people do not explain themselves all the way, so I’m stuck in my own head. I think more people do this as well. People kind’of have to realize themselves away from it.
That’s just my opinion though.
I sometimes do that, skim someone’s post and leave an approximately appropriate comment, usually because they left me a comment and I feel obligated to leave one back but don’t really want to read what they have to say.
Here’s another person to consider for featured. She writes brilliantly and is quite humerous. http://www.xanga.com/Abigailigator
humorous i mean. gah, i can’t spell!
I’m used to copying my posts into a .doc file.. The files are mega huge.. XD
@angi1972 - (about the “yello” thing) LOL that’s awesome.
Better than people (like me) who go on and on and then type at the last line:
“This is really meaningless.. You don’t have to read it.”
XD
Books on some of the blogs here on xanga? Sweet dream. I can think of a few people whom I’d recommend, should that dream ever become reality.
Hi Natalia!
@seedsower - hi beth