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0 pointszozbot2343y ago0 comments

In my view a terse, mildly irritated comment is an entirely appropriate response to the sort of aimless rambling we see in pieces like the OP. I'm sympathetic to those who think a "public square" should strive for a good balance, but length is just not a meaningful correlate to "intelligent discussion".

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4 comments · 2 top-level

ryandrake3y ago· 2 in thread

Brevity is the soul of wit. We all have a limited amount of time. For most topics, I'd rather read a quick, witty "hot take" than a longform article or an exhaustively comprehensive academic paper, even if those forms contain the details and nuance required to fully understand the topic.

nine_k3y ago

I'll take a proper academic paper because it ought to have an abstract in the beginning with the compressed summary.

Long-form articles rarely do that.

version_five3y ago

Yes. I hate reading something that's going to take 20 minutes and starts with an anecdote about Jimmy noticing something funny on a hike 20 years ago and you've got to read for 10 min to understand what it's about.

If you're reading an established author that you know to be interesting, maybe. For a random internet article, I want to know what it's about. I don't know why more people don't include abstracts or summaries at the start

scyzoryk_xyz3y ago

Historically „public squares” are used for lots of things - trade, speech, politics, taxes, faires, revolutions and public executions all come to mind. The square usually remains unchanged even as people do all sorts of things.

If that’s what we take that phrase for, then anything goes - both mildly irritated comments and aimless rambling pieces. Moderation too.

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