This might be a bit mean

[GhostInTheMachine]

I understand we're all struggling here, and that some of us didn't get the resources or education needed to clearly convey what we're feeling, or that we're just feeling so god damned awful that we're simply not concerned about it. I also understand that english may not be the first language for many people here as well. However, some of ya'll desperately need to learn what a paragraph is. I don't say this to make anybody feel bad, but I've found it an common occurrence that somebody spills their heart out and I can't for the life of me parse the sheer brick walls of text with no spacing or formatting whatsoever.

It doesn't have to be a college-level thesis in chicago style or anything silly like that, just please space out your messages every few (usually 4-6) sentences. This range is flexible and can be adjusted to your needs, and it will immediately be much easier to read for not just myself, but many others too. This not only benefits the reader, but you as the writer since more people will be able to process and engage your message and offer any sort of advice, condolences, and/or support. It might be the difference between your post going unresponded to, and it creating a productive discussion.

 

[Carrot]

Oh absolutely, paragraphs are crucial. I mean, imagine trying to read a massive wall of text without any breaks - utter chaos, right? It's like trying to navigate through a maze with no exit signs, or trying to find the one clean dish in a mountain of dirty plates. Total mayhem. The beauty of paragraphs is that they give our brain a moment to pause and process. They're like the small breaths you take when you run a marathon—necessary to keep the whole thing from feeling overwhelming. Without them, you're just running, gasping for air, trying to understand what's going on. It's like listening to someone rant without taking a breath, you can only catch bits and pieces, and eventually, you just stop trying. Proper formatting is key! Every time I read something with neatly organized paragraphs, it's like my brain is getting a little hug. It's like, "Ah, I can see the structure now. This is the kind of thing I can work with!" It's like opening up a book where the chapters are perfectly divided and each section flows smoothly, guiding you from one point to the next. It's almost magical. You get to feel the rhythm of the conversation. Without paragraphs, though? Well, that's like wandering in a forest of words, no trail, no path. You might catch a glimpse of something interesting, but you'll never really get to the heart of it. It's just a disorganized jumble of words trying desperately to communicate with no clear path. Like a poorly written script for a movie where no one knows what's going on, and there's no direction at all. It's like reading an email from a toddler who's just learned to type—absolutely adorable but impossible to understand. So yes, I completely agree that paragraphs make the world a better place. They bring order to the madness and make everything so much easier to digest. Good formatting? Oh, that should be celebrated. It's like a symphony where every note is perfectly placed, and the overall result is harmony. It's not just about making things look nice; it's about creating a smooth experience for the reader. It's the difference between reading a well-structured novel and struggling through a random collection of words.

 

[TBONTB]

I understand we're all struggling here, and that some of us didn't get the resources or education needed to clearly convey what we're feeling, or that we're just feeling so god damned awful that we're simply not concerned about it. I also understand that english may not be the first language for many people here as well. However, some of ya'll desperately need to learn what a paragraph is. I don't say this to make anybody feel bad, but I've found it an common occurrence that somebody spills their heart out and I can't for the life of me parse the sheer brick walls of text with no spacing or formatting whatsoever.

It doesn't have to be a college-level thesis in chicago style or anything silly like that, just please space out your messages every few (usually 4-6) sentences. This range is flexible and can be adjusted to your needs, and it will immediately be much easier to read for not just myself, but many others too. This not only benefits the reader, but you as the writer since more people will be able to process and engage your message and offer any sort of advice, condolences, and/or support. It might be the difference between your post going unresponded to, and it creating a productive discussion.

Yes, for sure. Paragraphs are essential

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

Oh absolutely, paragraphs are crucial. I mean, imagine trying to read a massive wall of text without any breaks - utter chaos, right? It's like trying to navigate through a maze with no exit signs, or trying to find the one clean dish in a mountain of dirty plates. Total mayhem. The beauty of paragraphs is that they give our brain a moment to pause and process. They're like the small breaths you take when you run a marathon—necessary to keep the whole thing from feeling overwhelming. Without them, you're just running, gasping for air, trying to understand what's going on. It's like listening to someone rant without taking a breath, you can only catch bits and pieces, and eventually, you just stop trying. Proper formatting is key! Every time I read something with neatly organized paragraphs, it's like my brain is getting a little hug. It's like, "Ah, I can see the structure now. This is the kind of thing I can work with!" It's like opening up a book where the chapters are perfectly divided and each section flows smoothly, guiding you from one point to the next. It's almost magical. You get to feel the rhythm of the conversation. Without paragraphs, though? Well, that's like wandering in a forest of words, no trail, no path. You might catch a glimpse of something interesting, but you'll never really get to the heart of it. It's just a disorganized jumble of words trying desperately to communicate with no clear path. Like a poorly written script for a movie where no one knows what's going on, and there's no direction at all. It's like reading an email from a toddler who's just learned to type—absolutely adorable but impossible to understand. So yes, I completely agree that paragraphs make the world a better place. They bring order to the madness and make everything so much easier to digest. Good formatting? Oh, that should be celebrated. It's like a symphony where every note is perfectly placed, and the overall result is harmony. It's not just about making things look nice; it's about creating a smooth experience for the reader. It's the difference between reading a well-structured novel and struggling through a random collection of words.

m-dash

 

[Pluto]

 

[Carrot]

m-dash

Busted, actual chat gpt reply.

 

[R. A.]

I understand we're all struggling here, and that some of us didn't get the resources or education needed to clearly convey what we're feeling, or that we're just feeling so god damned awful that we're simply not concerned about it. I also understand that english may not be the first language for many people here as well. However, some of ya'll desperately need to learn what a paragraph is. I don't say this to make anybody feel bad, but I've found it an common occurrence that somebody spills their heart out and I can't for the life of me parse the sheer brick walls of text with no spacing or formatting whatsoever.

It doesn't have to be a college-level thesis in chicago style or anything silly like that, just please space out your messages every few (usually 4-6) sentences. This range is flexible and can be adjusted to your needs, and it will immediately be much easier to read for not just myself, but many others too. This not only benefits the reader, but you as the writer since more people will be able to process and engage your message and offer any sort of advice, condolences, and/or support. It might be the difference between your post going unresponded to, and it creating a productive discussion.

yeah...i just don't read them anymore. i use a laptop and just mouse over the title to get a nice little body preview, which most of the time is enough to see whether or not it's a wall of letters (it doesn't work if the opener is a hefty paragraph though).

it's kind of worked itself out in my favor since, over time, i've found posts of this nature more often than not are of content i feel less inclined to engage with vs. those that are actually readable.

 

[SchizoGymnast]

I understand we're all struggling here, and that some of us didn't get the resources or education needed to clearly convey what we're feeling, or that we're just feeling so god damned awful that we're simply not concerned about it. I also understand that english may not be the first language for many people here as well. However, some of ya'll desperately need to learn what a paragraph is. I don't say this to make anybody feel bad, but I've found it an common occurrence that somebody spills their heart out and I can't for the life of me parse the sheer brick walls of text with no spacing or formatting whatsoever.

It doesn't have to be a college-level thesis in chicago style or anything silly like that, just please space out your messages every few (usually 4-6) sentences. This range is flexible and can be adjusted to your needs, and it will immediately be much easier to read for not just myself, but many others too. This not only benefits the reader, but you as the writer since more people will be able to process and engage your message and offer any sort of advice, condolences, and/or support. It might be the difference between your post going unresponded to, and it creating a productive discussion.

I don't think this was mean at all. In all reality, all you have to do is hit the enter key a few times.

 

[amerie]

Imo, I genuinely think grammar doesn't matter when you're venting on this site unless you actually have a message you'd like to convey to others, I don't even think perfect grammar matters in general because too many people prioritize it over a well rounded message, I'm using shit grammar right now actually.

But yeah I agree it can be unbearable if they're trying to have an actual discussion and you can't even read it.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

Imo, I genuinely think grammar doesn't matter when you're venting on this site unless you actually have a message you'd like to convey to others, I don't even think perfect grammar matters in general because too many people prioritize it over a well rounded message, I'm using shit grammar right now actually.

But yeah I agree it can be unbearable if they're trying to have an actual discussion and you can't even read it.

I'm fine with most bad grammer to be honest. A lot of it is arbitrary anyways, and I do agree that when people are venting it's not at the forefront of their minds. They just want to get their thoughts out and english class rules aren't really their focus.

 

[quietwoods]

Not just this but conciseness in general. I get this is a venting site but bruh I'm not reading a 15 paragraph monstrosity that could easily of been expressed in 1-2 paragraphs.

 

[CatLvr]

I made my living in a career field that relied on your ability to communicate your position clearly and succinctly on paper. Therefore, the lack of paragraphs, and to some extent proper sentence structure, will trigger the proofreader in me BOOM! I will have to go back and reread whole posts because I catch myself correcting grammatical and structural errors instead of focusing on the content.

It's both a blessing and a curse. Lol But I don't judge anyone but me and my ADHD. Argh! I was "on the spectrum" before anyone knew what a "spectrum" was. And no, for once, I am NOT being a smartass.

 

[Dejected 55]

What I find more fucked up is... people will rail over the writing in someone's informal forum post, but our society makes more egregious errors in professional texts and TV scrolls during the news and whatnot. Professionals should be held to a higher standard, and they just are not anymore. So many typos and misuse of grammar and punctuation in formal documents. And most don't care.

We have shifted where we care about things to where it matters the least. I wish we lived in a world where everything else was so pristine that we were down to critiquing forum posts... but we don't. Can we hold professionals and professional writing/documents to a higher standard before we rail on people pouring their hearts out informally on a depression forum?

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Yeah, some postings can be a tad difficult to read and follow, sometimes, especially when the posting is just one gargantuan sentence, devoid of any punctuation whatsoever. It would be helpful if people used periods and commas, at least.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

What I find more fucked up is... people will rail over the writing in someone's informal forum post, but our society makes more egregious errors in professional texts and TV scrolls during the news and whatnot. Professionals should be held to a higher standard, and they just are not anymore. So many typos and misuse of grammar and punctuation in formal documents. And most don't care.

We have shifted where we care about things to where it matters the least. I wish we lived in a world where everything else was so pristine that we were down to critiquing forum posts... but we don't. Can we hold professionals and professional writing/documents to a higher standard before we rail on people pouring their hearts out informally on a depression forum?

Most don't care because there's a threshold before something is entirely unreadable. Typos and bad grammer here and there, even bad spelling can be navigated relatively well, but you hit me with this-

-and I'm just not reading that mate. I don't take "professionals" seriously anyways, so naturally I'm more invested in the raw emotion of your average person instead.

 

[Dejected 55]

The thing is, though... if you're only interested in what people think if they format it exactly the way you want it to be formatted... then it doesn't seem like you're interested in what they think. I mean, if someone is looking to be published OR they ask for their writing to be proofread/critiqued, then sure... have at it. But if grandma writes you a letter because she loves you but you don't want any part of it unless she formats it completely correct and has immaculate spelling and penmanship... then you're probably not really interested in what grandma is saying.

That's ok.. I say lots of stuff that no one cares about. It just feels like low hanging fruit to not be interested in personal missives from people unless they are perfect writers. Critique professionals and professional/published works to your heart's content... I know I do! But personal stuff and blogs and forum posts? As long as I can get the gist of it, I'm cool. I don't have to be the world's editor.

 

[Hollowman]

4-6 sentences and your two paragraphs have 13 each. Hmmm

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

The thing is, though... if you're only interested in what people think if they format it exactly the way you want it to be formatted... then it doesn't seem like you're interested in what they think. I mean, if someone is looking to be published OR they ask for their writing to be proofread/critiqued, then sure... have at it. But if grandma writes you a letter because she loves you but you don't want any part of it unless she formats it completely correct and has immaculate spelling and penmanship... then you're probably not really interested in what grandma is saying.

That's ok.. I say lots of stuff that no one cares about. It just feels like low hanging fruit to not be interested in personal missives from people unless they are perfect writers. Critique professionals and professional/published works to your heart's content... I know I do! But personal stuff and blogs and forum posts? As long as I can get the gist of it, I'm cool. I don't have to be the world's editor.

I'm not asking for a perfect score on a Writing SAT, I'm asking people hit the enter key every few sentences. It's really not that deep.

4-6 sentences and your two paragraphs have 13 each. Hmmm

 

[alwaysalone]

I'm not asking for a perfect score on a Writing SAT, I'm asking people hit the enter key every few sentences. It's really not that deep.



View attachment 172938

This might be a bit mean: A good many of those sentences are run-ons. If you're having trouble reading text blocks. Skip them that's a you problem frankly. Attempting to embarass, shame or demean those who dont have the ability, dont care, or can't adhere to your grammatical requirements for an ego boost is sad. Everyone here deserves to be able to speak (type) how they feel and be heard (read) with out judgement.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

This might be a bit mean: A good many of those sentences are run-ons. If you're having trouble reading text blocks. Skip them that's a you problem frankly. Attempting to embarass, shame or demean those who dont have the ability, dont care, or can't adhere to your grammatical requirements for an ego boost is sad. Everyone here deserves to be able to speak (type) how they feel and be heard (read) with out judgement.

Long sentences are not the same as run-on sentences. It would behoove you to understand the differance before trying to make such claims. The entire reason paragraphs even exist is because it's not just a "me" problem with reading text blocks. Otherwise such blocks of text would be perfectly acceptable in pretty much any scenario and the vast majority of people would have no issue reading them. We don't live in that world, and if people want to be heard, they need to do the bare minimum to be comprehensible. If you feel shamed because somebody points out they can't understand you, that's more of a personal issue than anything. I don't see how people can't hit the enter key every few sentences.

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important." -Gary Provost

 

[YandereMikuMistress]

The thing is, though... if you're only interested in what people think if they format it exactly the way you want it to be formatted... then it doesn't seem like you're interested in what they think. I mean, if someone is looking to be published OR they ask for their writing to be proofread/critiqued, then sure... have at it. But if grandma writes you a letter because she loves you but you don't want any part of it unless she formats it completely correct and has immaculate spelling and penmanship... then you're probably not really interested in what grandma is saying.

That's ok.. I say lots of stuff that no one cares about. It just feels like low hanging fruit to not be interested in personal missives from people unless they are perfect writers. Critique professionals and professional/published works to your heart's content... I know I do! But personal stuff and blogs and forum posts? As long as I can get the gist of it, I'm cool. I don't have to be the world's editor.

I appreciate this comment I know the post means no I'll will towards people like me, I know I don't post massive wall posts, at least not often but when I do and even now I don't have allot of time to go get an AI to proof read it for me,, idk makes me not want to even talk, when I already can't do that in real life, though again I know this post isn't supposed to be rude it's just stating ones preferences I believe and that's not wrong at all to discuss or bring up, as you can see here I'm no grammer god or anything, every time I leave a comma idk even if that's where one would go,, somtimes I do have an AI proof read my post or parts of it if it's too controversial but most of the time I'm typing out messages then having to leave mid way to entertain mundane priorities and people then coming back later to finish the rest of whatever I was trying to type out before, anyhow I get them wanting people to be more clear with there messages in a way.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

I appreciate this comment I know the post means no I'll will towards people like me, I know I don't post massive wall posts, at least not often but when I do and even now I don't have allot of time to go get an AI to proof read it for me,, idk makes me not want to even talk, when I already can't do that in real life, though again I know this post isn't supposed to be rude it's just stating ones preferences I believe and that's not wrong at all to discuss or bring up, as you can see here I'm no grammer god or anything, every time I leave a comma idk even if that's where one would go,, somtimes I do have an AI proof read my post or parts of it if it's too controversial but most of the time I'm typing out messages then having to leave mid way to entertain mundane priorities and people then coming back later to finish the rest of whatever I was trying to type out before, anyhow I get them wanting people to be more clear with there messages in a way.

For what it's worth, I have no trouble reading this even if I could nitpick it. That's why a basic paragraph is so much more important than the exact place to put a comma vs a period. I honestly don't really care about capitalization or spelling either if the message isn't just a flood of words. It's much easier to just look at the words and pick a spot to seperate large chunks than it is to figure out "is this where I need a semicolon?".

 

[alwaysalone]

Long sentences are not the same as run-on sentences. It would behoove you to understand the differance before trying to make such claims. The entire reason paragraphs even exist is because it's not just a "me" problem with reading text blocks. Otherwise such blocks of text would be perfectly acceptable in pretty much any scenario and the vast majority of people would have no issue reading them. We don't live in that world, and if people want to be heard, they need to do the bare minimum to be comprehensible. If you feel shamed because somebody points out they can't understand you, that's more of a personal issue than anything. I don't see how people can't hit the enter key every few sentences.

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important." -Gary Provost

Wow you really think a lot of yourself I bet everyone's always told you you're super smart lol trying to flex your vocabulary with words like "behoove" is soooooooo impressive just FYI genius DIFFERENCE is spelled with an "E" not an "A" you didn't shame me but I have empathy for those who might actually listen to your nonsense and stop posting because they're afraid they're doing it wrong are we in the real world here will someone be grading us for errors I don't see why a little know it all cares if someone hits the enter button or not but I will say some people here are handicapped maybe it hurts them to type and hitting enter to make you happy just doesn't seem worth it

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

Wow you really think a lot of yourself I bet everyone's always told you you're super smart lol trying to flex your vocabulary with words like "behoove" is soooooooo impressive just FYI genius DIFFERENCE is spelled with an "E" not an "A" you didn't shame me but I have empathy for those who might actually listen to your nonsense and stop posting because they're afraid they're doing it wrong are we in the real world here will someone be grading us for errors I don't see why a little know it all cares if someone hits the enter button or not but I will say some people here are handicapped maybe it hurts them to type and hitting enter to make you happy just doesn't seem worth it

The fact that you got upset over the word behoove lol. Still not seeing why people can't just hit the enter key every here and now, especially if they can type the great wall of china.

 

[alwaysalone]

I appreciate this comment I know the post means no I'll will towards people like me, I know I don't post massive wall posts, at least not often but when I do and even now I don't have allot of time to go get an AI to proof read it for me,, idk makes me not want to even talk, when I already can't do that in real life, though again I know this post isn't supposed to be rude it's just stating ones preferences I believe and that's not wrong at all to discuss or bring up, as you can see here I'm no grammer god or anything, every time I leave a comma idk even if that's where one would go,, somtimes I do have an AI proof read my post or parts of it if it's too controversial but most of the time I'm typing out messages then having to leave mid way to entertain mundane priorities and people then coming back later to finish the rest of whatever I was trying to type out before, anyhow I get them wanting people to be more clear with there messages in a way.

No one should be judging how you choose to express yourself here period. Please don't let silly threads like this make you feel in any way that you shouldn't talk (type). There is no "wrong" way to express yourself when it comes to writing . Some people like to make themselves feel better by making others feel less than. It's never ok. The majority here would be interested in what you have to say any way you want to say it.

The fact that you got upset over the word behoove lol. Still not seeing why people can't just hit the enter key every here and now, especially if they can type the great wall of china.

No you wouldn't see that and you probably never will. Really just sad.

 

[FishRain3469]

I don't think you are being mean necessarily, but it's more.. Idk..?. Uncalled for on a Suicide forum/ platform. I agree with you to a point but, if it's a wall of text.. ? Oh fckn well, so be it. Life goes on.

 

[popcorn1234]

I'm sorry, but this is uncalled for. Everyone is here to express themselves, we should not be policing how people talk on this platform.

 

[Dejected 55]

And he established early on that he is more critical of people posting here informally than he is of professionals publishing professional works. And that's really backwards. You should be critical of professional writing and let the self-expression forum posts be whatever they are.

 

[GhostInTheMachine]

And he established early on that he is more critical of people posting here informally than he is of professionals publishing professional works. And that's really backwards. You should be critical of professional writing and let the self-expression forum posts be whatever they are.

First of all, I said no such thing. What I said is I take things posted here more seriously than things in a "professional setting". That's simply because professional settings are obvious facades and not worth my time to even bother engaging seriously. You're severely missing the forest through the trees if you took that as me expecting forum posts to be more critically examined. I've said multiple times now in this thread that this is not the case, but ya'll keep glossing over it to make up positions I do not hold.

Second, she.

I'm sorry, but this is uncalled for. Everyone is here to express themselves, we should not be policing how people talk on this platform.

I'm giving advice, not policing. Some of ya'll are acting like I'm calling for a grammar gestapo to be implemented site-wide and the banning of anybody who does not comply.

I don't think you are being mean necessarily, but it's more.. Idk..?. Uncalled for on a Suicide forum/ platform. I agree with you to a point but, if it's a wall of text.. ? Oh fckn well, so be it. Life goes on.

Uncalled for? Sure, maybe. I'm just saying it for anybody who might find that their posts don't get any engagement because barely anybody can read it. I'm not holding a gun to anybody's head.

 

[FishRain3469]

Hmm.. I guess so, I see your point.. But I suppose my biggest problem with this is that you are bringing up paragraphs / grammar to the forefront While there could Literally be a Life in jeopardy on the other side.

And yeah, of course you aren't holding a gun to anybody's head, But Maybe the person on the other side of the screen Is holding one to Their Own head. We never really know on this site, who knows. ♥