250 Characters Inadequate for Replies to Comments to Questions

1. 65

   eugbugposted 8 years ago

   Is there a reason for this limit?

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2. 67

   mike102771posted 8 years ago

   This is just a guess, but if you give some people a chance they will write a novella of a reply completely taking over the comments.
   
   It is very difficult to encapsulate an abstract idea in 250 words much less characters.

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   1. 65

      eugbugposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, you're probably right. Forum replies can be indefinitely long and threads often extend over multiple pages. I presume the idea of the Q & A section is to keep everything concise.

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   2. 0

      RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I've wished more room was available at times but the challenge of the 250 word limit is a useful way to work on refining my writing.  Concise yet meaningful sentences make for great articles!

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3. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   The original idea of the Q&A was to ask questions you wanted to know the answer to (preferably in the shape of a Hub) - things like "does anyone know how to fix a broken snaffelpuffer?" - not a place to conduct debates.  That's what the topical forums are for.

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   1. 65

      eugbugposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      "How to Fix a Broken Snaffelpuffer" - Hmm, you've just given me inspiration for writing a new hub

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   2. 76

      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmm...now, is a snaffelpuffer a saddle for a snuffaluffagus?  ;-)
      
      I do find it hard, sometimes, to limit characters so strictly.  But 250 is nearly twice what Twitter allows--so it seems 'generous' by comparison.
      Nonetheless, I do believe such character-delimited forums are what gave rise to the 'text-speak' shorthand, such as LOL, CUL8TR, BRB, IDK, and the like.  B4 U get mad @ ur kid 4 using it; reflect on these limitations online! ;-)

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   3. 94

      MizBejabbersposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      A lot of people write questions when they should be putting the topic into a forum. However, a lot of people are ignorant about forums. The first time I posted a topic for discussion in a forum, somebody jumped down my throat and said we couldn't use forums for that and that it had to go into the Q & A. I was mortified, but then somebody else corrected them and said that I had done it properly in the Freeforum. That discussion alone was interesting even if it was off topic. I don't mind seeing the texting shorthand in Q & A, but I notice that some ppl. r using it 4 4ums. Catch my drift?

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4. 49

   James Mabreyposted 8 years ago

   A book can be written in 250 words. It's all about how use the.
   People create viral tweets in 140 words. 250 words in two much to answer any question.

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   1. 94

      MizBejabbersposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      250 word book? I think that's called "flash fiction", unless it's true, then I guess it would be "flash nonfiction."

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