Wasted Opportunity
I have done that with forum posts as well. When I'm suddenly staring at a 100 word reply that I have just written, I'll expand it some more and turn it into a hub instead.
I thought the same thing when I had answered a question and it was so long that I actually said at the end "sorry for the long answer." But it was all relevant, as far as the question was concerned.. but I should have turned it into a hub instead.
I sense "long" coming on in this post
. It's something I struggle with all the time.
It's only been about twice that I've made a long comment on someone else's Hub, and that was to share my own story that essentially "elaborated" on their Hub, rather than disagree with it. When I disagree I do write my own Hub. I'm always glad when someone writes a giant, long, comment on one of my Hubs, because it gives me something to "address", and it does give me the chance to have a Hub with a "real discussion" on it, rather than just my own Hub. (Having said that, though, I've recently stopped showing comment capsules on my Hubs because 1) as much as I appreciate the time and care people take with long comments, replying to them had become a part-time job for me, and 2) I've been in the mood to try letting my Hubs have a "cleaner" look for awhile.
I know removing the comments goes against conventional Hub-wisdom, but all the changes recently have made me just decide to do what makes me feel better about how the Hubs look (and I like a clean look); 3) it eliminates the chance people will be posting links, or making comments that don't particularly enhance the overall "image" of the Hub. (Ignoring the comments isn't a polite or respectful or caring option for me, because a lot of the Hubs that get comments are about "big, serious" life issues; and no caring human being could just ignore some of the comments I get. Letting them go through without my having to approve them isn't an option - because, as far as I'm concerned, it just isn't.)
Sometimes I write a Hub if a forum post "inspires" a long answer, but sometimes the subject doesn't warrant a Hub (or else I just don't care, and figure it makes for "real" discussion in the forums). I figure, too, nobody has to read anything longer than they feel like reading; so, best case, I contribute to a solid discussion. Worst case, I reinforce my reputation as a "long poster".
Fortunately, the questions section limits length and/or forces you to turn your long answer into a Hub; so I'm "clean" when it comes to staying within limits on the question-answering.
If you think about it, though, it's kind of too bad that so many of us feel like we have to apologize for our "long leanings". This is a writing site; so between writing being what so many people just do (wherever they're posting) and the thing that a "solid discussion" isn't such a bad thing in this world; it's kind of too bad that so many of us feel as if we're being self-indulgent (or whatever) when we see a discussion and want to contribute some thoughts to it. So many times I've done a long post and then deleted it, just because I was embarrassed by the length. Other times, I just think, "Oh, too bad. Nobody cares. People can ignore me anyway."
I'm always kind of glad to see someone else post a "big, long, thing" (as a comment or a forum post). It helps me feel like I'm not the only one suffering from "long verbal leanings".
I don't know... I think some subjects/discussions just require a more substantial discussion than others. It wasn't all that long ago that people were being told to keep their Hub length down because "people on the Internet have short attention spans," and "nobody wants to read more than 500 words". Now that "wisdom" went away, and people are told that (as long as the subject warrants it, and it keeps the reader) longer Hubs are better.
I vote for all the long-posters to post whatever they want to post, stop apologizing for it (I do that all the time), and stop feeling embarrassed. People can always ignore long posts, and in the meantime the forums (or answers or Hubs) would have a whole lot more "meaty" discussions. (..funny how nobody seems uncomfortable to make big, giant, posts in the religion and politics forums, though.... (Maybe HP needs to put a "L" on some Hubbers' image, the way there's the "E" on some.. That would warn everyone else that they were dealing with a long-poster and give them the opportunity to avoid them like the plague if they were so inclined. 
)
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Suggestion: Open discussion for hubs!
I still think comments should be comments, not discussions, that is the purpose of a forum. Maybe it would be a good idea that every author has a forum automatically made in a widget on there profile page and the topics...
- 157
Correct etiquette for hubpages
I was quite stunned a week or more ago when someone made a statement on one of my hubs that she had commented twice and I had snubbed her by not replying. Her comment had been particularly flattering, and probably...
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Hub Pages... Impartiality required.
I am not a regular hub-maker. I am just commenting on some topics which interests me... mostly political, family, religion. But some of my comments are not taken for unknown reasons. I am not going to gain...
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Annoying Comments
Do you all ever get soooo many negative comments on a single hub that you just get tired of dealing with it? If it was all positive comments that wouldn't bother me, heck I even like a good debate from time to...
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Do you reject comments for poor spelling or low relevance?
I think the subject line says it all!
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I have a question about editing comments
I hope Robin will come by and comment on this one. I have been going through all of my old comments and deleting any that don't add anything to the conversation, but some of my hubs have a ton of very useful and...