TLDR is getting ridiculous

[BehattedWanderer]

I don't use it. Those that care to read, can read. I don't force them to, it's entirely their choice. Should they want to skim, let them skim. Should they want to take my words and blow them out of proportion, let them. It's entirely their choice. If you can't hold a cogent conversation with more than a few sentences, you might as well get flash cards to hold up and communicate that way.

 

[ace_of_something]

The Teal Deer is an elusive beast. Hard to catch... legend says if you CAN catch it the way you will die is written on it's belly, though it's buried in a wall of text.

If it's too long to read the logical thing would be to close the thread and not comment.

Though I have gotten a few work e-mails where i responded with "I'm not sure what you're getting at could you try to strip down your main ideas?" or something like that.

 

[loodmoney]

Re: using "TL;DR" to respond to a post: inexcusable. There is, quite literally, nothing else to do on internet forums save read things and write things. To not do the first but still feel it is acceptable to do the second is against the whole point of the thing.

Re: using "TL;DR" summarise a post: it is okay. "In conclusion...", "Basically..." can all function the same way. I just think it is written incorrectly; the semicolon is less necessary than the period, so I'd like to see it written as:

T.L.;D.R.

It's only fair.

Re: using "TL;DR" to summarise a short post: redundant at best. Just hit enter twice and end with an epigram that captures the spirit of the post.

 

[Alon Shechter]

TS;DR.

 

[GasparNolasco]

In free forums or imageboards where people can't actually use titles they can use the TL;DR to summarize in one simple sentence the broad idea they where writing about.
In a specialized forum with title support it's unpractical. You can have a very good grasp on what you wrote the wall of text just by looking at the title or forum theme of the post.
People sometimes like to use it though, makes them more confident other readers will at least spend 2 seconds trying to understand what they meant instead of clicking the little red X on the corner of the window -- their problem, anyway. I couldn't really care less about a couple of extra lines on a 3 line post.

TL;DR: TL;DR is for 4chan not for the Escapist. But who really cares?

 

[FightThePower]

If you're actually losing faith in humanity just because some people are a bit lazy then I think you need to chill out a little bit.

I think it's rather thoughtful to provide a nice summary at the end of a particularly long post. If it's 5 lines long then it seems unnecessary, but hardly anything to get angry about.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

We were taught at school that we should start essays with an introduction setting out the argument, then present it in detail and finish with a conclusion summarising it all. What people append as "the tldr version" would be the opening paragraph.

There was a certain amount of art required to do the first and last paragraphs well without making them the same.

In a way, novels do the same thing. The first pages set the scene and mood and get the reader hooked, the bulk of the book tells the story and the end has a neat wrap-up so the reader can get some sleep.

 

[Jodah]

An interesting test would be to make a lengthy post then have a TLDR of something completely different. See whos paying attention.

 

[pspman45]

-walks up to a podium, clears his throat-

I have no opinion about this one way or the other

-walks away from the podium-

-begins clapping maniacally-

 

[Caligulove]

"TLR" is best used to make a summary that has nothing to do with the previous paragraph- that way, picks out the people who didn't actually read the topic, though also provides a nice little laugh for those that read to the bottom of the paragraph or article about changes in the gaming industry, then read a comical summary about building a go-cart with Abraham Lincoln

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

TL;DR is used when posts are paragraphs long and people are too bored to read through it all. I haven't seen it abused recently though.

 

[EternalFacepalm]

I lost all my faith in humanity when they... stole the last cookie. T_T

Seriously, though, I do agree; TL;DR is getting out of hand. But not as much as "I LOST MY FAITH"-threads, they're getting ridiculous.

 

[Plurralbles]

when you mention it... I really don't want to read the op. At all.

DOnt' be so melodramatic, it's just the internet.

 

[Flig]

I find the use of the phrase "losing face in humanity" is getting much more ridiculous than a slight overuse of TL;DR. I mean for fucks sake, if your going to lose faith in humanity(which I find silly in itself), do it for something less trivial.

 

[funguy2121]

The statements above are not meant to be applied to Escapists in general - just to the snobs out there.

Dear God...

Not only do I agree with you completely but your candour is somewhat surprising, I don't think I've seen a post by you that was so honest and scathing!

For the record I do completely agree. TL;DR just means "I can't be bothered to find out what the conversation is about but I want to say something!" It's a scourge on the forum, I frequently DR because something is TL being as I've been rather busy lately...but I don't then post my opinion because if I don't understand the topic I don't get to have an opinion.

Right. When I don't know what I'm posting/talking about, I'll say "What the Hell is this? Can you please explain it to me?" or I'll say nothing at all.

Interesting new avatar, btw. What's it from?

 

[MaxwellMurder]

Sorry, what was that? It was so long I didn't read it.

Walls of text can be daunting and are usually a boring rant. Some people need to learn to paragraph. Others need to not be so damn lazy. The door swings both ways and hits someone in the face whichever way it goes.

I Agree with you 100% But i will ask whats with the Disturbing Sexual Fluttershy avatar

 

[mjc0961]

Speaking of things that are getting ridiculous...

I start to lose all faith in humanity

Really? Do you really? Or are you just exaggerating to the extreme? Because if this truly does make you start to lose faith in humanity, then you have bigger problems than people overusing "tl;dr". And if not, just say it annoys you, because otherwise you're adding to the cycle of one overused and annoying meme just like the one you're annoyed with.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

Frankly, I am bothered by the fact that people use the term "TLDR" at all.

Nobody cares if you read something or not, so why do you bother informing us about it? Infact, if you didn't read it, why even bother replying in the first place? Posting just to say "TLDR" adds no substance to a discussion and just comes off as rude and obnoxious.