My Apologies

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electricalist

electricalist

Senior Member
Location
dallas tx
I'd like to apologize to the forum and its members for my lack of punctuation , long winded and un precise post. I value you members and the help I get here. Feel free to correct me , guide me or push me in the right direction. I will correct these things.
Sincerely, Mike
 
No Apologies necessary.
I will say this to all posters:
* Don't use all caps.
* Hit the Enter button on long paragraphs
* State your problem clearly & try not to leave out pertinent facts.
* Concisely state your problem in the title: Not your first name
 
electricalist said:
I'd like to apologize to the forum and its members for my lack of punctuation , long winded and un precise post. I value you members and the help I get here. Feel free to correct me , guide me or push me in the right direction. I will correct these things.
Sincerely, Mike
Click to expand...
I have noticed your posts being easier to understand now than when you first started.
 
John120/240 said:
No Apologies necessary.
I will say this to all posters:
* Don't use all caps.
* Hit the Enter button on long paragraphs
* State your problem clearly & try not to leave out pertinent facts.
* Concisely state your problem in the title: Not your first name
Click to expand...
Wanted to emphasize that. When I see a big blob of text my old eyes start to blur.
 
electricalist said:
I'd like to apologize to the forum and its members for my lack of punctuation , long winded and un precise post. I value you members and the help I get here. Feel free to correct me , guide me or push me in the right direction. I will correct these things.
Sincerely, Mike
Click to expand...

Your are asking questions and participating in the forum. These actions put you a step above many others in your field. You are doing fine.
 
rlundsrud said:
And you speech goodly like me do.

:)

I am joking, enjoy the forum.
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I love this place. At least when someone is joking they make it know.
I know this is a site full of real life professional s who by all right could not even acknowledge my novice at best compared to them input.
I have to make a conscious effort to not get excited and stay focused.
 
John120/240 said:
No Apologies necessary.
I will say this to all posters:
Click to expand...

John120/240 said:
* Don't use all caps.
Click to expand...
I CAN YELL IF I WANT TOO JK:p
John120/240 said:
* Hit the Enter button on long paragraphs
Click to expand...
I do I fail at this one, My anykey is broke
John120/240 said:
* State your problem clearly & try not to leave out pertinent facts.
Click to expand...
I bumped my head and now I can't think of any questions to ask, Who am me?
John120/240 said:
* Concisely state your problem in the title: Not your first name
Click to expand...
Bumped head, Foster<<< it not my first name:happyno:
 
John120/240 said:
No Apologies necessary.
I will say this to all posters:
* Don't use all caps.
* Hit the Enter button on long paragraphs
* State your problem clearly & try not to leave out pertinent facts.
* Concisely state your problem in the title: Not your first name
Click to expand...

Perhaps it would better to keep paragraphs short.
 
In any good writing, the opening paragraph is the thesis. It clearly states an overview of the problem.

Subsequent paragraphs provide specifics.

The closing paragraph summarizes and asks the question(s).
 
mgookin said:
In any good writing, the opening paragraph is the thesis. It clearly states an overview of the problem.

Subsequent paragraphs provide specifics.

The closing paragraph summarizes and asks the question(s).
Click to expand...

Surely that depends on what the writing is for or about?
Who the target audience is and by what means the message gets delivered?

This is an internet forum with members who have in common that they work in the electrical field.
So we know the audience and delivery method.

Given that this is know, it is customary on forums such as this for the writing style to be conversational rather than formal.
Does that automatically make it bad writing?
 
Besoeker said:
Surely that depends on what the writing is for or about?
Who the target audience is and by what means the message gets delivered?

This is an internet forum with members who have in common that they work in the electrical field.
So we know the audience and delivery method.

Given that this is know, it is customary on forums such as this for the writing style to be conversational rather than formal.
Does that automatically make it bad writing?
Click to expand...

No.

But if you have to explain something, it's best that someone understand in the first paragraph what's on the table.

Use the middle to clearly explain the relevant facts.

Be sure to ask a clear question (what you are looking for/ trying to do/ etc.?).

Sometimes posts don't even contain any question!
 
mgookin said:
No.

But if you have to explain something, it's best that someone understand in the first paragraph what's on the table.

Use the middle to clearly explain the relevant facts.

Be sure to ask a clear question (what you are looking for/ trying to do/ etc.?).

Sometimes posts don't even contain any question!
Click to expand...

I'm not going to fall out with you over this but I will, in a civil manner, disagree with some points you have made. That's what polite discussion is. If we all agreed on everything, there would be nothing to discuss.

You assert that the first paragraph is a thesis setting out the problem.
What's on the table might not be about a problem. It could simply relate to an experience - technical, amusing, unexpected, irksome.....or almost anything.
The middle might explain what you felt about the experience rather than known facts.
And there might be no questions to be asked.

All I'm trying to say is that there is no prescriptive framework that uniquely defines what is good writing.
There is no one size fits all.

But this is moving off topic which is how posts are presented here.
I have mentioned a couple of times in the past to others that huge blocks of text in a single paragraph make posts difficult to read - discouraging to read. Others here obviously feel the same way.

I post here and on other forums and I see things that have spelling and grammatical errors. I rarely comment on them. The internet is a wonderful invention that allows people to communicate freely across different time zones and on an almost infinite variety of topics. My view is that, if the point being made can be understood, the quality of the language is not that important.

Making it easy to read, much more so. And breaking it up into bite sized paragraphs is a big part of that.
 
Besoeker said:
I have mentioned a couple of times in the past to others that huge blocks of text in a single paragraph make posts difficult to read - discouraging to read. Others here obviously feel the same way.

I post here and on other forums and I see things that have spelling and grammatical errors. I rarely comment on them. The internet is a wonderful invention that allows people to communicate freely across different time zones and on an almost infinite variety of topics. My view is that, if the point being made can be understood, the quality of the language is not that important.

Making it easy to read, much more so. And breaking it up into bite sized paragraphs is a big part of that.
Click to expand...

I think anybody who's been in the trade very long has had to sift through meaningless jargon, slang terms, etc enough to where poor wording shouldn't be too much of a hindrance.

But once in a while, somebody will post something that reads almost incoherent. That can take 10-12 posts just to get to the gist of what's being asked.

In much the same way, if somebody doesn't give enough information, it can be an arduous task to get that info. I think that's where the real clear explanation comes in.

Imagine if somebody's asking why a lighting circuit is tripped, and it takes 10 posts to find out that they were mounting some shelving in the closet that now doesn't work. Pretty pertinent info that can get left out. Extreme example, admittedly. But more info is better, and guys in the trade should know that


BTW, I agree about bite-sized blocks of text making the post much easier to read. I try to type only 1-2 sentences in one block, then a whole line space before the next sentence.

A whole wall of typing makes my eye sockets hurt, and that reduces the likelihood I'll read it
 
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