Comments on: Full posts or excerpts?

By: Paul Filby

Paul Filby — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:43:35 +0000

Thanks Martin — I’ve flicked a switch on my RSS feed so it should be displaying full posts now.

By: Martin Banfield

Martin Banfield — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:25:21 +0000

I’ve just regained my chair, somewhat embarrassingly flattered.
Paul, you will have discovered that I need to review my blogroll, adding some that definitely merit inclusion, and deleting a few that aren’t active.
Mark, your comments are, as always, a delight to read, especially as you set such a high standard yourself.
My first view, usually, of a new posting is via Google Reader – which actually just shows the first few lines of this posting, Paul. I quite often then click on the site in question (as now), but for those ‘long front pages’ I’m quite happy to use my judgement on whether to read every word or to scroll quickly down and move to the next item in ‘reader’. I think that knowing the author personally has as much to do with how attentive I am, as the quality of the writing.
Like your intention, Paul, my postings cover an array of subject matter, and the labeling system isn’t all that satisfactory, but it does basically work. One thing I have noticed is that readers will actually spend a considerable period of time on one label – usually a TGO Challenge, or the IBR, where I have meticulously indexed the postings and placed links at the foot of each posting, taking the reader to the next posting. Nobody has ever commented that this is helpful, but it obviously is.
I do have a plan to cover specific trips that others may enjoy, by setting up the blog to read chronologically. I’m still toying with using a standard web page for this, but the blog format has the big advantage of enabling comments to be made.
Time, of course, even for the retired, is a constant, sometimes nagging, enemy…
Good luck, Paul – remember to enjoy what for me has become an indulgence, and is actually mainly for my mum and a few close friends – all the other readers, some of whom have become good friends, are a bonus.

By: Paul Filby

Paul Filby — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:03:04 +0000

That’s an interesting point, Mark, about preferring excerpts when the blog only occasionally covers topics of interest. I’ve been thinking more about categories recently, and how I can best use them. I’d love to be able to mark-up posts (perhaps with a title using a category-specific colour) automatically, based on the category.

If the categories were relatively few, well defined, and supported by a decent amount of content, I reckon that would be a good way to key readers in to subjects of particular interest where a blog covers multiple subjects. Something else to look into (perhaps there’s already a nice plugin for this?).

By: Mark Alvarez

Mark Alvarez — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:14:59 +0000

I pretty much agree with Martin (I esteem his blog highly) and mostly prefer full posts, but I think what works best depends on the type of blog and the style of the blogger. Highly technical? Roll ‘em. Ten a day? Roll ‘em. Generally long? Maybe roll ‘em, but many Postcards from Timperly are long, and I like them in full, just as they are. I think that’s because Martin is a really good writer and takes great pix, and I like the flow.

I admit I do also prefer excerpt-based blogs when the blogger is not an especially good writer or only occasionally covers topics I’m interested in…I can make a quick choice not to read more rather than carrying on to the bitter end out of habit. Not applicable to you!