What's your DU style?

[OAITW r.2.0]

I tend to be short winded and try to make my point with a few sentences or less.

Sometimes with disastrous results.

Others tend to underscore their opinion with a lot of supporting info and links,

What's your style at DU?

[pat_k]

1. Probably too verbose.

Exhibit 1: https://www.democraticunderground.com/~pat_k

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Thanks for posting. Very thoughtful and well stated OPs.

I actually appreciate reading your well constructed posts. rather than short and cynical thoughts I frequently share here - on the State of the Union.

[alwaysinasnit]

2. I admire and strive for pithy, although I rarely achieve it.

[True Dough]

8. Coincidentally

I have been called a son of a pith more times than I can count!

[alwaysinasnit]

17. ...

[Permanut]

4. There are boatloads of information on DU..

So I try to be as concise as possible.

[Emile]

5. Short and to the point.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Not Sure I Have One

If it's science, economics/finance, or music I probably tend toward detail & length.
If I'm just joining in to opine, probably short & Sweet.
It seems situational, which I don't think is a style.

[OAITW r.2.0]

22. And you do that well Prof!

[LuckyCharms]

7. I try to be direct with few words, However, I sometimes get too detailed. It depends on the topic.

I try to make my posts easy to read by double spacing sentences whenever possible, as you did in this OP.

I used to create multi-volume cost proposals that contained a lot of numbers and mathematical analyses. The numbers portion was my primary role, however, there was also a lot of written explanation (scope of work, contractual language, explanatory verbiage, introductory material, etc.).

My superiors liked my writing style, so I was also often tasked with doing the written parts, as well as developing the cost and pricing.

[OAITW r.2.0]

23. One thing about DU you don't find on places like FR.

Are folks, like you, that convey a rational and perhaps, funny, thought.

[True Dough]

9. I always aim

for confusion!

[LuckyCharms]

10. I always aim for the water in the toilet bowl...but sometimes I miss because of

the dreaded "split stream".

[True Dough]

12. You and me both, buddy

I hate being caught off guard. Maybe we can hold a competition sometime to see who coats more of the seat, the floor and the wall behind the toilet.

[LuckyCharms]

18. Whatever you do, please, please, PLEASE...

do not hit the toothbrush holder.

[True Dough]

19. Now you're upping the ante!

That would take a real feat of marksmanship!

[LuckyCharms]

20. It's easier than you might this, True Dough.

That's why I have to store my toothbrush in the kitchen.

[highplainsdem]

11. I use DU mainly for posting information, so the posts can be very long if there are articles/excerpts. I guess the cat

videos and music videos are kind of informative - look at this cool video I found! - even if it's just a title and video. Same with the tweets from politicians and pundits I copy here - they're something I think DUers will want to know about.

Sometimes the information extends to adding replies with more info on the subject of the OP, with the longest example of that being a thread on the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, in 2011:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x591230

And a thread I started here in the Lounge in 2022 - mostly posting about Golden Earring founder/guitarist George Kooymans and his battle with ALS and the new music he continued to create -

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181674319

got pretty long before the news slowed so much the thread slipped back into the archives.

When I first got online in the 1980s, it was on a platform emphasizing providing/sharing information, and I was also moderating a forum there for two years, so that early experience probably still influences what I post.

I have posted a lot of K&R and +1 or +1,000,000 replies over the years.

[OAITW r.2.0]

24. Regardless, your posts are all always "must read" for me/

[Prairie_Seagull]

35. Seconded. nt

[highplainsdem]

44. Thanks, Prairie_Seagull! Blushing here.

Btw, your handle just reminded me of something I heard yesterday from a relative. I'd asked her how her small, ornamental koi pond was doing, and found out that herons got all the fish. She'd had a lovely small concrete-and-stone fish pond and waterfall in her back yard by the pool for years, and then herons showed up. You don't usually associate herons with the Great Plains (seagulls, either, though there are plenty of gulls and terns around), and she's miles from the nearest lake or river, but they spotted her little koi pond while flying over and turned it into a snack bar. Was just googling ways she can keep herons out of the pond, if she wants to try again next year...

[Prairie_Seagull]

45. Been thinking a lot lately about

Why the hell did I ever leave the salt water. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Financially it has been good but I have salt water in my veins and I miss it more than I thought I would.

The smell, the sounds and oh my dog the fresh fish and I could go on and on.

We have many good and even some great writers/even reporters on DU of which you are one. imo.

[highplainsdem]

46. Thanks again, P_S. Too kind. I hope you can spend more time relaxing on the coast soon.

[highplainsdem]

43. Thank you! I hope you don't too often wonder, "Oh, no, NOW what is she going on about...?" I post

stuff that attracts my attention and seems to fit DU, and sometimes it seems as though the entire world is yelling "Squirrel!" and there's always something else to chase. You're lucky I post only a fraction of what I bookmark.

[Kali]

13. not sure if I have one

I do think I tend to be fairly concise most of the time, I like sarcastic humor and I have a tendency to feed trolls a bit. (enjoy a fight?)

I also tend to edit for picky details

[OAITW r.2.0]

33. My style nowadays. Produce maximum idea from the fewest possible words.

[Solly Mack]

14. Ebb and flow.

Depending on my mood.

[OAITW r.2.0]

25. When you post, I read.

[Solly Mack]

28. Thank you. You're very kind.

[Doc_Technical]

15. Terse,

short, brief, economical in word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph,
to the point, not straying from the main point of discussion.

[Different Drummer]

16. I tend to be somewhat brief and use smilies liberally. n/t

[electric_blue68]

21. Oh, often Talky and since I am a Catherine; I am a "Chatty Cathy". 😄 However depending on...

what being discussed; I try to be (one, or more) informative, detailed, encouraging, funny etc.

Sometimes I have short replies.

[OAITW r.2.0]

37. One of my dear sisters - I have 2 - who was family known as "Chatty Cathy"

She was definitely a person who was always talking. LOL.

On edit: 65 years later, she's still chattin' up a storm!

[electric_blue68]

38. As I got out of childhood I learned to be much more quiet at times 😄👍

[OAITW r.2.0]

39. Cath - my sister was a special ed teacher for 35+ years...well known for her capabilities.

Don't see her much, she's always camping somewhere in ME and NH with the BIL. They have 2 daughters/5 grandkids, but are not interested in being always available,

[electric_blue68]

40. Got it. May they always be safe in their camping adventures! ⛺️👍

[Sneederbunk]

26. Pithy.

[Silent Type]

27. Similar. I try to get my thoughts in title or first line or two. But if it's something that requires links, summaries,

interpretations, etc., it could get long. But don't do that too much nowadays.

And I start few discussions, though I appreciate the heck out of DUers who do start and contribute to discussions.

[OAITW r.2.0]

29. Me too, I think. When I think back to my early days on DU, I was more focused on making an argument with back-up links

and detail. Nowadays, I'm more hit and run.

[Metaphorical]

30. In-depth (and probably too verbose)

I'm a writer and an analyst by profession, and as a consequence I seldom use 5 words when 50 words will suffice.

[OAITW r.2.0]

34. Glad you are hear to add to the 23+ year ongoing conversation.

[Pinback]

31. As in my corporeal existence,

my communication style tends toward the lighter side. I enjoy and value humor. I sometimes deploy humor to defuse tension, other times to leaven a tedious subject, but most often just because I can and it’s fun. In class or work situations, I was usually the one unable to restrain myself from making a groaner of a pun or ridiculous observation that cracked everybody up and breathed a little fresh air into the room. I appreciate the many DUers who can deftly combine the zany, the cerebral, and the wise.

I don’t post that many OPs, and my overall post count is low considering the length of my DU membership. I tend to lurk and learn more often than anything else, although I have occasionally mounted a rickety soapbox for a brief philippic of sorts.

When I have the energy and patience, I do like to research topics and provide links and quotes. DU for me is above all a valued information resource, so when I contribute I don’t want to waste everybody’s time with low-quality content.

I have had mercifully few acrimonious interactions with fellow DUers over the years, most often with somebody being especially bullheaded (which of course I never do, haha!) or obviously wa-a-a-ay too full of themselves. Then a couple of days later we might find ourselves chatting amiably in a different thread about something else, so DU life marches on.

I particularly admire not only skillful humor but well written, graceful, persuasive prose. We are fortunate to have quite a few practitioners of these arts in our midst, and I continue to learn much from them.

[OAITW r.2.0]

41. I am honestly appreciative to have your thoughtful post. You are a word wizard: a writer, for sure,

[WheelWalker]

32. Obtuse

[Dear_Prudence]

36. Good, bad, ugly

Good: Brief, informative or supportive. Bad and Ugly? Well, I posted a long tirade recently and got the kindly response "maybe you should get some help". So, I should stick to brief!

[OAITW r.2.0]

42. Can't tell you how many times that has been suggested to me, over 23 years

Thing is, I've been in Group Therapy at DU for 23+ years.