To say that if you can’t read a thread due to lack of paragraphs, just move on to a new thread

[NeedAHoliday2021]

I’ve seen a number of posts recently where the op is having a really tough time in a difficult situation and the first responses are criticising the lack of paragraphs.

There’s no rule book for mn that says we all have to have a certain level of education to post and many people who do use paragraphs can edit in paragraphs as they read. If you can’t, maybe it’s not the thread for you. Just move along.

I’ve never met anyone struggling with life who would benefit from further, unrelated criticism. Do those posters realise they come across as a total dicks?

Obviously, I’ve used paragraphs in order to reach my target audience.

I back space out, I wouldn't make a comment to the OP.
Same with bad spelling, hubby, floods of tears and 'let's call him'...

Thanks so much for telling me I can do something that I already do

I don’t think you’ve broken your paragraphs at the right places, OP. They seem to have been inserted to prove a point

I agree. I always do click straight out of any OP that has no paragraphs or is overly long, but I wouldn't dream of saying so.

Although, maybe it would be more helpful to let people know why they won't get all the responses they might have hoped?

It's not the lack of paragraphs, fir me it's the really long ones. I just can't get to the end and am always mentally editing them down.

Probably just as hard as it is to read the text without.
nope, trying to read word vomit is really hard, you lose your place easily

A key part of my job is writing using a variety of styles, so I love god English, grammar and punctuation, however, mn isn’t paid work so I think it’s mad to expect everyone to have a decent level of written English. A significant chunk of the population didn’t get A-C grades (I know they’re numbers now) in English GCSE. Most posts you can grasp. No one is saying paragraphs aren’t helpful. You just don’t need to be insulting. I don’t understand what posters think they’re achieving.

so I love god English,

Amen.

@TCMolly

I back space out, I wouldn't make a comment to the OP. Same with bad spelling, hubby, floods of tears and 'let's call him'...

oh christ the "Lets call him" so nauseating

so much worse than "Dave (fake name)"

@dfendyr

how hard is it to hit the enter key a few times though

Probably about as hard as using capital letters and question marks correctly.

YANBU.
I do think it's sort of kicking someone whilst they're down to criticise their grammar, spelling and ability to write if they're obviously in a bad way and would never do it.
I don't really mind a lack of paragraphs but I have given up with posts that have no punctuation whatsoever. There have been very few but I find it a strain and have to stop. That's a shame because I can't comment if I don't know the full story and like to help if I can, even if it's just a few kind words to make a struggling OP feel validated. I would never say anything about it if I'd picked up any hint that the OP was in a bad way though.
Apparently the reason why people find James Joyce's "Ulysses" so hard to read and that completing it is considered an achievement, is because it has no punctuation nor paragraphs at all and is just a stream of consciousness. I certainly haven't and never will bother, lol!

YANBU. Same goes for the people who pick on grammar and spelling errors. If you don't like a post/thread for whatever reason, why continue to read it? It is not posters' duty to tailor their posts to your reading requirements. It's not as if their post is a book you've paid to read. If your comprehension skills aren't up to the task of reading their post, I'm afraid that's your problem.

@girlmom21 haha, yep that’s about right. Why would auto correct think I was talking about God in that sentence? I’ll add to my paragraph comment that most of us are typing quickly while doing other stuff so might miss auto corrects and typos.

When posting in the app line returns are often lost leaving a wall of text even when you put in paragraphs.

@NeedAHoliday2021

A key part of my job is writing using a variety of styles, so I love god English, grammar and punctuation, however, mn isn’t paid work so I think it’s mad to expect everyone to have a decent level of written English. A significant chunk of the population didn’t get A-C grades (I know they’re numbers now) in English GCSE. Most posts you can grasp. No one is saying paragraphs aren’t helpful. You just don’t need to be insulting. I don’t understand what posters think they’re achieving.

Well, you can carry on posting in the knowledge that you’re so much better than anyone who’s ever queried the lack of a full stop or line break.

@NeedAHoliday2021

I’ve seen a number of posts recently where the op is having a really tough time in a difficult situation and the first responses are criticising the lack of paragraphs.

There’s no rule book for mn that says we all have to have a certain level of education to post and many people who do use paragraphs can edit in paragraphs as they read. If you can’t, maybe it’s not the thread for you. Just move along.

I’ve never met anyone struggling with life who would benefit from further, unrelated criticism. Do those posters realise they come across as a total dicks?

Obviously, I’ve used paragraphs in order to reach my target audience.

Agree! I take the view that there is hardly a shortage of threads to read on Mumsnet. If a post is hard work for lack of paragraphs, punctuation or spelling I just moved on. No harm done and no one need ever know! (Keep this to yourself, obviously.)

@WomanStanleyWoman because clearly that’s what I’m saying
I’m better at my job than someone who can’t write but that doesn’t make me better than them in any other way. I would assume they would work in a different field to me.