# Do you prefer short or long?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 21, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741 "2000-10-21T02:12:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/1 "2000-10-21T02:12:14Z")
I’m referring to threads, of course.
Personally, I hardly ever read threads that are over a page long. My eyes kind of glaze right past them. On the other hand, I’ll read threads with less than 10 posts no matter how dull I find the subject.
Logically, it would seem I’m in a minority - long threads must be more popular than short threads - but I thought I’d check. So what is Your Humble Opinion?
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### Author:  [@annalamerino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annalamerino)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/2 "2000-10-21T02:15:24Z")
I don’t like to respond to threads after about the 4th one, but will read threads of any length.
The IMHO threads are an exception, where I will respond anyway, whether I think people are still reading or not.
Not sure why, but that’s how I do it.
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/3 "2000-10-21T02:53:48Z")
I like long threads if I got in on them when they were just starting out. Coming in at the end of a long thread feels kinda like butting in, so I do it as little as possible.
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### Author:  [@Bluemonchichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluemonchichi)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/4 "2000-10-21T03:19:40Z")
I like the short threads. I generally won’t read a thread past 2 pages, unless I am **really** interested in the subject line.
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### Author:  [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/5 "2000-10-21T04:29:53Z")
Girth is more important than length. 😛
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### Author:  [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/6 "2000-10-21T04:38:34Z")
Smeghead~
I ALWAYS read any thread started by you, just because I love your Rimmer sig so much.
So sue me.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/7 "2000-10-21T04:41:13Z")
Woo-hoo!!
I just realized we’re not going to hear from the long-thread lovers unless this gets longer. The logic involved here is getting convoluted…
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/8 "2000-10-21T05:08:08Z")
I like to respond initially to short threads, but I always hope that thread will get longer… so I can be participating during that whole time, you see.
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### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/9 "2000-10-21T05:28:18Z")
Much as I hate to pass up the obvious double-entendre in this thread’s title, I’ll answer seriously:
I prefer short threads.
By the time a thread has gotten 2 pages long, all the important points have been made, and what discussion remains consists primarily of a couple of people nitpicking each other to death over one or two inconsequential words they said 2 posts ago.
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/10 "2000-10-21T13:27:00Z")
**Tracer**
Absolutely bang on.
Sometimes the diversions a thread takes can be more interesting than the original subject, this happens more in GD than anywhere else.
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### Author:  [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2000, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-short-or-long/37741/11 "2000-10-21T13:28:55Z")
Depends on the thread. No matter how much I wanted to, I just could not slug it out through every single post on the Destroyer vrs. the Enterprise. It was just too long. However, I could make it through the entire 4 pages or so of the most embarrassing things that happened during sex, or whatever that thread was called. I’ve also read the entire Vaguely Vaguely Creepy thread.
So in summary, I seem to be able to make it through long threads if I’m laughing or creeped out, but not if it’s just a nitpicking argument. Also, if I start reading it when it first got posted, it’s not a chore to keep up.
Oh, and add me to the list of fans of your Rimmer sig. I think I’m going to start using that in conversation.