# Is it okay to post a very long reply, or should I break it up? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 19, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456 "2006-05-19T21:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/1 "2006-05-19T21:02:33Z")
I confess that I have no idea how the board runs, I am not very technical, and I do not want to “break” the board. I have noticed that sometimes a person will break up a very long post into several entries. I have written a reply to a thread which is quite long, and I am unsure if it’s alright to post it en mass, or if I should seperate it into several entries. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/2 "2006-05-19T21:28:29Z")
A long post will not “break” the board. You might want to break it up into smaller chunks for readability. Some people see a single post that takes up the full screen and then some and are inclined to skip over it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/3 "2006-05-19T21:30:06Z")
There is no rule about long replies, so far as I know (though I am not a moderator, so my word on that is not definitive). There is a technical limitation, I think, but it’s huge, and I’ve never heard of anybody exceeding it without specifically trying to in a test thread. Some people split a reply into multiple replies as a way of organizing their thoughts, or to reply to multiple people, but that’s a matter of personal style. And, of course, some multiple replies are because someone forgot to mention something the first time through. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/4 "2006-05-19T21:31:08Z")
Thank you very much, I am off to post! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/5 "2006-05-20T01:14:51Z")
That was only 8000 characters. The board limit is 20,000 characters for a single post. Just so you know. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/6 "2006-05-20T06:05:10Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > That was only 8000 characters. The board limit is 20,000 characters for a single post. Just so you know. Wow, that would be an impressive post indeed if one maxed out. So enlighten me if you would, please, how did you come up with the actual count, because I _know_ that you didn’t count each character. I am _so_ not technically gifted. ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/7 "2006-05-20T06:22:30Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Wow, that would be an impressive post indeed if one maxed out. So enlighten me if you would, please, how did you come up with the actual count, because I _know_ that you didn’t count each character. > > I am _so_ not technically gifted. I dunno how **Exapno Mapcase** did it, but I do know abouy several ways to do it. There is a feature in MS Word that I’m told will do it. Obviously, I haven’t tried it, since I don’t know first hand. What I do if/when I want a character or word count is to paste a copy into [Note Tab Lite](http://www.notetab.com/index.php) (other versions sell for modest prices; Lite is free) and go to Tools, then Text Statistics, and it pops up a window with the information on it. A very handy utility! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/8 "2006-05-20T08:11:55Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Wow, that would be an impressive post indeed if one maxed out. Indeed. Here’s a splendid example: > **[SDMB ~ The Epic Musical](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=361756)** > > \[right\]Sung to the tune of “Good Ol’ Boys” (The Dukes of Hazzard Theme) \*\*by Waylon Jennings - \*\* Performed by Cecil Adams banjo intro\[/right\] Just a good ol’ boy, Never meanin’ no wrong, They say this boy has been in trouble with the mods... ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/9 "2006-05-20T16:39:30Z")
Thanks for the information and the link **tygerbryght,** I believe it will come in handy as I work on my writing skills. Oh, someday to publish my Alaskan stories, it’s a very big dream of mine. Also, thank you **xash!** I remember the musical, it was so creative. And long! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/10 "2006-05-20T16:59:06Z")
> [@tygerbryght](#): > > I dunno how **Exapno Mapcase** did it, but I do know abouy several ways to do it. There is a feature in MS Word that I’m told will do it. Obviously, I haven’t tried it, since I don’t know first hand. Yep, just did a quick cut and paste into Word. Then Tools/Word Count, which gives the character count as well. ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-post-a-very-long-reply-or-should-i-break-it-up/357456/11 "2006-05-20T20:26:35Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Thanks for the information and the link **tygerbryght,** I believe it will come in handy as I work on my writing skills. Oh, someday to publish my Alaskan stories, it’s a very big dream of mine. There’s another advantage - AFAIK - to Note Tab. The statistics window offers “more” - and that’s a wordcount breakdown. You can look at it and see whether there are any words that you’re using too often. I don’t refer to that very often, but it’s nice knowing it’s there. It’s sorta like the poor man’s version of a grammar analyzer, with the advantage that it just tells you what’s there rather than being a noodge, telling you to change your writing style. 🙂