Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Editor's Plea

To all my readers,

I have just begun adding "Read More" links to turn some of my posts into "folding" posts, so that there is not so much to scroll through when you're perusing the blog. I'm somewhat ambivalent about this, as sometimes I would like the full text of the (shorter) posts to simply be there, and have not seen a way to allow the link on some pages and not on others (it is built into the template). If I leave them up, I will have to go back and reformat all the old ones - which I am happy to do if it seems worthwhile.

I would like to ask you, who actually read the thing, what you would prefer: all posts simply there and undivided (which I sometimes feel disrupts the flow of an essay), or the ability to scroll through and pick and choose. I don't put a whole lot of posts up, so perhaps it doesn't matter. Still, I'd like your feedback so I'm not going about trying to please the wrong people.

Thanks!

Heather

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Full posts, please! Your posts are usually quite visually lavish, and I like seeing them all of a piece. (Also, the "read more" seems to force open a new tab/window for me... much squawking ensued.)

Anonymous said...

Hi! I really love this blog, by the way. Found it recently. I think I prefer when the posts are all right there with no jump. Most of the posts seem to be of the length that it's not really necessary to cut them down. But I don't know, that's just my opinion I guess.

They're all so fascinating I tend to read them all the way through regardless.

Anyway, keep posting. :)

Anonymous said...

I prefer not having the "read more" link. Your articles are so good and I get so deeply into them that I think it would annoy me to have to click a link to continue reading.

On the other hand I can fully understand wanting to have the link there so others can see more articles on your site with less scrolling. The final decision is ultimately yours.

Heather McDougal said...

Hey, that's my cat's name: Cobweb. Nice to hear from you. Read on...

Heather McDougal said...

Well, you folks have been saying what I kind of wanted to hear. The "Read on" link was bugging me, but I wanted to ask - after all, you read it, I only write it.

So I'll be taking the links off in the next day or two, unless I hear from numerous people screaming that they prefer it the other way...

Thanks for the feedback!

Anonymous said...

I would like to continue reading the full posts. It is just preferable for me, because it doesn't interrupt the flow of reading.

bioephemera said...

Huh. Now you've made me reconsider my own "more" links. I try to only use them when there's a longer post, but maybe I should be more frugal with them! Your blog always looks lovely regardless.