There are many ways in which to format your blog entries. In previous blogs I've discussed the formatting of text and language, but today I am going to discuss the overall formatting.
The first method I will endeavor to hate is what some call "wall 'o text." This is when you have a really long block of text with no line breaks. I really hate these posts because they're simply overwhelming. I will not ever read a post if it feels like the author is assaulting me with a wall of text. Honestly, how do you manage thoughts in that muck?
Then we have the great "blank space with words added" method. This is when you add 6 or 7 line breaks in between 1-2 lines of text.
A lot like that. It's annoying and is a great way to have people think that you're lacking information. I don't like these. I've only ever seen one, but this is a preventative method.
The next awful formatting technique is what I like to call "fat bar skinny bar." It looks like this:
And it's not even
A good way to format a blog. I mean, I get that some
text editors do
this when you cut and paste, MS Word for example
but
do we really not read out blogs after posting them?
I, for one,
am completely anal about the overall look and feel
of everything
I write.
Proof your blog for more than spelling errors.
And the final method is the only real method. This is a method that gets your reader to actually read your post and not automatically deduct IQ points. This method is what is simply called "the good method." This is where you type a paragraph, hit enter, type another paragraph, hit enter, type another paragraph, hit enter, etc. This is where you'll earn brownie points from most users. This methodology is the first requirement in my "will I take the time to promote this" check list. A good formatting structure is IMPORTANT. It helps to drive your point home. It can be good to use the overall format of your blog to express your point.
At any rate, those are the major methods for typing blogs. I mean, how else can you do it? Too much space, not enough space, too little space, just right space. I hope you were able to take something away from this. Adios amigos!
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For at least the cause of the "fat bar skinny bar" thing, I think that might have something to do with the way the website formats it when you go to preview it, especially if you disabled rich text formatting (which I often do because I know the code to format things and often write in notepad first, HTML and all). Although I haven't personally come across that particular issue, I wouldn't put it past the editor.
I don't know any community that likes (or even tolerates, for that matter), the wall of text. In the forums for one of the games that I play, it's usually responded to with "wall of text crits you for 50,000. You die." (imitating the in-game log that tracks what hits you with what attack and for how much)
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
I get what the problem with FBSB is, but it can be edited. I tend to type my posts up in notepad and just paste them back into the text block here. I found that FBSB happened a lot when I'd paste from MS Word.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
Indeed it can, though it might not always show up in the preview, so there is a lag in posting and fixing the FBSB.
When they go unedited, then yeah, that becomes a problem.
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
I preview my blog about ten times now so when it's posted, I won't have to edit it....except for maybe grammar/spelling that I might have missed (that even MS Word misses)
I am really picky and particular about formatting too...
"The good life, let's go on a living spree
Shit they say the best things in life are free" --*K A N Y E
http://www.progressiveu.org/231615-this-is-a-muslim-girls-plight