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"TLDR" is unnecessary

douglastarr.com

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Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#61

Post by Dylan16807 »

geuis wrote: post #44

A TLDR already has a name, a "summary". Not only a mere extra 4 characters, it's not an acronym for a phrase but a word that says what it is. Amazing, really. The biggest problem I find with TLDR is that people that use it do so incorrectly. You don't put your summary at the end of the article. You put it at the beginning. I also find many writers who use TLDR explicitly are rather poor writers. Lots of spelling and…

Summaries usually have more detail. A TLDR is closer to a thesis statement, but somewhat more flexible/informal.

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#62

Post by lostlogin »

nswanberg wrote: post #48
jacobolus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hemingway is not the example you’re looking for: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Theory

I agree but edw519 is a smart guy and I would give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he attempted to capture the essence of a "tl;dr" comment: short, vaguely corresponding to the material, and ultimately misleading.

I might add traumatic to that little list, having just read A Farewell to Arms.

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#63

Post by lostlogin »

joelmichael wrote: post #17
mmanfrin wrote: post #4

Pedantic, but: tldr existed well before reddit.

I know I saw it on the SA forums, where it may have originated. People would reply "too long; didn't read" to dismiss a post, which eventually was abbreviated to just "tl;dr". Anticipating this reply, authors of long posts would end their post with a "tl;dr" summary.

Not all the sure about the source as a reference, but Urban Dictionary got TLDR in 2003. Reddit is 2005ish I think. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tldr

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#64

Post by calinet6 »

This is a bit ridiculous. Moving the summary to the beginning is no better. Simply write more concisely and elegantly.

My favorite illustration of this was in the movie "A River Runs Through It"—a young Norman brought his essays to his father, who would say always "Good. Now make it half as long." This was repeated a few times, then it was good enough. Would that more writers could follow this mantra.

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#65

Post by Pitarou »

TL;DR is a useful convention for busy readers, but it should be at the beginning, not the end.

Look at the lede (the first sentence or two) of any article in any newspaper. It's marked in bold face, and summarizes the whole story. It helps the busy reader decide if he wants to "drill down" by reading the rest of the article. TL;DR could do the same thing, if only people put it at the beginning.

I teach essay writing, so I have strong views about this. ;)

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#66

Post by Pitarou »

gliese1337 wrote: post #59
geuis wrote: post #44

A TLDR already has a name, a "summary". Not only a mere extra 4 characters, it's not an acronym for a phrase but a word that says what it is. Amazing, really. The biggest problem I find with TLDR is that people that use it do so incorrectly. You don't put your summary at the end of the article. You put it at the beginning. I also find many writers who use TLDR explicitly are rather poor writers. Lots of spelling and…

That biggest problem you find is your own creation- it is a result of assuming that "TLDR" is the same as "summary". While it may have the same literal meaning, clearly it is not the same as "summary", because you find it to be used differently. This is because it has a different purpose in discourse. Most synonym pairs are like this; you think they have the same meaning, until you do a corpus analysis and discover t…

I've never seen a TL;DR that wouldn't serve the reader better if it were put at the beginning, rather than the end.

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#67

Post by Pitarou »

mehulkar wrote: post #14

I like TLDR for being able to cmd+F to it quickly. In a well written article with an abstract or a good first sentence, I still have to find the first sentence. With a TLDR, I can jump to that section quickly. I know this sounds like the height of being lazy, but I assure you, it's not.

Wouldn't it be even better if the TL;DR was at the beginning so you didn't have to cmd+F for it?

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#68

Post by jonathanjaeger »

TL;DR is not merely about summarizing. It's a way, especially in the Reddit community, to add something extra. TL;DR can be a summary, but it can also be a tool for sarcasm, smugness, or getting a certain tone across. Sure you can summarize yourself in the opening line, but you can also make a calculated choice to use TL;DR for some other motive. I often find TL;DR to be a cynical view of your readership because it's as if you're stating, "I know what I wrote is long, and you readers aren't taking the time my writing deserves! So I'm just going to put this summary at the end to shut you up."

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#69

Post by glennos »

This post is poorly argued in my opinion. The author fails to provide an example of the "tools to summarize and communicate your thoughts" which he speaks of. As a result, the specifics of his argument are left to conjecture of the readers, producing an unfocused discussion.

My take on 'TLDR'. It isn't typically equivalent to a well structured opening paragraph. As others have mentioned, it's more akin to an abstract, as used in academic writing.

It denotes that the author will most likely use brief text to summarise and, for the sake of efficiency, it may be in a completely different writing style to the rest of the text.

TLDR is a useful tool for allowing readers to make a rapid decision as to whether the following content is relevant to them. In some ways I see it as a courtesy to the reader.

Re: "TLDR" is unnecessary

#70

Post by Dylan16807 »

calinet6 wrote: post #64

This is a bit ridiculous. Moving the summary to the beginning is no better. Simply write more concisely and elegantly. My favorite illustration of this was in the movie "A River Runs Through It"—a young Norman brought his essays to his father, who would say always "Good. Now make it half as long." This was repeated a few times, then it was good enough. Would that more writers could follow this mantra.

No matter how concise and elegant your writing is, chances are it won't fit into a single sentence. TL;DR still has a purpose.
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