[ SECRET POST #2706 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2706 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 079 secrets from Secret Submission Post #387.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

02. http://i62.tinypic.com/11b25jr.png

[kaijinscendre]

Oh god yes. I can't read a story if it has no paragraph breaks. I won't even try and get through it. I just see it and back button out.

[feotakahari]

It's like the formatting equivalent of a run-on sentence. I've never seen this before, but I think I'd have trouble reading a fic like this.

[forgottenjester]

I can't read it. My eyes won't follow the lines. So I do the same.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow. I have never seen someone actually actively choosing this type of formatting for online reading. Usually when people point out the difficulty in the formatting, from what I've seen, the author is usually new to posting and is unsure how to properly space or code it, not that they love to write in one big block.

tldr - I agree with you.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes this. I have this one friend who can't add paragraph spaces and criticizes me for spacing my writing. Ok so blank spaces hurt your head, giant walls of text hurt mine!

[sdk]

When I see this sort of thing, I always assume the author screwed up their formatting and doesn't know how to fix it or some such--basically a mistake. I never realized some authors actually choose to post fic that way. o_O.

[dancing_serpent]

Yeah, I'm perfectly fine with that formatting in dead tree books, but when it comes to online reading? No, thank you. Back-buttoning out of this really fast.

[solticisekf]

This formatting works well enough for me. The problem is the lack of breaks between paragraphs?

[(Anonymous)]

Someone please give that person (not the secret creator) a guide to proper grammar. Paragraph breaks aren't just an issue of formatting. There are actual grammar reasons for them.

[mautradutor]

I understand you, since it is difficult to read, in these cases, and authors should strive for readability.

[cloud_riven]

Yeah, I can't deal with that either :(

I remember downloading an ebook reader for my phone, and it would refuse to force line breaks or acknowledge   breaks in between paragraphs, and it was like looking at purposeful bad formatting all over again.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm coming across more and more fics that put punctuation OUTSIDE the quotation marks.

Like so:

"Did you know that the sky is blue"? John asked.

[a_potato]

I am very much "wtf" at the author's reply. This sort of thing isn't a matter of preference or "fondness;" it's a matter of what's correct and incorrect. And drawing that particular distinction between "line breaks" and paragraphs is, well, incorrect.

It smacks of someone trying very hard to be special.

[needled_ink_1975]

+1

If the writing is in an electronic medium, formatting *must* (please gods) include para spaces.

I mean it's not like they're wasting paper or anything...

[dreemyweird]

Same here, and I cannot for the life of me figure out WHY. Actual printed books have this formatting and I've zero problems reading these.

It isn't hard to read or anything. It just gets on my nerves for no reason.

[misty_anon]

Unfortunately, you can't actually stop people from formatting their fic in the most God-awful way possible. I refuse to read stories like that though. If the author wants to give the impression they have no idea how to use paragraph breaks, they can, but I won't think highly enough of their writing to waste time reading their fic.

Breaks, yes. What about indents?

[(Anonymous)]

afaik I always include breaks between paragraphs. However, I find it very distracting in fic - or any digital medium, really - to have indented paragraphs. It totally screws up the flow in my brain.

[nightscale]

I'm not a fan of that kind of formatting either, it's not an instant back button for me though, if I like the fic enough I can ignore it and keep reading.

[silvereriena]

Oh God, I hate formatting like that for online stuff. If your fic is just hard to read, I will most like back-button after the first paragraph.

At least the author was polite about it? Still wouldn't make me read their fic, though.

[beverlykatz]

This is my biggest pet peeve when it comes to fic (aside from "I suck at summaries" as a summary), but I always assumed it was an accident or a holdover from essay-writing in school. I can't fathom anyone INTENTIONALLY writing that way. D:

[(Anonymous)]

Because someone else mentioning dialog: I have trouble with the quotation mark standard. I read it all the time and can use it but it looks just so wrong when I'm writing. I guess the use of dashes for direct dialog is so ingrained in my brain I can't get over it.

By the way, dashes are the standard in my country but I know some English-speaking writers used them. Do they bother people?

[dwell_ondreams]

Me too, OP. I need proper paragraphs, can't read it without.

[sailor_naju]

I will absolutely refuse to read a text wall like that,
be it a story, or someone's argument in a post on some forum.

I just can't keep up with where I'm supposed to be in the paragraph.
And the letters fade into a blurry mess.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree, OP. I would never read a fic online that was formatted like this. Makes my eyes hurt even looking at the blurb in the secret!