The Homwork Assigner

It isn't quite as bad as those occassional post that are only a link with nothing written at all.

Or cut and paste jobs with nothing written by the poster.

some of us like links at A2k

people might whack you in the head if you make a statement of fact without providing a backing link to your numbers/whatever your fact is

a number of the early members at A2k came here from Abuzz. Links were big there. I just about had a fit when we got here and there was no master list (per poster) of all the links we'd added to various threads.

Different forums have different community styles. Facts and links are used and valued (IMNSHO) more at A2K than they are at some other forums I've posted at over the years.

I'm not against linking in a post as reference assuming the link is pertinent or they provide an area in the link page that is pertinent. I'm not against linking in a post as a news blurb. I do get frustrated with

"look what I thought up, its brilliant" - [url]link[/url]

1) they didn't come up with it themselves
2) they could summarize their source material before linking

Its the homework assignment, I may not be type A corporate lawyer busy, but who has the time for homework assigned from a forum that they are trying to use to relax.

That having been said, the OP was an Op/ed post and not meant to offend people who like linking.

yeah..........

There's an alternate current here, that we don't want to read a lot of cut and paste, and quoting whole articles is questionable anyway, re copyright.

I prefer people say what they think when they give a reference, but sometimes we post references in a topic post in order to figure out what we think, what we are thinking about thinking, and start by hoping to hear what others think. I'm not tip top on all this myself - I sometimes give clips, and once in a blue moon, if the link text is short, will give the whole thing. I mostly try to give a clue why I find something interesting, and sometimes give my immediate take.

A link can be at least a background on why the topic poster has decided to put the matter up for discussion.

wait, is there gonna be a test on this

Maybe my prejudice is coming from the types of threads I normally frequent.I suppose that comes from the philforum background still attempting to loosen up i guess.

I think most people here don't post links unless someone with whom they are discussing something demands it, or suggests that they are just indulging ipse dixit. I agree with your objection. It's one thing to post a link and a brief passage or a résumé of the contents while inviting comment and discussion. It is something else entirely, and something annoying to see the description you provide--someone throwing out a vague thesis and then offering a link which is essentially a garden full of weeds through which you are expected hack your way to the blossom or two to which they refer. And i also agree that if you go to the trouble, whatever flowers you do find very likely don't support the goofy thesis which has been offered.

Mind you, we do get or once did get a lot of what someone above (Osso?) mentioned, when some joker comes in here and posts a long rambling screed which, upon investigation, proves to be the work of someone who was not attributed. We has this Muslim joker who was doing that, and finally i and others did literal searches for portions of the text and pretty quickly established that the member was posting long portions of the obscure and rather wacky teachings of some Imam with whom he was impressed. He didn't hang around long when people stopped going into his theads. I'm sure he's off somewhere treating some other group to his wacko religious screeds.

I agree with you, Gosh.
I think it's just lazy posting. I'd like to see a bit more effort, too.
But, as someone's already said, it's better than just posting a link & nothing else. That's the height of laziness!

I don't think of you, Gosh, as all "tighty".

I should have mentioned that I don't like the sense of homework given myself.

Could I add, though, I do appreciate a good link or two to support someone's stated position on the subject they'd like us to discuss. You can sometimes actually learn quite a bit from those!

I'm a dork that way too

And sometimes it's a 547-page book, the point of which the poster can't actually summarize but she'll be glad to answer any of your questions after you've read it.

That was hilarious, Joe . . . truly a gem . . .

which reminds me, I just found the link to something under discussion last night

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Gadget
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You caught me, this thread has been one big viral marketing scheme to market my Novelty Mug

I wondered where they got hologram from.