Everybody Had Enough of Everyone Posting Whole Articles?

I happen to agree with you. Especially when these pages are posted without any commentary. Sometimes the purpose of the article is not clear and leaves one scratching their head as to the original intent. As for the personal insults..this board is not without them. I do not have any personal knowledge of abuzz, but it seems that some of the original members are as guilty of the insult wars as new members. It sometimes seems as though he who casts the most dispersions, wins. Having said that, this is still an excellent site with much to offer.

I very rarely would cut and paste an entire article to back up a point. If I think it's worth reading, I post a link, unless the artcile isn't available on line. Agree with you both.

I agree. It is just that bit by tiny bit, I see us slipping into the intial stages of what eventually killed Abuzz. It began when people rampantly posted whole articles instead of taking the time to compose what they wanted to say, with occasional references to linked material.

The occasional whole article is fine, but it's getting thick in here lately.

What killed Abuzz, in the final analysis, was that there were no moderators. The site just went to hell. Mercifully, we have some excellent mods on this site, mostly former Abuzzards themselves.

All too often, a page will be moved or disappear altogether. By posting the entire story here, you can be certain it will be seen by those who are interested. Disinterested readers are welcome to scroll on by. I don't see a reason to get in a dither over it.

I just pass right by them and don't think much of it.

While I can be momentarily irritated by them they are essentially harmless and since URL linkages can sometimes change within a few hours it gives me the chance to see the article if I really want to. As was indicated though by Intrepid, the bothersome part is where the poster does not leave any commentary. After posting I wish the poster would at the very least just indicate if they were for or against or even neutral on the subject.

If I see something interesting, I will usually quote one paragraph that offers the essence of what is being said, post a link to the article, and then put in my 2 cents worth.

Just like I don't appreciate entire articles, (unles they are very short), I don't like just a link. There is so much "stuff" out there, that unless the member writing the thread has a point of discussion about the article, I usually won't bother to read it.

I do often find 'em redundant, and consider posters who specialise in pasting entire articles merely a kind of spammers. But thats only talking excess. Often enough I also find copy/pasted news helpful.

For one, because I dont want to subscribe to fourty different online newspapers. I often look in here when Im in the internet cafe, which means I have no cookies stored on the computer, which means Id have to somehow keep track of usernames and passwords too (not always changable). Same goes for using different computers (at work, home). So yes, if an interesting article is subscriber-only, please post here. Consider it part of the copyleft movement ;-).

It also depends on the thread. Some threads I use just to keep informed about a subject; one, say, that I dont care enough about to google up the latest news myself every other day, but am grateful to be updated about from different sources in one central place. Kinda like having a subject-specific blog. Hence having a thread on Uzbekistan, and one on the German elections, or there's threads like about hurricane Katrina. Useful.

Talking Uzbekistan, thats another reason copy/pasted articles are sometimes useful. Face it, if you leave it up to the spontaneous creativity of the to and fro, the only things thatd be discussed here would be Bush vs Dems, religion/state and the religious right, gay marriage, Iraq, PC or not PC, and whatever personalised political hype the media is playing up today. Sometimes pulling up a thoughtful but eye-catching article about something totally different is the only way to bring in some fresh subject. And when the subject is something people might not already know a lot about, posting an article can have more effect than just going, "So, what you folks think about the situation in Myanmar?"

What I do agree with is that I much, much prefer someone to make a case about an article he posts - highlight what he thinks the relevant or striking points in the argument are, explain to us why this article is so interesting. Or select only the paragraphs he wants to draw our attention to (is what I always try to do).

But in the end, I think there's many reasons discussion on Politics here could go Abuzz, but this not be one. In lay-out alone, this forum is simply more sophisticated. Most people, thankfully, use the Quote function when pasting an external source. Thats great, cause it means you can see in one glance where the original texts/posts are, and which posts are merely copy/paste. You dont actually have to wade through one post after another to find out. So I dont have your concern here.

If stuff goes Abuzz, its way more likely because of the quality of the original posts, the ones people wrote themselves, than about the copy/pastes. Arguing for the sake of arguing, snide asides, vacant commonplaces, downright nastiness, partisan talking points. There's threads where I skip everything that's NOT in a Quote frame.

Finally, this place was not "formed for people to post messages after Abuzz was overrun by spammers." And what did Abuzz in was the imposters, which is something cant even happen here.

I'd prefer a link, in the interest of space.

No offense to anyone here, but is there a dearth of space in forums?

Please... Do you want to wade through pages and pages of articles you don't want to read just to make a response?

Completely agreed with nimh.

Commentary is what is needed, IMO. At least highlight the portions of the article that are relevant to one's point.

Well, I have a problem. Since microsoft mutated, I find that I cannot post links through normal channels, and that is quite frustrating, but I do agree with those who cite the need for brevity. Condensation of an article or reference is the best way to go, but sometimes, in my case, it's not possible.

That too.

Here's an example:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050831/ap_on_re_us/katrina_baby

Wow! It worked. It must have to do with making Yahoo my home page.

Yay Letty!