Post construction advice wanted

March 25, 2002 3:43 PM

Assuming one has identified 1 interesting front page "lead" post and 3 "supporting" posts that may add value to a discussion. What is the better : a) Include all 4 posts on the front page and be done with it. b)have 1 lead post in the front page and 3 supporting posts in the first comment. c) sprinkle 3 supporting posts one by one as discussion develops. Realize every situation is unique but some general guidance would be very helpful.
posted by Voyageman to Etiquette/Policy at 3:43 PM (6 comments total)

By supporting posts, I imagine that you mean links. Option A may be unwieldy and huge, option B minimizes the space taken up on the front page, and option C could be construed as acting as the moderator of your own post.
posted by machaus at 5:31 PM on March 25, 2002

In my experience, by composing a main link post to the MeFi front page with links to the supporting links liberally scattered throughout the front page post you're composing, it looks really good. Of course very few people will bother to click on all those links, but believe me it'll make you feel better.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:30 PM on March 25, 2002

very few people will bother to click

Ah, yes, The Children Of The Sound Bite Damned....


posted by y2karl at 6:33 PM on March 25, 2002

There's no style guide. It's up to you to figure out whether the supporting links actually add anything to the post. If they all do end up in the post, I agree they should be scattered thoughtfully; several consecutive linked words is generally kind of annoying. and usually destroys the "context" part of a link.

I do think Machaus is right about the last option looking a bit like moderation or something. To me it would seem almost like you were withholding until it became useful to you rather than giving everybody all the information up front.
posted by Su at 7:05 PM on March 25, 2002

wait... carry the one?
posted by holloway at 1:08 AM on March 26, 2002

I think it's pretty simple. If you can devise a FPP as compact and well-ordered as Zach's, above, do so. If you feel the need to do an extended commentary, whether or not there are links associated with that, do a [more inside].

I think in general most FPPs are far too long. Three or four lines of text, in 9 of 10 cases, should be enough to get the gist across and spark a thread. And the urge to include a paragraph break must be avoided at all costs -- that alone should tell you you're going down the wrong path.
posted by dhartung at 3:10 AM on March 27, 2002