Slashdot writing style

A couple of people have written me e-mails complaining about my crappy writing style because I write with such tiny paragraphs that are only one or two sentences long each.

I call this my "Slashdot" writing style, because I see it all the time in the Slashdot comments section, and I see it increasingly on almost every kind of public comment forum.

Traditional writers would say that each paragraph should have a subject sentence followed by several sentences that address that subject in various ways.

I think that style of writing is falling by the wayside in favor of the a writing style that expresses just one THOUGHT per paragraph, with only the first few words establishing the subject. I find it easier to write and easier to skim as a reader.

It's sort of an eyeball optimization, and yet it's also more conversational and informal. People do not naturally speak in paragraphs.

This also wastes more vertical space, but these are not the pre-internet days when paper and ink actually cost something. Writing space is nearly free!

If each paragraph is just one thought, then you can get the jist of it in just a few words and then decide to skip it and go onto the next point. It's harder to skip thoughts when multiple are buried in a big block of text.

Anyway, yes I'm aware of my non-professional writing style, but I never claimed to be a good writer. I'm just babbling on and on for the fun of it, and I find it more fun to write everything like a reply to Slashdot! :)