TL;DR's should always go on top | Hacker News Reader

TL;DR's should always go on top

tagxt.com

18 pointsmethochris13 comments

If there's going to be a tl;tr then it certainly should not go at the top, it should be an integral part of the construction of the article. Good newspaper articles were always written to be iteratively deepening - it didn't matter where/when you stopped, everything that followed was more details or enhancements of what you've already read.

TL;DR Use good journalism style.

If I understand correctly, you're saying that if there is one, then there shouldn't be one? I agree that the article should be iteratively deepening, but that doesn't change where a TL;DR section should go if there is one.

If there is one, put it at the top; if not, give me all the information I need at the top and explain later.

A TL;DR is an alternative to reading the article. If I have time, I'll read the article (if the title sounds interesting). If I don't, I'll read the TL;DR, bookmark it and refer later if I think I might need more info later.

It's like the title 2.0, not a different name for an abstract.

In more conventional terms, this seems to be an argument about whether to start with a summary Abstract, or to conclude with a summary Conclusion. There are reasons for each, and sometimes you might do both. The ones at the end, as I usually read them, are intended to be recaps summarizing the main takeaway, not literally intended as a substitute for having read the post.

Not if it's a story. I don't want the ending spoiled.

Exactly. You don't put an abstract on prose. I believe in tl;drs, but that shouldn't be a rule.

"Abstract"! That's it! I'm not a native English speaker, and I was wondering what already existing (and more positive) term could replace "TL;DR". I had simply thought of "summary", but "abstract" seems more accurate. I guess people avoid it not to look pretentious... though the semicolon in "TL;DR" could also be perceived as such.

What DO you put an abstract on then? 'prose' is everything written but poetry.

Summaries should go at the bottom and recap the points u made. TL;DR's, by definition, are there because the post is overwhelmingly long but I still want to hear the point, so it would make sense for them to go in a quick access location.

I like the TL;dr button idea that at any time takes me there, but that seems infeasable for most of the blogging population to implement.

I love how the internet world thinks it invented the concept of summaries by coming up with a ridiculous abbreviation.

I'll stop putting my TL;DRs wherever I want to when everyone else stops top posting.

I like a 'TL;DR' button which scrolls with the page on the left side and whenever I think 'PLEASE KILL ME THIS IS BORING' I can press it and it jumps to the TL;DR part.

That's how it should always work.

TL;DR is for crappy writers and/or long-winded comments, which is why you see it a lot. It's merciful to the reader to put it up top.

Screw the conventional construction of an article. TL;DR isn't a spoiler either, because most people don't write comments in a coherent linear way like a good story. It takes most people three paragraphs just to get to the meat of what they're trying to say.

If you feel you need to use a TL;DR, you are a crappy writer and/or have written an unnecessarily long-winded comment. Put the TL;DR up top. Either that, or rewrite your comment.

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