Does Christianity.StackExchange.com have issues with answer length?

Question

It's no secret. Some of the "experts" on Christianity.StackExchange.com are steeped in Scripture. Some could answer nearly every moral question with Biblical references.

I think this is great!

However... Sometimes very lengthy answers seem to be a bit off-putting. I'd venture to say that the average visitor would rather not sift through paragraphs upon paragraphs, lengthy dissertations, etc.

Bottom Line: Visitors are interested in well-reasoned arguments with sufficient, but not necessarily exhaustive detail.

For right or wrong, many Christian ministers have the same failing. Since they are able to preach about the Bible, they choose to do so; and when they choose to do so, they often become separated from the germane practical lesson that they are trying to get across to the congregation.

My Question: Since at some level, Christianity.Stackexchange.com is about getting people interested in Christianity and not simply discussing pedantic Biblical details for their own sake, should we encourage voters to upvote answers that frame things in a concise manner, rather than in overwhelmingly exhaustive detail?

I suppose at its core, my main objection is the upvoting of answers that could fill a scholastic blue book, but yield little to no practical response to the question.

EDIT:

1. El'endia Starman nailed it:

   ...It seems to me that Jim's objection is more that some answers are really long and yet don't add all that much. That is, some answers are too wordy. I think we need to encourage complete and (relatively-)succinct answers.

2. I'm not encouraging brevity for brevity's sake.

EDIT 2:

• Here's a great example of what I'm talking about.
  • Like a lot of priests, the OP meant well.
  • But I can see people falling asleep in the pews. ;)

Answer 1

Yes, I think most of the answers are too long. For me to read them:

• the question needs to be interesting to me (either I want to know the answer or want to know if I can add to what is already stated),
• the answer needs to be well formatted (bullets, sub-titles) so that I can skim it for the key message,
• as short as possible (but no shorter) and
• of course Biblically accurate.

My goal is to adhere to this in my answers.

Answer 2

Yes. We have an issue with answer length.

Most of the time answers are not long enough. There is a reason that one of hte major factors in Stack Exchange's quality filter is post length. We want answers that go above and beyond what is asked for in the question and are detailed.

Stack Exchange is supposed to be a place for experts to ask and answer questions. Being such we want our answerers to give sufficient and sometimes even more than sufficient detail and background information to formulate complete answers.

On a rare occasion a complete answer can be concise, but most of the time a complete answer should be several paragraphs. Here a complete answer should be several paragraphs of original writing and a source or two (either scripture quotation or a relevant commentary or other book/site etc).

We should not be encouraging single or even two paragraph answers with no sources or citations. A good answer here has a good amount of user generated content, a quote or two from a relevant source, and answers the question completely. If someone can do this in a couple of paragraphs, that's great, but most of us are going to need a page or so to get it all out.

If we want to be overly concerned about the average reader than a summary paragraph of the argument should be the first paragraph of the answer. That can provide a quick immediate answer with the rest of the post providing detail. However, this concise paragraph is usually not sufficient for a properly supported answer.

Answer 3

Abstract

When someone's answer starts like this, I somehow have an increase in desire to continue reading.

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but when someones answer is like this. and it just kind of goes on and wanders for two or three sentences and then stops without coming to any definite end and is even a little insulting. I get a tad annoyed, I've even quite nearly downvoted an answer on those principles.

I StackExchange on the princple that when I ask a stupid question, I'll get a stupid answer. But, if I think I've asked a non-stupid question and I get a stupid answer, I feel like the answerer is saying my question is in fact, stupid.

Now, I think the best answers are the long ones. But, if you're talking about the kind of hubbub your Moral Relativism question garnered, well, I think that's about the worst example I've seen of answers I just would never be able to read. What do you think we should do with that question?

...

In any event, use of the triple-dash to break up text will go a long way to keeping reader sanity, there should be three dashes per point that is attempted to be made by the answerer.

Answer 4

As a concession to your question's requested doctrinal framework, I'll keep this short and sweet.

You've built your case on a false premise:

Since at some level, Christianity.Stackexchange.com is about getting people interested in Christianity [...]

That's not what we're here for. If it happens, it's incidental to a completely different focus on being a place where you can get expert answers. I would go so far as to say we're not interested in catering to people who are only looking for cliff notes.

Answer 5

I'm sorry you thought my answer to this question was too long.

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I will say, while I liked your brief answer (and +1'd it), I thought you were a bit too brief on the subject. Scripture has lots of evidence for the position you take - and I thought using Jesus' own explanations (in three places - Luke 11, 17, and 23) added the detail that experts in Christianiy would appreciate.

Not everything needs to be a bumper sticker.