O.K., we can all appreciate the enthusiam and desire to share every detail of a trip upon your return home, but please, a fourteen part posting here about a week in Paris? Seems a little self-centered to cover the forum with lengthy, multi-part scenarios about your trip. <BR> <BR>This is a perfect instance of someone who needs, IMO, to set up their own web site about their travel experiences, then invite others to come and visit it. Other Fodorites have been considerate enough to do just that, instead of overwhelming a board here with the blow-by-blow minutia of a trip. <BR> <BR>No doubt your trips are fun, you're excited, etc. etc. but please, learn how to summarize and write about highlights (instead of minute-by-minute accounts) or create your own travel site. Your trip experiences will be there online for anyone to see at any time, and you won't be overwhelming the board here with posts all about YOU.

Who's overwhelmed? No wanna read, no read. Simple equation.

I for one enjoy hearing all the details and don't mind a long post. Better if it's posted in the form of replies, all in one thread though (which he did after doing it in separate posts first), but still. I don't think it's self-centered at all; I think it's generous, because it allows others to benefit from the details. General summaries and highlights are less useful, in my opinion, than more detailed reports (not to mention less entertaining). Plus, not everyone has the time or means to set up their own website.

I have a different view, Brevity. <BR> <BR>I do not like trip reports. Nope. Not at all. It is like going to someone's house and having them force feed you slides of their trip. <BR> <BR>So I just never click on them. So long as people start just one thread and add to it, I have no problem with it. As for the recent person who did the trip report sections as separate threads, that person has had it all explained. <BR> <BR>Go ahead and post your trip reports. I won't read them, but others who enjoy them will.

I agree somewhat with brev, as not everyone has the time nor inclination to search out and read multi-part post, especially when it's so lengthy, and um, *detailed*. I like to read about travels too, but there's a limit. <BR> <BR>Anyone who has ever worked in an office has most likely encountered at least one colleague who could not/would not contain their ramblings in their writing. You know, the constant memos, the long letters, even the 14 page resume (actually saw one recently, so don't laugh - someone really submitted a 14 page resume to our company). <BR> <BR>It really serves your readers better when you can summarize and touch on important points without going on and on. <BR> <BR>And as far as websites, if you can type a post online here, you can set up a site. Yahoo or Angelfire or any of those freebie sites give you free space and do the HTML for you -- all you have to do is type it in. Not difficult in the least, just requires initiative.

I agree with the others. If I don't want to read something I don't click on it. Simple as that. Plus, Bob first asked people if they wanted to read it, and after getting more than 50(!) responses he then posted his report. Apparently SOMEONE wanted to read about his trip (apparently 50 or so someones). In addition, some of the people who responded to his message asking if they wanted to see his report requested that he post it on here since he received such a large response back. So, as I said, if you don't want to read it then don't click on it.

I'd love to see Bob's Christmas letter. Must be about 365 pages long!

I find it amusing that it's always the same response by anyone who is determined to do whatever they want here regardless of rules, consideration or anything else: "don't read it if you don't like it." Almost as intelligent as "get a life." It's the same response from the travel agents who don't want their advertising challenged, same response from those who want to bring posts to the top all day, same from those who want to make sure that the first page is covered with their posts. <BR> <BR>As far as asking if anyone is interested, sure, maybe some of those responses were even real, but did anyone realize that the guy was going to post a novel? <BR> <BR>No, people aren't breaking any rules by doing this, it's just common courtesy not to overwhelm the board with your posts while shoving everyone else's down. Some poor young girl really got her head handed to her here when she kept posting repeated questions, because people got tired of seeing her posts all over the board.

I do enjoy reading some trip reports, particularly where the destination is the true subject (not the author). I would prefer, though, that multi-part reports be created under the same thread, with subsequent reports filed as replies. <BR>

Even if the guy did post under header and keep adding on as responses, he could still use a good editor with a nice, sharp blue pencil to strike out all the boring minutia. I'm surprised we didn't get a detailed description of the guy's daily bowel movements during the trip - you know, time, texture, what he had eaten. He didn't miss relating much else.

just read bob's whole report, and I thin it is wonderful. <BR>I am glad he took the time to share all this with us! <BR>nancy

I agree that all of the posts could easily be posted as one and daily additions posted as replys. I really don'tr care to read what travellers do minute by minute. How boring.

Of course the report was a bit long and could have been shortened to one posting with replies, but it really is getting to be a bit much to have someone actually start a thread to talk about how bad this guy is. Almost every post now has an insult about someone who may actually be sincere and it's getting out of hand. The name calling (this so-and-so is an idiot for asking this question and that so-and-so ought to just grow up, and all the other insults that are being thrown about for no other reason than to hurt someone's feelings) are so unnecessary.

It was today I realized that maybe fodors was right in splitting off France and Italy. Perhaps they should have gone so far as to create sights with the major cities...like Paris. I could not get away from Paris no matter how hard I tried. It is all over the place, in fact, I think it has obliterated all of Europe. <BR> <BR>Maybe we should get with the fodor people again and try to work it out. What do you think, huh guys?

A few weeks ago someone complained about people asking for help with hotels, now you want to eliminate posts on trips, why don't we just close it down altogether or maybe a little prozac for these irritable people on this forum. Get a grip... where is Dr.Fodor when we need her.

We're complaining about the fact that 10 posts were obliterated by these day by day itineraries, not the fact that they were posted. One was posted for every day on the trip, and 2-3 were double posted. Post it all in one post, and the people who are intrested can review it, and those that aren't can ignore it. It's a little harder to ignore ten posts.

I appreciate Bob's enthusiasm, but all of these posts are just too much. I'm actually very interested in Paris, but stopped reading the posts because all of the minute detail just got tiresome. I hope in the future people will learn to reply to their own posts like Elvira is doing rather than posting 10 or 15 different threads about the same trip!

Making a website is actually a really good idea. Here's a good site for making one: <BR>http://www.expage.com <BR> <BR>It's really simple- just copy past your report into their text box thing and choose colours etc. No lengthy signup needed. <BR> <BR>(I'm not affilated with them)

To Brevity, who started this thread: <BR> <BR>What a controlling person you are. WHO are YOU to decide how a person writes a trip report?! The details that Bob shared were important enough to HIM to put in his report, they were the moments that made his trip special to him, and I found some of them to be very touching. To start a separate thread just to criticize his writting style is uncalled for. If the people in charge of this site had a problem with the content or length of Bob's post, I'm sure they would have let him know, PRIVATELY. (I believe "glueman" was a Fodors employee...? Who quietly pasted together Bob's multi-postings) When you get a paycheck from Fodors, THEN you can tell us all how/what to put in our trip reports.

Is this a travel forum or a complaint forum? I come here to read about travel, including other people's trip reports. That's how I get ideas for future trips. If you don't want to read them, DON'T! It's like TV, if you don't like what's on, turn it off. Now be nice to each other!!!