vera
I often do searches of places I plan to visit and will actually go through long trip reports without posting. I'll make notes from other people's trip reports.
I'm grateful for all of you who actually do post trip reports and other useful information. Especially grateful because I have no patience for writing trip reports myself!

Vera, I tend to think that a report split up into sections and posted over a series of days keeps the interest better. Also if I see a long report with out good page breaks it is hard to read. Just my thoughts on keeping folks interested. Also as JulieV says it would be nice to have a counter to see how many times a page is viewed !!

Hi Vera, I realized when I posted a trip report just how much fun it is to get responses. So now when I read a report, I nearly always write a quick response.

I do find, however, that I don't spend as much time browsing the left column. Now I usually do a search for the countries of most interest to me and see what new has been posted on those areas.

You will never know how many people read but don't comment or how many will use your report for research in the future, as they may feel it is too old to add comments.

Vera, I was one who read and enjoyed your trip report, but did not post a comment. Now I wish I had; we have been a little troubled lately, and I have been doing more reading than writing. So I thank you now; the report was entertaining and informative. Le Marche is on my list of places I would like to visit.

HI Vera,

I notice that you now have over 20 responses to your report.

Feel better?

I agree with the posters above who did not find your report too long. It is long, but it contains fresh information on a little-visited region, and earns its space. Somehow, I missed it during its first life.

Can trip reports be too long? Sure, for me. I routinely skip the airline parts, the "what I did on my summer vacation" parts (endless itinieraries), and any place where the language starts to gush. But even the most prolix usually have a nugget or two worth mining. Other people love the whole report, others still won't read one.

Some of the writers here are obviously professional, others simply talented. Some of us not so talented. I appreciate the effort of all.

But -- one complaint -- could we cut out the "D" convention, as in DH, unless the use is clearly ironic? Even on a good day it's cloying. And doing so would considerably shorten some of the reports.

Hi Vera,
I too read your report, and copied it to my Italy file for future planning.

I very much enjoyed you report, and I only find the adjective "long" to be a magnet for my attention...in part because I find some trip reports are catalogs: saw this/this that, ate here/here/here..your report and personal impressions made me feel I was part of your trip, and I thank you for the pleasure it was to read it.

I have only posted one trip report here, it was long and perhaps more factual than 'telling a story to a friend'. And not many posted comments. But I like to think that is was useful to some...and now you know yours was also

Hi Vera:

Your title caught my attention as I am in the process of writing a lengthy report. I clicked to see what you defined as too long and do not think that it is.

Skimming through you have shared relative information to an area not freguently visited.

When I research for a trip I save reports, read them and take notes. So thank you for doing it. As others travel to Le Marche they will make good use of the time you devoted to Fodors.

I've been back from France for almmost 4 weeks and have had tech & family issues. For relaxation I started mine on a Word doc. When it's finished I'll post it by days but on the same thread.

Mine is definitely long because it's detailed. I always write like this as my report is also for myself to record my experiences. It'll be the first I post on Fodors so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

If I had the time to write two seperate reports I would but I don't.

I want to be able to remember the specifics of my travels and hopefully when I am much older they will make pleasant memories.

Di

I did reply to your earlier post because it was very helpful to me in planning our trip to Le Marche. In doing my research, I have done a search on all of the Fodor's Forum "Le Marche" postings and have read all of the applicable information without replying unless it is very current or I have a question about it. So for the people planning a trip to this area, your report will provide great information for years to come. You probably have no idea how many people will eventually read your post. PS I don't find anything about your report "cloying"

Everey trip report ends up ebing useful to somebody and for anyone interested in any particular report it is never "too long."

But you need to realize there are a few folks here who could sneeze and then post about it and it gets a jillion responses..often from like-moinded folks I suspect.

Your time and effort were NOT in vain but face it, some people are only interested in hanging around the some Roman piazza and drinking limoncello.

Sorry for the typos above..just keep traveling and keep posting!

There are many different styles here. Some people like to read long reports, some won't even look at them if they're long. I have written very short reports and very long reports, depending on my inclination at the time, and I have found that each serves a different need both for the writer and for the readers.

Having watched some posts sink for lack of response, I now try to comment on many of the reports I read, but I am probably not as good at this as I should be. First I'll think I should say something, then I'll think, well, I have nothing really to add, so I won't.

That said, however, I believe that for destinations which are less popular, long reports might be especially valuable, since there is so little information available here. Even though such reports might not get as much attention as a report about Paris or Rome, when people do look for the information using the search function, they will be rewarded for their efforts.

"PS I don't find anything about your report "cloying"

Oops -- guess I'm one of the less talented writers. I didn't mean to suggest that Vera's use of "D" was especially cloying. I find ALL use of "D" cloying, unless clearly sarcastic.

Vera, I also read your report and found it be very informative. I like the amount of detail you shared. I will admit that because I am not currently playing a trip to Le Marche, I was hesitant to start reading. That is exactly why I am now obsessed with traveling to many places I never dreamed of before! Thank you for sharing.

Wow! Now that question sure got a lot of responses.

I must say right away that I have not been frustrated, depressed or discouraged or any of those other negatives by the number of people who responded. I appreciate the responders and know that the info will stick around a long time and people who haven't even discovered Fodor's yet will decide one day to take a trip to Le Marche and will find my report.

So thanks for all the kind words and encouragement, but I was really just trying to air the issue of long vs. pithy reports--not the issue of MY report. Sorry that it sounded like a pity party invitation!

A couple of people suggested posting sections over a few days--but that is exactly what I did. I think it was more than a week from first post to last.

Zeus' suggestion to put the report on travelblog or a similar site is interesting, but somehow I feel more "exposed" on that kind of site.


Bill Boy I think echoed most nearly what I think. When I could not find a good guidebook on Le Marche and when I found very few entries on this forum on Le Marche, I KNEW I wanted to go to Le Marche, contrarian that I am. So while I want to share my love of the region, I don't want to convert TOO many people!!

On the DH matter--I do not particularly like it either, but don't want to post my husband's name and prefer typing 2 letters instead of 7. Certainly am open to suggestions.

Vera

Thanks again for all the discussion.

Vera

Oh, I just checked. It just SEEMED like a week--it was actually four days. And I double checked to see if I had neglected paragraphs since a couple of people mentioned that, but I guess they were referring to other posts, because I did break it up into paragraphs. I like the idea of adding subheads, however, and will use them in the future.

Now maybe somebody should start a thread of "Suggestions for people posting a trip report." Probably already been done, huh?
Vera

Been done. And, surprise, people don't agree.

Coming in late, but here's my two cents' worth: I don't think any informative report is too long (certainly yours was not), but if it's about a not-especially-popular destination, then it may suffer from its length. That is, a casual reader may open the report and quickly be daunted if it looks like a long read, regardless of how good it is (and so not stick around to post a response). Someone definitely planning a trip, however, will undoubtedly be more grateful for more information, as others have noted.

I've read your report (after seeing this post), and commented on it, as I always do when I read one--many readers on this site probably do not. I hadn't seen your report before and, with no travel plans in the region, would have been unlikely to read it in any event. It's a good report, and your writing style deserves to be acknowledged as enjoyable, but on this site good writing often excites surprisingly little attention. (Not criticizing this site in particular--I imagine that's common everywhere.)

If nothing else, writing a trip report can serve to fix your trip in your mind. And that, perhaps, is more valuable than any feedback.

It's been two years and I still haven't written up my notes on my last couple of trips.

In short, the number one reason to write a report is YOU.

I agree w/most of what has been said on this thread. I recently posted a report on Montserrat (not the most popular destination on the planet) & rec'v'd a similar response. I posted it, as I know of 3 or 4 people who were searching for info on Montserrat & it is difficult to come by. Secondly, I am hoping it serves (at least) as educational info for those who seek it. We're already planning our next trip there, but I doubt that my glowing trip report is going to drastically change the vibe surrounding Montserrat. People avoid it because they are ill-informed & can't get info about it. In addition, it is not a 'touristy' destination. There are no resorts etc. which is exactly why we love it. It is one of the last affordable, unspoiled islands in the Caribbean (in my opinion).