I don't post questions often. I find that if I do the research, I can usually solve the problem. This is just to say that I do not have a lot of experience posting questions and getting answers, or visa versa.

Here is a question for the people who tend to have the answers: It would be my preference and inclination to post a question that has all those details that you say you are looking for. I also spend a lot of time trying to write clear descriptions and discuss solutions tried already. The problem is that this kind of post would probably end up being pretty long--especially because if I get to the point that I actually have to post a question, (I'm near to tears and) we are probably not talking about a simple issue. I've been told by people that they do not like to read my posts because the text is too long. So, my worry would be that if I included all the background details, no one would read my post.

Do you ever skip the long ones just because they are long? Would a shorter post with less background details be preferable in some cases? (The whole "it depends" kind of thing.) It kind of seems like a dumb question given this entire discussion. However, I wonder if the best way to get a response is somewhere in the middle. Remember, I don't have a lot of experience with question posts. Maybe you really do mean it that you want all that detail. I'm curious to hear what people have to say for future reference.

Thanks. - JJ