Jeff Liebermann wrote
Tim Streater wrote
Jeff Liebermann wrote

Posters with questions often supply as little information as
possible and require interrogation in order to extract the facts.
One-liners and lack of info are symptoms of the same problem,
fear of screwing up. The more one writes, the easier it is for
someone else to find an error, omission, or logic fault.
Rather than be caught making a mistake, it is much
easier to not present a targets.

Or, of course, being inconsistent within a post.
It's late, one is tired, and so on. Much easier to make
a short post than make a longer one be coherent.

Are you sure?

Yep.

"I have made this letter longer than usual, because
I lack the time to make it short" (Blaise Pascal)

Another one liner from someone who is quite literate.

I know how to make things worse. I often post to Usenet when I'm
working in my palatial office. A single long reply might be assembled
in perhaps 5 sections, spread over several hours. I frequently have a
better idea as I go along, and forget to edit the previous great idea
into something that is consistent with the latest great idea. When
I later review the posting, my reaction is usually "Did I write that"?
Sometime long and coherent are mutually exclusive.

Sure, but clearly we do see the other effect he mentioned too.

I tend to write that way I expect others to write. As I previously
mentioned, I really don't care for one-line opinions

They can be useful at times, particularly when you are
saying you agree with someone else's longer post.

and pontifications.

Even pontifications have their place, particularly if you are the Pope.

I want to read logic, reasoning, references, examples,
links to related articles, and personal experiences.

Sure, but that isnt always feasible, particularly
with links to related articles in some situations.

Sometimes its useful to just post a list of possibilitys
with a problem and suggest how to test if that one
is what is happening etc.

That's rather difficult to deliver in a short
posting and impossible in a one-liner.

Yes, but one liners do have their place.
Have a look at some of Churchill's sometime.

Also, I'm quite serious about the fear
of screwing up. It really bugs me.

Sure, but it isnt something that drives everyone in the fear sense.

With all the rants and conspiracy theories
that I write, mistakes are inevitable.

Yes, and you have done that with one liners.

When possible, I admit and correct my mistakes.

You haven't done that with this one.

More often, I just turn off the computer, and go sulk for a few days.
Sometimes, there's nothing I can write that would be worth reading,
so I just disappear. Eventually, I recover and return until repeated
after my next inevitable mistake. I could greatly improve my
batting average by simply replying with a one-liner, where
my ability to screw things up is severely restricted.

Sure, but as you say, they aren't always
useful, particularly with problem solving.