pick a thread with several replies. I tried Dictionary Games.
Right away you know the posts will relate to the Dictionary exercise. I find that I scan the first few words of each paragraph and that's all that I need to know what the poster is saying. If I want to read more closely, I can. Try it, go to Dictionary Games and see what you discover.

The first post, from happyday (nice moniker, BTW), goes thusly:

First of all thank...
I bought the course 2 years...
The subtle success?...
Next step...
I'd like...
please...
By the way...
fingers, conscious mind plays...
summary: to all who are successful...
I'm all ears...

He has had some success, and has questions.

Next poster, Michael S.,
The fact that...
been doing PR'ing for ...
The secret, go easy...
under 15 minutes...
proving PR works...

This guy has also had success and is encouraging the first poster to keep at it.

That's all the farther I went, as I know the Dictionary game works, and I had good success, but I don't feel compelled to reply to the post. If you want to reply to a post, then you might want to read the other replies to keep from repeating something.

My eyes just skitter through, picking and choosing words. The general idea is conveyed without having to read every word.

I also mentally say, "blah, blah, blah," as I'm skimming parts I don't intend to read. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, it is just what I chant to myself, otherwise, I'd keep picking more words out, as I guess I like to talk in my head.

Of course, if your question was more along the lines of, "What difference does it make, if there is only a short bit of text to read?," then I'd say, it makes no difference. Just read the new posts, and enjoy yourself.

Kathryn

[This message has been edited by KMartyn (edited January 06, 2001).]