OK, I had to ask since I've noticed it a number of times now, I think the first time was with the Flik's Fun Faire photo tour. A number of articles are being referred to as "concise" this or that. Did someone pick up a favorite word? It's not the kind of thing you usually see in a headline unless it's specifically being contrasted with a "verbose" version. Honestly, after I noticed "concise" being used with the Flik's article, I was waiting to see when the verbose version would surface. Then I thought maybe it was to contrast with coverage by other websites, but I didn't notice that MP's coverage was that much shorter nor were other websites' coverage that much longer, and in cases of photo articles, I actually like to see some of the atmosphere as opposed to just the highlights. Maybe others don't.

Just wondering. Thanks.

Dunno, Cindy. Those don't go through the copy desk.

I actually haven't noticed the word appearing all that much. The only places I find it in reference to MP articles are the AVP Treasure Planet article and the Bug's Land article. In most of the other places it is used to describe trip reports or other medium (like sections in a DVD). I would also describe the Treasure Planet Port Discovery section as "concise." The Bug's Land was not.

The word can just mean brief or without excessive detail. It doesn't have to imply that there is a less concise item that should be available.

I agree with you that in general, its nice to have more information about things like new lands and movie premiers and so forth. However, you sometimes end up wading through some superfulous detail looking for the basic facts. Alot of that depends on the skill of the writer. Usually, on the Internet, less is more (IMO). People who write on the Internet (GENERALLY) aren't good enough to write lengthy articles that are interesting, clear, and informative throughout. Exceptions exist, though.

The word jumped out at me every time I saw it because it's not one I see in common use, and not one that's used as a throw-away descriptor, but rather, there's usually a reason why it's being used. To me, a "concise photo tour" connotes a different thing than a "photo tour" as a "concise review" or a "concise article" implies different things than a "review" or an "article".

Sounds like it was an editorial decision though. Hmmm, curious. Maybe I'll ask if I remember to.

No new favorite words here - this is something that was added after the Treasure Planet and Flik's columns were written.

AVP

I think the word "concise" was used to contrast it with other places which, for instance, put up pages after pages of each bug light in Fliks. A little overkill :) The articles in question seemed to be just a taste of what was going on, rather than in-depth reviews of things that perhaps didn't need in depth reviews.