If you read my blog through a feed reader, then you make the decision to click through to the full post based on my snappy title and compelling first 100 words because I choose to publish partial feeds. Lately, I've been made aware that this really pisses a lot of you off. Actually, I've known this for awhile, but given the continued back and forth between "Partials" and "Fulls," well, I figured I'd address the issue.
Here's what I have to say about that (but you're going to have to click through to see it).
OH WELL.
I never realized partial versus full feeds were such a big deal until Heather Armstrong linked me on her blog after we were on the same Today Show story about mom bloggers and one of her readers emailed me. She said something to the effect of that she liked my blog but she refused to read anyone who didn't publish full feeds so if I didn't change she wouldn't be reading my blog.
"Oh no!" I gasped. "Let me change it for you right away. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you!"
Please. Screw that.
Apparently she's not alone in her disdain for partial feeds. I hear from folks every now and then that they just can't read me anymore because I publish partial feeds.
And I've seen some pretty heated discussions on Twitter about it.
Personally, I don't care about the extra two cents (if that) that I would get from the extra view on my blog if you click over.
The only reason I publish partial feeds is because my work here has been scraped too damn many times.
And I like to piss you lazy full feed snobs off.
(Okay, not really).
It's never ever bothered me to have to click through on my feed reader to see a post. Never. I'm more than happy to give the blogger whose blog I'm reading for free a click. Maybe even a few. If I'm feeling generous, I might even click their google ads, even if I'm not looking for a sexy Asian wife.
Really?! A click is that much of a pain? Obviously so because I'm writing an entire post about it.
As a writer, I value my writing most. I actually use the partial feed as a means to challenge myself to choose better titles and really think about how I'm opening my posts.
But I won't be changing to a full feed anytime soon. No matter how many times you try to tell me you won't read my blog anymore.
Even the lovely and talented Alice of Finslippy who was rallying for full feeds a week or so ago on Twitter can't make me change, damnit.
So since I know this post will incite one heck of an awesome yet pretty trite discussion about feed readers, let's make something good come out of it. I really hesitated to post on something like "feeds" given that my dear friend WhyMommy has been diagnosed with cancer again (that's 4 times in 4 years).
But then I thought, let's channel our strong feelings about feeds into something that's actually worthwhile.
So, I will personally donate $1 for every comment up to 500 comments to Crickett's Answer, one of the many causes that Susan has helped support over the last four years. This charity provides women with free Lymphedema sleeves, something that helps ease the pain of those undergoing chemo treatment but surprise! is not covered by insurance.
If I raise $500 with 500 comments, then 5 women can get these sleeves that they might not otherwise be able to afford very easily if at all.
[Comments will remain open until Tuesday 12am EST. One comment per person per day. Feel free to say whatever you want. You can't insult me but feel free to insult those who hate people who use full feeds! *KIDDING* Better, insult cancer. Because it deserves to be insulted]
Commenting. Cancer sucks. That is all.
Posted by: Misty | January 11, 2011 at 12:04 AM
I would love to click through, but yours is the only one I follow that doesn't show a valid hyperlink in the feed email so i can get there with my phone. Since most of my pleasure reading is done when I am waiting somewhere or sneak into the bathroom with my phone i have to wait until i get computer tme to go to the site. So, for my convenience, would love to be able to read the whole post in the email feed. :). Thanks for donating.
Posted by: Cara | January 10, 2011 at 11:42 PM
I prefer full feeds, but completely understand why you want to protect your work. And cancer can suck it.
Posted by: squorkymama | January 10, 2011 at 11:30 PM
I guess I'm not blog savvy enough yet to really get what the big deal is between a full feed and a partial. I don't really understand what the debate is for. Does it matter that much? But kuddos to you for your donation. Glad I can help!
Posted by: Shannon | January 10, 2011 at 11:24 PM
I prefer full feeds but I click through on the few people that have partial feeds. I'm just notorious for not closing windows so partial feeds sometimes cause me to have about 20 tabs open.
I figure if you want to read it, then you will be willing to click through.
Posted by: Hallie | January 10, 2011 at 11:09 PM
Who knew? Full vs. Partial...never would have crossed my mind!
Thanks for donating!
Posted by: alana | January 10, 2011 at 11:09 PM
What an amazing gesture (me clicking over to your post...oh, and you raising $$ too) :)
Posted by: Kate @ SurroundedByPenises | January 10, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Who knew it was such a huge debate? If I really like the blog, I don't mind partial feeds. I'll click over.
Posted by: Thien-Kim | January 10, 2011 at 11:06 PM
Cancer stinks...thanks for supporting CAC!!
Posted by: SHutson | January 10, 2011 at 10:58 PM
I click through on those posts from people I usually read. It doesn't take that much time to click over and I know why bloggers have partial feeds, so it doesn't bother me.
Posted by: elz | January 10, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Leaving a comment to say hello about the wonderful thing you are doing for Crickett's Answer!
Posted by: Leticia- Tech Savvy Mama | January 10, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Cool idea. I love that you take something that's already going on (or about to be going on) and turn it into something awesome.
Posted by: Brenda | January 10, 2011 at 10:29 PM
Anything to help those with cancer!
Posted by: Dawg | January 10, 2011 at 10:12 PM
This is so, so awesome. Thanks for doing this!
Posted by: Justice Fergie | January 10, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Awesome!!!!! Love your blog!!! P.S. Cancer can suck it!
Posted by: Brooke | January 10, 2011 at 10:03 PM
You're one of the very few sites with partial feeds that I read. Why do you make the shortlist? Because most of the time you grab my interest with your title and excerpt. When my interest isn't piqued, I don't click through. Easy enough.
Posted by: Jaz @ Odd Mom | January 10, 2011 at 09:51 PM
Full feeds rule - cancer stinks!
Posted by: Rebecca | January 10, 2011 at 09:48 PM
I do partial feeds. I also hate cancer. So that's two things we have in common. :)
Posted by: Lara | January 10, 2011 at 09:46 PM
I have to say, you're one of many partial feeds in my reader, but I always click to see what you have to say. Even more than I click for Mom 101! :D
I heard a good comment for cancer today, "triumphantly whomping" cancer!
Posted by: Krystina | January 10, 2011 at 09:35 PM
Partial feeds are annoying, but here's the thing. If your writing sucks, having a full feed doesn't mean I'll follow you. And if your writing is awesome, I'll click through every time. You, WouldaShoulda, Mom101. All partials, and all in my folder of "OMGNEWPOSTGOREADIT"
Posted by: BKC | January 10, 2011 at 09:31 PM
I like the full feed because it's saves me a little bit of time using a reader instead of flipping blog to blog. That said, if I know the writing is good or a title is very eye-catching I'll always click thru.
Thanks for donating to such a great organization.
Posted by: Allison | January 10, 2011 at 09:29 PM
I clicked over from Liz@ThisFullHouse. Hurray for you for raising funds for cancer patients!
Posted by: SurprisedMom | January 10, 2011 at 09:28 PM
Fantastic! I don't mind clicking through, in case you're keeping count. ;)
Posted by: Molly | January 10, 2011 at 09:19 PM
If I like a blog, I click. End of story.
Also... fuck cancer.
xo
Posted by: foodmomiac | January 10, 2011 at 09:10 PM
Heres hoping you get to 500. In regards to full V partial feeds, I could careless. I'm happy to clink through an interesting post.
Posted by: Corey Feldman | January 10, 2011 at 09:03 PM
Who knew blog feeds were such a touchy topic.
At least we all can agree that cancer sucks. Thanks for supporting such a great cause.
Posted by: Amy | January 10, 2011 at 09:01 PM
Ha! I have no clue what a partial feed is. However, love your blog, and don't mind clicking on things to read about things. Have we really become that lazy? Is it really that hard people?
Happy to add to the comment numbers for the 500 goal :-)
Posted by: Margo | January 10, 2011 at 08:54 PM
Cha-ching against cancer! Thank you for donating!
Posted by: Nicole | January 10, 2011 at 08:43 PM
I'm new at reading blogs, so I can't have an opinion. But, consider this a comment for cancer. Kudos to you for doing this.
Posted by: grassstainedmom | January 10, 2011 at 08:39 PM
I don't care about feeds - I read anyways. Cancer sucks - my best friend's son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 8 months old and he's currently kicking cancer's a** at 18 months. My nana was a breast cancer survivor, my dad is a melanoma survivor, and my MIL is also a melanoma survivor.
Posted by: Crystal | January 10, 2011 at 08:34 PM
I'm a full feed kind of gal, but hey, to each his own, right? But that's beside the point, because I'm just here to raise money for WhyMommy's fabulous efforts!!
Posted by: morninglightmama | January 10, 2011 at 08:25 PM
Thanks so much for increasing awareness about our nonprofit and our new program for lymphedema garments! Many thanks to Susan Neibur for getting this ball rolling, and many prayers and positive thoughts going her way for her health and healing.
Posted by: Carole Trone/Crickett's Answer for Cancer | January 10, 2011 at 08:25 PM
I really don't care about partial vs full feed. If a partial feed looks interesting I'll click the link, if it doesn't I have saved myself a little time. Even with full feed I don't always read the whole thing.
Hope you reach 500!
Posted by: Tiffany D. | January 10, 2011 at 08:25 PM
Love Love Love your blog! Let's make the 500 mark!!!
Posted by: Lindsay | January 10, 2011 at 08:21 PM
My thoughts r w/u @whymommy.
Posted by: Lisa S | January 10, 2011 at 08:14 PM
I'd be happy to be your hot Asian wife.
Except I'm already someone else's wife.
And I'm not hot.
But I am Asian!
Posted by: Wife and Mommy | January 10, 2011 at 08:03 PM
Crickett's Answer for Cancer is a great charity, please support it!!
Posted by: cmwilliams | January 10, 2011 at 08:00 PM
You are great for donating and yes, cancer sucks!
Posted by: Kirsha | January 10, 2011 at 07:59 PM
Long time reader, first time typer
Posted by: Heather L | January 10, 2011 at 07:42 PM
comment
Posted by: Rhonda | January 10, 2011 at 07:40 PM
I like clicking over to sites, regardless of their feed size, to be visible traffic, so I don't feel annoyed or political about shortfeeders. I admit, though, that if I'm on my iPad or just stealing a few minutes here or there, I'll skip over the partial feed posts in favor of full feed posts.
Posted by: Deb Rox | January 10, 2011 at 07:39 PM
um, I don't really care about the feed thing, where does that put me on the spectrum? Probably leaning towards clueless! My mom died from cancer when I was 14, some of my most painful memories are of her pain from chemo- hope you reach $500!
Posted by: Dia | January 10, 2011 at 07:38 PM
cancer does suck! This is an awesome idea!!! And as far as feeds.... I am easy. Either way. Unless I am feeling lazy, in which case I will never read the full feed if it isnt there.
But for Whymommy...for her, I'd do anything!
Posted by: C.Mom | January 10, 2011 at 07:29 PM
Commenting only to raise money for Cancer. Good luck with your target.
Posted by: Emma | January 10, 2011 at 07:25 PM
Comment, comment, comment, and best wishes to Susan.
Posted by: Denise | January 10, 2011 at 07:23 PM
love the twist! Cancer sucks. people who bother to complain about clicking through to read a full post have WAAAAAAAYY too much time on their hands... they are the ones who actually have time to click through. I have feeling though that they REALLY like reading ur blog, which is why they bothered to rant about it. Take it as a compliment. Alright that is worth the dollar you're donating!
Posted by: Joann Woolley | January 10, 2011 at 07:16 PM
Commenting to support the cause.
Posted by: Maureen | January 10, 2011 at 07:13 PM
I must totally suck at the blog thing -because I have no idea what you're talking about...
I'm happy to comment though if it will help ease the pain of someone...
Posted by: Laurie | January 10, 2011 at 07:11 PM
I like full feeds but will click over to ones that are worth reading - like yours! Like another commenter, when I click over on my iphone the font is teeny tiny and yet, still I click and read. There must be a way to fix it, but I just don't have the time to figure it out right now.
Cancer sucks.
Posted by: Kelly | January 10, 2011 at 07:10 PM
I am more than happy to leave a comment here. And I'm more than happy to click through from my feed to read you - I enjoy what you write, so an extra click is no big deal. Keep doing what you're doing!
Posted by: Lora | January 10, 2011 at 06:59 PM
Partial feeds are fine. If I like an author I am happy to ckick through and give you views as well as see the site in all its glory!
Posted by: Lisa | January 10, 2011 at 06:52 PM
All my support. Great cause.
Posted by: Meredith | January 10, 2011 at 06:46 PM
Fuck cancer, don't give a f**k about feeds. If it's someone I like, I'll click twice.
Posted by: Editdebs | January 10, 2011 at 06:42 PM
I HATE partial feeds. If I'm reading on the RSS reader on my phone I never ever click through. But 99% of the time I'm reading on my computer and I use the "Next" button so it's a non-issue. Plus I get to see the blog page the author intended me to see - sometimes that's a big deal to the design-y type bloggers I follow.
I would bet someone already said all that, but I'm just here to cost you that $1. You're an awesome person Kristen!
Posted by: Suzanne | January 10, 2011 at 06:35 PM
One simple click is no problem if the person is worth reading - and you know what? You are!
Posted by: Bren | January 10, 2011 at 06:20 PM
You are hysterical. Thank you for your honesty! And here's another $1!
Posted by: Stephanie | January 10, 2011 at 06:11 PM
Be true to yourself is what I say. If I want to read it I'll click through. If I don't, I won't. :)
Posted by: roo | January 10, 2011 at 06:06 PM
xo
Posted by: Gretta | January 10, 2011 at 06:05 PM
You rock.
People complaining about feeds suck, just like cancer.
Posted by: ptooie | January 10, 2011 at 06:04 PM
Sending thoughts & prayers for Susan and Marty and their families.
Posted by: Patricia | January 10, 2011 at 06:00 PM
My thoughts on cancer are way more important than my thoughts on blog readers. Cancer can bite my ass, AND the collective asses of anyone afflicted with it, AND their loved ones.
I'm hesitant to even go into my thoughts on feed readers, because it's so stupid. People will do what they do, and will always find a reason to justify their actions.
Posted by: Angela@beggingtheanswer | January 10, 2011 at 05:48 PM
Very generous of you to donate what you earn in honor of another. WhyMommy is lucky to have you.
(Full feed or not, I find myself turning to your blog to chase away the at-work boredom.
Posted by: Carrie | January 10, 2011 at 05:43 PM
Ha Jamie -- You are soooo right. Except I need TWO.
Posted by: Kristen - Motherhood Uncensored | January 10, 2011 at 05:43 PM
Umm.. I don't even care about feeds. I never use them. DOes that make me lame? Oh well... So full or partial. That's like a really lame thing to argue or even care that much about.
Posted by: Vicky | January 10, 2011 at 05:42 PM
I like full feeds. I still click through for you though.
And, BTW, I hate cancer.
Posted by: Jenni | January 10, 2011 at 05:38 PM
I love Susan, and I love you for doing this. And while I'm a partial-feed hater (I read at work on my phone while pumping; it's too hard to click through on a phone so I don't), I'm more than happy to do it this one time on my laptop to comment. :)
Posted by: Delora | January 10, 2011 at 05:37 PM
I read on iPhone through your site so full of half don't matter. I do click daily hoping for a new post :)) (and on shredheads too, please)
$1 to the pot :)
Posted by: Sabz | January 10, 2011 at 05:28 PM
Here's a $1.
I'm a person who stopped reading blogs that don't have full feeds. I have a feedreader for a reason. It's got a LOT of feeds in it. I don't have all day to click through to all these blogs, deal with their graphics that are slowing the pageload down, see their blinky/flashy ads. I just want to read the content. If the post is good enough that I want to leave a comment, then I'll click through. But I don't like having that choice taken away from me. Having the content held hostage.
As for the whole "I'll get my content scraped" argument, I just don't buy it. The content is right there on the blog available to anyone to read. I could copy and paste all of it and put it on 10 websites and I could do it all in about 10 minutes. If your content is on the Internet, it can get stolen, regardless of your feed. So I'm not buying it. (You really don't want your content scraped, save it all as a JPG!)
It's your blog to do with whatever you want. Just my two cents. Does anybody really care if I read their blog? No.
I do click through to blog posts on tweets on occasion, but I generally don't read any blog with regularity unless it has a full feed.
Posted by: Amy | January 10, 2011 at 05:19 PM
Partial vs full feeds: trivial
Cancer? Not so trivial.
Honestly, I have little experience with feeds. I keep meaning to set it up at work, but never get around to it ... work keeps getting in the way! As far as why have people click through, I'm still at the small-blog point where I like to see that people are actually reading what I write! Darned ego.
Thankfully I have little experience with cancer too. And I'd like to keep it that way.
Posted by: Melanie | January 10, 2011 at 05:14 PM
I couldn't care less about feeds. I use Google Reader, but it's not that big a deal to me to click to read the full post.
Posted by: Sandie | January 10, 2011 at 05:13 PM
Not only do those sleeves reduce pain, they actually reduce recovery time.
Posted by: Nerida | January 10, 2011 at 05:08 PM
You sooooo totally want a hot asian wife. You can't fool us.
Posted by: Jamie Bowden | January 10, 2011 at 05:07 PM
I don't read partial feed sites. I read on my mobile phone and it requires a new browser window, reloads everything, and pisses me off. Takes way too much time to load.
I don't think I have ever read this site but I always love a good argument on full vs partial and one my my friends just tweeted the URL.
I am ALWAYS for donation to a good charity though! Rock on! And I suppose now I'll browse through a few of your posts to see if you are entertaining. But why don't you post a separate hidden full feed? PLEASE? lol
Posted by: Kristi | January 10, 2011 at 04:58 PM
Great cause! - thus the comment
Posted by: Inna | January 10, 2011 at 04:56 PM
I am not sure what a feed is since I don't get to read blogs much but I do know that cancers sucks!
Posted by: Cindy | January 10, 2011 at 04:54 PM
I am all about the full feeds because I read in one place in succession... I don't open the posts in new tabs. But you make good points, and just like we go a little out of our way to support a local business over a corporate giant, we should lend a click to our awesome grassroots bloggers. :)
twitter.com/abourland
Posted by: Anna | January 10, 2011 at 04:52 PM
Yeah. So. I don't even know what a feed is...
Posted by: Lisa | January 10, 2011 at 04:51 PM
I'm not sure what the feed thing is but I wanted to help with the fundraiser. Thanks!
Posted by: Alexis | January 10, 2011 at 04:47 PM
I definitely prefer full feeds, mainly because if I'm reading at work, it's not as blatantly obvious that I'm goofing off to anyone who walks past my cubicle and glances at my monitor. The reader page just looks like text, no "Motherhood Uncensored" neon sign logo or BlogHer ads. So, there's that. But I try to reserve my outrage for more justified topics, whenever possible.
Also: My mom is a breast cancer survivor. Because of the type of cancer she had, I'm supposed to start getting MRIs of my breasts every year, starting this year (when I turn 35). Note that the MRIs are not covered by insurance because it's not the standard for breast cancer detection. Nevermind that the type of cancer my mom had, would likely not be detected by a regular mammogram. So yeah, THAT'S the kind of thing that pisses me off. The fact that I'm going to have to figure out how to pony up over $1000 a year, for the rest of my life. Because my health insurance company would apparently rather pay for ridiculously expensive cancer treatment (which might not save me anyway) than a simple preventative test.
Posted by: cindy w | January 10, 2011 at 04:46 PM
Your blog, your rules. As it should be.
And complaining about CLICKING? While seated, perusing the internet? THAT is the ultimate in laziness.
Good for you, K.
Posted by: Karen Sugarpants | January 10, 2011 at 04:43 PM
If I had a fancy phone and was trying to read my feeder while driving, or waiting in line, or whatever you iPhone people do, I'd probably care about full vs partial feed. But I don't, so I don't. On that note:
Fuck cancer.
Posted by: Helen | January 10, 2011 at 04:42 PM
If the blog is lame, I won't bother clicking through a partial feed. But if I like the blog, I will. So this must mean I like you! =)
Posted by: Mary O | January 10, 2011 at 04:42 PM
Full Feeds v Partial Feeds debate just means that people love content. Great content. So, if one finds oneself seeking full feed then one is in the wrong place if partial feed is what one gets. Free to click elsehwhere pray leave the woman alone
@chefswife
Posted by: chef's wife | January 10, 2011 at 04:41 PM
I really don't care about the whole feed thing...but I do care about cancer...here's another doller!
thanks Kristen!
Posted by: Kristen S | January 10, 2011 at 04:39 PM
Cancer sucks.
Also partial feeds are fine in my book as long as I can actually get a sense of what the flipping post is about. I loathe those 10 word teasers. And I loathe cancer.
But you, my friend, are awesome.
Posted by: RookieMom Heather | January 10, 2011 at 04:36 PM
I hardly ever use my feed reader. I'm just here to support Susan!
Posted by: Lisse | January 10, 2011 at 04:35 PM
1. I don't get the issue about this full vs. partial feed nonsense. I just use blogger.com to organize my subscriptions and there aren't really "full feeds" on there. Either way that lady sounds like a royal BIATCH! hehe ;)
2. Cancer is butthead :( down with buttheads.
Posted by: jessica | January 10, 2011 at 04:34 PM
I only get one blog by feed and it doesn't arrive until A DAY AFTER the post is published - so I never bothered with any other feeds.
My Aunt MaryEllen had breast cancer 40 or so years ago and has a lymphedema sleeve which helps her tremendously.
Posted by: Kathy from NJ | January 10, 2011 at 04:21 PM
For the longest time I had partial feed because I liked analyzing my stats. Recently I switched for no particular reason. I will say that if the first words of a partial feed aren't interesting, I don't click through. I love your self-challenge of choosing those carefully to generate interest. I can't believe people debate about something so silly.
Thank you for your donation.
Posted by: Megan (Sis B) | January 10, 2011 at 04:21 PM
I'm too lazy to use a feed reader. Does that make me lazier than the person too lazy to click through the feed reader, or less lazy than them?
Posted by: Melissa | January 10, 2011 at 04:18 PM
I have you saved in my favorites too! Good for you for donating. That's awesome.
Posted by: Alyssa | January 10, 2011 at 04:16 PM
Great post, people complain too much these days. Feeds vs. partial vs. whatever floats your boat. You are never going to make everyone happy. Thank you for using the blog for something good!
Posted by: Jamie Lentzner | January 10, 2011 at 04:13 PM
Don't care whether it is a full or partial feed, but glad you are donating to help fight cancer.
Posted by: Rachel | January 10, 2011 at 04:08 PM
What's a feed?
For that matter, what's a reader!?
Ha! I think I just broke the internet.
Hello? Is this thing on?
Yes, cancer sucks!
Posted by: CrystalC2B | January 10, 2011 at 03:56 PM
I don't use a reader, but if I had cancer I would want to use a sleeve.
Posted by: Kristin | January 10, 2011 at 03:50 PM
Oh I am going to mark this as unread, just to come back and read the comments when I have a moment.
I honestly don't care. Truly. I read many people who have partial feeds. Even some (like Sweetney) who only post titles. If I love the writing I read. The end.
That being said, I love that you are doing this for Susan. I wish I could help, but I am not in the place at the moment.
Posted by: Issa | January 10, 2011 at 03:48 PM
Hmmm. To partial feed or to full feed. I never gave it that much thought--I guess because I just go blog hopping instead of reading feeds.
Posted by: JennyBean | January 10, 2011 at 03:46 PM
Thanks for doing this!! I think you're right. It's no big deal to click a few times to read a post you're interested in. Susan is awesome and cancer SUCKS!! So thanks for supporting her with a few bucks! :)
Posted by: Jennifer Gunn | January 10, 2011 at 03:46 PM
I don't even know what a feed reader is.
Posted by: crystal | January 10, 2011 at 03:39 PM
WOW! Heated topic over something so small.I still use bookmarks but I can't say I would stop reading if it was only partial feeds in a reader.
Whatever. The main issue here is cancer and how badly it sucks. So here's another dollar up cancer's backside.
Posted by: Jennifer | January 10, 2011 at 03:36 PM