However, if I and lots of other members started doing this, the threads would be even harder to read than they are now, and they would also look very clumsy and peculiar. And if the management's intention is to intimidate members into writing only very short comments -- 2000 characters is only about 400 words -- I'm pretty sure this will open up a big can of words in its own right. I think it was Mark Twain who said, "I don't always have time to write briefly." Whoever said it, the statement is true. It's a lot more work to write a piece with length requirements than it is to concentrate only on content and style...
And here's an even bigger can of worms that looks like it's already open. The error message I received also stated that the limitation doesn't applt to people who have a paid membership in OEN. This sounds like "creeping plutocracy" to me, and I don't think there's any place for it on a site that labels itself as "progressive". It bothers me a little if people can pay to get various perks that don't affect the CONTENT of their postings here, but this length limitation on comments DOES affect content, and I don't like this idea one bit.
So I'd like comments from other OEN members on this, especially other people who've tried to post and had that error code pop up about exceeding the 2000 character requirement.