For the last year or so I have noticed that the titles of posts have become book-length, rather than a short comment referencing the post. Did I miss something?

I prefer to skim through the titles to see what catches my eye. I will tell you, a multi-line reprint of the post is not appealing. Something catchy will bring more people to a post.

Clicking on a catchy title and reading the post, or clicking on the link within the post, will get more of a reaction than reading a multi-line reprint of what is being posted.

For those unaware, your post can be either a "text" post, a "link" post, or an "image" post. You don't have to put the title of an article in the title of the post.