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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32821
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I've usually seen it posted at the bottom, end of post, usually quoted or bolded to stand out.

It could be placed in the top of the post, but I think the purpose (whether stated or not) is there to summarize what the author posted. At the front doesn't have the same impact. It seems more like an intro/ summary. They are hoping you read their post, or skimmed over enough of it to have an idea what is being posted. The tl;dr is a summary of the long post. It is a hook to help the reader remember the key points of the post. The "tl;dr" is more less a "cute" way of addressing and phrasing the summary.

**tl;dr** Post it at the end as a summary of your post. Those who read it see the highlighted points. Those who haven't read the full post get a general idea and can choose to go back and reread or not.

Also is this a question about you writing a "tl;dr" type post or a blog, or is it a question based on what you are reading?

* * *

Another possibility for the "tl;dr" is the author is having trouble finding their own point in the post. I know I am guilty of it. Watch out, reread a few times and make sure you're getting to the point and not writing around the point. It may take a few passes to realize that and go back and trim the post. (that's why I heavily edit most of my posts.) The first pass is usually an incoherent jumbled mess. The second pass is a little more cleaned up. More words spell checked and some clean-up attempted. I may expand some points or cut points. Further passes I'll focus on how each sentence reads and try to fix fragments. I'll try to further expand or cut irrelevant clutter. Depending on how much time and how many edits are allowed (if any at all) a post may get stuck as less than polished.

That said Putting tl;dr, could be used as an excuse to avoid doing further editing. If you're tempted to put one in, you may want to go over and reread your post and see what you can trim, shorten, or condense before resorting to putting a "tl;dr" type disclaimer in.

Original score: 3