Many many people say they are holding this, holding that for the "long term" but please tell me what exactly is your guys definition of "long term"?
For me, 1 year is considered long time. I began investing this January and I will hold one year and cash out everything January 2019. So by your definition, is this more short term or long term? Is 1 year enough time to see gains?

Yes a 1 year is already enough for a long term. Its enough to see whether you gain a lot or lose your investment. A promising coin with good project will surely make a pump within a year. Anyway what is your target gain? 2x ? 5x ? 10x of your investment ? or you only want to cashout at exactly 1 year?