<human>: Hi all,

I was contacted by a recruiter regarding a 1-year contract-to-hire position as a business analyst.  After interviewing with the company, they extended an offer.  Yay!  The offer is a 3-month contract-to-hire.  

I'm a bit weary of why the contract portion is so much shorter than what was originally discussed.  In the interview, the manager said they have several permanent positions available and asked if I'd be interested in going that route rather than a contract, and I said I would be.  I'm wondering why the contract is so short though - a few friends think it's due to this being the shortest period they can contract through the staffing agency before hiring.  Others are a bit more paranoid, myself included, and tend to think it may be a chance to weed out faster and may suggest they have less faith in my abilities.  

Has anyone worked with staffing agencies on contracts before?  Do contract durations mean anything?  Do I realistically have a chance at transitioning to a permanent role from this, or am I setting myself up for 3 months of work then nothing?

Summarize the given text in a few sentences.
<bot>: Interviewed for a 1-year contract-to-hire.  Offered a 3-month contract-to-hire.  Why is the contract portion so much shorter?