This goes out to all the people who thought enough about me to stop by and leave a comment. It's a safe bet that you are someone I admire very much and/or you found something that I wrote interesting. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, but stop. Don't click that button yet. Now, read your comments again, to yourself. Read them again. Did you say something?
So, as much as I love you, I need to tell you this: I'd rather you not comment on my blog if you have nothing to say. You, dearest ones, know who you are. You leave comments to posts (that, I'll admit, can be ridiculously long or riddled with hyperlinks) that do not even begin to describe how you connected to it. Instead, you settle for a quick "That's great!" or "Yeah, I can relate." or some other canned mini-sentence, almost identical to those you might have left before. I'm often left to wonder, "Well, okay, they thought enough to leave a comment, but what were they really thinking? What was on their mind? What was it about my post that prompted this response? How does this extend this post into a conversation?" Usually, I have no idea - and I obviously want to know.
I know that different people are compelled to leave comments on others blogs for different reasons. On others blogs, I leave a comment only if I've read the entry and have something to say about it. I'm not leaving a comment just to say "Hi!" There are plenty of times when I go to others blogs and find nothing that interests me. And that's okay; it's part of the beauty of getting the diversity of everyday ordinary people to blog. If someone doesn't relate to what I'm doing on my blog on any given day, there are thousands more to discover. It's all good!
Is it selfish for me to want a certain type of response to my posts? I accept that it certainly might be, but I give myself the benefit of the doubt while allowing myself to ask for what I want. Besides, if I spend a sizeable chunk of my life presenting something that I think might be of interest to someone else, and you express interest, why shouldn't I expect you to at least take a moment to write a comment that begins to express how you relate (or not)? The only reason I use comments (and trackbacking) is to promote the creation of extensions into dialogue. I want to witness conversations that are made more meaningful by other people's thoughts, opinions, observations, etc. I crave comments, just like anybody else, but I'd rather read one quality comment like that than 20 comments devoid of meaning or connection. No, a comment doesn't have to be a tome - it could still be a short sentence. It's your expression of the thought that counts.
So, the next time you reach to click AIGHT, just ask yourself - did you say something?
…of course, in your case, it could be just someone leaving a general comment - but I had around 35 spam comments left on my site that I had to use MT Blacklist to get rid of… this may not be the same as the kind of comments you might have gotten, but some of mine would merely say something like ‘nice post’. if yours were like that, then perhaps it is spam.
“Could be, could be not…who’s to say?” - The Color Purple
Signal-to-noise in comments, that’s harder ‘n’ times-29. I’ve seen some sites use tagboards to satisfy that general, what’s-up, “holla” chatter. (It’s iffy, though: I don’t have much use for them myself.) Another option might be restricting comments on entries until you have a specific post where folks’ opinions and expertise will be of use.
This post at Megnut may be fodder for an anziblog comment policy! ;-)
You make a convincing argument, my dear friend, though I am not convinced. I guess I should wish for such “problems” as having too many “less than ‘?’” comments on my blog as to be concerned with the “quality” of the responses. Alas, presently, I don’t. Yet, if or when, such a “problem” arises in my portion of the universe, I’m pretty sure I’d be inclined to just “let things be.” The way I see it: People are who they are when they are—be it wise or foolish. And given the expanse (and anonymity) of the World Wide Web, fodder is to be expected. (And don’t you know most people—unfortunately—are “stupid,” which is to say they do not “think.” “Thinking” requires effort, dear; it is work.) In the end, you take the bad with the good. ALL publicity is “good” publicity, some might say? I think it says alot about your “fame” (popularity) if a “stupido” takes the time to say something, well, um, stupid on your blog.
If your blog “problem” were mine? I would definitely endure the stench. I tend to being a “purist” when it comes to that “freedom of speech” thing. Be it hate-speech or the like. Maybe all those critiques of my writing I endured at SLC has desensitized me to fodder.
Concluding, know this: I hear you, I understand you, and consider myself duly warned.
Who ever gave you permission to put my picture up for all the world to see?