Today I ran across another blog that was discussing comment etiquette. This is a subject I am a little concerned about since I discovered that I am not as sensitive to responding to my commenters as some expect. So I went back and reread the long thread on Kathy Purdy’s post on that subject last month.
The main thing that really struck me about that thread was how many commenters there were. Which is to say that I was struck by how many garden bloggers there are now. It seems like there were only a handful who blogged regularly back when I started. Now there are about a dozen just in Austin alone. I wonder if this is just because blogging in general has grown by leaps and bounds and lifted all boats. Or if somehow a trend for blogging has started among gardeners. I know gardening has always been popular and writing about gardening has always been popular.
Somebody had said that the replies on that thread had gotten “testy.” I was struck by how intelligent and well, just “nice” all the commenters were. Have you ever read the comments on a political blog? Just let me say that they deteriorate very rapidly into nothing but name-calling. And if you ever think that you might want to comment yourself on a political blog, well don’t do it. That is if you expect some response nicer than being hit in the head with a baseball bat. So if this is “testy” then garden bloggers must be my kind of people.
I once tried to maintain a comprehensive list of garden blogs but I long ago gave that up. Now I rarely pay attention to my blogroll. It actually has little or nothing to do anymore with the blogs I read regularly. I think there are a couple on there which don’t even exist. I apologize for being so slack in keeping it up, and I apologize for not replying to all my comments. I will try to do better.
Comments (16)
So far, I’ve avoided political blogs because I’ve also heard “those people” aren’t all that nice! I’ll just hang out with the garden bloggers for now. And by the way, I appreciate the comments you’ve recently left on my blog.
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Thanks for reminding me of Kathy’s thread, Bill. I’d followed it for a while, then lost track. It was good to go back and read it all the way through again. Interesting discussion.
By the way, I’ve always thought you’ve been regular about replying to comments. You don’t reply to every one, but you reply to most. That’s been enough engagement to keep me coming back.
Oh, try science bloggers when one of their icons is being questioned….
Nice thing about bipolar bloggers is that we tend to realize that we’ve lost it and make up.
I still read the blogs I started out with all those years ago before the Blogspot explosion in 2006. I follow quite a few through Bloglines but have lost interest in many of them over time. The ones I do read regularly, like yours, I read because the voice and the sense of place and the design of the blog are distinctive. I feel like I know the blogger and share some affinity.
I notice, too, that I tend to read the blogs of people who read my blog–not exclusively. However, I think the cross-commenting forms a conversation over time and topic. Your habit of not replying to every comment has never bothered me because I don’t feel singled out. And you email me if I’ve asked a specific question. I don’t respond to every comment either…although I find myself doing it more because I know some people expect it.
I think you are right on all counts except that of being remiss. There is no law that says every comment must be answered. Like MSS, I have never felt neglected when you didn’t respond, because you always responded to comments when a response just naturally came to you. And I would rather have the natural Bill than one who responded just because he was supposed to.
I just follow the Golden Rule. I respond to comments because I like getting responses to my comments, but I try not to say something just to say something, if you know what I mean. That’s kind of patronizing. Better to go visit the commenter’s blog and comment on one of their posts, than to respond to their comment with something inane.
I was real tickled with how many comments that one post of mine got. (Of course, more than a few were mine.) And I was happy with the general level of civility, which, as you already noted, is not as prevalent in other (dare I say?) arenas.
Bill, I agree with MSS and Pam above… you don’t answer every comment, but every comment frankly doesn’t need an answer. (Although yes, I admit that I mostly do answer mine out of habit.) You also do leave comments on other blogs–I believe I’ve seen you comment at Garden Rant, on Annie’s blog, etc., in addition to mine–and to me that’s still being in the dialogue.
It’s the people who never reply to questions (via comments or an email) and never comment on others’ blogs, either, that turn me off a bit personally. I still read their blogs but don’t leave comments so much–I figure that they are demonstrating that they don’t want to be part of the conversation, so I’m respecting their wishes.
The above is my long-winded way of saying… you don’t need to change a thing.
Yes — even though I am one of the bloggers who tries diligently to respond to every comment, I definitely don’t think it’s a requirement. Personal style, I say. Personal style! Just do what works for you.
And I wholeheartedly agree with your other observations…garden blog comments are so much more friendly than political blog comments…
And I think that it IS striking, the amount of civility there is amongst garden bloggers. There are quite a few posts (that one of Kathy’s, the recent one about religion and gardening at Garden Rant) that made me wonder: Would they devolve into name-calling and intolerance? Two hot-button issues there, religion and manners, and yet the comments were all very polite. Amazing.
If you really want to be one of the “pros”, check this out:
http://www.alsirat.com/flame.html
Interesting thoughts. I spread myself thin over a number of types of blogs with both my own and the ones I comment on. Garden bloggers are the nicest by far- but I think that it is because of our mutual love of gardening, and the peacefulness of the topic. Even a garden rant is pretty tame in my book.
I have had a garden blogger (anonymous) de-link me because I linked to a political opinion they didn’t like on my other blog…. so I think if we start talking politics we could all get a little feisty.
You are right that there are more garden bloggers and that is likely due to more in the blogosphere as a whole. I restarted my garden website once blogging helped me realize that gardening is an interest that just won’t go away for me. I write whether I get readers or not!I slowly make my rounds to read other garden blogs, and to me the older ones are golden. Maybe because of the familiarity that builds up over time.
Thanks everybody for the reassurances. I think I was needing a little virtual hug from the blogging community.
And Ilona, I sympathize. I’ve felt snubbed on occasion due to my rather limited political comments here (and the global warming banner).
Joel, that’s pretty good. You could also get some good ideas on this topic from the comments at this post. That site in general has some of the best comment threads I’ve seen.
Nothing like talking about commenting, to get people commenting.
Unfortunately Bill, when you’ve made an ass of yourself while in bipolar episode, you are forever branded as a kook and therefore a target for abuse. You can say the most rational thing and it gets discredited.
Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t go.
Joel – can’t go where?
Blogs would die without comments, yes? Maybe? NO?
Ever once in a while, I like a good opportunity to spew, and I can always find some political site or artsy fartsy one where I can burn as many bridges as I choose.
I think I’ll keep this bridge, though *smile*
Cowtown Pattie – back to blogs where I have made an ass of myself while in episode. Once you have the brand of bipolar on your forehead (and I talk about it on my blog a lot) people dismiss or ignore your thoughts.
Sad but true.