My Beef

I personally think that the most important section of any blog is the comments. The comments, after all, are the things that keep the piece alive. They give it a pulse by being inspired by it, challenging it, adding too it, whatever. They are what allows the piece to live on and grow after it's publication. Thus, I cherish every one of my commenters whether they are praising me, challenging me, testing me or calling me "gay" as one person did after my Eli Roth Sucks post on Suite101.

Another thing the comments do is make a blog feel more like an interactive community instead of just some writer talking down to their readers. How many times, when a new LAMB entry comes up, do people, in the information section, write that they don't want their blog to be an interactive community? I haven't seen one yet and I read just about all of them.

It therefore baffles me/frustrates me/makes me question the writer's intentions when I take the time to comment on a post and the writer never responds. I don't expect responses to little nothing comments like hey, good job, but 90% of the time I don't leave those kinds of comments. When I comment I like to think of something of some kind of depth to say. The writer, after all, has taken their time to write an intelligent, engaging piece, the least I can do is match him/her in the comments. I'm a horrible perfectionist so sometimes I'll point out an error in logic, a mix up in continuity, stuff like that. I'm not trying to be condescending, just being anal. Sometimes I will continue on with the point being made in the post, offer an alternate way of viewing things or maybe just full-out disagree, in a friendly, respectful way of course.

So when I go back to check if anyone has responded to my comments (face it, everyone does because if there is one thing a blogger loves more than comments it's responses to their comments on other blogs) I'd like to at least see that the effort I have taken to help create an interactive environment in said person's blog has been acknowledged.

Granted, no one is perfect. I've probably missed responding to some comments because I'll get them, need to think about what has been said and forget to come back. It happens, but I try my hardest to ensure that I have responded to every one's comment that requires response. That is, after all, why I choose the option to allow me to approve comments before posting them. Not because I want to censor them, but because I want to make sure I read every one.

I'm not, in this post, referring to any blog or blogger in particular and I feel blessed that most of the regular commenters here do in fact provide comments that are intelligent, well thought out and do keep the conversation going. Sure, not all of my posts lend themselves to comment, but you guys do your best. What I am ultimately saying is that, we should value our comment section above all else. It is, after all, our only way to connect with our readers on an intimate level. To be honest, I've stopped commenting and even, in some cases reading blogs written by bloggers who don't respond to their comments.

What do you think?