Thursday, October 1, 2009

Random Blogger Bullet Points


I think its silly that when leaving comments for others that we have to type this code word to finalize the process. You know what I'm talking about, that silly nonsensical cluster of letters that usually doesn't mean a thing. I guess its some kind of spammer tool, but really, are any of us getting hit by spammers? I'd like to propose a change with those that use that tool. I don't use it btw because I like to save anyone who comments some time. But when the word comes up, it should have something to do with the post. I want to type in words that have some meaning related to the post I just read, such as blowjob (not really a word), or cuntsucker, or fuck. Yea, fuck is a good one.

Blogger reciprocity is an interesting phenomena. I'm talking about this compulsion I feel when responding to people who have left me comments. I have to respond to comments, and or I have to leave comments on their posts. I have to. Sometimes I love it, but sometimes I feel as though its a responsibility and just needs to get done. When I first started blogging the comments were how I got noticed and were important to me. There were a couple blogs that I read religiously and left comments with all the time. But because they never took the time to read my blog, and leave comments as proof, then I dropped them and moved on to people who reciprocated. Is this common? It leads me back to the discussion of why we blog, or why I blog, in the first place. Do I do it to get noticed/attention or do I have no expectations of anyone and do it for myself wholeheartedly. I'd like to think its more of the latter than the former.

And then there are those weeks where I remove myself completely from this virtual world. That happened this past month. There was no motivation or enthusiasm for logging in. I feel guilt for acting that way because I feel like I'm abandoning good people and that they'll ditch me for not staying connected. Maybe I have some crazy expectations or maybe I'm overthinking it all. I'm sure that the friends that I've made here lately are secure enough in our friendship that if I disappear for a while that it's all ok, and reasonable. No one has told me otherwise.

Finally a quick hello, a smile, and a nod of appreciation to those of you that have become my friends over the past 4 months. You guys rock.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had that "word shit" up when I first started blogging but then the "old-timers" told me to ditch it (f***ing annoying) and so I did.

I was the same with reciprocity early on as well. And on Thursdays...I still do my best to spread the love especially to the new peeps...but in day-to-day general, I only comment to those peeps on my line up.

This is a special and unique community. And since it is not feasible to go out for dinner and drinks (usually) it is nice to hang out with those you find worth the time "here."

RL sometimes catches up with us and we gotta disappear every once in a while just to regroup, yeah??

Anonymous said...

southerngirl said it so succinctly.

Good to see you around, Mr Dewey.

Cala Gray said...

I try very hard to comment on anyone that comments to me and I also visit a ton of different blogs because I'm damn nosy. Hehehe

But like you, sometimes RL takes over and the blog suffers. But you can always come back. We are waiting.:)

Hubman said...

Yes, spread the message that word verification is a pain!!

I think a lot of us have similar commenting habits. You comment on my blog, I'll come visit yours and comment. And if I really like your blog, I'll keep coming back, even if you don't always comment on mine. We don't always have something insightful to say that hasn't already been said.

Kinda like this comment!

Dangerous Lilly said...

I think the word verification is dumb simply because #1 comment spam on a blogger.com blog isn't common. But #2 the blog author has the ability to delete comments - and if a spammer means business, they're gonna do the word verification.

It's doubly frustrating when people couple it with comment moderation.

We don't ever expect anything much from our fellow bloggers insomuchas time away from the internet. We all do it. So don't feel guilt.

I feel similar to you about the reciprocity but I quit reading them, I just won't make it a point to comment any more. If you quit reading them because of the reciprocity reason, then it begs to wonder why you read their blog in the first place.

I try to reply to comments as much as I can on my blog, but saying "thanks!" when that's all that can really be said in return, again and again, gets redundant. Especially on HNT days. So I no longer reply to HNT comments on my blog; I do my best though to visit and comment on all HNT's. I also don't reply to HNT comments on my blog anymore because half of those people will never come back to see if I did reply.

Black Pearl said...

I love the idea of having the stupid code words connect to our blogs!

As far as the Blogger reciprocity, I hear you loud and clear. When I first started blogging it really was just my outlet for my sexual frustrations. Then when people started following me, I was humbled, and still am. But I do the same thing, I follow them and add them to my blogroll...but I do get "hurt" or "offended" if I post their blog out of common decency and then they don't reciprocate. I feel stupid that it actually hurts my feelings, but it is what it is, we're human after all.

Anonymous said...

1) I noticed your were gone. I wasn't going to abandon you, though. I did almost post a comment to check on you.

2) I find myself feeling very conscious of the fact that a number of bloggers I read religiously and comment on frequently clearly do not read my blog, or at least, they don't bother to comment or respond to any comment I make on their blog.

I tend to think of blogging as a community-type deal, and when I go basically ignored by bloggers to whom I'm giving my time and attention, I eventually quit commenting, and then, quit reading all together.

Cheeks said...

Good to see you again. =)

Anonymous said...

So what you're saying here is that people *don't* comment on my blog because I've had the comment verification word?

I didn't really consider it as anything more than a protective measure when I first started blogging. But since then, I've been spammed anyway by real people who are capable of typing out the verification word. So, that doesn't work too great anyway.

I've taken my word verification off my comments section, but I won't pin my hopes on it increasing my comments. lol

Riff Dog said...

I hate that damn Word Verification, too. I've never had it and I get maybe one spam per month. It's a hell of a lot easier for me to delete one spam per month than it is for all my readers to have to type in that damn word every freakin' time they want to comment.

Oh, and thank you Dharma for joining us on the "No Word Verification" team. ;-)

As far as reciprocating goes, I know the feeling. It does seem only fair, but it can be tough sometimes to reciprocate, especially when a post draws a lot of comments. For most of my friends, we comment from time to time, rather than every post, because sometimes there just isn't that much to say in a comment.

mina said...

well, I would still blog regardless of the number of comments. Comments are still nice to get, because it is proof that someone has visited and read what you had to say. Sometimes I visit and read and honestly have nothing to say, but I try to comment the next time I come around.
Is it frustrating to go around and comment on so many and not have the same people comment back, I suppose sometimes it is.
I try to visit and comment to everyone who visits and comments with us.
I agree, word verification can be annoying and I love wordpress for being able to sort that out all on it's own.

Vixen said...

*AMEN* to the word verification! I won't even get into how half the time with the newer Blogger blogs, that Google makes me take several attempts at it bc of some error or another.

Nice to see you hop back in. ;)

Sexie Sadie~ said...

Glad to see you're back. Yeah, I get the reciprocity thing. I've been feeling shitty for not getting round to some of the blogs on Thursdays for HNTs, just my bestest friends like southerngirl up there and vixen... but, I've been busy and mired in my own shit.

But, I do try to comment when I can get to the blogs I like. I figure if I'm there reading, I might as well let the person know I stopped by. But, I also know that not everyone who reads blogs comment, so it's no skin if I leave a comment on someone's blog and they don't do the same on mine.

xoxo~Sadie

Library Vixen said...

Yeah! fuck word verification cuntsucker blowjob fuck fuck fuck.

Sexy PTA Mom said...

It is totally common! I have total guilt lately for not having time to read and comment on other blogs. I also just plain miss it. I must admit that some of those fake words crack me up, but generally I find it annoying. I don't think I use that, but I could be wrong.

lifechick said...

I always have to be the dissenter. The word verification doesn't bother me at all, but probably because I can actually read it. I hate when you go to order tickets, but the verification is unreadable, so you can't possibly replicate it. Annoying!

About blog reciprocity, I try to reciprocate when people visit and comment on my blog. I usually do, but not always immediately. I go through 'net apathy periods, where I don't even feel like going online for days on end, so sometimes I end up playing catch-up at the blogs (like now).

I enjoy when people share their thoughts on my blog, but it's not my primary motivation for blogging. I do feel more compelled to check out and comment on those folks' blogs though, because they took the time to do so at mine.

Elle said...

The word authentication thing is definitely because of spam. I don't use it because I find it annoying, too. But I do get spam. I've upgraded my Wordpress lately and added a widget that takes care of all the spam, which is pretty cool, but before that I'd have to sort thru the good and bad comments, and let me tell you, it's more than you might think. Came back from vacation, I had hundreds of spams. Bastards.

I feel that way about commenting when it comes to HNT... The rest of my posting doesn't feel like as much of a puzzle to me. And as far as the reasons for blogging, I'm sure we each have our own. I think for a blog like mine, it should simply be for myself, but of course I care whether I'm read or not.