knoizki: there isn't anything wrong with cocomment except execution perhaps - having to click on it constantly is obviously very strenous on poor-memory individuals like me who cannot for her life remember to click on the bookmark button before pressing submit... and i realise i visit the blogs i've commented before i go to the cocomment website itself, so kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? now if wp has it in dashboard which is the first place i visit online every morning...
excellent idea abt turning off comments if they don't care for them - that way readers won't waste their time. however, i think ppl generally enjoy receiving comments even though they do not think of the enjoyable favour they can return by replying...
it's splendid that you're such a respectful person of ppl's prerogatives, but how am i being a hypocrite by saying what i think? care to explain?
wank: i don't think anyone here is trying to impose and "dictate to other people how they should run things on theirs", merely putting their two bits in, and bloggers already have that freedom of replying or not. you never know, with this lively discussion, we might convert a non-replier to a replier after seeing it from the perspectives of commenters who do not get reciprocated. but i appreciate your two cents nonetheless. :-)
drmike: fair game to you - you have a valid reason for not replying, but maybe you could inform them, that way you could save an email or two... besides if they're really sincere abt solving their problem they would probably email you anyway.
britgirl: excellent question posed to knoizki. though one doesn't 'invite' commenters as such, but the fact that comments are not disabled gives an impression that comments are welcomed doesn't it? as you have suggested knoizki, ppl who don't like replying comments may want to consider disabling comment.
i leave this excellent analogy from a blog i've stumbled across to further explain the way i feel abt commenting and replying.
http://bergentest.blogspot.com/2006/04/blogging-courtesy.html
I believe there are manners associated with blogging too. Visiting someone's blog, to me, is like going over to a friend's or a stranger's house to listen to what he or she wishes to share. I either agree, or disagree with an entry. In most cases, I'd rather agree since the whole idea about blogging is to make friends, not enemies. Of course you can disagree and still remain friends but there is a set of manners how to disagree.
Since I have a lot of free time, I usually login the blogs I visited the day before to see if the host has up-dated an entry, or have taken the time to reply to the comments. It's nice to read the reply, really. I enjoy it. It gives me the sense that the host acknowledges my presence and he or she is kind enough to engage a stranger like me in a conversation. It may be a short one but it is a conversation nonetheless. Now this, to me, is manners. A common courtesy.
I believe it is good manners to acknowledge someone who has just said something to you. It shows you appreciate his or her effort to get to know you. I have stopped visiting blogs where the host doesn't bother to acknowledge your comment. I consider this rude. It leaves me with the impression that the host doesn't need my friendship. For all I know he doesn't even want you to read the entry in the first place. He might even consider you a pest for coming in and leaving comments as if there is a prize for doing that. I was surpirsed that famous people like Yasmin or Afdlin took the trouble to reply to a comment. That's humility and I have nothing but respect for people with such a personality.
To me this is the same as saying 'hello' to a stranger but instead of a smile, all you get is this blank stare from him as if you have just interrupted his line of thinking on the physics of how to turn water into fuel so the world doesn't have to depend on fossil fuel anymore.
It doesn't hurt to be courteous, friendly, warm and hospitable. It's a rude world out there.
sulz
nodependenciesnologo
greenlighton
britgirl
knoizki
wank
coachcyrus