Netiquette

From The Free Dictionary

I had to laugh when I ran across this cartoon while looking for an appropriate image for this blog post about internet etiquette, now also known as netiquette. (I wrote a post about this topic back in 2010, and after re-reading it, I've found that things have changed quite a bit in that time.) That Wikipedia link now mostly addresses cellphone etiquette, rather than blogging etiquette. So it's time for a new post, as we are all netizens, and most of us have blogs of our own.

At least that's what I think as I read the comments left on each of my posts. I have almost 200 followers according to the Google link, and probably others signed up to follow this blog through the email link, which I provided upon the request of a frequent blogger. I follow almost a hundred blogs on The Old Reader, and several others by email. So there are definitely more than a hundred blogs that interest me enough to have any new posts written by any of you to come to my attention.

Fortunately for me, not everybody writes every day, and I don't comment on every post of the blogs I read; if something doesn't occur to me while reading it, I let it go. But I always read the comments that others leave on my blog, and comments left on other blogs (not always, but if the subject is of sufficient interest). I notice the same people who read and comment on my blog often comment on others I'm reading. It's a bit like seeing a note from a friend, and I'm rarely surprised by what is said, but sometimes I learn something new.

It's a rather intimate world, the blogosphere, wide open and somewhat personal at the same time. What prompted me to write this post is to ask whether my regular commenters expect a response from me. I know that many of you whom I follow respond to every comment, either online or privately. Not everybody gives me the option to reply privately, because if I try, some have not put their email out there, so I must go to their most recent post and type in a comment that answers the question.

Some people respond to each comment on line, but I rarely return to an already-read post because of time constraints. I will miss that published reply, unless I really feel the need to find a possible answer to a question I might have asked. What do you do?

Comments are important to me, since I get feedback and know whether or not the subject was of interest to my own personal netizens. But if your post did not require a comment, I might skip it, although I often let you know how much I enjoy your pictures, or learning about a new place, or about the recent events in your life, both bad and good. I've grown to care about so many of you who I will never lay eyes on, people who are as dear to me as family. Gosh, how did that happen? Whatever the reason, I'm glad it did.
:-)