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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A little tip I've learned

about commenting in a blog post is the rule of three. Basically if you are commenting on another's blog you have 3 posts to make your point. This is helpful for a number of reasons:

1. If it takes more than three, get your own blog or take the conversation to a forum.
2. You are there to (in a sense) enhance the original post. Even when disagreeing your comment is in connection to the blog post. OT comments are next to useless.
3. You are a guest on the blog in question. Multiple comments disrespect the author's contribution. It's his blog, not yours.
4. It lets you walk away from a conversation. For some reason blog comments are notorious for sucking people in. This way you force yourself away.
5. Unless the point is unusually important usually a commenter doesn't contribute past three comments.
6. Allows the author of the post the last word.

I find it disappointing to see a blog post with "200 comments" only to find the same three people hashing out their personal issues with each other (usually in the form of screaming).

Three posts. Give it a crack.

2 comments:

Dr. Sanders said...

I have a similar rule which is more-or-less equivalent: instead of three posts, I give myself three days (plus or minus, depending on the post and whether or not the author himself seems to want me to stay and add additional comments).

As an aside, I've been contemplating a new protocol as blog administrator in which I issue warnings about comment number in which I begin to delete new comments after the nth comment. Of course, it's pretty rare that I see that many commentators...

Stacy Trasancos said...

Hey Colin! I love this!

http://www.acceptingabundance.com/2011/08/two-reasons-why-i-stopped-arguing-in.html