Anne has a really interesting post up – with a great conversation going on in the comments. (Her comments section should be given an award, by the way – I’ve always felt that way. I went on a huge tangent about comments sections in general … decided to put it below the fold.)
And Anne, I know that Mr. Darcy will be mine some day. I realize this makes me a cliche, but I seriously cannot help it!
The comments section over at Anne’s blog feels like a conversation – rather than a display of clashing opinions. Anne has a great core group .. and the discussion is always intelligent, and interesting. She also doesn’t have commenters who appear to want to FIX her. Like – she can write about things that interest her, or confuse her, or stuff she is pondering – without people racing in telling her how she should feel, or what side she should come down on. Does that make sense? At least it doesn’t SEEM like people are hovering over on the sidelines, waiting to jump on her, or catch her in a hypocrisy, or stand BACK from the conversation … people are IN the conversation, know what I mean? They all seem like they’re friends. Not all cagey and opinionated. (I love the comments section at this blog too. Chatty, fun, everyone interested in the same thing, helpful, observant … I always read all the comments over there.)
I was just reading another blog this morning, one of my favorites, and blogger in question posted something racy – but hey, she’s a racy blogger – and the BROU HAHA that ensued in the comments, and the rude emails she got – the “advice” and the “I’ll pray for you”s … It was unbelievable. Especially because it’s not like the sex-talk is out of the ordinary – that’s the main thing she writes about. So naturally she has attracted a core group of people who are not freaked out or judgmental, and who like talking about sex in an open way. Like attracts like – and her comments section isn’t usually freaky and judge-y, with people standing back from it, wagging their finger, or judging her or whatever … I think she recently got some new readers whose delicate little Victorian heads exploded when they read her recent post … but that’s THEIR problem. Read her archives, you’ll see what she’s about. If you’re not into that stuff, if you have a kneejerk “That’s wrong” response to topics like that – then don’t read. That whole thing on her blog this morning (and she handled it like the steel magnolia that she is!!) was just a reminder of the value of a really good core group of people, who are into what you’re into, and like hanging out in the same way. I think the blogger (whoever the blogger is) is responsible for some of that. Not totally – because jagoffs are always going to show up and ruin the vibe in a comments section, or judge you without even knowing you, or COMPLETELY miss the point. But still: a blogger who creates a comments section where intelligent people can hang out and “talk” about stuff? That is definitely credit to the blogger. There are blogs I love – written by bloggers who I think are amazing – where I refuse to read the comments – due to the moronic low level of conversation there, the poo-flinging, the nastiness, whatever. There are blogs that are mainly photo blogs where the comments section is just as entertaining and you don’t want to miss what people have to say. There are essay blogs where people usually just chime in with “Awesome!” “Another great essay!” Whatever. It runs the gamut. So a conversation with like-minded people is ONE kind of comments section – and that’s the kind of thing that I enjoy. It doesn’t have to do with agreeing with one another, or echo chambers, or any of that. It has to do with the TYPE of conversation that goes on. The TONE. Anne PONDERS things on her blog. There’s no pressing need to come up with an answer … that’s not the point. Her commenters appear to just ponder things with her … I love that.)
Anyway – I’ve been thinking about her post, and what it means to me personally, all day.
