You have demonstrated great willpower.

Consider your opinion on this blog weightier than on others.

I do understand how you feel. I too hesitate to comment if I have nothing to add although sometimes, if I agree strongly, I may say so.

1: I read posts all the time that I find interesting. I’m rarely inclined to comment, however.

Firstly, the insular, cliquey nature of many blogs means that were I to comment, my opinion would hold little or no weight.

Secondly, my viewpoint has usually been expressed before I’ve had a chance to comment. ‘I agree’ adds little or nothing to the conversation, as, um, someone seems to have already said here.

In my own browsing of the archives of DaveNet, I came across this fascinating post by Esther Dyson from December 1, 1994 which introduces an idea we may now call pay-per-comment. One could also argue that the post actually anticipates……

I do remember meeting for lunch. Absolutely,
it is a conversion barrier.

On the topic of commenting…I read Fred Wilson’s blog often and like to comment,but I wonder if the comment verification is a barrier for some people. the 1 out of 7 or 8 times when I can’t decipher the letters before the post is published is irritating. I wonder if it’s enough to put off others?

Is that a comment conversion barrier?

Maybe you can start another tread, and ask people what they were thinking when they post comments like “Great entry!” and other one liners. I sure would like to find out too!

P.s. My guess is, they want to be seen. Riding on a bloggers visibility. Could be some kind of fetish!

2. However, I seldom ever post a comment. (This is probably the 2nd or 3rd comment I posted, ever.)

3.
First of all, some sites ask that you be “logged in” or “registered” before you post a comment, and that is a big turn off, especially when logging in or registering means providing up to 7-10 pieces of informations which is very time consuming.

Also, I seriously question how valued the comments posted by readers are. Many a times I would come across good articles running into a few pages. At the end of it all, you find people posting comments such as “Great entry!” and the likes.

If I really feel strongly about an issue highlighted in an article I read online, I would have wrote my own articles airing my views and then tagged it to the original article, right?

Hope my comments made sense.

2. If you found something interesting, did you comment on it?
Sometimes…

3. If yes, why? If no, why not? (feel free to provide examples)
I comment if my comment is a contribution to the topic (I won’t comment just to say it’s interesting), if I know the blogger or if a reaction/opinion is asked in the post. My last comment besides this one was on a blog that was asking for links to video mashups.

Most good writers on the net may have great readership, butif you were to judge them by the comments posted, you would think no one read them.

Even the thumbs up/thumbs down on American Small Business doesn’t give us a true picture of readership. Clicking to rate the article takes too much valuable time-the delay is too long and you could have read another article by the time your rating goes through. Steve

2. Yes

3. I will comment to thank the writer if I like the post or writing.

I’ll comment if I know additional and relevant links.

When the writer asks for comments, I’m more inclined to give them (like here!). And, when the style of the post is conversational, I am more open to commenting.

And, it helps if the blog post is on a subject I’m passionate about.

If the author of the blog interacts with commenters and pays attention to them, I’ll post a comment. If they seem to ignore comments, I won’t bother commenting.