Oh how this is the question, to comment or not to comment? I guess the answer here is obvious, however, I tend to read blogs and not comment unless I have something of some relevance to the entry to say... which, let's be honest, isn't very often. I guess ya'll just are lucky, eh!

For me blogging is a way to share my life experiences and hopefully give someone something to read and look at, since I am a photographer too. Commenting just to flank interest to your site is useless if your site sucks. If it is worth while reading then eventually people will find it and read and enevitably comment (and spam... bloody spammers). Should it matter if you have comments? I think not, but thats coming from someone who doesn't get any comments but does have a few readers. 

So I say f**k em, if you love to blog then blog... if you get no enjoyment out of it the why the heck are you blogging in the first place? Comments don't make the blog, nor are they essential to its existance. 

I try to maintain a distinct separation between commenting and reading. I have two groups of people's blogs I read. The first is people I know, I read them so I can keep up with what's going on in their lives. I comment on things that strike me about what they've done or has happened to them, to share advice or make witty/funny comments.

The other group I read is people who write well or post about interesting things (or both). People whose blogs I've stumbled across in my internet ramblings. I don't comment often on these blogs unless they post about a topic I have experiences to share (like this one) or have a strong (defensible) opinion regarding. I don't usually go back to see if someone else responded to my comments because the few times I have I've not enjoyed the interchange. People are often too rude or dismissive in these exchanges for my tastes.

And since I use my personal blogs as places to vent or rant (as well as asking silly rhetorical questions) or just emote, I don't really care (or expect) if I have any readers. So far as I know only people who know me read mine (with the occasional exception). So I've avoided the whole read-mine-and-I'll-read-yours issue as well as trackbacks and whatnot.

Jim Heivilin

Didn't I link back to everyone who linked to me? Weren't they pissed if I didn't? Isn't that why I linked to other blogs, so that they would link to me?

I was like, "Um, what are you talking about"?

Sure, sometimes when you comment or when someone else comments it leads to someone discovering your blog or you discovering someone else's blog. But I let all such interactions occur naturally. The blogs on my blogrolls I've linked to because I like them. Not all of them do I read everyday, but most of them. I have no idea if they all link back to me - in fact, I'm sure some of them don't - and I find that completely irrelevant.

Which is a long-winded way to say, I comment when I have something to say, and occasionally just give a "great post" shout out to a great post. Because it was a great post.

The end.

It actually takes me a while to comment anywhere. I was on here for 12 weeks before I commented. I am a selective commenter on people blogs. I read a ton of them but will only comment if what they have posted strikes a cord or if I really enjoy their blog and have become a regular reader. It's my way of letting them know that I'm out there reading and that I enjoy what their doing. I leave the link to my blog not because I expect reciprocation but because it seems polite. Does that make sense?

Samantha
Flatsam

I comment the first time I visit most blog. Just a note usually to say: first time here.. I found you through.. x, y, z. And here's what I like about your blog. Especially if the blogger doesn't have many (or any) comments. It's only polite to let them know that someone is reading!

But I do this because lots of people send me links to new craft bloggers.

After that first comment, I will comment on someone's blog when i have something to say. I don't participate in comment frenzies. So the first comment is polite; after that it's a conversation.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Simple Still Life

I personally have several blogs I read on a daily basis, and most of the time I comment on them, mostly because right now I am bored being on bedrest. I tend to comment just so they know I am out there reading, but the point of commenting for me is not to get a comment back. Some of the people I link to I know don't link back to me. The same way, some of the blogs I enjoy reading I don't link to.

As for the expectation, on blogs that have a lot of readers, for instance Dooce or Amalah (or even ones that don't) it's not like I expect a comment or a visit, but I do put myself out there and comment when I feel I have something to say. Right now the online community is my only connection to the outside world and I do enjoy it when I see a new reader. I know for a fact that there are readers that visit but don't comment. This does not offend me at all. Although sometimes I am curious as to who is reading that I don't know about.

I have to say the blogs that I comment on regularly are the people that I consider "friends" in the blogging world, people that if I lived close to them, I could see myself going out to coffe with them and such. Or people that have been through or are going through something similar to me. It's nice to have people who can say "I have been there and I made it", you know?

All that said, commenting and linking is complicated for some and simple for others. I don't think any of us should feel obligated to link to another blog or comment just because the other person does, but I am sure some people feel otherwise.

Interesting topic!

I agree that the whole linking/commenting "netiquette" can be rather complicated. In the winter when I'm teaching school I'm too busy to comment back to most of the people who leave comments on my blog, although I do try. In the summer I leave a lot more comments, just because I have more time to read blogs. I don't care whether or not the person leaves a comment back; mostly I only comment when whatever they are writing about (usually food related) is a "wow" for me or when a post is particularly well-done.

One thing that puzzles me is how to respond when people ask a specific question on a post. (This may happen to me more than some because a lot of people come to my blog looking for South Beach diet "coaching" even though I consider it more of a food blog than a diet blog.) It seems rather assumptive to just answer in the comments (assuming the person will come back and find the answer) yet if you leave a comment on their blog or send an e-mail, then later readers won't see your answer unless you also post it in the comments on your own blog. I used to think it was nicer to answer to the person personally when possible, but now I feel like it's better to post the answer right below the question in your own comments. Anyone else wonder about this?

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

I think this comes down to why you're blogging. I blog about and for Me, Me, Me on my own site. As such, I don't really care about comments - not that I don't enjoy them, I totally do, just that they don't make me write more or less. I blogged on paper before there were blogs and they were called "Journals". I certainly didn't expect or invite comments on those.

On community projects - like the BlogHer site, for example - I feel differently. Because they're community oriented, I make a conscious effort to participate. It's about the dialogue, right?

As for commenting on other's personal sites, if I feel like I can add to the conversation, I'm in. Or, if I've added something to my regular reading, I might drop a comment to introduce myself and tell the writer I think they're awesome. "Just saying hello and you rule!" Like that. I've made some blog friends and often, I reply to them off blog.

I don't link to sites just because they've linked to me, that's not a good enough reason. The real reasons are more arbitary than that and I wouldn't even try to define them.

Comments are wierd. There's all this crazy expectation in them.

Nerd's Eye View

If I had 48 hours every day to blog, I probably would comment much more than I do. Unfortunately, I sometimes find it hard simply to read through my blogroll.

Comments can't be a requirement of blogging, the sign of a good blogger, or proof that readers like you; it's unrealistic. I see them as a "nice to have" rather than as a necessity.

Interestingly enough, comments don't always correlate with hits. Some posts bring lots of comments but average hits; others bring lots of hits but few comments. Go figure.

Mary
BlogHer Contributing Editor, Mommy & Family
Mom Writes

I usually only comment if 1) something strikes me as particularly funny or poignant and I want to compliment the blogger or 2) If I feel that I have something to add to the conversation 3) I think that I have a funny comeback.

I never feel like somebody owes me anything if I leave them a comment. I don't even expect them to look at my site. I feel like they are unrelated.

When I started out I had issues about the whole linking thing, and I would be offended if I linked to someone who didn't link back, but once you are at this for a while, your blogroll can get so out of control you just look like a 'Thursday Thirteen' person. Then your blogroll is irrelevant and doesn't actually reflect what your read. (Which is why blogrolls are interesting in the first place).

Sarah
That's right, you heard me.
Sarah and the Goon Squad

I wish I had Jim's maturity. When there're few comments or hits on my blog, I do tend to go into a minor spiral of "Do I matter this less?" I comment for much the same reasons as Sarah. When something cracks me up, or makes me go Aha, I feel compelled to leave a comment.

I feel terribly guilty about not commenting on interesting posts. I feel guilty when people comment on my posts and I don't go and check them out. It just feels as if I'm a freeloader of sorts. Like any real-life relationship, blogs too thrive on give and take. I usually go and check out my commenter's blog, because a) I might miss something interesting, and b) it also feels like the polite thing to do, to acknowledge the conversation we were having on my blog.

I have tiny blogroll by some standards, but I haven't read any of the writers for an extended period of time now. I find that having a full time job, a two-year-old and three different blogs and a website leaves me with no time for anything other than a surface reading of other people's blogs. And many times that's such an insult to the writer. So I've decided I'd rather not read now and catch up on everything when I have a little downtime.

Priya Ramachandran
Blogher Contributing Editor - South East Asia
Words on Water

Forgive me because, as usual, I come at this discussion from the perspective of someone who has spent the past ten years trying to change the way American journalism is practiced from the inside out. As well as the outside in.

And from the anti-ivory-tower-shameless-user-advocate perspective, I think comments indicate that the blogger and/or the blog network is interested in what their readers have to say. As a reader, it's an invitation to participate in the conversation the blogger or blog group has started. And I think each blogger has the right to develop her own personal netiquette for how she deals with comments on her blog - hey, it's her party.

So if an individual blogger, an independent, chooses not open comments or to invite me to join the conversation, that's fine. But if an organization purporting to provide news to a community that already isn't doing a good enough job listening to the people it's supposed to serve, such as a newspaper site, doesn't open comments? Then it's a push-media column, not a blog, and a missed opportunity to do better journalism. Okay, storming off now to get my morning Cheerios...great post Trace.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Sometimes I want to comment just to say "me too" and "yow, what great thinky thoughts" but then feel self-conscious that it could be seen as contentless or like I'm a sycophant... Other times, the exact opposite - I have so much to say that I find myself writing a super analytical response that goes on for 10 paragraphs. (Comes off a little bizarre on some stranger's blog.) But what the heck... who cares... etc. So I end up commenting all over the map in all different ways.

Other times it's exactly the great, great posts that make me thing that I *don't* comment on because I want to respond in depth and detail, and don't have the time. Then the moment passes.

Do you like it when people go through your archives and comment them up? I always think that's cool!

-----------------
Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Badgermama - personal & mommyblog
http://liz-henry.blogspot.com

If you read something that gives you something to say, why NOT comment?

I love getting comments on my blog. It reinforces my reason for having it -- so people can meet my fictional characters and grow to like them as much as I do. But it also makes me feel like I'm the center of a fun community. That this fun wouldn't be happening without me.

Given that I'm a writer and I deal in so much rejection and negativity, despite my best efforts, this bit of positive energy directed toward my writing, or even as an off-shoot of my writing, is just a really cool feeling.

Heres a topic: Television and Children!

I walked in on my little boy watching a VERY r rated movie! He then continued to ask me question upon question about this. This was completely inappropritate! I've heard of internet fiiltering options. What about for the television. This is a real Issue I think

Post a blog about this!

As a writer, I tend to fill any blank space. And when there is a comments section at the end of an intriguing site, or a particularly moving or stimulating post, if there's time, I'll spill some ink onto it. I'm less concerned with how far it spreads than having the luxury of an opportunity to reach out and blend the original writer's thoughts with my own, regardless of whether that writer or any other chooses to comment back. If it so happens to stimulate further thought and conversation, then cool. I'm just happy to be on the journey, giving and receiving as many strokes as possible along the way... :)

Claudia
http://friedokraproductions.blogspot.com

I find I really only comment if I have something nice to say, and usually not the first time I visit. But I think its important not to expect anything in return, I just sort of give my 2 cents.

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