I missed Pryday last week, but am back this week with a question about commenting. Does anyone else ever feel nervous or ambivalent about commenting on blogs? Or am I just a weirdo? I sometimes get a huge complex about my comments not being good enough, smart enough or articulate enough when I want to comment on blog posts and then I end up not commenting and wish I had. There are a few blogs that I have read for years (I won’t name them) that are so intelligently written, funny and sophisticated yet they completely intimidate me and so I have never, ever commented on even one post.
Does anyone else experience commenting anxiety or worry about how you come across in your comments? Tell me.
A Certain Fondness 
I don’t think I have ever managed to read a blog post and comment immediately, or read a comment someone has left on my blog and reply straight away. I typically procrastinate for hours, trying to think of exactly how to phrase what I want to say. So yes, I often feel quite stressed about commenting on blogs.
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I find it stressful sometimes as well, trying to figure out exactly what I want to say and the best way to say it, and make sure there are no typos. Sometimes in the end I erase my comments because they don’t seem to add anything of substance, or it seems like someone upthread has already said it better. And if the owner doesn’t ever respond to comments, then I get this weird feeling of talking to myself – on someone else’s blog!
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Nah, I just dash comments off and usually my spelling is wrong! Maybe when I was younger I may have been intimidated by posting on highly academic blogs but now I’m not. Communication with other readers is one of the greatest pleasures of blogging for me.
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Yes, I often worry about commenting. Sometimes I feel I haven’t got anything interesting to add or that other people have already said what I was going to say – but if I end up not leaving a comment at all then I feel bad about that too. And I agree that some blogs can seem intimidating, though I’ve found that when I have eventually commented the bloggers have always been very friendly!
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Thanks for your honest responses! It’s great to feel that I am not alone and it’s good to be reminded that we’re all doing this to engage in discussion about literature and commenting (and replying to comments) is important. And,Nicola, it’s nice to know that as we age, the less we’re intimidated by the more academic blogs!
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I agree with Nicola, as I get older I’ve developed a ‘take me as I am’ attitude but so called academic blogs have never intimidated me – because I know so many academics!!
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I always worry about my comments ,I always feel a bit lightweight ,all the best stu
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I’m with Lisa: it’s the “adding something of substance” bit that sometimes daunts me. But I think even simple, spontaneous responses (like just expressing how much you enjoyed the post) are valid too.
To tell the truth, I don’t think you need to be worried, Anbolyn! I love it when you comment on my articles so I hope you will continue to do so frequently 🙂
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I’m one of those people who can never find the right words at the right moment in life, so finding the right comment immediately after reading a post is rare. Sometimes it feels right to say something simple, but not always. I like that WordPress gives us a like button, so I tend to use that when I’m lost for words.
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I’ve just recently started to use the like button and it is such a great way to show your support when you can’t think of something specific to say.
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