Drastic My Anime Blog

By TheBigN(ext Best Thing?)

I noticed last week that according to statistics, there have been OVER 1000 comments on DMAB, which is still a large enough number as it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that collectively Nomad and I have about a fifth of the total comments collectively, but I wouldn’t think that’s a bad thing. It just notes that we’re very involved with this effort. I can’t lie that one of the many reasons why I do blog is my attention whorish quality of hoping that people look at what I say and get something from it (I’m not a saint, but who is and is living?). Seeing the amount of hits that DMAB gets makes me happy and keeps me motivated, since theoretically, someone is at least taking a look at what’s here and seeing what’s up (unless they are just one of the many who seem to come for the Yoko pic. You know which one. :3). But comments are more definitive in that notion, with people finding things interesting enough to respond, even if it’s just to say “lol nice/fail/Touhou/Hrothgar post”.

I’d like to think that a personal connection, however small it is, does form with a comment made, and I feel like it helps me to learn a little more about who reads the blog. Conversely, I feel like it also helps the readers learn a little more about who’s posting on the blog. I can get valuable information in terms of if my information is on point of makes sense, and I’ve rectified many an unnoticeable error because of that. They also help me find out if my point is getting across in “the right way”, as I do worry that my writing doesn’t present my thoughts accurately enough sometimes, or that the result ends up emphasizing the wrong point that I want people to focus on. Granted, you can’t control what people will think, and there will always be a little misinformation with any form of communication. Nevertheless, I do want to try to limit any misinterpretation of the message I want to get out, and I feel that the comments help me do that, if not for the current post, then for future ones.

I consider comments helpful to make me a better blogger (and person when you think about it), so I do wonder about blogs that tend not to use them a lot, if at all, like. I’ve read some of the rationale behind the decision, and a lot of them are very reasonable and sensible, but to me it feels like without comments, there’s a limit to interaction between the bloggers and the readers, leading to an isolation of sorts (but again, what do I know?). The lack of direct response does seem to lend a sort of “finality” to posts of that nature as well, making the opinions contained within solidly unchangeable, even when those posts are edited later (and even when I disagree with those opinions and want to talk back).  Whether that’s intentional or not is something that I shouldn’t worry about though, as I can only control what’s on my blog. Though people can still complain about that if they want to.

For me who likes to throw in his penny of thoughts when something is interesting, this is also a little inconvenient, though I can always contact the blogger through other means, including writing a response post if my comment is long enough. Having a comment form present on the same page on the post makes things a little simpler to work with, since if I have a quick thought or five, I can jot them down there as my thought process goes. It also keeps me from feeling like I have to write things down of substance if I do want to talkback (despite me admittedly doing that more often then not). But if that’s the plan, then you’ve succeeded with me at least, though I’m not sure if that’s the case with others. It’s interesting to see how irritated people can get at not being able to throw their own two cents into the matter, and why the response does tend to be that of anger more than anything else.

Anyways, thanks for all the comments, and while I don’t need them to keep doing what I’m doing, more are always welcome. :3