How not to look like an Idiot in the Comments

There’s nothing that I hate more on any blog than comments that were written by human beings that make no sense. Comments filled with typos. Comments that are unrelated to the discussion. Comments that are intended to make people look stupid.

These are blogs people, not Yahoo! News. We don’t want our descendants to look through all this crap hundreds of years from now and think “Wow. How stupid were they? How did we last this long? And did people really take the rapture that seriously?”

Ask yourself there three questions before you push that “Add Comment” button:

• Does it add to the discussion? - Has someone else said what you want to say? Can you make a valid counterpoint? Does it bring new insight that people haven’t seen before? Think of what you can add before you type  a five page manifesto.
• Does it have context? - Are you just posting a link to your own crappy blog with out any text? Are you talking about something completely unrelated? The easiest way to get banned from a blog or chewed out by an author is by posting something that comes out of the blue.
• Does it make sense? - The author of the blog took time to write something that other people can read and will make sense when other people come along and read it. Do the same with your comment. Check for typos and grammar errors. Read it out loud to make sure it reads correctly.

It’s not that hard to make yourself look somewhat intelligent. You did this to get through school, and  you can do this on blogs too.

And if you can’t, don’t comment. Stop filling up the internet with mindless dribble and crazy conspiracy theories. My cat can share better things than that nonsense.