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November 09, 2003

Emails and Comments

In the process of preparing this weeks Blog Roundup (which is running so late it makes NSW State Rail look timely) I was double checking links for the randomiser and I stumbled over this article at Dusting my Brain. The gist of the proposal is that:

If someone takes the time to send you an email ... wouldn't it be polite of you to respond? It doesn't take long to hit reply in your email program and type the words "thank you."

Well no. But (and I have a big BUTT) there are circumstances..... I try to respond to emails and to comments. As a rule, I try to respond within two or three days BUT it doesn't always work that way. In the past I have been known to pre-load the blog (i.e. write the articles ahead of time) because I will be away for a day or so. Other items (like the quiz entries on a weekend) are completed as I find them and then added to a queue. Same with multi-part humour (like the driving items recently). That means that I may not notice comments immediately. When I do notice them, I try to respond with a comment (if appropriate) and I send a copy of my added comment to the poster (if possible). Well, that sounds like I meet the criteria so what is the issue? First problem is lack of an email address. Some comments are simply left by people that don't have an email address (or at least not a valid email address). Second problem is information overload. Let say you have 10 readers and they all email or comment regularly. That makes 50 emails a week - heavy but not too bad. Now you make the mistake of posting something controversial and you get a bunch of comments, email, death threats (just joking :-) on that last item). On top of that you may have more stuff coming in. I have just checked and there were about 400 emails though my mail box this week. About 20 were blog things. The third problem comes when the technology just doesn't work. Every now and then I notice a comment on the blog that I was never notified about? If I don't know about the comment, I don't know to respond.

Really I guess the point is that I agree with the theory behind the proposal but I am concerned about the practicality. I just hope that all you readers are not too offended if I happen to overlook a response to your email or comment. It is never because I don't care (or I would turn the comments off and hide my email address) but it may be because things are busy or I have been negligent. Sorry.

Posted by Ozguru at November 9, 2003 06:11 PM

Comments

[Ed: This comment was sent by email and is republished here with permission.] I think I failed at being clear as to what the discussion was that I had with 2 blog pals. When Kat, a fairly new blogger, mentioned that she had sent an email to "certain" bloggers and never received a response, and this had happened to me as well. It got me thinking about courtesy in this space. I imagined some stranger approaching me on the street and saying, "excuse me, I just wanted to compliment you on that jacket -- it's beautiful!" What should I do, turn and walk away, or say a simple "thank you" -- ? Of course if I don't want to be bothered, I'd cross the street before some stranger approached me -- but that's the extreme and I'm just not like that. But that's me. I also thought about book signings in bookstores. Minor and major celebrities who publish books and sign them for appreciative fans. When approached by a fan who says "great book" - does the author turn away and not respond? No. But if there were a sign behind the author that read, "please do not speak to the author" then we'd all know what's expected of us. Again, extreme, but why is it so different here? Sorry I'm taking the long way to reach my point, which is, there should/could be a way to keep politeness and common courtesy alive in blogging. I determined what would be fair to all would be if the blogger stated somewhere on their blog how they handle comments on their blog or emails about their blog. This way every reader who pops by already knows what to expect and can then act accordingly. Hopefully that makes it a bit clearer. I wasn't criticizing anyone for being unable to respond to emails or comments; it was more targeted toward letting folks know where you stand in response to those emails and comments, and avoiding people being offended or feeling like an intrusion. Cindy p.s. Did you happen to catch that I graduated from U of DIY? :-)

Posted by: Cindy at November 9, 2003 06:11 PM

Congratulations. Other readers should check out the story about the graduation.....

Posted by: ozguru at November 9, 2003 06:11 PM

Didn't know you had a big BUTT. Not that I wanted to, but now I have no choice - I know. Its on the interenet. Are you happy now?

Posted by: Kingsley at November 9, 2003 06:11 PM

LOL Kingsley - why do you think I like wearing a kilt? In the words of a popular scottish song, "Your figure may not be sublime, but oh it's scottish built. Ya canna swing your trousers, so Andy where's ya kilt?".

Posted by: ozguru at November 9, 2003 06:11 PM