Comments are wonderful things!  Today I am going to skip question #6 and move on with further investigation of 7., 8. & 9.  We’ll come back to 6. tomorrow. 

37 bloggers felt that they comment sometimes, 11 a lot and 11 very little.  So, what determines why a reader will leave a comment, and why they won’t?

40 bloggers said that the reason they do not leave a comment is that they had nothing to say.  I know that I have read many blog posts and thought, “this post says nothing to me.”  Still, if I read the comments that were left for it, I will see that it had something to say to someone.  It’s okay to not leave a comment on every last post you read.  Do you write the newspaper and comment on every last single article they reported on?  No, why?  Just what are you going to say about a game you never watched or an in depth article about a flower arranger from Kenya who feels that her arrangements symbolically reflect beauty within an ugly vase (world)?  I might roll my eyes, but I’m not going to write the editor about it.  It is much easier to leave a comment on a blog, it’s quick, easy and usually painless. 

The next biggest reason for not leaving a comment, according to 21 bloggers, is time.  You start to leave a comment and then you realize that you aren’t signed in and you don’t have time to go to all that trouble.  The next time you find yourself in that boat, take a look at the space that says anonymous.  You can actually delete that and fill in your username.  The blogger receiving the comment won’t be able to link back to your blog, but at least they’ll know who it was from and that you even took the time to comment.

I’ve already shared with you that 23 bloggers leave a comment because the post touched them.  I’ve noticed that it’s pretty hard not to leave a comment on a post that made me cry.  Please, don’t everyone rush right over to your blogs and start posting tales of woe.  It’s posts like this one from OreoSouza that could cause TOS to start marketing their own tissue boxes featuring the avatars of outstanding bloggers whose posts made you cry.  Posts about how your lawn was taken over by gophers, and your  husband broke his leg when he stepped into one of those wretched holes, so you had to take him to the hospital and you used your last $10 on your co-pay is not a story that bringeth forth salty emissions.  Write it as a humor piece instead.

7 bloggers said that they will leave a comment on a post that made them laugh.  You can take just about any story and give it a twist of humor.  You just have to know how to spin it.  Being a largely Christian bunch putting a spin on a story may sound untruthful, but really, there are two sides to a story, you just have to decide which side you are going to write about. 

Here’s what other bloggers had to say about why they do leave a comment:

I generally try to post if the person seems to be going through a difficult time and I can offer some encouragement.

There are some really great writers out there with wonderful attitudes and advice. It's like a community. It’s hard not to "converse" with such stellar bloggers when the opportunity arises.

This blogger had something timeless to offer for why she does not leave a comment:

Mom always said, “If you can't say something nice..............”

Take the time to make your writing count.  Commenting on a bloggers post lets them know you thought it did.  Even if everyone else has said so, it’s always nice to know that one more person liked it, that one more person has lived through this situation.  What good would it do a cancer patient to go to a support group for cancer if only one or two people showed up, and others did not because they feel they have nothing new to offer?  People like to know that they are a fish in a well stocked pond, not a fish in a tank with only humans gazing in. 

Many bloggers take time to write something worth reading.  It’s evident when a blogger does not.  Writing is an art that not everyone can do, but everyone who reads can appreciate.