#814: The Great Mofo Delurk 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007 
While twittering a couple of days ago, Sweetney, Jenandtonic, and I lamented the recent drop in comments we have each had on our respective websites, and it seems that we are not the only ones who have noticed this. I have been up and down this internet over the last few weeks and found that there seems to be a drop in comments everywhere.
And I do mean everywhere. From small twenty-hits-a-day weblogs to ones that receive thousands of visitors before noon, people are falling silent when it comes to entering text into the small, white comment boxes, and quite frankly, no matter how many hits you get on any given day, it is a little disheartening to have your comments drop from three to one or from 500 to 250.
In a way, I am kind of glad that this is a widespread problem, because I was about to start checking my armpits (yep, I'm wearing deodorant) and my shoes (nope, no animal dung) and testing to see if I had been using my outside voice too much again (I don't think I have). So, it is not just me! And it is not just you!
It is the commenters, (which are also you and me), who have been falling down on the job. There has been a sharp rise in mofo lurkers around this here interweb, and they need a great big shove into the light of day, because it is not healthy for anyone to leave them, (which may also be us), hiding behind the bushes underneath our respective windows.
All of the above is why Sweetney, Jenandtonic, and I are bringing The Great Mofo Delurk 2007 to you on Wednesday, October 3rd. It is time that all you lurking mofos delurked, and we have given you six days to prepare yourselves (and ourselves, ahem). On October 3rd, delurk you mofos! Say hello! Share who you are! Put an end to your m*th*rf*ck*ng lurking and leave a comment!
We want to hear your voices in our comments, and we will love you mofo'n lurkers for it. We really will.
If you would like to participate in The Great Mofo Delurk 2007, feel free to use one of the following 135x135 buttons. Simply copy and paste the code below the buttons into an entry or your template and bring those mofos out of hiding next Wednesday. Remember to retype the word "colour" in the code below as the colour of the button you want to use. The available colours are: purple, red, pink, orange, grey, green, blue, and black.
Reader Comments (245)
Nobody comments on my blog anymore either. I'd like to think it's because my wit is intimidtaing.
Henceforth, I shall comment moreo n your blog.
I'd use your fancy button, but I don't think wordpress will let me.
Facist.
I am guilty of not commenting on your either, Uberfrau. Mea culpa.
I think it's because most writers are writing better and readers are awed into silence.
That would of course explain the increase in my comments.
Can I delurk today?
I don't know what my commitment level to delurking will be like next Wednesday. But I can commit to it today.
and yeah, it's quiet out there these days. Like the calm before the storm.
Maybe algore is going to close the internet for cleaning or something.
Anyway, I am now officially delurked.
Have a good weekend.
i must admit that commenting has become a little frustrating for me of late. most of the good sites that i read tend to be more "popular" bloggers (which makes sense...duh...they are popular because they are good)...and many of the popular bloggers dont reply to comments or emails because they get too many. now, i'm not faulting them for doing it, i totally understand, but sometimes it makes me think twice about commenting. like the blogger doesn't really care about my comment...or something.
so maybe other people are feeling like that too?
Because I am one of the worst offenders, I put one of your cute buttons on my site and pledge to leave a comment for everyone on my reader list including you. MOFO no mo'!
Ali, I get that feeling, too, and then I remember all the comments I've never responded to on my own site but truly enjoyed, and I know that it can be difficult to have so many conversations in one day. But look! I'm responding!
This is actually something I'm trying to work on, so thanks for mentioning it.
Wheeeee! I shall post your button this evening! If those mofos don't delurk, I will tell their mommies.
I never thought bloggers thought much about comments from readers they don't know personally. I follow about 25 blogs daily and I don't think I've commented once on any of them. You guys seem so untouchable. Even smaller bloggers seem to know the blog celebrities in the real world. It's like you're all part of the cool club but you let us less cool people listen in on the fun. I guess thats why I've never delurked before. The less cool aren't supposed to interupt the club's conversations...
I'm not worried about leaving semi-incoherent, offtopic comments on blogs, so I leave "good post" or "I agree" when I have nothing witty to add, or don't want to pick a fight. But I'm a Commenter, and a confirmed non-lurker. Most web users are lurkers though, and us Commenters just have to accept that they are different and aren't mofos. Although I think your idea is funny, it's realistically misdirected and definitely egotistical :-) I wish I'd thought of it.
Becky, I do care about comments. It's nice to know that people are paying attention and that I'm not just whistling in the wind. Plus, it's an excellent way to find new blogs to browse through.
Also, the "cool kids" aren't even commenting on each others' blogs that much.
Saskboy, did you just call me egotistical? Well, I never!
I think your buttons are pretty.
A delurk request, with buttons yet, is a great idea, and here's why: Notwithstanding the Dooces of this world, most of us bloggers do it for free, or maybe for coffee money if you've got ads on your site. Conversation and comments are the real currency of blogland. Every blogger feels it, some mention it, but only Schmutzie goes out of her way to create buttons and build some entertainment into the request. If I were having this conversation at work, I'd be using terms like 'value added', but I'm at home, so I'll just say it's awesome.
The above from my spouse makes me go aawwww.
I am an offender. And offended against. Count me in.
I'm not an always lurker at your blog, just a mostly lurker, and I'm always early. To every party, just waiting in an anxious vapor of sweaty fear and uh...probably vodka.
I've noticed a drop in comments too, and I'm going to blame it on google reader. It's so easy to breeze through posts that aren't set to show just a partial. Of course, that leaves me with NO excuse about your blog. Your blog which inspires me to examine my own thoughts and words just a little more closely.
It's a combination of bloggers going mainstream and reading like womens magazines plus the fact that lurkers are now reading more people's blogs and not wanting to write themsleves.
Tone will provoke comment, asking for help on an issue will provoke comment, sounding less authoratative will provoke comment, empathy with the reader will provoke comment. The MOFO delurk will provoke comment.....
Boy, I would love to participate and post one of those little buttons on my blog, except for the heavy emphasis on the word mofo! I'm a relatively new blogger, but I'm guessing swearing at the lurkers isn't going to make them want to write more comments.
Jen
No one ever comments on my blog but then, I think it's got to do with the writing. Anyway, I'm going to take one of those cute little buttons and see if it'll make the comments go up from 0 to maybe 1 or 2.
*waves from lurk-land*
Lurking is the people-watching of the blog world, and I am very good at people-watching.
*blushes*
*attempts to think of something to say that isn't 'gee i wish it were lunchtime now'*
*retreats, defeated*
this is the main reason i am a contented lurker. i blame years of television. however, your buttons have inspired me to attempt to become a better blogger.
Delurking, since I know I may not do so next week.
Me love you long time. Keep doing that thing you do.
Dear Schmutzie,
I'm still pretty new to your blog -- so I hope that gets me a pass on lurking?? :-D It takes me a while before I comment -- don't want to just say something fluffy to hear myself (or see myself, as it were) speak... ;-)
I came to you by way of Citizen of the Month and have been enjoying quietly, but no more! This wheel is gonna squeak from now on. I am a staunch supporter of de-lurking -- as evidenced by my own "Don't be just another blog-lurking bitch..." banner on my own blog. Of course, it's only mildly affected my lurkers -- they still lurk, but I do get a comment once in a blue moon. ;-)
Love the buttons -- I will definitely sport one on 10/03/07! Also, I added a link to you on my "Friends and Links" list on my blog...and made you a twitter friend! Now do you feel loved or what??
;-D vanessa aka the_butterfly
So much delurking already! This makes me a happy individual. Just remember to come back on the 3rd!
Yeah, it has been strange; I'm an itty bitty site, but my comments have dropped as well. They had started to see through offers of cookies.
[Then I go and miss checking my comments a few days and lo and behold, a get a comment from Schmutzie. Crazy!]
So yes, I'm definitely doing this. But...if I really want angry ex's delurking...well, that'll be half the excitement I suppose.
whenever the number of comments gets me down, I resolve to leave comments on every post that provokes a comment in me as I can in a night. Even on new to me blogs. It always makes me feel good about myself because a) everyone loves a comment, yes? b)commenting used to freak me out majorly when I started this blogging caper and c)it just spreads the love.
I don't expect to get comments back in a reciprocal sense because tit for tat is tacky I think but there's always an increase in comments...
I'll try on october 3. It's good to move out of our usual blogworld circles once in a while.
It's funny, I was thinking that some of my commenters had 'died off' (and they have) but then sometimes a post gets more comments than I ever expected and I go, "Huh?!"
It's an interesting subject: what makes a commenter turn into a lurker? I mean, I'm sooooo small league, and I do *try* to respond in kind to comments, but it's so hard.
Sorry, am so rambling.
I need to drag my sorry sick butt back to bed (but I can still alliterate if I try, so I'm obviously not that sick....)
Hmmm... interesting that the problem is widespread. Comments on my blog have dropped some too, but I thought that was just because my sister has been too busy to comment. ;)
Maybe is has to do with the change in weather? Or because everyone is heads down at work and at school now that summer is over? Or maybe there has been some shift in the cosmos? Or could it be global warming? Whatever the reason, I will try to comment more. I am not a lurker - I do comment on blogs - but sometimes I think, "who the hell cares what I think?" And then I remember that I have my own blog, and that I LOVE comments, and that even if I say something dumb bloggers like comments. Unless they are mean of course. But anyway.
So there you go - a rambling, 1:00 AM comment for you. Time for bed. *yawn*
Having been hit with a swarm of British trolls for the better part of two weeks, I yearn for the one- or two-comment posts. My work in journalism taught me over the years that, much as I love my byline, the only person who really followed my every word was my mother (she didn't, since I write about economics). You write for your muse, for yourself, because you feel there is something worth expressing.
Lack of comments is not the same as lack of readers -- or of impact. I said nothing of your story of facing and beating cancer, but I was impressed as hell at your spunk, humor and grace. (Plus, I was once in Saskatchewan.)
I'm not a great believer in cybercommunities. In any case, back-and-forth communicating is much, much easier over an e-mail list. I look upon the blog as my one chance to pretend I'm James Reston and have a column.
Hello
I'm sorry
I too have been slow of comment recently... life has been getting too frantic I think.
But hello and how are you?
PRETTY BUTTONS!!! Nobody comments on my new blog, because unlike my old blog it's all totally inaccessible idea-weirdness (for most). So I've gotten used to it. But yes, I lurk more than I used to, for sure. (hi)
love the decorator colours!
I think the entire internet has been tied up over at Sweet Juniper's flickr and comments box over the Babble fiasco.
Scrolling through it could actually kind of cure a person of wanting more commentary.
Here's my two cents on the comments/community question:
I see the personal blog genre splitting off into two main arteries as it matures. One--let's call it journal style-- is becoming more and more literate and crafted, resembling print publications. The other is becoming more and more "conversational," more resembling broadcast, and merging more closely with social networking media. Both are good. Both are getting better.
The conversational type is by nature more open-ended. It prompts response, dialogue and community. The journal style blog may provoke as much or even more thought and feeling, but the presentation tends to be more complete, except where the subject matter is controversial or a question is raised.
These are sweeping generalizations, and they don't stay neatly in their own lanes. Some sites, like this one, and like Sweet Juniper, swing both ways.
Also, could readers be maturing as well? Settling down, getting comfortable, feeling less apt to jump in?
I don't think I've ever gone above 20 comments in a single post of mine, but the ones I get are really thoughtful and articulate. I'll take quality over quantity any day.
Busted! I've been lurking on your blogs and loving them. I think I've been trying to achieve a balance in commenting. I don't want to just throw something meaningless in there just to be a link whore. If I have something to contribute then I'll comment. I might also be shy at first, if I haven't commented before.
But now that you've given us permission. Bombs away!
It's thought provoking reading all your thoughts on comments: the role they play, why you do or don't comment yourself, the evolution of personal weblogging, etc.
I'm glad that http://www.sweetney.com" REL="nofollow">Sweetney, http://www.jenandtonic.ca" REL="nofollow">Jenandtonic, and I could spark this discussion. If we all put our heads together, it sounds like we could put together a beefy section in a book on just comments in person weblogs!
One question, though: are any of you finding exclamation marks sneaking in more than usual? I'm killing myself with my own punctuational excitement these days.
hello mz pickles, I'm a semi-lurker.
My policy on commenting is that I only really want to do it if I can bring something new to the conversation. I personally don't want to be the 50th person saying "LOL!"
My other policy is that I don't want to turn my comment into all about me. There are some blogs that have a very fervent commenting audience, and reading them is kinda like a conversation with that friend that no matter WHAT the conversation is about, seems to turn it around to themselves. "That exact thing happened to me, only worse and funnier!"
So, my commenting or lack thereof really can't been viewed as a reflection on your writing, it's more about my inability to bring something new to the table.
I will de-lurk today. I read your blog every day and have commented perhaps once? Months ago? So here I am, reading your blog daily and grateful for it. Can't promise you'll hear from me again anytime soon, but I will still be here reading.
Guilty. Definitely. And I love getting comments! So I'm all in.
Pagalina, I am one of the worst offenders when it comes to making a comment all about me. I mean to reach out, but, uhm, yeah. Ego much?
I'm a serial commenter on a buttload of blogs, but I admit to having neglected you of late. Both you and The Palinode. Oh God, here comes the guilt. There's the tears. Great. Crying. Oh, Schmutzie. It was nothing personal! I'll do better!
YESYESYES!!! My blog comments have dropped from 3 to 1 and it is HEARTBREAKING. Of course I too have probably been commenting less... and probably out of bitterness that I'm not getting any comments.
I'm taking a button, baby!
Yes, yes, yes. What everybody else said. I've been so sad....I feel like no one loves me anymore. Especially since it happened about the time I put up a contest! A drawing! For Stuff! Nice Stuff!
I'm so posting this button.
thanks!
ah ha! not me this time - i am sure i always have to much to say! however, i couldn't get the great mofo button to work on my blog??? orange - would you check if you have a mo' fo.
it's fraturday!
hey schmutzie - thanks for this holiday! I plan to incorporate it on my site and spread the word. I've been feeling the pinch, too
maybe you should comment about comments more often. I think I'm comment #45
I know, Loren! Just posting about comments has been a rousing success. My comments have gone from 1-5 to over 40 in one day.
Your post has inspired me to delurk and leave some love on all of the blogs I visit.
I'm still too chicken to start my own blog, though.
I came here via Whoorl's button and am SO adding this button to my site!
Thanks for the banana split. I'll enjoy it on this warm, windy afternoon. I'm getting fewer blog comments, but I attributed it to showing pictures of me which no doubt scared off most lurkers. The faithful garden bloggers keep me from thinking I'm writing a diary, but oh well ... maybe I should post more pictures of my dog or put in a post title about sex. That'll always pop up the comments!!
Thanks to that button on blackbird's blog, I entered yours! Here's my post.
I am a total lurker and will now out myself. I suppose I'll have to do a lot of that since everyone is joining the de-lurking week bandwagon!
http://notgracefulenough.wordpress.com/