Monday, March 30, 2009

Ode to the Comment-o-sphere from a Grizzled Blog Pioneer

Time was, a man staked out a plot of web-land, set down all his wordly possessions, and started writin' a blog. And well, sooner 'r later he'd write a post that some gal 'r fella really took a shine to. And that gal, she'd be so excited she'd write a comment right on that there blog's little corner of web-land. And some other fella'd read that comment and he'd be darn near tears he'd be so eager to contribute somethin' about the post, 'r maybe even about the other comment, that he'd comment 's well. And sooner 'r later you had a little ecosystem, bubblin' right there in that comment section. Sometimes things'd get real heated between commenters, and we used to call it a Flame War.

'Course now the comment section of the blogs is a ghost town. Boarded up server space, empty comment boxes. Tumbleweed could float along fir miles without hittin' a comment. Times've changed, I 'spose. Commentin's done on that there Google Reader these days. I think it's hard to keep track of, it's no fun, and most important it lacks that personal touch we had in the blog comments. How'd we let this Great Migration happen? I guess it just started slow and then one day we just noticed all the comments were gone. That's what them city slickers call "progress," I reckon. Don't seem any better to me.

I guess I'm just a washed up old-timer, but every day I wake up, take in the Lord's glorious sunshine, and check them there comments, hopin' against hope that a little miracle has been dropped into the comments section of my little slice of web heaven. I'm still waitin'...

6 comments:

memeweaver said...

merle dean shamblin

H.Bomb said...

Amen! this flame war is ON! And I'm on FIRE.

Nostradamus said...

Once again I must demand the restoration of the link to "Nick's Corner." This was probably my favorite blog ever linked to by this site, even though I found it bland and utterly free of insight.

Nick's Corner was a kind of branding netherworld, a vortex shaped discontinuity in the space-time-brand continuum, a vice so powerful only a rum-addicted weasel might have a chance of escaping it.

Dan Berger said...

Nostra- great call on Nick's Corner! So sorely missed perhaps i'll bring it back...

The Stranger said...

You got any of that Sioux City Sarsaparilla?

Mulatto Jesus said...

And then there was AG who would write a sentence about sneezing and forty-five people would comment about how they can't get off his pony. At least those days are over.