Friday, July 19, 2013

Seven traits that make a good blogger

Some say blogging is dead.

That's not quite true, not at all.  More like blogging has found its equilibrium point.

Places like Livejournal or Xanga, former major players, are losing ground (except, apparently in Russia). Other platforms like Facebook then Twitter then -- whatever it is the kids are using these days -- replaced most of the blogs.  And that allowed blogs to really become a focused form in their own right.

Most of us around here have been veterans of the world wide web since its beginnings and many of us were following blogs before they had that name.  I'm one of the former but not the latter.  It took me a while before I warmed to blogs, mostly because I was reading so much other stuff that I didn't want to get caught up in online rants and raves.

I started peeking into blogs around 2003, starting my own later in the year, but only followed a couple of friends.  Then Gore, oops, Kerry ran against Bush in 2004.  That's what got me, well, addicted to blog reading.  Instapundit among them, and from Instapundit to Althouse. Then, five or six or seven or more everyday.

After the election, I fasted blogs, finding the frenzy too much.  But slowly came back.   So, I've been around blogging for a while, and I've blogged myself since 2003, though rather inconsistently.
I'm not a good blogger, I'll admit that.  But what makes a good blogger?

Here are my suggestions:
  1. prolific (a few posts a day or more)
  2. consistent (every day or so for a long stretch of time)
  3. insightful (bringing something new to the table either in ideas or phrasing that help others understand a situation or issue)
  4. succinct (able to say much in a short amount of space)
  5. communal (involving others through either links or comments or both)
  6. specialist in something (provides an initial hook for new readers and a place to show expertise to regular readers).
  7. right place, right time (clear voice in the midst of a crisis, key expert in a niche that needs an expert, early on the stage with a new approach, happens to get the notice of a gatekeeper)
Instapundit and Althouse, I suggest, model all of these and that's why they've been popular.  A lot of others do as well, and why they're popular. 

There's probably more than seven, and these seven can be parsed a fair amount. But seven is a good number -- a perfect number! -- so that's my list.

What do you think makes a good blogger?  

100 comments:

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Synova said...

What ampersand said.... ;)

I like blogs because you can get a whole thought explained. I never saw the point of twitter. I find it hard to be pithy.

Insty posted JIm Treacher's tweet - “Apparently, @BarackObama thinks that if a white kid was beating a Hispanic guy’s head into the sidewalk, he couldn’t possibly get shot.”

See... one liners. I don't think I could do it.

Shouting Thomas said...

I can't answer your question.

It seems to me we've been mostly using blogs for the wrong purposes, i.e., political wrangling. I think that Althouse signing off on comments marks an end to the era of hyperbolic political wrangling.

My preference for blogs is as a venue for the personal and quirky multimedia journal. Nobody has something brilliant to say every day. Some days, mundane, but compelling things need to be said.

Although my blog was never really a political blog, I'm in the midst of redesigning and repurposing it toward that multimedia journal.

The hyperbole of political blogging dried up for me about 6 months ago. I realized that I was just hyping myself into a false emotional crisis, and that had to stop.

Paddy O said...

"Kerry ran against Bush in 2004"

That's what they wanted you to think...

Joe Schmoe said...

Mountain Dew and Cheetos?

bagoh20 said...

I'd agree with all that. The Challenge here is the idea of a commenter's blog. It's kind of old school like Usenet, but new like twitter.

What instapundit does is pretty simple. What Althouse does is much more work, and she's very talented at it.

Our job here, if we want to make this work is to come up with posting content. It's possible, but gonna be a challenge. I'm not a good writer, but hope to add something eventually.

Thanks to Paddy and the rest of you for the work so far. Please keep it up.

Chip Ahoy said...

comments

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I think you ably outlined the high points, Paddy.

My own personal attraction to blogs-and I don't follow very many-is that I simply need to see ideas bounced around by numerous people. So for me the communal aspect is the most crucial. Insty is the only blog I read without comments-and most of his links go to sites that have them. I read books voraciously, but after finishing one I more or less immediately visit either Goodreads or Amazon to read reviews and follow discussions. Getting used to blog comment sections are entirely responsible for that behavior on my part. Anything without responses or commentary seems like a screed to me.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I learn so much from you people.

bagoh20 said...

The great thing about a blog is that I can talk to you all dressed like I am right now, and nobody is running away.

Shouting Thomas said...

2 Blowhards went through the same process as Althouse.

The political wrangling just kept becoming more heated, more vile, more accusatory and stupid until the whole kit and caboodle had to be shut down.

Althouse lasted a long time before she reached her point of exhaustion.

2 Blowhards never tried to monetize its blog as Althouse did. I doubt that the proprietors of 2 Blowhards would have continued for any amount of money.

The psychic toll became too much to bear.

2 Blowhards is probably the best long running blog ever. It plain ran out of gas.

bagoh20 said...

Seriously, I could never have discussions in real life with people who are so smart and creative as I do here. They would just avoid me. I need to stop dragging my knuckles and clean up a little.

Paddy O said...

Thanks, ampersand for the correction.

Chennaul said...

is that I simply need to see ideas bounced around by numerous people.

*****

This.

A sort of synthesis--brainstorming.

One of the most limiting factors is--assuming you know everything.

It's why the dialectic was invented.

Debate, different elements--and stimulus can get you a glimpse of what is out there on a higher level--you can get a boost up ever so briefly to the p, or d orbital of energy.

Sydney said...

I agree with Bagoh. Blog comments are the only place I can interact with other people without my looks getting in the way. (If you've ever been an fat, ugly woman, you know what I mean.)

Chip Ahoy said...

Do you want to see a really bad photoshop? Reallyreallybad?

We compliment that at "seamless" addressing the many careless seams.

I used to be very good at this sort of hippy lettering, where all the letters are bubbles that are attached and casting shadows. I could outline the entire thing like a loop and end at the beginning.

Or just draw the shadows so that to an observer the letters magically appear.

There was a guy who sat next to me, smartest guy in class, always outdid me reading. I privately raced him each time and he beat me each time, and his grasp of the material was always better than mine. Bastard. He had no idea I was racing him, he had no idea I hated his guts.

He saw me do that one time, just idly write out a sentence in bubbles in one long loop and he pissed himself right there, "HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO THAT??????!!?A/!!11" and I felt the most tremendous sense of satisfaction that I could do somestupidthing he couldn't. I was so well chuffed that feeling has not subsided. He's probably a big fat billionaire by now but at least I can do that.

But I have no time for even that anymore. No time even to be careful about selecting and fixing the shadows, no, none of that, none at all, no time, zero, because it smell like ass.

This will be part of an ongoing effort to assist otherwise hopeless livs to learn to tell the difference between smelly asses, holes in the ground, and useful bits of information, and which things to reach for that are not part of the story, the portions not shown and told and discussed, that nonetheless bear on it, and which ones do not.

I have to go off and put this somewhere.

Paddy O said...

The picture, by the way, is one my wife took of me, when I was working on a research paper for a class. Ended up being about 60 pages or so, focusing on Susanna Wesley, John Wesley, and John Fletcher.

So, that's not a picture of a blogger in action. That's a picture of my office (or at the time: "work corner") when I'm in full academic mode.

This is a picture of a blogger's office.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

On my way home reading this excellent post, I remembered how I came commenting on the internets.

Search engines were just coming into their own. One day I searched information about abortion opinion. I came upon this lady that had the most lovely website she wrote herself. In those days you had to know code or pay somebody who did. She had a "guest book" page where people could say I read your article, liked it, didn't like and end it.

Well, the guestbook evolved into a comment board/proto blog.

Thinking about those good old days, the idea of mining those old comments into a series popped into my head. I commented on that guestbook for years.

Thank you Paddy.

Methadras said...

A good blogger has to have, I think above all else, a good sense of humor, an ample bit of self-depreciation, and a thick skin. Also, they need to be able to take criticism for what they say and have at a decent layman's grasp of the topic they are discussing. I'd rather them be a field tested expert in what they are talking about, but you can't have it all I imagine.

Chennaul said...

This will be part of an ongoing effort to assist otherwise hopeless livs to learn to tell the difference between smelly asses, holes in the ground, and useful bits of information, and which things to reach for that are not part of the story, the portions not shown and told and discussed, that nonetheless bear on it, and which ones do not.

I have to go off and put this somewhere.

***********

Holy crap, that's cathartic.

I think I'll go with that and go dope up on Kardashians,

ndspinelli said...

A good sense of humor, including self deprecating.

Bender said...

What makes a good blog/blogger depends of course upon what the ultimate purpose is and what the intended audience is, either of which could alter some of the desired traits.

In general though, rather than talking at people, which apparently someone over at the crash site now wants to do, it is better to talk with people, to have a discussion. More often than not, what someone else says, or objects to, can be used as a springboard to advance the issue further.

ndspinelli said...

Meth, I just read your comment..great minds!

exhelodrvr1 said...

Honesty.

AllenS said...

Instapundit has the links, that's why I like him, plus his brief comments about the link are usually great. Althouse had many different topics and that was good, but I kept coming back because of the commenters.

Trooper York said...

I think you missed one thing Paddy.

A blogger has to be interesting. It can be the subject matter or the way he presents it or even just the pithy little sayings he throws in that get the reader engaged.

You can start a fire without a spark. Otherwise you are dancing in the dark.

Trooper York said...

Some commie singer said that. I think.

edutcher said...

First, let me welcome Shout here.

Second, let me add the trait of a sense of humor, the ability to see the joke - even at one's expense, to what makes a good blogger.

Third, I disagree the age of blogging is over and I have to disagree with shout that "political wrangling" is a bad use for a blog.

frankly, I think Althouse was right in seeing her blog as a coffee house or a salon. If one takes a long hard look at the preceding post, I think it's plain we're in for some rough times.

Where Ann went off the track, and Paddy states it correctly is that it needs to be succinct, insightful, and communal. In the end, Ann wanted everyone to see it her way or the highway, but standing for free speech at the same time.

The difference is, and Paddy brought this out in yesterdays post about the Internet rules - there has to be a bouncer, someone to keep order ("If your website's full of assholes, it's your fault"). That's where Shout thinks the blog is going wrong and how Ann lost control - she was too rarely willing to throw out the obviously bad faith commenters.

We had good discussions over at TOP without it getting nasty. Too many other times Ritmo or J or someone else would hijack the thread.

Blogging just for vanity's sake (and that's what it was in the beginning) makes it another Twitter or Facebook.

Blogging where good discussions are encouraged is going to be necessary until the media goes back to its original job.

Now you can all tell me how wrong I am.

edutcher said...

PS I started writing before Meth added his comment.

Anonymous said...

I've been an avid blog reader, lurker, what have you, for years. I rarely post comments as I usually don't have a quick witty tongue and am loath to make a fool of myself. However, I've followed the Althouse blog and the saga of the closing of comments, the birth of Lem's blog and I am moved to comment.

I have to say what has occured here is quite extraordinary! It's a rare occurance to see a blogger's readers and commenters move en masse to another site, as has happened here. I think it's because there is so much more human interaction, less emphasis on interpreting the bloggers meaning (which is difficult when the writing isn't always clear) and genuine comeraderie.

So I just wanted to say, hello and well done! I hope that even if Althouse reopens comments the wonderful group here won't disperse. I don't feel intimidated by the commenters here and if I say or interpret a blog post wrongly, no one will point out my lack of intelligence, hopefully.

Roger J. said...

I think the nature of blogs (and I am not sure how much longer they will be around) depends greatly on the subject matter. For instance Volokh is a very specific blog for legal topics with a great many commenters participating.--I find it a bit hard to follow: too much parsing and hypotheticals, but that is what lawyers do.

A single topic, thrown out for discussion is what, to me, makes for a good blog. Its rather like chum when you fish--throw it out there and enjoy the show.

Anyway--for me it was all about the commenters. Some I agreed with, some I didn't--but it was a great show. I am seeing much the same here which I enjoy.

Thanks for making us think about what blogging should be about.

Roger J. said...

I put my post up before I read Katlyn's post--exactly what she said--there was a community that was created--and it was strong enough to move over here--not because of the blog but because of the community.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I wholeheartedly concur with those pointing out the importance of a sense of humor and the ability for self-deprecation. Bloggers who take themselves too seriously are just pompous asshats, and who wants to read that?

Darcy said...

Glad you de-lurked, Katelyn. I feel the same way that you and Roger J. and obviously so many here feel. We've formed a community and we want to keep it.

Chennaul said...

It's Lem.

Lem the facilitator.

Pastafarian said...

katelyn, you illiterate baboon, you completely missed the point of the post. (Just shitting you, of course.)

I'm hoping a lot of lurkers de-lurk. If there's one thing I'm not, it's intellectually intimidating.

You're right, Paddy, Althouse had all of these strengths. Her productivity was prodigious, given the high quality of her writing.

I don't know why I put that last sentence in past tense. It's not as though she has ceased to exist. I just don't like to go over there, at least not right now. There's something bleak and depressing about it.

KCFleming said...

I have learned a hell of a lot from all the varied commenters. And the back-and-forth has helped me hone my arguments as well as cause me to better understand what I thought I knew.



Anonymous said...

Pastafarian, you almost scared me back into hiding! Your leather get up is scary enough, lol.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

A variety of topics is important. A blog that is all political or dominated by one point of view in the comments section is not interesting. Of course there are single topic blogs, food blogs for example. But for a general blog that you want to come to on a daily basis a wide range of topics is appealing to me because if I'm not interested in one thing...there might be another topic that is interesting.

justagal said...

Because of what Lem and his helpers have created here,I also felt comfortable de-lurking. Of course, I stupidly put it at the end of a dead thread.

so I'll repeat it here:
Many heartfelt thanks to Lem for giving the commenters a home.

I was an avid reader of all you folks for over 8 years. You can't imagine the distress I felt when I feared you would all just 'vanish'.

So so glad to see you all!!

Now I know a few haven't seemed to find their way here yet.....I'm thinking of the 2 Scotts (or as I think of them bear and brocolli) and the priest(I believe he as a blog)....Here's hoping they show up as well.

AllenS said...

I shall say this. Althouse had her moments, you know what I mean, "emotional Althouse" and everyone put up with it. When she became emotional she eventually would gather herself and get back to business, which was providing everyone a new thread, and then the commenters would say their piece.

I have this nagging feeling that when the idea of mass deleting of comments occurred, I think that was inspired by Meade. There's only so much lawn to be mowed. He really has nothing else to do.

KCFleming said...

And these are interesting people.

Bagoh and Darcy and Shouting and Chip and Paddy and Synova and Freeman and Palladian and Misplaced Pants and Lem (etc etc) would not likely talk to me at all in real life.

Our paths would never cross, and there'd be no reason to talk about these things with them. So I feel blessed to have met them all onscreen.

As a result, the comment blog differs in meaning to me.

Freeman Hunt said...

There are almost no blogs worth reading regularly. Any blogger who will cut through all that and just post the good stuff from the myriad of so-so blogs is a help and therefore a good blogger of a certain type. Instapundit is one such. (He even adds interesting micro commentary.)

Then there are those who making blogging an art. But is it really "those?" I only know of one. I'm sure there are others I am unaware of.

Nearly all blogging is a steady stream of mild interest punctuated by piqued interest. But that's probably true of any type of media.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I suppose I could not comment at all. In which case some people may say. Where is this guy? Who does he think he retreating up the mountain expecting us to wait for him like he is some big shot?

I'm dammed if I do something to some and dammed by still others if I don't.

I don't have 1/16 of the blog stuff Althouse has. I'm going to need to repeat that a few times. So please, don't get tire of hearing it, because hopefully there are going to be new people that have not heard it.

I don't have 1/16 of the blog stuff Althouse had. and its something that I cannot apologize for.

edutcher said...

The fact so many lurkers have de-lurked says something very good about what Lem hath wrought.

He's created a safe place where people can talk, state their thoughts or feelings, and not get slimed.

Reminds me of how TV Guide expressed the transition of The Tonight Show from Jack Paar to Johnny Carson as host, "It has gone from fight club to night club".

KCFleming said...

Plus I'd marry DBQ if I (and she) weren't already tied.

Come to think of it, now I can marry Palladian.

And soon enough can marry however many I want!

Immamentize that eschaton!!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

tired

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

has

Freeman Hunt said...

Lem, I don't think anyone expects that. Althouse is a virtuoso blogger. I don't know of another blogger who raises it to the art that she does.

AllenS said...

Pogo, after you marry Palladian. Can I come over for dinner when he cooks that chicken he blogged about the other day?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Thank you. I still need to say it though.

KCFleming said...

Yes. I'd divorce him after the first burned dinner, though.

I have my standards.

Chennaul said...

Come to think of it, now I can marry Palladian.

And soon enough can marry however many I want!


Tsk, tsk, tsk. heh.

Immamentize that eschaton!!

Weird I was just thinking Balfegor (sp?) was a real expert on that.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Plus I'd marry DBQ if I (and she) weren't already tied.

Come to think of it, now I can marry Palladian.

And soon enough can marry however many I want!


Hot Damn! A Plumber AND a Doctor. Any mechanics out there want to join in??? I'll have it made.

Shouting Thomas said...

I don't know of another blogger who raises it to the art that she does.

2 Blowhards was better. Michael Blowhard (and I confess he is a personal friend) was a great writer and interviewer with a long career in the media.

2 Blowards was the first blog to attack PC leftism. Michael had a very peculiar way of taking the battle to the PC left without offending. And, Michael had far wider cultural interests than Althouse.

The comments were a different story. They were great, and even wilder and meaner than Althouse's.

2 Blowards decided against monetizing the blog. Managing the firestorm of comments became a terrible psychic drain and there was no money.

Althouse is a creature of the law industry. So, she thinks of everything in terms of "how can the law industry solve this question."

The law industry solving our questions is, I think, precisely our problem.

Joe Schmoe said...

Lem, I think you need the Stuart Smalley pep talk. And even though this video is a joke, the words are very appropriate for you: You're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

You want to know what also makes a good blogger?

Good manners. Basic, simple, good manners.

You know, like when a good faith blog puts you on its blog roll and you reciprocate by putting that other blog on your blog roll.

Some people would call that class but I think it's merely good manners.

Especially when the people associated with that other blog aren't the ones guilty of "disrespecting" you.

Especially when those other people got kicked out of your blog along with the real trouble-makers you invited to your blog in the first place.

Because that would be bigotry . . . blaming a whole group of people for the actions of a few.

Anonymous said...

DBQ, I'd marry you just for your cooking.

bagoh20 said...

"Glad you de-lurked, Katelyn"

"It's Lem"


Absolutely to both of those.

Pogo said:
"Bagoh and Darcy and Shouting and Chip and Paddy and Synova and Freeman and Palladian and Misplaced Pants and Lem (etc etc) would not likely talk to me at all in real life.

Incorrect sir. You see Doc, if you have a minute, I got this thing I'd like you to take a look at and tell me if I'm gonna die, or should I lay off the coffee and candy cigarette for while.

Freeman Hunt said...

I disagree that good manners dictate reciprocal linking. If one views blogging as a form of slow chat, that makes sense, but if one views it as a form of publishing, I don't think that holds.

Freeman Hunt said...

The fact so many lurkers have de-lurked says something very good about what Lem hath wrought.

I agree.

Our paths would never cross, and there'd be no reason to talk about these things with them. So I feel blessed to have met them all onscreen.

As a result, the comment blog differs in meaning to me.


I agree and feel the same.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Bagoh20 and Darcy. It's been a long time since I've commented regularily on any blog, it may be fun resuming to interact with strangers online. This place is far less scary than at Althouse. It really was the wild west over there.

KCFleming said...

@bagoh

But see, that's not talking to me, that's just asking for fries.

Chennaul said...

bagoh20 said...
"Glad you de-lurked, Katelyn"

"It's Lem"


**********

Thanks bagoh20.

I meant to link up the two.

I thought my timing would be better.

The reason the community has accomplished what it has is because of Lem.


one that facilitates; especially : one that helps to bring about an outcome (as learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision

KCFleming said...

Do you want a PSA with that?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

DBQ, I'd marry you just for your cooking.

Awesome. You can help me clean the kitchen.

Back on topic. It is hard to host a good blog that brings people back and back. One that builds a sense of community in the commenters also.

Althouse did a very good job of that and for many years too. It did seem to change when she got married and Meade entered her life. Things can't stay the same forever, but it was such and abrupt and significant shift.

One of the things that did draw me to he blog was the eclectic mix of topics.

bagoh20 said...

Well, one thing I hope is not envied from TOP. Too many posts per day. In a way it's the same problem as nested comments - too hard to find all the new stuff since you last visited.

As long as we don't get those long wasted personal pissing contests here, there is no need to break it up so much.

AllenS said...

Don't hold back, katelyn, any time you want to rip Spinelli, go ahead.

Roger J. said...

Just a side note: Freeman--always the voice of reason--you avatar is cute but I still prefer you in your baseball cap when some folks thought you were a dude :)

By the way: thanks for sticking up for Arkansas--I spend lots of time on the little Missouri around murfreeboro, and little red at Heber Aprings, the north fork of the white river and Norfork. Have been to Fayetteville and seen Crystal Bridges--wonderful gallery.
Floated the Buffalo and fished the White--Arkansas is a genuinely beautiful state (although sometimes the roads suck)

Roger J. said...

Me? I'd marry DBQ because of financial advising--cooking only lasts so long. To bad the plumber is there.

Bender said...

One of the good things about the crash site was actually the limited number of comments, which allowed for some real dialogue, unlike what you get at Ace or Hot Air or even PJM or many other places where the combox is filled with hundreds of inane blatherings from people who treat it like a chat room.

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AllenS said...

I just went out and took some photos of what I'm about to do regarding the removal of brush and box elder trees. Soon, soon my friends, I'll bring out the dozer and push some stuff over. Violently.

ndspinelli said...

Boys love to watch dozers. I would take my son to construction sights all the time.

edutcher said...

bagoh20 said...

Well, one thing I hope is not envied from TOP. Too many posts per day.

I agree. She was doing 16 to 20+ posts a day.

The poor lady burned out, I think.

AllenS said...

Don't hold back, katelyn, any time you want to rip Spinelli, go ahead.

You do miss TOP, don't you?

AllenS said...

Nick, if you didn't live so far away, I'd let your son run this bad ass piece of machinery.

Trooper York said...

I think it is very true that Lem has created a great place that lets people delurk because they feel comfortable.

I almost feel bad that the Yankees are gonna kick the Red Sox ass tonight.

Anyhoo, congratulations to Lem for having the smarts and generosity to open it up to other commenters to put up a blog post. That shows what kind of great guy Lem really is and it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun.

AllenS said...

Has anyone noticed that when you show up on this blog, the sky is mostly sunny?

Chip Ahoy said...

Wow, that was like Star Trek where spaceships suddenly appear surrounding you.

I had a dream like that. Except it blended with real life and when I reported what I experienced they all thought, "this boy is nuts. it's the drugs. he's mixing things up."

But no. I know what I experienced. They did put me out and that's why they think they're 100% responsible. and they did give me instructions, and I was talking throughout, but so what, that doesn't mean the other things didn't happen too. They overlapped. Two things happened at once. Two very similar things occurring in an overlapping phase, you organized your side in the physical, they in theirs. You took a piece out of me, and while you and your team was doing that so was a concourse of spectators opened up, coming and going, with operators closer in and one main guy leading the pack, they told my cells how to heal. How do I know that? They told me when I pleaded I couldn't take it all in, it was too much at once, they said not to worry, not to worry at all, They are talking directly to my cells with instructions to heal and how to do that. My cells will comport if I will allow.

"You're a human."

*smiles* "How do you know I'm a human?"

"They're gone now and I heard your footsteps, you are the only one around here with footsteps. That's how I know."

That nurse took an interest in me. I could tell that by the books she gave me. Don't mention this please. The books were too dumb to read. I could have written them myself at 10 years old.

So yeah, lurking, thank you so much for de-cloaking.

Smilin' Jack said...

I'm not sure we need much original material over here to comment on. Why can't we just keep commenting over here on Althouse's posts? (Plus whatever else interesting we might find in the news.) That way she does all the work and we have all the fun, plus she won't be able to delete our comments on how much Bob Dylan sucks.

Trooper York said...

Because after the house fell on Margaret Hamilton the Munchkins got over it after awhile.

Anonymous said...

The poor.

There but for the Grace of God go I.

bagoh20 said...

"Has anyone noticed that when you show up on this blog, the sky is mostly sunny?"

It's you dude. It was miserable until you showed up. Rain stopped instantly. It was that anti-rain dance thing you guys do, right?

A to the C said...

Hello people,
Another lurker here. I think I had four or five years of almost daily Althouse reading and commented maybe twice. Never really felt a burning desire to do so most of the time -- either the regulars 'stole my thunder' by saying what I would have (often far more eloquently), or the cost / benefit analysis of getting into pixel combat with the shilohs and whores of the world never seemed worth the time. I wasn't sure what I'd think of Althouse sans comments, but I can understand why the kibosh was initiated. As it turns out I'm finding myself looking at this blog more often than Althouse's place now, so I guess the comments / commenters were the main attraction for me. I enjoy Althouse's wide variety of subject matter and found the commentariat for the most part to be far superior to the usual anonymous echo chambers of hatred. I'm glad Lem put this together -- guess I'll have to de-lurk as well.

Methadras said...

bagoh20 said...

Seriously, I could never have discussions in real life with people who are so smart and creative as I do here. They would just avoid me. I need to stop dragging my knuckles and clean up a little.


If I'm ever your way, I'll let you know and I'll buy you a beer and we can shoot the shit.

justagal said...

From one de-lurker to another....Hi, Ned!

Anonymous said...

Hi justagal and Ned, hey we can have a chapter of lurkers who came in out of the cold!

Phil 314 said...

Comments are the spice of blogger.

(Tastes very and that's when they become an issue.)

Sharc said...

Decloaking is not a bad analogy, Chip. I was thinking about the munchkins being summoned out of the fields by Glinda. Just think of all the Althouse readers who are still only lurking here. Appreciate the encouragement by the rock stars.

I generally wouldn't comment much at Althouse, but mainly because I could count on someone always always hitting my only pithy thing to say before I could say it. Which was fine because it still meant I was in sync.

In my 5 or 6 comments in 6 years or so, I think I only pissed off one other commenter briefly. But she was pretty sanctimonious and easily pissed and, as far as I could tell, a newbie in the last six months or so.

Titus drove me away a couple times in the early days with unadulterated, self-indulgent porno comments that I did not care to read and that Althouse oddly encouraged even in midst of thought-provoking conversation. But fortunately dude has mellowed.

I like it here. So cheers.

Paddy O said...

Sharc, thanks for decloaking. Know that we're trying to find a new way here, so hopefully you'll stick around and add your voice regularly.

What Althouse encouraged was ultimately what got Althouse overwhelmed, in a lot of different directions.

ndspinelli said...

AllenS, He would love it. He's run fork lifts and now works for Madison Parks riding those big mowers. But never heavy equipment. Allen, the boy didn't have a long attention span but would stand and watch heavy equipment for an hour and not move.

ndspinelli said...

And yes AllenS, the sky is always sunny here, even as midnight approaches. Lem is a righteous leader.

Anonymous said...

How are people finding their way here?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

How can I get may hands on that cloaking device?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

How are people finding their way here?

They were always here... cloaked. we couldn't see them.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

See chips comment @7:10

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

De-lurk... that's blogger jargon for cloaking device.

bagoh20 said...

Methadras said:
"If I'm ever your way, I'll let you know and I'll buy you a beer and we can shoot the shit."

Absolutely. That would be great.

Trooper York said...

It is sunny here because of the AOM
index.

When it is high everyone has a good time.

Unknown said...

General Characteristics: Leaves are compound with 3-9 leaflets, opposite, and deciduous. Boxelder is the only pinnately compound maple in the U.S. trees for sale