IVP - Strangely Dim

To Comment or Not to Comment?

What follows is a conversation between me and an occasional reader of Strangely Dim. I post it because the e-mail I sent bounced right back to me (Alan, I'm not ignoring you!).

You'll see my rationale for not enabling comments (I've discussed it before; see my entry "Born to Blog"), but I have no excuse for staying completely out of touch. For future reference, if you'd like to e-mail me, you can reach me at dzimmerman@ivpress.com.

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David,

You don't know me, but I've been reading your online column for some time now. There's something about your writing style that, on its best days, strikes a chord in me. That's unusual.

At the same time I can't help but feel like you're missing one of the most powerful aspects of blogging: the dialogue with your readers. Is there a reason why you've chosen to broadcast rather than converse? What kinds of things do you think people might say in response to your writings? Would it make Strangely Dim better or worse? I suspect it would add a dynamic quality, but only you can answer that for certain.

Anyway, I was going to write you with the suggestion that you turn on post comments, but then I realized that not only are comments turned off, but you offer absolutely no way to contact you, anywhere on your site! I had to use my Ultra Secret Inside Sources (I could tell you, but... well, you know the rest) to get your email address.

I hope you find this helpful and not the least bit whiny,

Alan.

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Alan:

Thanks for the e-mail. You're right, of course, about posting comments; I
have a very selfish, very simple reason that I don't: the only people
commenting (apart from a very small handful) were selling mortgages,
online gambling or body enhancement. I should, however, and will put a
link to my e-mail starting asap. Thanks for the suggestion. I would love
to post comments, and maybe I'll try it again in a couple of months.

Anyway, thanks for the e-mail. It's nice to know I'm not the only one
reading my blog.

Dave