Monday 10 September 2012

A small rant

Morning ladies, it's been a while since I had a rant, but I'm in the mood for one today.  I've had toothache since I had that tooth out last Tuesday and whilst it isn't at agony levels, it still hurts and it's constant.  On top of that, I strongly suspect that the injury I got whilst on holiday - the bruised foot with the lump - is actually a fracture... and today I'm wearing heels.  Toothache + suspected broken foot = grumpy Wendy!


I was having a rant to myself on the way to work and thinking about posting it.  Then I got stuck on someones Word Verification during my coffee break and that set me off again.  So here we go, a Monday rant!

1. If you won a giveaway / competition on someone's blog and that person sent you a prize, would you email them to say thank you?  I know that I certainly do.  I've had two giveaways / competitions on my blog over the last 2 years.  The giveaway winner only thanked me after I emailed her to see if she'd recieved her winnings, the second one hasn't emailed me at all!  And I know she got it as it was a gift certificate that was emailed to her...  Rude.


2. People responding to comments on their own blogs.  Now, this may not seem important and I'm sure there are new bloggers out there who do it without realising, but I'm seeing a growing trend of established bloggers saying they'll respond to comments on their own blog.  So, let's weigh it up.  Someone comments on your blog.  You either go into the post and click "comment" to answer them, or you go to your emails and click "reply" to answer them.  I can't see how the former is easier or quicker than the latter.  Yes, there are times you may want to reply on your own post - people are asking questions about a project and you may want other people to see the reply, or the commenter is a no-reply blogger.  But apart from that, I just find it arrogant.  I read a lot of blogs.  I try to comment often.  Should I be bookmarking these pages, then go back the next day to see if they've replied.  No reply, so go back the next day etc...  ??  Is it just me or do you find it rude too?



3. Bloggers who ignore me.  To me, blogging is about connections.  I'm sure to some people it's a business, but to most it's about connecting with crafters around the world.  So why ignore those very same people?  Now, I'm not saying you should respond to every comment, we've all got busy lives.  I do try to reply to as many as I can and I ALWAYS reply to new visitors to my blog.  Admittedly, it could be a week later, but I have a busy life too!  Recently a blogger asked a question on her blog.  She was looking for something.  7 people had commented and said they didn't know.  I did know, so I told her.  I never got a reply.  OK, fair enough, but then in her next post she said "she'd" found this thing.  No acknowledgement to me or anything!  I went back to the original post to see if she'd replied to me there, nope.  I just don't understand that kind of thinking, but I'll never answer another question on her blog.  Am I over reacting to this?


4.  Word verification.  Seriously!  It's bloody hard.  I wear contact lenses so have pretty good vision (with them in of course) and I can't read half of them.  Why??  If you don't want spam, don't allow anonymous comments.  I haven't had a single spam message since I stopped the anonymous comments and I'd never had a geniune one anyway, all anon comments on my blog were always spam.  I see word verification as yet another hurdle to trying to reach out and communicate with a fellow crafter.  Worse still is the word verification where you type your comment, then the page reloads and asks you to type nonsense.  I must have written tons of comments that were never received as I didn't realise the blogger required me to type nonsense in order to communicate.  If you really must have word verification on, make sure it's visible when the commenter goes to type their message (open in new tab or pop up comment form).

... and calm.  Preaching over, as you were. 

24 comments:

Pam @Threading My Way said...

Re #2.. When people reply to me on their own blog, I rarely see it, as I just don't have the time to go back and check. I did subscribe to a couple of blog posts, so I'd be notified of follow up comments, but I was notified about every other comment, too, so didn't do that again.

Hope your toothache is short lived and that your foot is not broken.

Marilyn said...

Yes. Can identify with some of that. Word Verification is so annoying - I have never received spam either.
Hope the tooth and foot improve quickly for you.

Kandi said...

Well I sat and nodded through most of that, you are not alone in your frustrations. I do confess to not always replying to all comments on my blog but where there are questions or specific reasons to I do try to. I can not understand how someone would not automatically say thank you for a gift, but like in real life some people have no manners.
Sorry to hear about the tooth and foot, I hope you are soon on the mend. xXx

Kandi said...

Actually just seen your blurb above the comment box about no reply bloggers, I really like that! x

Lisa said...

You said a lot of things I've been thinking!

Word verification is so annoying! I get sick and tired of them and I get mad when I miss it on my first try. Sometimes I get updating until I find one I can actually read and it's such a waste of time!

And I also sometimes get annoying with people that don't respond to comments. I feel like blogging is about making relationships. I comment on a lot of blogs and I hear back from people less and less. I feel like it's common courtesy to at least go to the other person's blog and take a look or say something. We're all busy, but if someone takes the time to read your blog, at least take a couple minutes and look at theirs.

Cuckoo said...

Yep. I hear ya Sista!

I was nodding away as I was reading.

I do enjoy your rants. Is that weird? Don't answer that!

xxx

cauchy09 said...

i think the relative anonymity of the internet allows for some shirking of etiquette, but i don't think it's good. i agree with some of your observations but suggest taking deep deep breaths. my online experience improved once i relaxed in my own expectations and just tried to keep modeling good behavior. but we all have moments when we fail.

absolutely, though, word verification should die a quick death. i abandon commenting all the time b/c of that frustration.

Oops-Lah said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one getting grumpy when people who win something don't even say thank you. Recently when I had a give away I emailed the winner to only get an email back which red; "yay for me" followed by her address. My instinct was to write back and ask; what do you say when you are given something ;)! I never heard from her so I don't know if she got the book which I had sent by the book shop directly. I hope your tooth ache will improve as well as you foot pain. Not fun at all. Take care!

Alison said...

I am totally with you. I follow a blog that seems to have the hardest word verification, I think I have only been able to comment once!
As for giveaway winners....I had a one year giveaway and there were two winners, one lady did a post on her blog to say thanks which was so nice of her. The other winner didn't even let me know she had recieved the item and I sent it all the way to Utah!
Rant over!
Alison
x

Anonymous said...

Ooer missus! :D Honestly though I just had a big spat with my boss today and he called me bloody minded, so it must be the day for it. Please go to the doctors with your foot though. Please.

Also I think I have word verification on my blog and I hope Wordpress isn't too annoying with it- I hate the new version that blogger does with those annoying picture numbers!

Sorry if I don't reply to all your comments, I do if it feels right, sometimes I post on the blog too so other people can read it, but I send it via email too as I know people probably don't subscribe to the comments on a post- I don't.

Anonymous said...

Ooer missus! :D Honestly though I just had a big spat with my boss today and he called me bloody minded, so it must be the day for it. Please go to the doctors with your foot though. Please.

Also I think I have word verification on my blog and I hope Wordpress isn't too annoying with it- I hate the new version that blogger does with those annoying picture numbers!

Sorry if I don't reply to all your comments, I do if it feels right, sometimes I post on the blog too so other people can read it, but I send it via email too as I know people probably don't subscribe to the comments on a post- I don't.

Katherine said...

Oh, no. A toothache and a possible fracture in your foot? No wonder you're feeling grumpy, Wendy. Hope both are better soon!

Maybe your little rant will prompt some to make some changes in their blogging etiquette. Sadly, some seem to miss that bloggers are people... and that good manners apply whether we meet face to face or in cyberspace!

I don't care for the word verification on Blogger either. I don't know that it makes much difference in stopping spam... I've had spam with it on and when it's off... I prefer to keep it off, because I think it actually discourages comments.

I hope your week is a good one and you're feeling better soon.

Sandra :) said...

1. Yes, I certainly would, and I think your winners are rude. I find a lot of freecyclers can't be bothered sending a quick thanks for the widget! email when they pick up something I've offered - I keep track of their email addresses and won't give them anything else.
2. Responding to a comment on a blog with another comment? Not right. Why would I bother going back to a blog post to see if the author responded to my question? I don't have the time or desire to keep track of specific blog posts where I asked for further information (I can't even IMAGINE anyone keeping track of something like that, lol) - if I post a question and the blogger has the answer, she can email me if she's interested in actually getting me the information. If I'm a no reply blogger (which I'm NOT) it's a different story.
3. See answer #1.
4. Word verification - if I can't post a reply in 1 or 2 tries I don't bother replying any more. If it's a blog where I'm friendly/in touch with the blogger, I'll let them know there's a problem, then it's up to them. One of my bloggers (in the UK, actually) thought she had turned it off and was surprised when I emailed her about it - now it's off on her blog and the problem is gone :)

Gill said...

Well said!
I agree with everything you've ranted!!!
Hope the foot/tooth is better soon!!

Fiona said...

breathe in, breathe out.....
I do agree with all of those, reply to giveaway wins, it is always appropriate to say thank you (I did get a complaint once about the quality of my home made prize!! ooops)......
HUgz

Jennie {Clover and Violet} said...

So, my thought about replying to a comment is that, if it is a question you should reply on the blog and via email. That way the writer gets an answer and so does everyone else! And, I hats word varificatoon too...

JoJo said...

I'm kinda bad about commenting back on my own blog. I do it when I can or if someone asks me a question.

I am with you on Word Verif. So sick of it and blogs that have them turned on.

Nancy Lee said...

Gosh, Wendy, I didn't mean to ignore you... :-)

I hope you are feeling better. Do you have a cast on your foot?

RobynLouise said...

I agree with all of the above, though lately I have done the blog reply comment as I have a couple of no-reply regular followers. One has a blog and one doesn't so I respect whatever their reasons are for keeping their email addys private. Sometimes by replying to their posts I am also answering another reply blogger so there are the odd occasions when I don't do email replies but I'm not making it a habit. As you mentioned it's about connections and a personal reply is always nice.
As to word verification, well I like comment moderation better, and any anon comments, spam etc is deleted by me and doesn't end up on my blog page.
Cheers, Robyn

Jillayne said...

I think you're right on all counts - I had word verification but turned it off. The only thing I would add is that I have had people comment on my blog and they are "no reply" bloggers. So I go to their blog, and if they have one, I will leave a comment there if I can - but if their comments don't come in a pop-up box, I can't leave one - heaven knows why but when I type one in, they disappear into La La Land - so frustrating... and then I look like someone that doesn't care which isn't true.... my rant....

Aunt Marti said...

Wendy, re #2, for some reason this summer sometimes people's comments don't come through on my email. I always try to track them down, and only when I cannot do I reply on my own blog. But I agree, I would never go back to someone's blog to see if they answered my comment.

Allie said...

Oh thank you for voicing all my rants, lol! That really IS rude not to acknowledge a gift or a win, good grief. And I did a post about word verification, so you know we're on the same page there, lol.
Wendy, that tooth should not still be hurting...and check the foot out please! You don't want to end up hobbling yourself. I'm hoping you feel better soon, sweetie!

crazydazy said...

hi, i have to confess that I dont always reply to comments on my blog....sometimes I think that maybe the person wont revisit to see the reply....but from now on I will definitely reply, ali

Casey said...

All your rants sound like mine :)