"Bummer! I slaved over this diary for hours, but people didn't even read past the title."
Welcome to the lucky 13th installment of "The Unrav'ling Thread", where we explore the things that happen (or don't happen) once a diary is posted and "open for business". Today, we're dealing with the perils of Short Attention Span, where commenters don't seem to read past your title before weighing in with their comments. Other than getting no comments at all (clearly a bummer), this "shoot first, read the diary later" sort of commenting can be very discouraging.
Let's examine this from a couple of perspectives:
If You're The Diarist
Before you posted your diary, you formulated an idea, developed a plan for the diary, maybe did some research, found and posted some links to support your claims, set forth your beliefs and experiences and opinions, and wrote everything up, proofread it, added a poll and some tags. In short, you created a product for consumption by some of the 147,000 people who visit the Great Orange Marketplace of Ideas every day. So, is it too much to expect that those folks who click on your diary would actually read it?
No sooner have you hit "publish now" and gotten up to get a cup of coffee than there's a comment from someone expounding on something related to your diary. As you read it, you realize they clearly haven't read your diary. Incensed, you prepare to reply with a "Dude! Did you even READ my diary?!" comment. But wait. Will this add to the conversation, or simply spur the commenter on to further uninformed and possibly imflammatory comments?
Before you take this personally, let's assume the commenter is someone who scrolls through diaries of interest, just glancing at them. That's perfectly legal, although it's certainly annoying if you've spent hours working on a well crafted diary. There's a ton of content here, and to their credit, they did at least click on your diary. Is there a way that you can cultivate them as a more attentive reader?
Well, maybe. Try replying along these lines:
"Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad to see that we share an interest in [whatever your diary was about]. Four paragraphs down, I addressed that issue. I'd welcome your input on the specific points I raised."
Several things may happen:
1. You'll never hear from them, because they're off glancing at something else
2. They'll give you some sort of generic "whatever" reply
3. They'll go back and read your diary and post some more specific comments.
In this last instance, your respectful interaction may win you a "follower", or at least a more engaged reader of your future work. If this person interacts well with your other commenters, that can also add value to your diary.
Follow along below the low attention span brain scan for more...
Let's say the roles are reversed, and consider what you might do
If You're The Short-Attention-Span Commenter In Someone Else's Diary
Oh, the temptation can be overwhelming! You read a title - especially one designed to garner an immediate, visceral reaction - open the diary, scroll to the bottom and bang out your comment.
What's the hurry? Well, you have something to say about this topic, and you want to be the first to comment! Then everyone else will see your comment and... They'll see that you're being a total jackass. Don't forget: diaries and comments are both time-stamped. If you post your comment within a minute of the diary being published, you're pretty much announcing that "No, I have not read this diary, much less given it any thought."
Nobody likes it when you're being a total jackass. Read the diary, then comment.
If you simply cannot control your impulse to post a comment, try something that won't make it clear that you're totally dissing the diarist by glossing over their fine work. Try something like:
"Hey! Good to see you here, [insert name of diarist]. I was hoping you'd post something about [topic of the diary]." Then you can read the diary in its entirety and reflect upon it for a while before launching into your comments. By then, you may also have the benefit of other people's comments to factor into your own remarks.
OK, let's consider one last example
If You're A Commenter In Someone Else's Diary
Let's say another [jackass] commenter has posted some "I-clearly-didn't-read-this-but..." comment. You, on the other hand, have read the diary, and are thinking about crafting your own comment when you see this [jackass] comment. Should you reply to it?
Well, perhaps, if you can exercise some diplomacy and restraint. You might post something along these lines:
"Actually, [name of jackass commenter], [name of diarist] discussed this in the 5th paragraph, and provided some very useful links. You might want to check them out."
This sort of a reply, done with finesse, is a way of letting the diarist know that (a) you've actually read their diary, and (b) that you're speaking up on their behalf so that they don't need to take on the [jackass] commenter themselves. This enables them to interact with commenters with stronger reading comprehension skills... and more respect for the diarist's efforts.
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If you've missed previous installments of The Unrav'ling Thread, here are the links. If you have ideas for future topics, please let me know. As long as there's something to write, I'm happy to add more installments.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12