Never mind…

Thank you Chris, and Mr or Ms Bookworm, for remindimg me that I’d asked for feedback concerning the comment. I thought Chris’s remarks referred to my post, not my comment on the comment on the post, which now has a post of its own to comment on….

I really shouldn’t do this before I have my coffee in the morning.

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5 Comments

  1. Chris on December 6, 2005 at 4:13 pm

    Spot on – I was referring to the 3rd party comment which appeared in the responses to your own writings on ARCs.

    I love reading the different topics you write about, and am privileged to have the facility to add a comment to some.

    Hope that clears it up!

    Best,
    Chris

    chris2004ad@yahoo.co.uk

  2. bani on December 8, 2005 at 7:49 am

    See, I’ve had my coffee, and I still don’t really get it.

    Maybe I’m not smart enough. 😉 Ah sure, it’ll come, it’ll come.

  3. Roxanne on December 8, 2005 at 2:38 pm

    A BLOG is, by definition, “a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links”–http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/>

    Until I discovered Laurie R. King’s blog, I admit it, I was a blog virgin. So I Googled “blog etiquette” and hit upon a useful essay by one Susan Mernit entitled “When is the blogosphere (not) like a dog park?” She writes, “What I do think would be a useful thing for every blogger to do ‘e2’80’94 not for visitors, but for themselves ‘e2’80’94 is to think about what the rules for their blog are, write them down, and post them in a public place where readers of their blog can see them. Such rules aren’e2’80’99t primarily for the reader but the author of a blog.” Ms. Mernit claims that the blogoshpere, rather than a commons, is “really a vast series of individual ‘houses,’ ‘e2’80’94 each blog is like a house. And just as it is difficult to make a uniform set of rules for the inner workings of all houses, it’e2’80’99s difficult to make a uniform set of rules for all blogs.” There is more to this essay; here is the link for anyone interested: http://www.cadence90.com/wp/index.php?p=2793

    Essentially, Ms. King, this is your blog; you make up your own “house rules.” Whether your postings take the form of opinions, ravings/ragings, or pedagogical comments (which is how I view your discussion regarding ARCs), I have yet to take offense at your words. Your writing, whether or not I agree with you, is always interesting, educational, and peppered with good humour. This blog is your personal (electronic) journal. I feel privileged to be allowed to share in your thoughts. And, goodness knows, it is a blessing to be able to log on every couple of days and read your “mutterings”; they tide me over until your next book …

  4. Trix on December 13, 2005 at 2:18 am

    Just to weigh in a wee bit late, “comment spam” is getting to be a well-recognised problem in the blogging world. While that particular bit of spam didn’t look like it was artificially generated, or that it was loading lots of links to fox Google, its (sole?) intention was the same – to drive people to a website entirely unrelated to the topic at hand. It’s thus well-and-truly included in the comment spam category.

    I first got exposed to the problem 8 years ago on Geocities. Someone wrote in my guestbook “Nice site, have a look at mine!”, with a delightful link to under-aged Asian girl porn. The objectionable comment you got isn’t that bad, obviously, but it’s in the same realm.

    In commonly-recognised web-etiquette terms, you’re well within your rights to remove comments you find objectionable or which are straight-out trying to promote/sell something. In the broader sense, as other people have said, you’re perfectly entitled to delete whatever you like, although if it’s just because someone disagrees with you, that is definitely seen as being tacky. Not a really problem with someone as ethical as you appear to be in general.

    You may want to check out this example of a simple and clear comments policy at Gothamist.net. Possibly creating a link to a comments policy of your own would make it utterly clear to potential commenters what you consider to be appropriate or inappropriate. I think what’s appropriate should be obvious, but it would certainly act as fair warning that some comments might be deleted if they break your guidelines.

    Sorry to burble on for so long – it’s a topic of some interest to me!

  5. Anonymous on December 14, 2005 at 11:33 pm

    Chris kindly drew my attention to your site and I’ve been dropping by since, reading with interest…
    I’ve “been doing this blogging thing” myself since the summer. I was astounded and thrilled to find, when I read my referral stats, that other sites had set up links to mine, including two bookshops.

    As a newbie, I’ve always tried to thank people, sometimes with a reciprocal link, sometimes in a post and sometimes by the email contact they give in their blog. Interestingly, in respect of email, a reply is not always forthcoming. One linking party actually emailed me first to ask my permission.

    So I guess methods and actions vary.

    Spam is a different issue and luckily I have not had a problem with that yet.

    I tend to think of blogs as similar to a school blackboard. Teacher leads but anyone can walk up to the blackboard and pick up the chalk and add something. Good manners are entirely at their discretion, but teacher still retains control with exclusive use of the board duster. Albeit, everyone viewing the board at the right time will be able to read the post before it gets swiped.

    One final thing. Chris was astounded that I had not read one of your books yet, so A Grave Talent was keenly suggested. I have now purchased the book and passed it to a family member who gets through books at a rate I hope to achieve, when I too, am retired. I look forward to reading it. My experience of reading your blog tells me that I’ll enjoy it and it did have some glowing praise from Chris…

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