I’m getting close to six years of blogging now and during this time I’ve picked up on the variety of ways people comment on blogs, whether they own a blog themselves or just read them. Naturally the diversity of blog comments and the authors behind them can’t all be categorized nicely, but I have noticed some interesting blog commenter trends…
For anyone who has had a blog for a certain amount of time and has received at least some comments, or even for someone who is just an avid blog reader, I’m sure you’ve noticed some blog commenter “archetypes” if you will – in other words, noticeably reoccurring voices behind blog comments, at least in the anime blogsphere. Here are some, among others, that I’ve noticed (sorry I couldn’t think of clever names for them):
Argree-er: These commenters always agree with the posts they read and comment on. Often they reiterate a bit of what the post said in their comment along with things like “Great post!” and “Thanks for writing this!” Some blog authors might interpret too much of this as the commenter trying to suck up to them for whatever reason, but I think most of these comments are where the true fans of the blog and/or its author lie.
Disagree-er: The opposite of the Agree-er, these commenters only pop up to disagree with posts. Sometimes they write passionately detailed comments to dissect every part of the post they disagree with, or sometimes they’re very concise and will just be like “I disagree, [something, something]” and that’s it. As long as these commenters are civilized and open-minded in their disagreement, I’m sure most of us don’t mind them and enjoy their criticism. But what puzzles me about these commenters who only leave negative, argumentative comments on a specific blog is that, if you like a blog enough to keep checking its new posts, why not leave a positive comment once in a while? And if you don’t like the blog because you’re always disagreeing with the author, why keep visiting? I suppose exchanging criticisms and nothing more is one way a blog commenter can relate to the author.
Expander: This kind of commenter always expands on the information in the post, offering extra insight into the topic that the blog author didn’t talk about or may have been slightly inaccurate about. I enjoy these comments because the kinds of posts I write often lend themselves to additional input and I love learning more about a topic I’m interested in. But on the flip side, too much of this might make the blog author feel that the commenter is trying to “show them up” or act like a know-it-all. That could be the case in some situations, especially if additional facts is all the commenter ever offers. But for the most part, I think info on the post topic continuing into the comments is a good thing.
Troll: I’m sure we’ve all encountered this kind of commenter in varying degrees; sometimes they’re amusing, sometimes they’re annoying. I don’t get many of these comments on my blog, but what throws me off when I do is that I don’t always know what kind of reply comment to leave (since I try to reply to all my blog comments if I can). I guess I’m just a very sincere, honest, down-to-earth person, so that makes it difficult for me to “play along” with a troll comment. I don’t mind them if they’re done in good fun but if they’re offensive, crude, or flames, even as a joke, that doesn’t sit well with me.
Lurker: It might seem weird calling a Lurker a type of commenter since the definition of one is someone who follows a lot of online discussion but doesn’t partake in it themselves. But they do make their presence known sometimes – I’m sure a lot of bloggers enjoy those comments that start “I’ve been visiting your blog for a while but haven’t commented before…” Sometimes the Lurkers might leave this comment and never leave one again, or they might continue to leave comments from then on (and perhaps turn into another commenter archetype).
Replier: These commenters tend to reply to other people’s comments more often than leave a stand-alone one of their own. They could do this in many ways; for example, they could be be an Expander and reply to people’s comments because they want to give them additional information or correct them about something, or they could be a Disagree-er and reply only to comments they disagree with.
Mixed: These kinds of commenters are mixed in their commenting style depending on the type of post or the blog they’re on. They might leave short, trolling comments on one blog and extensively written comments on another. Or even within one blog they could agree with the author just as often as they disagree with them.
Like I said, there are way too many kinds of commenters in the aniblogsphere to give an accurate label to them all. The above were simply some I found most noticeable. Thinking about the varying voices of blog commenters makes me wonder about a couple of things. One, how many people are Mixed in that they have one commenting “personality” on one blog and then change it on another. Or, for example, if they have a very serious voice on their blog but write joking, trolling comments on other people’s blogs. Which personality is their true one? Basically I wonder how many bloggers and blog readers tend to change their blog commenting style or are consistent with it no matter what post they’re on. And two, it seems like there’s a strong connection between the writing style of the blog author and the writing style of the commenters, something that Feal87 from EmptyBlue discusses on one of his posts. Blogs that focus on extensive, informative posts with a serious tone tend to have serious, extensive comments while blogs that are more comical tend to have more trolling comments.
As for me, I would say I’m mostly an Agree-er and an Expander in my comments, both on my own blog and on others. I could be a Disagree-er at times but usually I’ll only leave disagreeing comments if it’s a subject I’m really passionate about. I’m not much of a Lurker since I usually comment on all the posts I read (as well as on the few forums I visit). And as I explained above, my personality makes me unable to Troll, my Internet voice always being about saying something significant rather than provoking reactions. I’d rather leave comical posts to bloggers more talented in humor than I.
And now if I may inquire, what kind of commenting style do you as a blog writer or blog reader have? Do you agree with the ones I’ve listed and can you think of more?
I feel like I’m a (dis)agreer and expander types.
I have one commenter who usually doesn’t really comment on the topic that I’ve written about. But maybe points out one thing and suggests another title that applies to it. I don’t know what you’d really call that…
Yeah, you seem like an agree-er or expander on my blog. Not so much a disagree-er…unless you’re like that on other blogs.
I’ve had people who write off-topic comments too. They vary in how off-topic they are – some of them could be trolls and some could be really clueless people who don’t know how blogs work. Sometimes they’re just trying to contact me and don’t know any other way to do it other than comment on whatever blog post they’re reading. They don’t bother to check out Twitter or the Contact page =/
“But what puzzles me about these commenters who only leave negative, argumentative comments on a specific blog is that, if you like a blog enough to keep checking its new posts, why not leave a positive comment once in a while?”
Sorry to disagree (oh the irony), but I don’t think disagreeing is negative or argumentative. It’s more inquiring and curious. If someone puts their ideas out there, I see that as a desire to have these ideas discussed, compared, evaluated, maybe reformed, maybe confirmed, so at the end all parties involved in the discussion end up a little bit wiser. That’s why I like these commenters, especially in combination with the expander.
My beef with the agreers is not that it looks like they’re trying to suck up to someone (except when it’s glaringly obvious that they do), it’s that it looks to me like a circlejerk. À la “Oh boy, we love the same shows!” – “Yeah, aren’t we awesome?” I’m not saying agreers are always completely worthless, but when agreeing all is they do, they kind of annoy me.
I agree with what you’re saying about how argumentative comments can enhance discussion and broaden the minds of both parties. What I meant was that, if you like a blogger’s writing even though you disagree with them a lot, and you’ve been following them for a long time, wouldn’t it be nice to occasionally give them a positive shout out – for example, if they write a Christmas post you could just leave a quick “Merry Christmas!” comment or if they mention it’s their birthday you could comment “Happy birthday!” I don’t know, maybe I just have this strange notion about fostering a friendly feeling with bloggers I like to read ~_^
I typically don’t have a problem with agree-ers unless, like you said, the circle-jerking or suck-up tone is all they offer I don’t mind people agreeing with what I say all the time but it would be nice know more of their individual thoughts too =)
With the exception of trolls and lurkers, I think everyone hopes to be an expander, but typically ends up being an agree-er/disagree-er. Although maybe I’d say I’m more of a lurker…only commenting when it’s something I really want to say something about or if it’s a certain blog.
I wonder if the label of agree-er/disagree-er may be a tad extreme. It suggests that a bit of a mindless agreement or disagreement. If you always state your own opinion, regardless of agreement or disagreement, does it really fit into either of them?
What you said in your first paragraph is a good point. I assume most people start a blog comment with the hopes of expanding the discussion; if they lean more on the positive side they may become an agree-er, on the negative side they become a disagree-er, and if they manage to stay neutral, I guess they’d just be an expander. So to answer your question, if they’re just offering their opinion with neither an agreeing nor a disagreeing tone, I’d say they’re an expander.
Hmm, your archetypes are pretty spot on, and I think I’m a mixture of a few including the Agree-er, Expander, and too often Lurker. I notice that I tend to comment more on blogs that have less comments already on them; when a good number of others have already left their thoughts, what I would have said has already been stated.
I’m in the same categories as you except for the lurker only because I don’t really read that many blog posts (because I’m not interested in episodic or news post, and most anime blogs have those). So when I do find a post I want to read, it’s usually an editorial and I want to offer thoughts. I also like to comment for the sake of the blogger. I figure “I went through the trouble of finding and reading this good post, I should at least let the author know I read it and what I thought of it.” But like you, I don’t tend to comment on posts that already have tons of comments, especially if the blogger has already replied to most of them. At that point I figure they’ve had their fill of discussion with that topic and I probably don’t have anything new to offer.
I see myself as a combination of an expander and disagree-er. If all I do is agree with a bloggers post, I don’t usually take the time to comment. Agreeing with someone doesn’t tend to foster interesting conversation.
That said, I agree with Dliessmgg that the value of the ideal disagree-er is intelligent discussion.
That’s true that simply agreeing doesn’t foster interesting discussion. Unless you just want the blogger to know you read the post and don’t have anything more to add, then a simple “I agree” comment is fine, though lacking. I try not to leave comments like that, so even if I agree with everything the author said, I try and think of something to add.
For me, I’m a mix of Agree/Disagree and Expander. Depending on the post, I tend to add more stuff and my thoughts what I have read depending on the topic. For editorial posts, I will most likely share my thoughts and other things depending on the points he/she made… Of course, I don’t mindlessly agree/disagree since I like to keep my opinion truthful as possible.
I always find your comments passionate and honest, which I like =) I agree with what you’re saying about them. You always offer your own take on the topic and keep the tone truthful.
I think I am an agree-er more than anything else. Sometimes a troll for fun, but I only troll lightly. As for the rest, well it just depends on the post and it would have to definitely inspire me enough to disagree or expand like you said…I agree with you :P Or it is probably because it is easier to agree…I am so lazy lol.
Heh, I can understand how agreeing a lot could come from laziness. But hey, if you take the time to read posts, that’s not being lazy. If you honestly agree with everything the post said and don’t have anything new to offer, no point in straining your brain to think of something more to say besides “I agree.” I think just about all bloggers would rather have a short but positive comment rather than no comment at all.
I’ll go with a mix of agree and expand. Though my comments are just mentioning what I thought on the certain topic.
I’ll agree with you because it makes sense and I have nothing else to say.
Fair enough, keep it simple =)
Great post! I know I don’t comment here often but whatever:
I’ll have to disagree with you on that criticisms point. I think people like them keep the blogger on their toes, make them more careful and aware on what they’re writing.
Mostly, a “good natured” bloggers (a.k.a guys unlike me) tend not to get negative or hateful comments on their post. This lack of criticism comes and bites them in the ass later, as there’s no one checking the quality of their content.
@martharunion: I agree, I mean, it’s not like I agree with all of a blog posts nor disagree with all of them. And sometimes, even when it’s both, I wouldn’t comment on the post because someone must’ve already said what I was about to say.
There, I guess I’m the very definition of mixed now.
(trololo)
Yeah, like I said to Dliessmgg above, I totally agree that criticism comments can be a good thing. I just think it’s nice if someone who respects and follows a blogger even though they disagree with them a lot to leave a positive comment once in a while. But now that you mentioned it, maybe this is because I’m too much of the “good natured” blogger you speak of ^^,,, I have taken a more critical tone in my writing than I used to have so that’s progress I suppose.
Wow, what a crappy post. This was the worst one yet. I’ve seen a lot of dumb sh*tty posts but THIS piece of sh*t post takes the cake. Who CARES!? THE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION? Are these people acting here as they act in real life? That would be more interesting than this BORING, STUPID, and MUNDANE post. I should just go back to lurking. I agree that agree’rs are brown nosers. BUT I disagree they are what make up the fans of the site. They instead make up the sheep.
TAKE NOTE OF THE MIX! ;)
LOL, if this is a troll comment you got me there ’cause I’m bad at responding to those kinds of comments. For a slight moment I was going to take the comment seriously but then I noticed your emoticon at the end ^^a
I would have to say that I am definitely an agree-er with aspirations of being an expander, though none of the blogs I follow have really said anything that I disagree with all too much yet, so I guess there is potential there too. I also do the lurker thing, mostly when I’m too lazy to type anything.
I think becoming a good expander just takes time and experience; experience in writing and reading blogs as well as time to become a knowledgeable anime fan. Once you have all that down, you find that your comments become more expanding than simply agreeing or disagreeing. At least that’s how it’s been for me.
I most naturally think of communication as a giant collaborative search for “the truth”, which makes expander and disagree-er my main modes of interaction on the internet; it feels most important to make points which haven’t already been made by someone else. But I mostly do my disagreeing on forums and the like, places which are specifically intended for vigourous debate, because of how I feel as a guest. A blog feels less like a public place, more like a private property, more like someone’s house. Accepting someone’s hospitality just to argue with them makes me worry about my deportment.
But I do do a little of everything, in the appropriate places. Like I wouldn’t dream of trolling in most of the places I go to, but I’ve been known to do it occasionally in certain parts of the chan-world, since it’s accepted behaviour there, and it can be quite fun occasionally.
As always, great thoughts. Whether I’m agreeing, disagreeing, or expanding, I always try to leave some unique thought in my comment that’s not a total copy of what was in the post. I’d rather not comment at all than leave a comment that adds literally nothing new.
Surprisingly, I’m actually the opposite in that I’m more likely to write a disagreeing comment on a blog than a forum. Maybe it’s because the few forums I visit are very busy ones, so usually whatever I disagree with has already been addressed by someone else, so I’d rather not get mixed in with the heated argument. Blogs that I read on the other hand, aren’t as busy so I feel more like I’m having a one-on-one conversation with the author and my voice won’t get lost in the fray (also why I tend to not comment on posts that already have tons of comments).
I guess I’m a lurker who likes to be an agreer or occasional expander then (note to self: come back here more often). The comments feature of blogs is a great idea and since it builds up a dialogue it’s good for a sense of community and – as has sometimes happened on my blog – a comment (and/or the replies that follow) can form the beginnings of another post.
The trolls I can understand in that hey, this is the internet and there’s always some idiot who thinks he or she is funny. There’s another type though that sort-of verlaps with the Disagreer type…I call them the Petty Snipers. That’s the one who is rarely a regular visitor; its a ‘just passing through’ stranger who leaves a one-line comment that disagrees with one point or contradicts you, or simply points out a mistake.
That sort of comment really annoys me. There’s nothing in it for them – since that person’s a stranger – but they sure as hell make YOU look stupid, and the disappear immediately afterwards so you can’t defend yourself against them. What’s worse is, you spend ages writing a post and someone ignores all that time and hard work in order to point out one little trivial detail.
Generally though, I really value comments. It means that, overall, people are at least paying attention to what I write..writing is fun but the really rewarding part is knowing it means something to other people too.
It’s always gratifying when you get comments that are meaty enough to be posts themselves, or when they spark ideas for another post =)
Oh yeah, I recall coming across some Petty Snipers. They’re a bad form of the disagree-er since they only point out a fault or call you out on something without expanding with details and such. You might write them a detailed response, but like you said, they tend to disappear and you never know if they even checked your response or not.
My feelings about blogging are an expansion of a quote by Thoreau – he said “It’s better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self.” But I’d like to add that it’s also nice to write for yourself and have a public ;) So even though I’m writing for my enjoyment, having readers and comments means a lot too.
I think I am an expander but since I am not always knowledgeable, my ‘expanded’ comment might end up being a bit short. And yeah, I sometimes act as an agree-er but not too often because if I agreed with the post but have nothing new to add, I usually not give comment at all (this happened often in the post that already have many insightful comments).
great post, by the way :)
Thanks for reading =)
I think any additional insight you can offer for a post is worthwhile, no matter how short it is =) Bloggers love to know that someone read what they wrote even if that person didn’t expand on the topic much.
Hehe, interesting… I hope I’m an expander. I do read everything that was posted, and try to add my own point of view to it if possible. If I do not know about the subject, or hold a particular opinion, I may say so, or just not post at all. I hope I’m never a troll in any of my comments :S
Another one that I’ve seen in forums and other community sites (not much here) are “conflict seekers”. They are not even trolling, but just go into a discussion to rile people up, and just start up a fight. I dislike those much more than trolls, and try to avoid them at all cost. Can’t think of much more really.
Heh, you’re never a troll and your comments are always honest and insightful. You’ve left quite a few comments on my blog over the years and I appreciate every one ^_^
I’ve run into conflict seekers, mostly on forums. I usually ignore them since I’m not good at arguing, unless it’s a topic I’m really passionate about and can’t help but want to defend it =/
I think I’m mostly an agree-er with a dab of disagree-er. I usually follow blogs which I agree with so it makes sense that I would reply that way, but I don’t agree with them all of the time. Every so often, I might step into the realm of expander too, like now:
I would also add in “spammer”. I’m not talking about the bots that leave ads every day, but the ones actually left by real people who have read (or at least skimmed) a post and written a reply, then attached a link to the company they’re working for. I was very surprised when I saw some of them for the first time.
Yeah, I tend to follow blogs that I agree with more than disagree. But like you, that doesn’t mean I agree with them all the time. Arguing is more exhausting for me, so I’ll only write disagreeing comments if it’s a topic I feel strongly about.
Hmm, I might have come across the spammers you described but I probably didn’t distinguish them from the bot ones. Since I moderate new comments from those who haven’t commented on my blog before, any comment that resembles spam, especially if it has a link in it, will get moved to the spam queue. I have gotten some spam-ish comments that have anime-related things in them but usually they’re off topic (like a spam comment linking Naruto videos in a post that has nothing to do with Naruto).
Much like you, I think I’m an agree-er and expander when I comment. Though, sometimes by “expanding” on things, I more so reiterate on what the point of the blog post was in my own words, and then I add my own insight about it.
That’s kind of what I do too, especially when the tone of the post is rather neutral, with the author more or less informing you about something rather than judging something. This makes it welcoming to expand with your own insight. I’d like to think a lot of my posts are like that ^^a
Your disagree-er category reminded me of my old high school band teacher. One day in the middle of critiquing something he stopped and said, “You know, I probably seem like a really negative guy to you all, because I only say negative things. That’s because when you guys play something right, I know that it’s right, and I know that you know that it’s right, and so I don’t need to say anything about it. But when you guys play something wrong, you probably don’t know it’s wrong, because if you did, you wouldn’t have played it wrong, and so I need to point it out. In reality, I think positive things about you guys all the time, but when I think of sharing the positive thoughts, they sound patronizing in my head, or else it seems like I’m just wasting your time – you could be learning something in the time it takes me to compliment you.”
He started voicing his compliments after that. After a week, though, we asked him to stop and go back to the way he had been … his complements really DID sound patronizing, and it really DID feel like a waste of time. And whenever he said something negative, we kept two thoughts in mind. These are the two thoughts translated into blogger terms:
The first thought is, “this point that he brings up must be the only thing in the post he didn’t agree with – because if he disagreed with anything else, he would have mentioned that, too.” The second thought is, “hmm, I haven’t seen him post in a while – he must have been agreeing with me a lot recently!”
Sorry for the wall of text; I hope that this insight into the mind of a disagree-er helps :).
Thanks for sharing that great anecdote ^_^ What your teacher said could definitely be applied to many things, including blogging. I’ll keep it in mind~
ooh, interesting post. I think I’m more of an lurker. I’ve been through a lot of blogs and just enjoy reading their thoughts about anime episodes and such. I’m also an agree-er and an expander at times. I’ve disagreed on a blog one or two times so I think that doesn’t entirely make me a disagree-er(:
I would say I am a Lurker/agree-er but if a post really puts me off I will strongly disagree with it
I’m more of a mixed, and a bit of replier. I’m a little of everything, sometimes if I’m very unhealthily knowledgeable about a current subject, I’m an agree-er/disagree-er with a lot of inputs. At times, I also make funny and sarcastic jokes and at times, I’m serious, so yeah, I’m mixed.
I think you can add one more category to the type of people who reply.
Help Seeker
On my blog I’ve had a few people put in replies asking for advice and help on various things like where to buy certain products or registration help. This is because my blog focuses on anime merchandise and products which is why it probably attracts these type of people. Other times the replies can ask me or motivate me to expand on my posts that can sometimes lead to a discussion.
I’m definitely a lurker. I comment rather rarely, but then I rarely have anything to add and I somehow feel odd just saying “I agree with your post” and nothing else. Even when I disagree with something I usually have a hard time putting it into words so I usually just skip commenting. I’m always around though, I love this blog and a handful of others too :)
Same here, I mostly lurk and never reply or comment. Also I mostly just read the Blog posts and don’t the comments °_° Also I really love this blog, you’re one of the more intelligent and open-minded Anime bloggers out there.