Thing 11

What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?

I feel somewhat apprehensive about leaving comments because I realize they're "out there" for anyone to read. Our little community is rather safe and secure, but that will not always be the case when participating in on-line communities. Still, I can see why a special interest blog would be useful ONLY if people commented. People visit the blogs FOR information and feedback. That's the appeal of the particular blog. However, blogs can be negative, too. My daughter had a nerve injury in her foot. She participated in a blog and received some "bad" information. She eventually stopped reading it and stuck to the advice of her doctor. She also participated in a blog for those applying to a certain graduate program. She found that it was better not to participate there either because each university approached the admissions process so differently.

When I know that my comments will be read by others, I take more time writing my text and checking for content and correctness. I suppose that's a good thing, and demonstrates the importance of having an audience. If students were to write on a classroom blog, perhaps they would pay more attention to their writing and the content of their comments because they knew the message was going out to the "public".

I liked receiving comments. It made me feel that my thoughts were appreciated and useful to someone. I also liked when my questions were answered or I received tips to make things easier,