I’m not a big fan of comments on weblogs and I try to avoid them as much as possible. No, this doesn’t mean that Mary Ellen should stop writing comments into this space. It means that if she finds something interesting to comment on or add to, hence the above title, she should respond in depth on her own weblog or in long, well argued comments and let trackbacks or whatever provide the network exchange.

I read several weblogs in which the comment spaces are loaded with the good and the bad. Susan Gibb and I started weblogging about the same time, I think, feeding off Contemporary Fiction content, and we both still use comment space as a way of covering something specific or as a means of reminding. Dr. Fierro’s is a well controlled method of comment apparatus, but so are massive social spaces like Kos’, where people make relationships.

But additive writing should locate its energy in the big space of the post area rather than in the small apartments of comments. The future is going to see a lot of pushing for the weblog for students as a means of bringing back the notion of commonplacing in learning, rather han the use of paper journals because the writing is public and easily searchable. The weblog is an excellent learning environment, as Susan Gibb has proven. And I think Carolyn is back in silver now.

I would answer Mary Ellen this way. Comments aren’t the place to judge good writing. This and this and this is the place for that.