“A superb commentariat.”
You’d think by now I’d learn to stop being afraid, but every single time I post about a subject like my last post (such as abortion and religion, your classic “untouchables”), I wait for the Flame Hammer to fall.
I follow several other blogs that get a lot of comments like mine does, and most of them can’t even post about Rice Krispies and 2% milk without the comment thread devolving into a flame war over who’s stupid, who’s an asshole, who’s throwing out a strawman, how ugly that woman who left that one comment obviously must be considering her bad attitude, and how many of the commenters live in their mom’s basement.
That never happens here, even though people do very much vehemently disagree and are freely saying so. It truly is a marvel of civility and good manners, not to mention well-thought-out opinions, as varied as they may be. I would expect this sort of kindly accord if everyone felt exactly the same way and it was a big echo chamber, but that’s the beauty of the thing: people are strongly disagreeing about moral-laden subject and yet still, no one’s being a prick about it.
Commenter PJ gave me the quote for the title and I wholly agree. It genuinely amazes me how polite and rational the people who comment here are, and I am very grateful. I wouldn’t post about stuff like that if I didn’t give a crap what anyone else thought; if that were the case, I’d write my rants in Microsoft Word and save them to disc instead of putting them on the internet.
And no matter how convinced I am when I hit ‘publish’ that I know everything there is to know about my own opinion, it never fails that the comments simultaneously shore up my own arguments and show me the faults in them. I love, love, LOVE it. The refining of my opinions and the education about differing ones - it’s the best possible outcome from having a blog, hands down.
I was so busy marveling at the comment thread today, I forgot The Daily Dog. Thank you, commenters, this is for you special. Not as pretty as my outdoor pics but I’m a sucker for a goofy look on a face.
UPDATED: I’m replacing the uncaptioned photo with Tully’s version of it. Perfect.
Yin Yang symbol, take 2.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pmAfraid you spoke about ten minutes too soon, Rachel. Check out “gino the great’s” post on that thread.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:59 pmSunny doesn’t look fat in that pic.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:10 pmThe Supercharged Threads are the most intriguing to me, because they stoke my innately opinionated nature, but I seldom comment for three reasons:
I don’t want to respond with kneejerk flame-age.
I am intimidated by the dozens of commentors who have posted before me.
I am usually at work.
All that aside, brava!
April 1st, 2008 at 11:46 pmAw, screw that, where’s the Idol stuff?
April 1st, 2008 at 11:49 pmYa know, speaking of the fat dog, I’ve thought about posting this for a while but haven’t yet.
Have you tried using green beans as a treat? The lady of the house learned from Bob & Tom that one of the guy’s dogs loves green beans so we tried it with our pooch. About once a week I throw a can in with his dinner. He loves them!
I can’t use a can opener without the dog coming into the kitchen expecting green beans, and a couple of cats thinking that maybe there’s some tuna juice in it for them.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:49 pmYou know your dogs nip just like sharks attack? Do you train them to do that?
Also, this might be the best blog in the ‘verse. I’d give it to ejectejecteject.com if Whittle could bring himself to post more than annually. It’s like waiting for Haley’s Comet with that brilliant bastard.
Ben, Zombie Hunter
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:03 amYou got something against Rice Krispies and 2% milk, Rakil Luksisez?!!
Down here in Don’tBePalpatingMyPants, Louisiana, Rice Krispies and 2% milk is (are?) considered a well-rounded diet.
You got your Rice Krispies. [check]
You got your 2% milk. [check]
So, don’t be insulting our cuisine, if you please.
Dang hoity-toity Texans.
Who are they to disparange?
http://www.jimforeman.com/Books/Cookbook/maindsh.htm
http://www.xrecipes.com/g49.htm
I say Ha, and I mean it to sting.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 amLet me add that if your readership continues to rise and your comments stay this great, well, some of us will take that as proof of the existence of a powerful yet merciful God. Sorry.
And by the way, are you considering putting Li’l Rachl back up on the masthead? I saw here there a couple of weeks ago (for what, six hours?), and as adorable as the dogs may be, they don’t compare.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 amI’m sure you are a good mom to maggie, but how could your mom ever let that cutie pie go?
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:40 amA blanket only a dog could love. Come to think of it, the sofa don’t look so good either.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:56 amI try not to comment when there are a LOT of comments. Like getting lost of the crowd, the value of my words mean little to nothing. It is just that - a comment. I saw some generalizations that I know are wrong in the original article. After two, I quit reading since the conclusion is going to be too faulty. What value is there to pointing them out?
None.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:14 amI love my comrades in the commentariat. The question is, how can we make it scale? When a post has 20-30 comments, that’s perfect. I read them all. When it has 100+ comments, like the previous thread, I don’t read any — it’s just too much. I suspect many of you are the same way. In that regard, success kills.
So, our challenge: how can we preserve the specialness of Racheldom as the readership grows?
I don’t know what the state of the art is in blogging tech, but it seems like what we need is some way of expressing affinity for other commenters — so that when a thread has 117 comments, instead of giving up entirely, I can at least read the dozen or so people I never want to miss.
Is that possible with your blogging software, Rachel?
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:43 amRachel,
I agree with you about 80% of the time. I, too, learn something when reading one of your posts or the excellent (mostly) comments - especially when I don’t agree. It’s all about the thinking.
I believe that the lack of critical thinking is a huge problem in America. Limiting your reading to bloggers and writers who think just like you do and only discussing the big questions with people like yourself is contributing to the problem.
That’s a problem for conservative folks because, honestly, who want to wade through the dreck of The Huffington Post or The Daily Kos?
I am glad that your blog is successful and hope it continues. By the way, I vote for both Lil’ Rachel AND the pups at the top of the page.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:16 amthat’s why i come here. i’ve never met such cool people who could disagree, but in a civil manner that hardly ever degenerates into name calling and other childish throwbacks. and those that make it degenerate as such are not your regular readers, but merely trolls being attention whores.
i didn’t comment on the teen pregnancy/contraception thing because by the time i got to the article, i figured that my opinion would be said among the million or so comments. which is also a big reason why i come here. people can voice their opinions more eloquently than i could ever hope to do, so sometimes it’s just nice to scroll through the comments and see who i agree or disagree with. minimal effort, hehe.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:00 ambtw, i love maggie’s underside. makes me want to tickle that little area.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:02 amJeff … you have heard of Control-F (for find), right? LOL
Other than that, I can’t think of anything I’ve seen as far as blogbits.
Even though they tend to get overly long, I still like to read them all … I’ve learned long ago that you can never expect to find gold only in the first pan.
Now a nifty option would be to be able to bookmark a trhead so I didn’t have to try and guess how far down to scroll in order to see what’s been added.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:57 amRedhead Infidel on dual canine obesity:
Rachel Lucas on Rachl Lukis:
Common denominators, Rachel.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:33 amDearRachel,
1. Perhaps the Ridgeback, prominently displayed, shares some portion of the reason for the comment civility. Fear of SunnyAttack (TM) is a powerfull calming influence.
2. Having said that, however, the idiot who posted this comment is probably ugly because of what he said and he probably lives in his mother’s basement because he cannot attract the Hot Chicks because he’s so ugly.
Your Ob Svnt,
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:41 ammike
The dogs and the little British kids (”Charlie bit me!”) do wonders for my blood pressure.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:50 amHrm…images cannot be posted. Oh well, here is a link for your viewing pleasure. It is completely work-safe.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:51 amI only read Rachl Lukis for the articles!
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:07 amThe comments here are awesome. It’s the secondary reason I come here every day. There aren’t many places where such a wide variety of people can get together and have an intelligent and respectful discussion on issues that are typically so volatile.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 amI didn’t comment on the last thread because I have my own conflicting views on the issue. Really I believe sex education is the parent’s responsibility, but I also know that not every parent will do it.
Jennifer, you ignorant boob, you wouldn’t know a good comment thread if it seared your monobrow!
Intelligent and respectful discussions are fine if you want to soothe your grandmother before you throw her under a bus, but they have no place in the realm of fat dogs getting fatter.
As for your claim that your didn’t comment in the last thread because of blah blah blah, well, we know your real reasons and we have your FBI file right here!
We also have copies of your clandestine diary at the Daily Kos and we will not be shy about publishing them to the entire internet if you don’t shape up!
Now can we all please get back to flaming cats hairless and leave the love to places like the Clintobamaton campaign?
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 amThank God for sex education in the schools. And thank you Jesus for Hugh Hefner and Playboy! If it had been up to my parents alone I would have been reported to the police by my first real girlfriend.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:35 amSometimes, when I’m in water, I fart so I can see the bubbles.
How’s that for your theory of superb commentators? Myth Busted.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 amI don’t comment often, and almost never on a long thread. I do however read all the comments because they are always interesting and “mind expanding” ~ which is a good thing! Anything that helps me see the issues from a wider viewpoint, that helps me target, in my own mind, what the problems are, leads to me defining why I stand where I stand on that issue. Rachel, you, and your commentariat ~ rock!
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 amThis is going to sound like the cheesiest stuff ever, but the commenting generally echos the posting. You’ve shown that, while you do have your opinion, you’re also willing to listen to other points, and I’ve seen you come in here a couple of times and school people who were simply being assholes. You weeded them out, leaving the people who actually know how to TALK to each other like human beings, even if they disagree. Make sense?
I don’t comment a lot because when I’m passing through the comment section most times, everything that I wanted to say was usually said much more eloquently than I could ever hope to say it. I’m only posting now because I haven’t read the comments to see if anyone else has already said this…hah.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:13 am/civility
You guys are all a bunch of poopie pants.
/incivility
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 amJust don’t bite the bubbles.
BTW What do you call a Martian who farts in the bathtub then bites the bubbles?
Normal
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:50 amAnd Rachel once again manages to couple the right photo with the post topic!
How does she do that?
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:50 amI’d like to take credit for this, but I got it somewhere; “Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you’re still a retard.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 amHere’s a new insult I just stole:
“That woman has the brains of a four year old child, and I’ll bet the child was glad to be rid of it.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 amSorry, Rachel, but I did once call someone a basement dweller - it was that guy who said you prolly didn’t submit a photo for the ‘Blog Queens’ interview because you are ugly. I did indeed call him a basement dweller who wasn’t gettin’ any. And I’d do it again.
And yes, like PJ says - Lil’ Rachel head trumps everything else you’ve ever put up. I regret, as others have said, that I didn’t get an ‘Imagine no liberals’ coffee mug while I could - but then I had no idea the Lil’ Rachel head was going to disappear forever!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 ammhuete gets it almost right (fear of dual-canine attack) but forgets the frequently-armed nature of our hostess. “An armed society is a polite society” apparently works even over the intertubes. (What caliber are those tubes, anyway?)
Also: Reno_Sepulveda wins the thread. You owe me a new keyboard. (And let’s see a show of hands how many guys secretly think he’s nailed it?)
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:12 amI find that reading the other commenter’s responses normally broadens my viewpoint and makes me think. That’s what I have appreciated since I began reading this blog. Case in point: a simple, yet poignant question from Chuck Foxtrot about we Christians recognizing non-Christian marriage as legitemate (Hindu marriages, etc.). This generated a lively hour-long discussion between my wife, my college Freshman son and me. Truly, I like this blog precisely because of the civility of the discourse that occurs even when it is clear that many disagree.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:38 amRe-thinking my list of frequented blogs from the other day, what stands out in retrospect is either NO comment section, or a reasonably intelligent and witty and (reasonably) civil commentariat that argues issues instead of personalities.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 am+1 on the Return of Baby Rachel Head!
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pmooooo…good idea. It could be like a ‘rank’ that people get. With the option to read the rest of course.
I tried to read all the comments…the first 30 were awesome.
It’s all I could get through. It is a very interesting topic for sure.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:25 pm2% milk? On Rice Krispies? Now you’ve gone too far. How can you disparage the wholesome goodness that is WHOLE MILK? Somewhere out there Snap, Crackle, and Pop are crying in their cereal bowls.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:05 pmIf you WANT those kinds of comments, Rachel, then write up a 3- or 4-paragraph summary describing how man-made global warming is a hoax (which it is). You’ll get the name-calling responses in a hurry!
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pmWe buried Snap on the fifth day. He just couldn’t take it. What with the skim milk and all, he just sogged away into limpness….
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pmTully, You skimmers are all the same, destroying my childhood icons with your lo-fat propaganda. Who’s next on your hit list Tony the Tiger?
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:56 pmAmen. Ditto. Here here.
Love you. Love your blog. Love your guests too. Great site!
Wow, my nose smells great. What is it? Bananas? Awesome.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:39 pmTony is on my wall, all glass-eyed and flat. He looks slimmer than he ever did before, positively two-dimensional aside from the head. The trademark grin is still there, but now the teeth show and it doesn’t look nearly as friendly.
Cartoon trophies. They’re GREAT!
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 am