So this is just a quick note of thanks to you who sometimes take the time to let people who have commented on my blog know that someone out there has actually heard them by replying to their comment. The fact that you guys do that as often as you do means a great deal to me. People leave some crazy good comments on my blog. Those on … well, I was going to say on my last post (about the Christian professor) were just exceptional—but then so were the comments on the Chad Holtz/Bible-as-cure-for-sex-addiction posts—as were the ones to the post about the gay guy from Lynchburg, and certainly also those to the post about the Christian frightened of pagans.
But for what I’m trying to say now it doesn’t matter if people leave giant, well-thought out Killer Comments or humbler, shorter statements. What matters is that they know someone out there actually read what they wrote. I spend a lot of time behind the scenes trying to ensure that the comment section of my blog remains a safe and respectful place for people to share, question, and discuss. But sometimes that doesn’t leave me enough time to reply to all the comments (thanks in no small part to the ever-crafty little contingent of trolls that have apparently been assigned to my blog from Fundie Central, if you can believe it). So it means a lot to me when you guys sort of step in, and just give a little word of encouragement to someone who’s written something that you can tell is important to them. Even if you criticize what someone has said, at least that person knows that someone has read and thought about what they wrote. And that matters. It’s important. What good is the Internet if nobody uses it to actually engage with anyone else?
I see you guys leaving those kind, short little supportive replies (and also the longer ones, of course); I really appreciate it; and I wanted to thank you for it. It’s the sort of thing that makes what we have going on here something substantive; it turns what could easily be just another blog into something more along the lines of a genuine, authentic community. Thank you for that.
Your friend, confidant, and troll-whacking ringmaster,
John
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In