The Writer's Community Part 1: Feedback in a Digital Age

The internet has often been compared to a house and in this metaphor writers are hosts and hostesses to a variety of guests who visit to be inspired by interesting ideas and frequently involved in spirited debates. One of Associated Content's strongest features is the way a writer's story can spark just such discussions, much like a house party where everyone feels engaged and entertained. But what is the etiquette for this new form of hosting?

Recently I had the misfortune to knock on the door of a hostile host. I commented on his article, left a comment with both correct -- and I discovered later -- incorrect information in it. I was promptly thrown out onto the street. The writer not only labeled my comment "dumb" in his public reply, but asked why I bothered to leave a comment. But he did not stop there! He emailed me the same question, leaving me flabbergasted that an adult would be so childish. What follows is some advice on how to leave and receive comments in the internet world -- and incidentally promote your own writing.

COMMENT ETIQUETTE

There are many types of commenters: the encouragers, the ranters, the informers and the promoters. With two of these, discussion is delightful, with one dangerous and the other plain frustrating. But promoters frequently hide under good intentions -- "I loved this article. You should look at mine on the same subject." While the projected intent is to encourage the writer, all this says is that the commenter wants to put a plug in for their writing and is using a different article as an excuse to do that. With ranters, it can be hard to draw the line between debate and argument and frequently it just becomes unpleasant. But the encouragers can sometimes be the most frustrating! A comment that simply says, "thanks for the article," especially from a serial encourager leaves the writer feeling like their ideas aren't being engaged with. Which is, of course, the last thing any writer -- or commenter -- wants!

A good comment develops a relationship or elicits a smile from its recipient. It lets other people who read the article in on new information and gets them wondering about who the person is who left such a perfect comment. Frequently, people click on the links to a person's name, like their content and subscribe. So that comment has suddenly sparked not just a connection with the original writer, but developed a community of writers. The following two parts of this series consider how to leave an insightful comment and how to respond to comments others leave for you.