A funny thing happened this morning; well, not all that funny, just thought-provoking about new media means of communication such as text messaging, forums, and in particular, blogging.
I went to leave a comment on a friend’s weblog entry, and found that comments had been closed. My reaction was a simple oh… backing away quietly, feeling much as an intruder, and yet my mind continued on a path of wondering and reasoning. Certainly I can’t take it as a personal affront, as would a face-to-face or telephone conversation indicate; weblogs are public spaces, open-ended as to time and intent. There are many reasons why commenting would be disallowed; spam being the most obvious. But it also may reveal the writer/creator’s purpose. Whether it is a private arena where wandering is inevitable but not acknowledged. Such as having friends stay over and offering all manner of hospitality, yet not expecting them to open up the bureau drawers.
What does this new form of communication offer in its sharing of space? Where are the boundaries? What are the rules of etiquette, and how are they presented? What are we to imagine when we visit, if without body language or eye contact we must depend on words?
Interesting in how all this develops in any new form of interaction.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Very interesting questions Susan. I wonder about this sort of stuff a lot but am especially struck by how quickly rules change without changing. I mean, in one context rules we were taught as children still apply, in others, whole new etiquettes evolve and go extinct daily. If nothing else it is fascinating to watch.
I also wanted to say I have liked the various new looks on your blog recently.
It doesn’t bother me if someone turns off comments on a post or two. I even frequent a few blogs that allow no comments at all. I figure visiting a blog is sort of like visiting someone’s home or office. It’s their rules — whatever etiquette they consider proper on their turf or in a particular instance. That seems to vary a lot between bloggers.
Hi Owen! I’m glad to see you’ve been more actively writing lately.
I think all things adjust as they become a more common method, each individual, as Barbara notes, is going to set their own rules based on events. I do enjoy the reading so it’s not necessary to always comment, but sometimes something just wants to be shared. Most bloggers do publish an e-mail for contact though, so that does indeed revive the “interaction” of weblogging.