July 2, 2008
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Whenever I respond to comments, I try to do so on the other person’s blog rather than on my own in order to maintain the Ideal Ratio–i.e., 2 eProps : 1 Comment. There is just something about seeing “58 eprops 33 comments” that makes me want to throw myself in front of a bus–and I mean a moving bus, because I’m hardcore like that.
Of course, the balance can also be disrupted when people leave multiple comments or for some reason click the little radio buttons next to “1 eProp” or ”0 eProps”–but I’m okay with that. It’s not like any of you have a reason to indulge my obsessive quirks, you know? And plus, I care more about your feedback than I do maintaining mathematical perfection. Therefore, if the balance becomes unbalanced because of you, I’m completely happy with it.
But if the imbalance is because of me, when I am fully aware of my need for Ideal Ratio-ness, then I’m committing a most egregious offense punishable by being turned into moving-bus-mush. The same goes for people who eat In-N-Out burgers with lettuce instead of buns. Why would you do something so heinous? The bun is what holds all the flavors together! So when you opt for lettuce cups instead, you’ve just gone from eating a hamburger to an assburger.
As I was saying…
I prefer to respond to comments on the other person’s blog–and most of the time I am successful, but I have had these moments where…
I go from this:
…to this:
Besides being drawings of me using a computer atop a magical, floating desk, they also accurately depict the existence of an unspoken rule regarding appropriate and inappropriate ways to respond to comments on someone else’s blog. Okay…no, they don’t…but allow me to explain.
In the first picture, I am reacting to someone’s funny comment–let’s pretend it was about being assaulted with kitten farts. Having been farted on multiple times by my cats (and returning the favor), I understand this person’s plight and will thus post on his blog: “I feel your stank.”
The second picture is of me, armed and ready with this response, but seeing that the person’s most recent entry has the opening sentence, “my good friend died after being hit by a fertilizer truck,” and is an outpouring of grief and loss.
For some reason, I don’t think it would be appropriate of me to write “I feel your stank” on this entry
However, it might be okay if I can somehow connect my response to the comment this person left on my blog–that way, he’ll know I’m referring to kitten farts and not death-by-doodoo-truck. Perhaps I can use the hideous ”R.Y.C.” Mini? Or maybe copy-and-paste his comment and then add my response under it (I don’t really like prefacing with “R.Y.C.” or “regarding your comment”)? Or maybe I should respond on one of his previous entries?
In the end, I realize that none of the options are enough to preserve what little humor exists in “I feel your stank,” and just take the safe route by giving the guy 5 stars on his post.
Does anyone else think this unspoken rule exists?
Comments (55)
I always thought that some people do the “reply” thing on their own site to inflate their # of comments. It’s like leaving messages on your own voicemail!
I definitely am disappointed when I realize that 25 out of my 45 comments are from me. I need to start observing your rule. Good post. And comment a brotha back, why don’t you? I answer your oral sex pulses all the time! Oral sex is great.
I think you’re a bit OCD with your Xanga, but we’ll forgive you. I feel your… well no, I guess I don’t. Well, just keep posting and I’ll try not to mess up your ratio.
you make me laugh. you can’t be real. you’re a team of comedic writers. you’re lonelygirl15 and it’s totally gonna break my heart.
uh, OCD much? My apologies if that offends…..but hey, at least you actually make an effort to respond to the people who comment you. Alot of xangalebrities don’t do that AT ALL….I understand its difficult to respond to over 100+ comments, but you’ve made the effort.
yup. though I leave replies to comments on my own page to make it easier for the commenter to tell what I was responding to. often times I’ve gotten a reply to a comment left on another site, and I have no idea what it was that I wrote.
you must be hardcore. I throw myself in front of stopped buses all the time.
haha omg my comments pages are full of conversation >.< i fail!
Agreed, I hate when comments and eprops aren’t balanced.
They really should just make it one or none.
Rules are just alibis we create…
that did not make sense.
As a fellow OCD sufferer, I think that it’s very important to get that ratio of eprops to comments right. Perhaps you should delete this account and start over to get it right.
Actually, the new reply feature in comments is nice for providing context, and the person who left the original comment will see it on their main page.
You’re ridiculous. . …ridiculously awesome! haha I understand the ratio and it is somewhat annoying to not have correct reciprocation. Your pictures are dope.
sometimes when the comments asked a question to clarify the post, i will reply. most comments i just leave them alone. that’s for my own site. but for others, well, perhaps i need to ‘respect’ their site and not be spamming them with my own answers to their commenters’ comments.
very good rule. i do the same thing, also. i don’t like my eprop-to-comment ratio out of balance either, UNLESS some people comment more than once… like when i respond to a comment and then the other person responds back on my site.
something like that.
You try, and that’s what really matters.
Although I comment plenty on other people’s blogs, I’m terrible at replying to theirs. >_<
i feel the same way about the eprop:comment ratio but i never care enough to do something about it
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAA i totally feel you on the ratio thing
In those cases I use the reply mode, although I try to comment back on their posts, unless it’s been a while and then reply is easy to help them remember what they said.
Damn. You look just like your drawings.
best to let the dead person thing cool for a couple of days. they’ll need a good laugh after the funeral, so save it till then.
you deliberately fart on your cats.
You know I never noticed the ratio before….now it’s probably going to annoy me from now on..
I used to reply to every comment individually to make the eprops and comments the same. Now I just make sure I reply to every comment, usually easier on my own post where the comment is. Although, I get distracted by the post and forget my response to their comment going to their pages.
I love the part about the kitten farts/fertilizer truck!!!
i never noticed a ratio of credits to comments – guess i have to pay more attention…
Huh. Xanga makes us all think so much – truly, it’s a cornucopia of floating knowledge..!
I never thought of that before. But I still think it’s easier to post comments on my own blog. I guess I don’t really care that much about the ratio. I never was good at math anyway.
the real question is…you’re absolutangel…why should you even deign to be bothered by such piddling questions that are the realm of mere mortals~
Yeah.. the imbalanceness of the ratio makes me cringe too. why bother leaving a comment if you’re not going to put up 2 whole eprops? like it really matters to the commenter which eprop button he is pushing..
And here I was thinking that Xanga created the reply feature with you in mind to make it easier for you to respond where in fact those nefarious folks were seeking to induce you into messing up your eprops/comments resulting in your untimely moving bus smoosh end. How diabolical!!!!
By the way, looking at your “action” pictures, I can’t help noticing how thin your legs are. What’s your secret to keeping them so lean and tone?
Too much math for me. awww, kitten farts!
i like your stick figure mullet.
I’m innocent!! No way would I risk triggering a full out revenge fueled assault from your cadre of ninja kittens. I may be a mad scientist, but I’m not stupid!
If you are a celiac and you want a burger, you either waste hours of your time shopping to buy ingredients to make your own burgers using that weird bread from the “gluten-free” section of the special supermarket that you have to shop at that doesn’t taste quite right anyways, or you go to a place like In and Out that offers “protien style” burgers and is known to be celiac friendly.
Plus, bread makes you fat.
I’m not fat though, I’m just allergic to gluten, and I’d rather eat lettuce than fake bread. In and Out rocks!
Must be hard to type without any fingers. I guess that’s a magical keyboard atop that magical desk.
lol i agree. one or none or else you’ll be blacklisted and taken off your friends list.
I have a little rule of my own.
See, I like making Xanga friends. But I don’t just add anyone who decides to leave a comment on my blog. That’d come off as a bit creepy, no?
So I have to wait until a minimum of two comments volley between me and the other person until I request them as a friend.
Silly? Yes.
Sad? Slightly.
Also, I would like to commend you on always replying in some way to my comments. Because you get an assload of comments yourself. It’s nice to see that you like to stop by other’s blogs.
By “other’s” I mean “mine.” Because I’m an attention whore. Duh.
Whoops… long comment. Here’s a mini to offset the awkwardness.
Well, with me, if I’m replying to someone’s comment, I reply on their blog with that copy/pasta method.
If it’s a pulse then I reply.
It’s weird.
It kind of exists.
Just gave you 5 stars.
I usually post comments on my own site because I’m not organized enough to keep track of which comments I’ve addressed. As always, your paint skills are awesome!!!!
Why do you always wear a triangle in your pictures? Can’t you wear a rectangle or a square sometimes? Is your closet just full of little triangles on hangers? What about ovals? I am quite partial to ovals and circles, their lack of faces (or infinite number of faces if you prefer to see it that way) makes a proud statement about the globular completeness of man and his surroundings. Plus you can tuck your arms and legs and and start rolling If I ever show up on your pictures please have me wear a circle. =3.
Good rule. I usually try to follow the flow and if I am a pretty happy-go-lucky gal I tend to comment more on the happier or funnier comments. I save the sad ones for later on that evening and leave amazing comments. Great post and I love the floating desk. Wish I had one.
I like putting comments on the other guys’ sites too . I only got into the habit of responding on my site because it seems to be the general practices. Perhaps you & I can start a new trend. I especially like the comment about kitten farts
No. Comment something relevant to his grief, and then add in ‘I feel your stank’ at the end…okay, that won’t work well. Just succumb to ‘RYC’ already!
In theory, I agree with you. But I’m just too lazy to do it right. I WANT to respond to others on their blog, but usually just take the easy way out.
After reading faithfully for a couple months, I have decided that you make the most creative “ass” compounds I’ve ever seen.
…I’ll let you take that however you want to.
NO offense taken! It was just a comment. Here, have 2 eprops.
I was totally like that!!!!! until xanga created the “reply” feature!!! then i just got lazy =/
I too prefer to reply to comments on other people’s sites! I thought I was the only one! I’ve actually encountered that problem before though – where you go to someone’s site to respond with something witty only to find out their father was just killed in a freak unicycle accident. I’ve also encountered the problem where you go to someone’s site and it’s about how much they binge and purge every day… awkward… And in that case I can’t even leave five stars. So generally I just shrink back into my shell and tiptoe away from the site, hoping they won’t check their footprints and see that I was there.
idk what to say… lol. I didnt read any rules about it.
nice drawings……….cute
I fully get it and it annoys me to do so… I hate my ratio being off… it’s such a let down.
OMG, I kinda thought I was the only person who really paid close attention to the commenting/propping ratio! But yeah, I definitely do the same thing as far as replying back on someone’s actual xanga rather than my own page: I like to know the the comments there are feedback from people who have stuff to say about my entry, and not my responses to them…that’s for their page! ^_^ And I get those comments that stump me on how to respond, too…sometimes it’s hard to find the right words to reply to what people say, and in moments like those I gracefully bow out! lol Working on that, though…
just balancing out the universe. here is 2 more to add to your collection;)
I feel your stank.
Personally, I don’t like it when ppl use RYC. It’s so left-field for other readers who read other’s comments to build upon that. How is “RYC:I find you mad sexy and think about you all the time” go with my blog on why my cat loves drinking out of the toilet bowl and then licks my fingers?
Plus, it usually adds 2eProps that weren’t actually deserved, as they probably didn’t read or understand my WoW withdrawal. So actually that’s skewing the overall number of eprops/comments!
The little things that bother us. (I have much weirder obsessions.)
I used to do the “RYC thing” (still do it sometimes) on people’s pages, but then I started replying directly on my page just so the conversation pieces stay together, I guess like a continuous thread? =| But definitely not to deliberately inflate my number of comments ’cause that would just be sad.
That is why I like the cool little thingy things. Or perhaps the thingy where no one else can see what you write? Don’t make me serve you a writ of habeus corpus, or else I will condemn you of being a principle of the first degree. Do I seem random? Well, that’s me.