Justin Lloyd

I love reading the comments posted on both my blogs and those of other people.

I love seeing visible feedback.

I love open, spirited discussion.

There’s the right way to post comments on articles on this website and many others that really add to the discussion, and there is also the completely wrong way to post comments.

If you want to increase the likelihood of your comment being approved and not just marked as spam following the simple rules outlined below will increase your chances significantly.

1. Be Intelligent

Say something intelligent concerning the article. Offer a rebuttal. Construct an argument against some of the points raised.

Contribute to the discussion. A lot of contributors have IQs so low that if they dropped dead the average IQ of the entire population would go up.

Saying something intelligent is an opportunity to increase the average IQ of the conversation and rescue it from the idiots.

2. Make An Enquiry

Even a question is a contribution. Intelligently composed questions relevant to the article or other comments contribute so much to the discussion. A relevant question, something intelligent, clearly stated, is worth far more than a rambling opinion.

3. Write Right

"ya u rite rl gud for sumone witout an edcatoin, retart."

Drivel.

Utter drivel.

I’m being serious when I say that nobody wants to read it. When you cannot write clearly, succinctly and intelligently you make yourself irrelevant to everyone around you.

Right now you might have the attitude of "I don’t care" and we’re just crusty old farts harshing on you because we’re boring but in 30 years time when you’re wondering if you will get an unemployment cheque this week you might change your attitude a little. Until then, refrain from posting your inane idiocy and just use the funny looking keyboard thingy in front of you for copying and pasting bad HTML on to your fugly MySpace page.

Meanwhile, for the rest of us, we’ll continue to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.

On a related note, if there is one skill you can acquire that will pretty much guarantee employment for life and a really fat pay cheque it is the ability to communicate. Specifically if you are getting ready to leave college and join the work force my biggest piece of advice to you is learn how to write a memo. Pick up a couple of books, read them, and practice. Above all practice. Written business communication, via email or pen and paper will open up so many opportunities for you and make you stand out visibly from all of your peers.

The ability to communicate clearly and succinctly in a business environment and in personal life is paramount for getting ahead. I don’t care what your IT skills are, I don’t care how many years in college you have, I don’t care about your grade point average and I certainly don’t care how many letters after your name you have, if you cannot communicate effectively with me, with your co-workers, and with my company’s clients you have limited yourself to a wasted life.

4. Add To The Conversation

Opinions are like… well, let’s just say, everyone has one.

I’ve even met people who have two.

Opinions that is.

Though you wouldn’t know it to look at them.

Makes it very efficient I’m lead to understand.

But that’s a discussion for another time.

Adding to the conversation with reasoned and thoughtful opinions, facts and explorations of the subject under discussion is a rare blooming flower growing in a cess pool of ripened manure.

5. Hold Up Your End Of The Conversation

Much like my point for add to the conversation stated above, comments are a conversation with the author of the article and the other people who have commented. You can agree with them, disagree with them, voice an opinion or call them a Nazi but if that’s all you do, you haven’t had a conversation with them.

Ask leading questions, ask for clarification, make a call to action, rebut their claims and then ask them to rebut yours, all of these are conversation tactics.

6. Be Professional

Whether you believe it or not you represent the organization you work for, you represent your website and you represent anyone and everyone you associate with. When you’re offering commentary or an opinion on a subject, be professional in how you conduct yourself. What you do will reflect on everyone that is connected to you.

7. Know When To Comment

Your observation may be relevant, professional, polite and utterly worthwhile. It doesn’t mean you have to comment. Sometimes a little silence can go a long way. Other times it is more appropriate to send a private email to the author of the article than to shout out your response from the virtual rooftops of the website.

8. Be Polite. Be Courteous

It goes without saying that even the most inciting invective can be couched in the politest of language. Yeah, sure, the guy posting the previous comment is a Nazi, and the person who agreed with him can’t spell worth a shit and even the original article is utterly without merit.

Don’t resort to poorly worded inflammatory commentary that looks like it was written by a brain damaged mongoose with epilepsy attempting to constructed an insult along the lines of "ur a fukcing twat wit u neodem nigr lurv" which I consider to be nothing more than that same mongoose randomly hitting keys until they’ve gotten something that’ll pass through the spam filter.

There are far better ways to insult someone and actually be polite about it too.

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