Comments on: You may have noticed that there’s been an overactive spam filter here lately

By: huxley

huxley — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 02:30:41 +0000

I figure I got here via Instapundit.

If one hopes for a modicum of impact, it’s good to think about lurkers when one comments.

It also has a moderating effect IMO. I want to be wearing my good clothes, so to speak, when there’s an audience.

By: bobby b

bobby b — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 01:53:19 +0000

For me, I get sent here periodically by commenters on other sites recommending a post. (You had a great fan in a late Samizdata.net commenter who constantly recommended you.) Nothing evil or nefarious. I think I’ve commented here twice.

Trackbacks count! 😉

By: OBloody Hell

OBloody Hell — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 17:45:41 +0000

I forget how I found Neo’s blog, I would suspect it was probably a link from the Erstwhile Dr. Sanity’s blog (*sigh*. She’s doing fine last I heard, which wasn’t too too long ago, but no longer doing much poliblogging of any kind, not even on her personal social media page)…

But it’s been one of my three go-to blogs for two decades, and the only one consistently, since Dr. Sanity ceased regular blogging.

}}} Then one day the person/people (Charles Johnson?) who ran LGF got sidetracked with fighting ‘intelligent design’ in schools or something and I completely stopped visiting the site.

LGF went over to the Dark Side about 15-odd years ago, and hasn’t been anything but another Lefty echo chamber ever since.

I will confess, along with Dr. Sanity, the other one I miss the most is Bill Whittle’s Eject! Eject! Eject!… He now vlogs a lot, which is good in itself, and he probably reaches more people, but his long-form essays are still the best damned political essays I’ve read. Even his cobweb site is gone, about the only way to access his stuff is via Archive.org and the Wayback machine (if anyone needs a link, ask, I can provide one)

By: NewYorkCentral

NewYorkCentral — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 17:14:00 +0000

I’ve been following neo for so long that I no longer recall how I originally found her – it was probably Little Green Footballs. LGF introduced me to many of the blogs I follow (or followed) – Belmont Club, USS Clueless (the late Stephen Den Beste), Dr. Sanity, and was the first place I heard names like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders. Then one day the person/people (Charles Johnson?) who ran LGF got sidetracked with fighting ‘intelligent design’ in schools or something and I completely stopped visiting the site. Neo introduced me to Power Line, which I now frequent, rather than the other way around.

By: AesopFan

AesopFan — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 05:14:50 +0000

Well, I have to assure Neo that this Salon certainly is NOT a boring echo chamber!

I particularly like hearing from people who have so many different personalities, preferences, life stories, and insights into topics that I only know from skimming the punditry, which does often seem to be an echo chamber (“here’s MY take on the crisis du jour, according to the company Memo”) on both the Left and the Right.

@ Kshoosh > staying engaged does take a lot of time and energy, but I have decided this is my hobby, and it isn’t any harder than training for a marathon or tying fishing lures.
Plus, it’s cheap.
(But don’t be a cheap-skate — hit Neo’s tip jar when you can!)

I’m one of those introverts who enjoys doing research, likes connecting dots (articulately or not), and prefers long-distance “relationships” to dealing with live people up-close-and-personal about controversial topics.

This is where I do the ranting that I forego around the relatives and friends.

PS Go ahead and throw your thoughts out on the board, and don’t worry about having to reply, engage, or defend anything.
We may not be entitled to our own facts, but we’re certainly entitled to our own opinions!

By: geoffb

geoffb — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 23:53:04 +0000

I know the feeling of doing a first blog comment. Even though I’d done some BBS and usenet I just lurked at blogs. I felt like a non-swimmer jumping in the deep end at both Belmont Club, which I rarely commented at, and at Protein Wisdom where I ended up mostly for about a decade or so. First comment anywhere is the hardest one. Just try to be polite and exact in meaning. Typing your words doesn’t have the bandwidth of talking personally.

By: Skip

Skip — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:54:34 +0000

From bits and pieces here and there I would first assume it’s political. Lucky my favorites are saved so don’t go through a search.

By: Tracy C Coyle

Tracy C Coyle — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:44:01 +0000

I comment irregularly, picking and choosing topics really important to me. However, often people getting here before me make the comment I planned on, so other than just to say – I agree – I just leave it.

But I’ve been around A LONG time online – getting first into BBSing, then Usenet. Blogs just were a continuation of my already annoying personality! And yes, you can find my presence back then….if you dig deep enough!!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:13:35 +0000

I came for The Bee Gees and have stayed around for everything else! After lurking at MOTUS blog for 10 years, I ventured over to American Digest…and then one day Gerard linked to Neo regarding brotherly “close harmony.”
Some commenters write (and think) so easily and naturally. That can feel really intimidating to those of us who have to labor over it a little more. I’ve resolved to just enjoy and appreciate. I learn something new with every visit!
Neo, one really good thing is your choice of Open Threads. I share them often with friends and family. Even the daftest bleeding-heart liberals seem to appreciate your topics…Ozzy Man to Russian folk dance! I have hopes they stick around for more serious subjects.
If so, your smart, balanced, encouraging tone stands a good chance of reaching them. I know it has great appeal for the rest of us!!

By: neo

neo — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:12:47 +0000

I’m always pleased to hear from lurkers and semi-lurkers.

Although of course I support your right to remain silent 🙂 .