Frarochvia noticed an important detail in one of yesterday’s pictures – an ASL book. Last night I started taking ASL classes through Minneapolis Community Education.
“Hey, big kitty, what does this mean in Kitty Sign Language (KSL)?” -Mayhem
“It means you’re smooshing my ear and cruising for a bruising, May!” -Chaos
ASL is one of those unexpected side effects of blogging. (Not making the connection yet? Read on!) Like many of you, I’ve developed a number of friendships through blogging and have met bloggers from the Twin Cities, from across the US, and from overseas. Spoken English has been the common language; however, it isn’t the common language of some deaf bloggers I very much hope to meet and spend time with: my dear friend Fraro, local Limedragon, and Tiphanie. I don’t want our meetings to consist of us typing frantically and staring at our computer screens – we already have that down without leaving our own living rooms.
So I’ve been inspired to go forth and learn ASL. And I find myself thinking about blogging and the direct benefits (connection! community! friendship! laughter and tears!) and some indirect benefits, such as this ASL class. What have the expected and unexpected benefits of blogging been for you? The direct and indirect benefits? I’m curious. This seems a great topic for discussion.
Speaking of discussion, recently, Deb aka Chappysmom wrote about a post she’d read on getting more blog comments by replying to comments via comments instead of via email. She was curious what we thought about it; a very interesting discussion subsequently developed in her comments as the author of the aforementioned post and others participated.
Now, I personally really like replying to comments via email because some great conversations and friendships get started that way. You know who you are! 
But since I’m curious to see what sort of discussion develops in the comments if I reply there and maybe some of you return a time or two to contribute additional thoughts to the discussion, I’m not going to reply to the emailed comments for this post. Nor am I going to reply to every single comment with a comment of my own. I’m just going to participate in the discussion, and I hope you will, too!
“Gee, I guess he wasn’t kidding about that one… Hey, what do you think this is the sign for in KSL? Maybe ‘Help?!!’ Or ‘Unpaw me, you wretch?!!’” -Mayhem
(Nope, they aren’t dusty or dirty – they are simply covered in catnip…)
Thanks for the linkout, Chris.
I agree – the discussion turned out to be a real eye-opener. Knitters reading feeds? Getting comments most probloggers would die for? Who knew!
But managing email comments and responding to each person one by one? I don’t believe I get the number of comments Deb mentioned some knitters do, and if I had to answer each one personally via email… I’d go insane.
Also, I think that email commenting cuts readers out of the discussion. We did decide that blogging is about friendship, many times – so why hold intimate private conversations when you can host a gathering of friends?
I’ll be curious to see how others from your blog feel – the Knitting Underground definitely has different perspectives than the people in my niche!
And I just realized there is one HUGE problem with your experiment…
You don’t have the Subscribe to Comments Plugin installed.
How am I supposed to know when comments occur on your blog so I can come back and participate in the discussion?
(Install the plugin. Really.)
They look blissed out
An interesting experiment.
I notice that Chaos is still sprawled on his new scratchy pad/bed/toy.
I’m no fan of replies in the comments. I don’t come back to read them. Once a post is read and commented on I done;-)
I read all the way to the end of Deb’s 50-odd comment trail and it was exhausting. No way could I follow up with extensive conversations of that nature on a regular basis.
I have been both a pro-blogger and a craft blogger for some time now. I see the advantages in a professional setting of encouraging convo via comments. As for craft blogs, I look to comments for trends (either questions or responses) and may respond or wrap up in a subsequent post.
Mostly, I’m with you. Continue conversations privately via email or IM. Like you, I’ve met knitters from around the world that way. Even hosted the lovely Fraro in my home.
As was oft repeated in Deb’s comments, the knit blogging community is a different kind of animal than pro blogging. Personally, I love it!
That’s how my (deaf, asl signing!) sister interacts with the readers on her blog. It actually is quite interesting to see the entirety of the conversations she has with them. And I’ve seen it on other non-knit blogs as well. But that doesn’t seem to be what knit-bloggers do. And I kind of wonder why that is. Hmm…
I have to say, the experience at Deb’s blog was interesting. At first I thought it almost sacrilegious that a blogger would intentionally not comment on their own blog. It’s like being raised your whole life to do one thing a particular way; you automatically think that’s how the whole world does it.
While not commenting is still a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around (and the thought of responding to each individual makes my head want to explode), I do understand why the knitting community does things the way they do.
Hey, I tried my best to gain a few converts and I have to admit, there were a few who stepped out there and tried it. I even tried the email route. It was a fun topic to explore. Sort of like going to another country and learning the culture. Thanks, Deb, and the rest of Knitopia for making me feel welcome, I’ll have to visit again sometime!
Good point, James! The “Subscribe to Comments” plugin has now been installed – you can make use of it by clicking the box below this comment entry area.
Re: “Getting comments most probloggers would die for” – have you ever poked around in the bloglines top 100/top 1000? You’ll find Yarn Harlot, Wendy Knits, and other knitting blogs well represented – but strangely, to me at least, no other crafts. Anyway, I think that the Yarn Harlot is definitely a problogger. The power she has (which she fortunately chooses to use for good) is amazing – did you hear about the Knitting Olympics? Or about her raising nearly $435,000 for Doctors Without Borders???
Email commenting can cut readers out of the discussion, but on the other hand – friendships tend to be fostered on an individual level, rather than at a group level. Or is that just the INTJ in me talking?!
That said, on the days when I’ve received over 50 comments, I did start to feel overwhelmed by the email! There’s definitely a commenting email threshold.
Margene – I know exactly what you mean! If I were to start tracking all the comments I leave in order to see if I’d received a response, I sure couldn’t read anywhere near the number of blogs I read.
Karen B – *works through Fraro visit jealousy*
I know what you mean! As a post author, I’m pretty sure there isn’t any way I could participate in extensive conversations like that with any regularity. This commenting in the comments thing definitely takes more time than responding via email!
Is Mayhem flippin’ Chaos off?!! Heh heh…
Sometimes the comment volume can be overwhelming, and I try to respond to all of them. If an interesting comment or topic comes up, I try to put it into my next post. It’s interesting to see what comes up as a result.
Of course – the one on one’s are my personal favourites, after all, it’s how we became friends!
I thought there was lint on my monitor! That is a serious addiction there, kitties.
Jen – Does your sister interact with her blog readers in email at all? Or just in comments? I know, it’s a widely spread knitblog community norm to reply to comments via email rather than comments – if you come up with any ideas about why we do that, I’d love to hear them!
Harrison – My head only starts to explode when I get over 50 comments to a post! Below that, it seems very manageable – but we aren’t talking epic emails to each commentor, either. If you really want your mind blown, you should look out for a Yarn Harlot book event in your area. The last one in the Twin Cities had hundreds upon hundreds of attendees. We filled a college auditorium. Not many book signings have that sort of draw!
@Chris: Just between you and me? My commenting stamina isn’t on par with some people I know *glances over at James*. After a while I find it hard to keep up too.
Hm…knitters in Las Vegas? Can’t say I’ve heard of an event out here yet, then again, I’ve never watched for it.
Very cool that you’re learning sign language. I taught it for several years in the 80′s until wifedom, motherhood, etc. got in the way. It’s a skill I’ve never lost. My first roommate was deaf, my second roommate was a student in one of my classes and my third roommate was an interpreter and the only hearing person in her family.
I usually reply personally rather than via the comments unless I get a comment where I don’t have the person’s name or email.
I learned ASL at one of my jobs, where it was a requirement. I loved learning it, and like any new language, was incredibly slow when using it to communicate with others. But it was a wonderful experience – I hope you enjoy it as much!
Have fun learning ASL! Isn’t the knitting community awesome? Oddly enough, Limedragon and I know each other from university, where I took notes for her for a couple classes. Small world!
And Jodi and I kept *almost* meeting until one Friday night in the LYS. I was actually in line behind her and heard her mention her last name. Very small world.
Re: Fraro visit, I’m sure that once she meets you, she will completely forget about me.
That is a cool connection. I love hearing about what prompts people to take on new skills, and I think it is phenomenal that you are learning a whole new language because of it.
ps: I gave you an award, and then was too lazy to tell you until today (scroll down)
http://notanartist.blogspot.com/2008/01/desperately-seeking-turquoise.html
I learned some sign language in elementary school. (And, in fact, can still remember most of the signs to Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life,” which we did “in concert.”) There was even a period of time in junior-high when I wanted to teach deaf people for a living, but that kind of fizzled. I never did get the hang of actual ASL–I’m such a grammar-freak that I WANTED to sign all the words in a normal English sentence, trying to figure out the short-hand (no pun intended) was too hard for my brain to compute. (“But, but, that’s not RIGHT!”)
And, the commenting comments? I LOVE the discussion that came up from that, but don’t see how I could reproduce it on every post. Too many knit-blog posts are casual and the conversations that would come up would likely be, well, kind of boring. But the posts where there’s a real, solid topic that really begs to be discussed? Opinions to be bantered back and forth? Tips? Tricks? Absolutely worth doing in the comments–at which time the subscribe-to-comments feature is vital.
Who knew that we knit-bloggers were such a unique subset?? Well, okay, WE did….
Harrison – James seems to be some sort of supercommentor, with special skills.
Sandy, Bridget, Jodi – Thanks! I’m looking forward to it; it’s definitely engaging a different part of my brain. I’m sure I’ll be incredibly slow, too.
Jodi – You have all sorts of connections back here, don’t you!? Plus that connection to Karen – toss into the mix that I’ve met Limedragon (albeit briefly and with aid of an interpreter) and I wonder what the degree of separation is?
Karen B – I don’t know about that!
Not an Artist – Aw, thank you!
@Chris: Oh god, don’t tell him that! His ego is too big already!
I want to learn ASL too…I actually know a smattering of Native American sign language (some similarities, but not many). Very little need in ASL for references to “white man” or “buffalo run”….I’m considering taking a part-time job (nights) at the Deaf Relay because along with all else they give you very comprehensive training in Sign (and tips for living in the deaf community, which I find interesting!) I did work there briefly before (my eyes got to bad I couldn’t see the monitor,but “all better now”). As far as comments – I do both, but it’s true, I dont’ often go back and reread comments in the blogs I read. (Oh, but those CATS! I do so love those CATS!)
Aaaaaa! Don’t call ASL’s grammar a shorthand! (INSERT GIANT HONKING PET PEEVE HERE!) ASL has completely different grammar. But it is not shorthand!!!!!
I think K is insane. There is room in my heart for both K and Chris
Just as there’s room for both maymaymay and favorite bad kitty in my heart!
A lot of deaf blogs have this conversational setup in the comments. I, obviously, don’t subscribe to this model. On the other hand, I don’t discuss controversial topics much.
Thank you for being a dear friend, Chris!
My good friends teach their kids to sign as they teach them words. They don’t have any deaf relatives, just nice folk.
Re: comments — I hardly ever go back to blogs to check on comment discussions in the comment section. The only blog I do go back and check the comments on is Van’s. I really do prefer it if bloggers who want to say something to me or respond to something I’ve said in a comment on their blog email me — I try to comment on as many blogs in a day as I can and honestly, I’d never remember to go back to each blog to check for return comments. You know?
Unexpected benefits from blogging? The sense that I’m not alone…in motherhood, parenthood, in being the child of an alcoholic parent, in losing my mom. Not to mention all the things people have sent me — someone knit me this kickass, funky, awesome electric scarf that I wear every day…
(pretty please reply to me via email? with sugar on top?)
Deb – Oh, look out! You triggered Fraro/bellamoden’s pet peeve there… Just as German and other foreign languages have different grammar than English, so does ASL. I wonder if it’s harder to remember that about ASL because the manual alphabet is the English alphabet?
Dale-Harriet – What is the Deaf Relay? Intriguing…
Fraro/bellamoden – I wonder if the conversational commenting difference has more to do with being part of the knitblogging community or not? I know that Van and Tink (not part of the knitblog or deafblog communities) reply to comments in the comments.
Van – I think baby sign is pretty cool. It’s amazing how much less frustrated an 18-month old is when s/he can express some basic comments, such as “more” or “milk.”
Holy…. 26 comments in like, one HOUR? WTF?!
Alright, yes. You guys have me convinced. Following 100 blogs that each have comment threads this long, with this many people and with this much community spirit and friendship would definitely make my head explode. Quickly. Even Harry couldn’t save me.
As far as being special… hehehe. No comment there.
But one thing that is cool to note is the directions this conversation is taking. Sign language? Way cool. Cats? Meh, I’ll pass. Too many cat convos in the world. Knitting? Okay, I like that.
And a problogger knitter? Very cool. To me, problogging is a job and not an action. Job as in writer, plumber, teacher… I guess knitter could be a job too, no?
Chris- I consider meeting people I would otherwise never have otherwise, a perk of blogging.
I see the nip debauchery continues…some cats across the pond are not thanking you.
I’m intrigued by the idea of a conversation in the comments. It might be hard though because there are so many people involved in the conversation. Even in real life, it’s hard to talk casually to more than 3 or 4 people.
@James: Too many cat convos? No, never enough cat convos. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve refrained from talking about mine. Don’t tempt me, I’ll do it just to annoy you
Let me know how the class goes. I might have to sign up for the next round. I’ve always wanted to learn ASL, but just haven’t gotten around to it much (and I’m terrible at finger spelling, unless I go at a snail’s pace.)
I think Knit & Tonic Wendy replies to her comments. I’m more of a comment & run kind of person, I guess.
Baby signs are ok. The fact baby signs are more popular than teaching deaf children ASL, not ok.
I have many pet peeves. I’m sorry.
Deaf relay is where you can call through IM or ancient TTY or video or web interface to call hearing people. AMAZING INVENTION. Or something.
Some days? Definitely or something. But overall, it’s a nice thing.
BTW, fingerspelling is not an important subset of ASL. It should not be used as a crutch. Do you spell out each word you’re talking about individually in meatspace? No? Wow. Don’t do that to me then, please.
*still has PTSD about that one time she was stuck in a first class dining car on the train with a woman who insisted on spending what seemed like 30 years f i n g e r s p e l l i n g a n e n t i r e c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d t h i s w a s t e n y e a r s a g o a n d i t i s s t i l l h o r r i b l e t o t h i n k a b o u t.*
Don’t do it. I thank you.
MamaT – I know – if I had to go back to every blog I read to look for responses, I wouldn’t be able to read very many blogs… The sense of not being alone is wonderful, isn’t it? That was so sustaining during my six weeks at home on medical leave. Aw, I’m so glad that you still like that scarf!
James – Ha!
I’m subscribed to about 150 blogs that I also comment on. To sustain comment conversation, I’d have to seriously cut back on the subscriptions – and I have a hard, hard time doing that. Yes, indeed, I’d have to say that for the the Yarn Harlot, knitting is a job (although so is writing, of which blogging is a part). Heck, she posted about toilet seat problems and got 350 comments…
Lorraine – You and me both! Definitely a perk.
Jennifer – Do you have any idea what your Myers-Briggs/Kiersey type is? I would guess you’re somewhere in the I spectrum – so am I!
Christy – I like it – “comment & run” is a perfect description.
Fraro/bellamoden – Really? Baby sign is more popular than teaching deaf kids ASL?
For shame… Hee hee – ok, I knew what relay was; for some reason I was thinking of a relay race from Dale-Harriet’s comment! *rolls eyes at self*
Oh, I know that ASL has its own, unique grammar. It’s just that to a standard-English speaker like myself, it SEEMS like short-hand. It’s one of the reasons I was never able to progress from basic signing to ASL . . . my “ear” (eye?) just couldn’t adapt to sentences that didn’t match the sentence structure my brain expected.
Interestingly, though, when I learned French in school, the different grammar wasn’t as hard for me to comprehend. I wonder if that was because I thought of sign language as something akin to visual English–like written words are kin to spoken ones, but in the same language. Whereas French was a completely different language, so a different grammatical structure made sense to my head?
I’m exhausted and can’t read anymore.
Fraro/belladmoden – Good point. My ASL teacher noted that the head of his Gallaudet ASL Dept was taught the Rochester method as a child and was scary fast (ie, unintelligible) with the fingerspelling. But it seems a beastly way to try to communicate. I’m likening it to spelling out a word I don’t know how to pronounce – once I learn the pronunciation, I don’t need to keep spelling the word.
Deb (Chappysmom) – I think that’s it. Our teacher also noted that ASL is the 5th hardest language to learn…
Deb (Wound2Tight) – Go take a nap!
ASL is amazing to teach to toddlers. Not only do they pick it up quickly, but it helps eliminate tantrums resulting from frustrated children because they are able to communicate their needs.
That’s a serious kitty ganga habit going on there!
Not only do I not have time to go back and see if YOU replied in the comments, I don’t have time to come back at ALL to read the comments.
Your personal replies are directly what lead me to continue visiting your blog ALONE daily (whether I commented or not) during any knitting hiatus I’ve had during the time I’ve “known” you.
Just my 2 cents.
How great that you’re learning ASL!
I think May is just saying “Say, wow, man, this is really good shit!”.
You know, if you look at the photo sideways, she looks like she has a beehive hairdo. Or maybe some kinda wild Don King thing.
Heide – I have noticed that about baby sign! Even having just a few signs makes a big difference.
Lisa – Aw, I am honored! And fear not – I’m not switching to replying in the comments. I’m enjoying this little interlude today, but boy does it take more time!
Cheryl – Did you turn your monitor to determine that? What are you on this morning?
This is an interesting conversation. I have a new blog (started in September) and I was so thrilled when I got my first comment. I immediately tried to email back, only to discover that the comments (which come to my email) come from a no-reply address. So, in order to reply by email, I’d have to track down the commenter’s email. (I realize not a great hardship, but because of my current email setup not as easy as it might be, either.) I asked, in an early post, how others handled comments and the majority of people (remember, I said I don’t get many comments, so we’re talking one or two people!) said they thought responding in my comment section was the right way to go. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
Plus, a lot of times, what I reply to a comment adds to, or enriches (I hope), the original post.
At the same time, I am always thrilled to get email from a blogger at whose blog I’ve commented. So I am torn.
I guess I don’t regularly visit that many blogs. I have my list of favorites that I visit religiously. A bunch of others that I visit oftem. But (no offense to anyone) after a while they all tend to blur. I enjoy them all but it’s the stronger personalities, the better writers, the people with some sort of “hook” that stick in my mind. I love your contest links, Chris, and the cats. I love Cyn’s (Half-Assed Knitting) humor (and patterns). I love Jane’s (Yarnstorm) color sensibility and photographs. And so on. And I know there are undoubtedly other gems out there. The joy is stumbling upon them.
ASL class? How cool! Working for an Independent Living Center, having an interpreter is important at our events, and I’ve always thought it would be fun to learn. Heide, I’m intrigued with the possibility of teaching a 4 year old with PDD the skill – would that be a way to help him focus, do you think?
Blogging got me involved in the lives of many knitters with visual impairments, as I have one myself. That’s been a fascinating extension of the original purpose. Not to mention “meeting” people all over the world who knit. And have CATS.
But I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my bloglines if I had to track comments and convos. Nope not me! (but I’m doing it THIS time for THIS thread!)
(((hugs)))
LOL at the catnip faces. Good luck with your ASL classes.
C&M,
You mean your Mom lets you roll in nip?? Wow, lucky you.
R&R
I accidentally did the “Subscribe to Comments” thing on a blog. There weren’t that many comments but it still drove me crazy for some reason. I can’t imagine following all of my blogs that way.
It’s great that you are taking a sign language course. I almost took it a few years ago. There was a deaf person that I interacted with a couple of times a year. It wasn’t that often but I hated being reduced to passing notes and weird hand signals.
But then I left that job and forgot about it.
The best unexpected benefit of blogging is finding others have the same bad days, problems, eccentricities, etc. I don’t as weird.
*waves* Hi Jodi!
Chris – glad the class wasn’t canceled! I never could keep up with bloggers who respond to comments with more comments. I figure that if it’s something useful for everyone to read, it can be added/updated in that post or put into a follow-up post.
Like SarahR I’m new to blogging and also discovered that I don’t have emails for replying. But like Margene I don’t usually follow up to see if a blogger responds to my comment, so I myself don’t respond in the comments to commenters (whew, that was convoluted!).
So, since most commenters also have blogs, and I do get a link to their profile with the comment, I go to their blog and comment on it.
I also rarely read comments on other blogs… If there’s any controversy it can get ugly… I don’t do ugly.
Good luck with the ASL. Once upon a time I worked in the same building with a deaf theater company. I got to know a few of the people there… and so learned some of their language so as to communicate better. I never got very good, you really have to *use* a language to get comfortable, but it was enough to be friendly and chat.
Interesting experiment!
Unanticipated side effect of this experiment – I am feeling anxious about not responding to comment emails.
Sarah R – Aw, thanks! I know what you mean. I have a carefully hoarded email or two from the Yarn Harlot responding to a comment I left. It was very exciting! Also, setting up one’s blogger profile properly to allow email responses to comments is not intuitive.
Knitnana – No idea about teaching baby signs to a child with PDD…
Sydney – I can’t see myself subscribing to a lot of comment threads for the same reason. It is nice to know we aren’t alone, isn’t it?!
Limedragon – That’s a good point about following up in another post.
I tried taking ASL in college, but I wound up abandoning it (in part because I was taking it not-for-credit and my for-credit classes took up more time). I couldn’t figure out how to take notes, which was a big problem for me. Good luck to you!
I think replying in the comments makes a lot of sense in a politics or politics-related blog. I enjoy reading the sometimes-very-long comment threads on blogs like Shapely Prose, for example. Still, I don’t really ever go back and reread them, and I almost never subscribe to comments on anything except my own posts on the group locavore blog I write for.
Um.. I totally forgot what the heck I was even going to say after reading 50 comments + replies.lol
I’m not a fan of commenting in comments (obviously since I also respond to comments left via email) because it takes too long to read to find a response and I hardly ever come back to read comments after I’m done reading the 200+ blogs I sub to on Bloglines.
Harley will be jealous that Chaos and Mayhem are allowed to roll around in the nip!
I rarely go back and read comments once I’ve read them, so I would miss replies this way. And although I’m bad at replying to comments on my blog, I think it would be even worse if I tried to reply in my comments! (And I’m with Lisa — I like your personal replies!)
The big unexpected gift from blogging is that when I moved 1000+ miles where I knew almost no one, and didn’t have any close friends, I felt like I was bringing some friends with me.
@Janna: You have a cat named Harley? My room mate had a cat named Davidson. Coolest cat ever, he rode on Pete’s shoulder when he took the Harley out. The two cats I have now aren’t as bold, they’re happy just to leave paw prints all over the bikes. Trés chic. Every biker should have paw prints on the tank.
Yeah, I ran out of steam somewhere around 30 comments. And I never go back and read comments once I’ve finished a post.
I find myself too impatient to read through all the comments, but I see how it would be helpful in fostering a community. I mostly wanted to say that I had friends in college who knew/were learning ASL (and we weren’t too far from Gallaudet University) and they found it helpful in loud places to communicate to each other! I’d love to do it myself, but I’ve got my hands full with the Japanese I’m taking now!
Naomi – Thanks! So far, I’m just writing down a list of vocabulary words he introduces so that I can refer to the book. And I think you’re right about the sorts of blogs/discussions that replying in the comments best suits.
Janna – Aww! I would miss the personal, one-on-one interaction, too. And I’m finding replying via comments far more time consuming than individual emails.
Wait, why would you take notes in English for an ASL class?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. I don’t take notes, ever, but I am good at not taking notes. If that makes sense.
Bellamoden: Because I couldn’t figure out how to write in ASL. I took notes in at-least-mostly-French in French class, and at-least-mostly-German in German, but ASL didn’t click the same way for me.
You can’t write notes in ASL anyway – it was a tongue in cheek snark! ASL is entirely right brained, while spoken languages are left brained. That might also help explain why it doesn’t click as easily.
Fifth most difficult language? No idea.
I don’t always respond to emailed comments particularly if I’m stupidly busy but I do appreciate them. Also, I don’t always feel compelled to comment on everything I read.
The unexpected benefits of blogging are definitely meeting you and lots of other wonderful people. It is nice to know that I’m not alone in my cat eccentricities and to make new friends who I wouldn’t have normally come across. Besides I now have two black cats that I want to lure over here..
Bellamoden: I know.
But if I were going to try again to learn ASL, I think I’d try to develop some sort of pictographic note-taking.
Really? I seem to remember that ASL activates the same parts of the brain as spoken/written language, which (as I recall) had something to do with its acceptance as a real language and not a pidgin-y short-hand. It’s been a while since my scholarly interest in language was overtaken by my interests in cell biology, though, so I may be misremembering things.
I don’t know. All I know for sure is that written and spoken English might as well be entirely different languages for me.
Never mind ASL.
First, Amy Winehouse caught on video smoking crack….
Now, Chaos and May caught on camera covered in nip and in a compromising position….Oh, the shame! Have the tabloids caught wind of this yet?
BTW, I took ASL for two quarters as my foreign language in college! I really enjoyed it and attended many events, theater performances, etc. that involved the deaf culture and ASL. Were it not for nursing school sucking away any life I may have had at the time, I would have pursued it further.
First:
I’m not a huge fan of the response in comments because I rarely get a chance to get back – the blog roll is long.
Second:
I would love to see ASL offered in our schools; haven’t figured out why it doesn’t rank as a language option in middle & high schools. I know Gameboy would be all over that instead of his other options.
Third:
Blogging has allowed me to meet many people who share a variety of my different interest- some local, some far way. None of these friendships would be possible without the blog – and my life wouldn’t be as fun.
I took an ASL course once. It was very challenging and fun. I think I did well, but the college didn’t offer any more courses past the first one, so I never got a chance to follow up.
I, too, wish it was a language option in schools.
As for the comment or email debate, I’m torn. I find reading tons of other comments daunting sometimes, and rarely go back to see if anyone has responded to my comment. I understand the theory, but it would incredibly time consuming keeping up with all the conversations going on on all these blogs! I already spend too much time online!
Holy Moly – what a conversation.
I don’t respond to comments via email ’cause I use Blogger without a plugin – I have no way to email. What I do is add most of my blog commenters to my Bloglines, and then comment on their blogs. Make sense?
I do like getting your emails because you are usually just giving me back of little of my own smart talk.
Holy Moly is right. About three hours since my last comment, and I came home to 38… 39… no wait, 40… (good lord, don’t they stop?!) comments in my inbox.
Guys, you’ve garnered my amazing respect for your community. It’s huge. Be proud.
You’ve also come up with some great conversation in here – I mean, man, this is a buffet of conversation! I’m going to have to blog about this whole new world I’ve discovered, I think.
Time: Took me five minutes to read all comments, another two to jot this reply, but you’re right – I can’t comment to everyone directly in here and that’s kind of a shame. But there are a bunch of side convos going on that are so interesting to read.
What an experiment! (Are y’all smug now?)
I think they look like Siamese Kitties — not siamese cats, but siamese twins — where does one end and the other begin.
The ‘nip is a nice touch, though.
I used to work with a deaf woman and she told me that if I would just take the time to learn ONE sign each day, at the end of a year I would know 365 signs. It was seriously cool. I need to brush up, though.
Discovering the online knitting community through blogs has been a lifesaver for me. I was always the only knitter I knew, so this has really opened up the art for me and I’ve “met” some really cool people.
http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/01/24/pepsi-unveils-super-bowl-ad-with-no-sound/
Oh. I love it.
James my man, they done wore us out. I had to stop checking my email or else I wouldn’t have gotten any work done.
It has been interesting to watch, I’ll give you that. Got to go now, the Monte Carlo hotel/casino is on fire and it’s all over the news!
@Harry/James–I TRIED to tell you!!
Ah, but there is no teacher like experience, is there? Lesson learned and duly noted
@ Deb:
Thomas the Apostle was not there and when he heard about it, he didn’t believe his friends, and he said he wanted to see it for himself.
Would it surprise you that my friends constantly tease me about Saint Thomas? I wonder why…
I’m guessing it’s sign for “Unpaw me you wretch.” Fraro? am I close? Ooh, an ASL class! That’s a great idea.
Sheesh, I’m glad I got here early today! I usually kind of stall off so I can read all the comments anyway but this is impossible.
I like comments via email even if Blogger is doing its darndest to make it impossible. Most of my book blog bloggers reply in their comments and it’s hard to get back to them. Just like the few blogs that post daily. If we all did that? I’d only be able to keep up with a fraction. I can barely keep up as it is. And there are the weekends of obsessive knitting when I don’t go online at all.
Oh dear. I leave to get a soy mocha, get some lunch, do some work… *blink blink*
I think we’ve established that the knitblogging community works a wee bit differently from other segments of the blogosphere, and that’s not a bad thing.
I’ve also learned that I can definitely deal with comment reply better via email than back here. However, I’m going to try to look at comments a bit differently; if there’s something that would benefit others, I’ll try to respond to that in the comments (as well as in the email to the commenter).
(I’ve also been pleasantly surprised at how many people have at least some basic knowledge of ASL.)
Congrats, everyone – once again, knitbloggers have boggled the muggles.
Hey! I’m not a Muggle! I just don’t knit.
Trouble is, now I feel compelled to say something intelligent. And all I really wanted to say was, “Aww, look at the widdle biddy kitty chin! Whosa cutest kitty outside of my house? Oh yes you is!”
@Harry – The Yarn Harlot doth sayeth that non-knitters be muggles; so mote it be.
Anne – That’s what my brain feels like right now, too!
Minnetonka High School does offer ASL and it does qualify for the language requirement.
*grumbles* So mote it be – under protest.
>I’m guessing it’s sign for “Unpaw me you wretch.” Fraro? am I close? Ooh, an ASL class! That’s a great idea.
Take an ASL class! And then you’d learn the mysteries of KSL.
Or something.
Have fun with the ASL. I had noticed the book but cigured i may have missed any mention of it before. I have a girlfriend who makes her living translating and she loves it.
On the learning ASL thing? Very Cool. I’ve wanted to for years, even took a course waaaay back in the early 90s but never had anyone to practice with so the interest, while still strong, has never been followed up properly.
As to the respond to comments by email vs. respond to comments in the comments discussion, here’s my two cents:
Some of the most important relationships in my adult life have become what they are because I left a comment on a blog, and the blogger sent an email in response. This allowed us to have a dialogue, an opportunity to find out more about each other. That the blogger took time to respond to me personally is something I always appreciate, especially as I don’t blog myself. I certainly don’t expect that every time I leave a comment somewhere I’ll get an email back – let’s face it, I don’t comment on every post on the blogs I read. Fair’s fair, you know? And blogging is supposed to be fun, not a burden.
When the blogger responds in their own comments, honestly I tend to lose interest after a while, because the personal connection hasn’t been made. And unless the topic of the post includes an open question of some sort or is somehow intriguing, or one that will obviously generate discussion, I won’t go back and check for ‘conversations’ later in the day. (the one exception to that is on blogs I know Rams reads. I’ll check to see if she’s popped in to comment, as that’s always a pleasure, and she and I have become friends through our mutual commenting habits. There’s one of those indirect benefits right there!)
Isn’t “so mote it be” a reference to the Daughters of Gaian?
I subscribe to over 200 blogs. (not all of them knitting and many don’t post every day. or even very often.) After reading the post at Chappysmom I tried subscribing to the comments on 3 and am now deluged with emails. I can’t keep up with jsut those 3, never mind my other blogs. So it’s not really a conversation….
Nope, it’s the pagan equivalent of “amen”
Hm. Also used in Anne Bishop’s book, Daughters of Gaian.
Did she properly cite her usage?
Sorry, Harrison. A muggle you are. Unless you learn to knit. So mote it be.
KSL! I hear that’s the hardest language to learn.
I was going to say something else intelligent, too, but I’m still laughing at Anne’s baby-cat-talk!
And, Chris, the Better Comments Manager plug-in is very handy for responding to your blog’s comments. Just sayin’. I’m not using it often, but it’s very useful when I do!
@ Deb – WHY didn’t you tell me about this plugin BEFORE?
Women. Sheesh.
I just assumed you knew, James!
You know, what with you being a problogger, and all (grin).
Here’s the link:
http://techie-buzz.com/wordpress-plugins/better-comments-manager-wordpress-plugin-release.html
Oh, go to hell
Honestly, with the plethora of plugins there are out there, we tend to stumble upon good ones amongst the wealth of crap ones out there. This is definitely one of the better ones. We have about 20 installed and about 100 we’re familiar with, but there’s always that *one* that we discover. By accident. When someone shares the secret.
Oh, I’m way ahead of you lol – downloaded and going to install! (but thanks – it’s a VERY good one for us. Being comment freaks and all.)
@Carrie: Stop rubbing it in already!
@Deb: Oh. Thanks. There you go making more work for me. *expects plug in link to show up in his email at any moment*
@James: Do not at “freak” to the list of names going on here.
I swear, you’re all against me.
I meant “add”. See? I’m so distraught I can’t spell anymore.
Deb – Ok, I’m testing that Better Comments Manager as I type. Thanks for the link!
Carol – I’m having so much trouble keeping up with these comments, I can’t imagine doing it for multiple blogs! I hover around 180-200 subscriptions; I wonder if nonknitbloggers subscribe to that many? Or is it another weird us thing?
RachelH – Hee hee. I just wanted to keep saying “Right on! Exactly!” as I read your comment. Some of the most important friendships of my adult life have likewise been formed through blogging. (Chill, Jeanne! We got to know each other through knitting, and we did begin to blog independently, simultaneously, and unbeknownst to each other.) I cannot even begin to imagine where my life would be without knitblogging; I know that it wouldn’t be as happy and full as it is.
@Harry – Well, duh. Of course we’re all against you!
@James – Now, if you interviewed the Yarn Harlot on your blog, you would be shocked at the blog traffic you got!
Ooh! Ooh! Do that! Interview the Yarn Harlot!! Heck, her last couple of posts have all been about the publishing process for her next book….
@Chris: Awww….c’mon, I’m a nice guy. Aren’t I?
@Harry – *whistling, looking up at the ceiling, hands behind back*
James? Deb? Somebody…help?
You’re on your own, bro.
@ Chris – Yes, non-knitters subscribe to well over that many blogs. And more. However, hitting anything close to 50 comments is something close to Guiness Book of World Records, unless you’re Darren Rowse of Problogger.net (who does not participate in his discussions or comments) or Brian Clark of Copyblogger (who does participate, but very little.) Most of us who are peddling our services through our blogs don’t generate the type of commentary going on here – it’s a business blog. It’s not really expected to.
I’m tempted to do the interview thing. Hm.
@James – Good point about business blogs. Tangentially, my MS is in technical writing. Of course, I worked for about two months as a technical writer and have been a systems analyst ever since.
Anyway, you should do such an interview! She’s a fellow Canadian, after all. You can find out her secrets, like how to deal with several hundred comments a day (did she turn off email notification??). Is Doctors Without Borders going to erect a statue of her?
She just celebrated her fourth blogiversary… and that post generated 501 comments!
If I subscribed to ten blogs, I might like the conversational aspect of the blogger replying to comments in the comments section. Since I subscribe to something over a hundred, there is absolutely no way I would ever go back to a post to follow up on the comments. No way, never.
Having said that, I just remembered that yesterday I did that exact thing. I had asked the blogger a question (not a knitblogger) and I remembered that she often comments herself, so I went back to check. She had very nicely answered my question.
But that is a one-in-a-million shot. Give me the e-mail conversation any day.
@James: Thanks. I’ll remember this the next time you inadvertently set something on fire.
@Chris: “Tangentially”? There’s one I never heard before.
@Harry – Yup. And it’s even a real word.
A very handy word for we non-linear thinkers.
That’s a tricky one. I try to reply once in the comments for each post that gets more than, say, three comments. But I also try to limit my comment-replies to things which would be of general interest. Like if someone asks a question about my post, I’ll put the answer in the comments (and usually email it to them as well).
It’s a tough line – I try to make it obvious that I’m responding to comments, to any visitor who stumbles across the thread later. But on the other hand, I don’t want ten comments followed by one massive, ten-response comment by myself.
One day Miss Manner will write a chapter on blogging, and we’ll all have an easier time of it.
I have the same issue where I wonder how to respond to comments–individually on my blog, in a few lump replies (again on the blog), by e-mail, or not at all. Since I prefer blogs where the blogger actually responds to comments, I’ve ruled out the last option, and time makes the first one difficult, but the others? It’s difficult. I’ve gone with replying on the blog to a) aide in the discussion and b) show hesitant commenters that I do care about comments and will reply.
ohhh how fantastic! I started a musical sign lanuguage at my previous church that was fun but haven’t been able to find a local sign language class near by. You’re going to have so much fuN!!
Erika – I bet there’s already a blogging etiquette book out there… or probably two that contradict each other! I definitely think I’ll continue replying via email, but also make more of an effort to respond to comments via comments when, as you note, it’s of general interest.
Caryn – Hmm. Your point B is one I hadn’t thought about before – and it’s a very good point. Hmm.
Hokey smokes! About 25 years ago I had this idea to learn asl and become the “deaf naturalist”. Not sure how to put that, but you know, naturalist to guide deaf folks through the woods… Love watching sign at concerts, it seems to make sense. But all I know is a deaf joke (that a deaf person ‘told’ me, at least it helps me remember a few signs), one not so awful swear word, the command to ‘line up’ (from having a couple of deaf boys in a tae kwondo class), and to tell somebody to look. Look! See? (from teaching a bug lab that had a deaf student in it). Doesn’t get me very far. Like all languages, exposure and practice helps a person remember. But to really get it, I think you need to ‘talk’ with people… go beyond a class. Maybe watching asl at concerts or also doing some physical thing like dance or martial arts help? (get that right brain thing going)
how cool that you are learning ASL.
You know, I noticed that idea on Deb’s blog. it sounds good in theory, rather like a chat room environment… but me, with my hectic schedule cannot get back to blog posts after I commented – so following a conversation would be an amazingly impossible featIn fact, I hardly ever have time to read the comments before mine…. crazy, but true..
I’ve always been interested in learning ASL, but of course have never done anything about it. Have fun with your class!
Chappysmom » Self-Portrait (with Knits) | 27-Jan-08 at 11:33 am | Permalink
[...] advantage of that “subscribe-to-comments” feature we’ve been discussing–at Chris’s, too. Really, even though so many of us think it’s not worth the effort, it’s generated [...]
I have a question … I’ve decided not to keep hunting and pecking the many, many blogs I read daily but to sign up for a feed aggregator. How did you decide on bloglines? I’ve also seen people praise google reader and other services?
Personally, I keep feeds “going” in three different readers, Bloglines, Newsgator, and Google reader. I primarily read out of one and just mark the others “read,” but I started doing this over a year ago after several days in a row that Bloglines was down and I couldn’t remember the “real” addresses of all of my favorite blogs to go to them manually!
I’m glad it isn’t just me doing that, Deb! I use Bloglines and Google Reader and keep them in synch with each other. After running them in parallel for a while, it seems like they pretty much balance out – one might pick up certain feeds faster than the other for a while, but then it will flip flop.
I also just heard that FeedDemon is now available free, but I haven’t checked that out at all.
*laugh* Interesting experiment.
I think that I’ll try replying via my blog instead of emails…Now I need to go & spend an hour figuring it out.
I think I’ll knit instead.
Hmm, very interesting thread here, but of course, I do not have time to go through 119 comments. I prefer to reply to comments by email, individually.
However, if I were getting comments like Wendy and Stephanie, yes, I would reply in the comments, or reply in a follow-up post to comments in the blog post.
That is how commenting works in my blog–discussions captured within–no emails. i prefer it that way myself (in my own blog). The problem, here, seems to be that the comments aren’t threaded but are instead chronological–?
Chappysmom » Squall | 10-Feb-08 at 5:30 pm | Permalink
[...] the interesting conversation about whether or not to respond to comments IN the comments? And then Chris picked it up? Well, now Harry is posting about US from the “other” side. Go check it out! At least [...]