I have come across blogs that do not allow comments, and I have wondered why someone would choose to do that. Isn't an important part of blogging that you get to interact with your readers, which is done primarily through the comments they leave? I think the answer to that is dependent upon the reason for doing a blog. Some people do it for the attention it gets them. Others are trying to make money off their blog. Others have something - an idea, a product, a business - thy want to promote. Comments are important because they help draw people to your blog.
My reason for blogging is that writing helps me form my thoughts and to see things more clearly. My posts are basically my train of thought on any given subject. I try very hard not to push any kind of agenda other than that of salvation through Jesus Christ. As it says at the top of my page, this is my journey in search of the truth in a world that has gone mad.
I put a lot of time and research into almost every post I do. Some posts will take me several days to do. None of them take less than several hours. Every issue I write about is done from the point of view of my Catholic beliefs. As you will see from my posts, if you actually read them, I almost always incorporate a lot of scripture and church teaching. I actually do try to let that form my opinion instead of having an opinion and looking for whatever will back it up. This does not seem to be the modus operandi of most bloggers. I actually rarely see the use of Holy Scripture on Catholic blogs, and I find that very unfortunate. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "We must never forget that all authentic and living Christian spirituality is based on the Word of God proclaimed, accepted, celebrated and meditated upon in the Church."
It is very disappointing to me when I get comments from people who are most obviously not interested in actually discussing my posts, but have only come to push their own agenda. Most people never address any specific points that I have made. They simply tell me that I'm wrong and will ignore anything that is contrary to what they want to believe. When I began blogging, I naively believed that comments were for discussion. I now realize that this is not the case at all.
I don't mind being challenged on what I have written. In fact, I encourage it if it is done in a reasonable and thoughtful manner AND if the person has actually read the post with an open mind. Unfortunately, I have seen very little of that on my blog, and that has especially been true with the last couple of posts concerning church closings here in New York and more specifically, Holy Innocents Church. I believe that most people read the title of my post, skim quickly through it, and then write a comment telling me how wrong I am. This is the only explanation for the fact that so few people actually bring up specific points that I make. I tend to just get the same talking points over and over again, which add nothing to the discussion, or lack thereof.
I really don't want to close comments, but most comments here have done nothing to add to the clarity of the subject and have become only a distraction. Therefore, comments are closed indefinitely.
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