Five things I hate about blogging
Saw this over here at SoMi Speaks. SoMi wrote about a post she had read where the author challenged people to write interesting content by discussing a viewpoint counter to your typical opinion. She chose to write about reasons to hate blogging. Rather than choose another topic, I think I'll steal her idea completely:
Five things I hate about blogging:
- Theme days. Wordless Wednesday. Half Naked Thursday. Thursday Thirteen. Haiku Friday. Sunday Stealing, Shitty Saturday, Moron Monday. Write on your blog because you have something you want to say. Write on your blog because you want to commit to creating content every day. Write for a real reason. Don't think to yourself "Oh, self, I haven't posted in a few days. I think I'll just stick up a photo and since it's Wednesday, I don't have to write a post and I can call it Wordless Wednesday." If you want to just put a photo up, put it up any day. You don't have to write anything if you don't want to. But following along with these theme days is just lazy blogging. Don't blog that day if you don't have anything to say.
EDIT: Let me be clear that I'm talking about global theme days, not themes that you come up for your own specific blog. That's a huge difference. One is following and one is leading.
- Cutesy Pseudonyms. Just like someone else, I despise cutesy pseudonyms on blogs. If you refer to your husband as "The Big Sir" and kids as "Little Creature" and "Princess from Space", I won't read you. Those types of names make your writing one-dimensional and make it very hard to see those people as anything other than characters in your shitty blog rather than full-fleshed three-dimensional people in your shitty life.
- Twitter. Twitter has made people lazy about blogging. Rather than putting time and effort into their content, the idea is germinated in their brain and then ejaculated in 140 characters onto Twitter to never be seen again. The advent of Twitter has also reduced commenting, which, in my opinion, reduces the feeling of community that blogging provides. I routinely get someone who comments on my post on Twitter rather than ON THE FUCKING POST or who replies to my comment on their post via Twitter.
- Blogs on Blogspot. Blogger's comment system sucks. You don't have control over your content, including images you upload. If you're serious about your blog, spend the five fucking dollars it would take to reserve a domain name or even go over to Wordpress.com for free. Every blog I see that's at http://Fuckinglazyblogger.blogspot.com I discount its value, even if its only marginally. If you don't take it seriously, why should I waste my time reading your blog?
- Product Review Sites With the exception of very few review sites, most sites will simply post a referral link to the product with scant information about the quality or even the function of said product. If you're going to do a review, actually review the product. Provide useful information about the product. Personal experiences with the item. Cogent details on why the product is or is not worth the purchase. If I'm searching for info on a product, and I see a site that just links to the product with a photo and maybe a rating or a one-line review, I usually hunt down the person who runs the site and throw hot pokers at their face.
Those are just five things that I hate about blogging. What do you hate?
Posted in Rants | Tags: blogging, blogs, blogspot, buy her, hate, hate about blogging, lazy, negative, rant, somi's nilsa, somispeaks, twitter
I hate whiners and complainers.
And Blogger.
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@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], am I a whiner and complainer, hm?
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@Avitable, I don't know. ARE you?
I repeat, I HATE BLOGSPOT, but not as much as I hate Explorer.
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@Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing], yes, I hate Explorer most.
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I'm on blogspot and I've got no problem with it. I'm there to write, not offer people tea and cookies.
And I take it very seriously.
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@Whit, why not set up your own space? If Blogger decided to close down without notice, which is their right as a free service, all of that writing that you say you take seriously would just disappear.
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@Whit I Agree with Adam… Pony up and move on out Honea.
I'd be glad to set you up with a sweet site.
Blogger is just plain difficult. They own you and your site, just like Adam says.
Quit being a pussy. (Adam totally told me to say that.)
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@whit, or if you really must stick with blogger's dashboard and ease of use, you can pay $10 a year and make your blogspot site a .com, still use all the same dashboard features as you are now. Details on one of the Dashboard pages, but as Adam says if Blogger gets gone so is your site.
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Every ad service on the planet on a blog all at once gets distracting as all get out.
Annoying music is bad, having some cutsey little teddy bear player located somewhere on your blog playing it is worse, I have to hunt around to switch off the annoying music so I'd rather just click off the site.
I having my own .dom name and domain, I like the control and I can do what I want without worrying about breaking my terms of service (I think).
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I hate Blogger. I hate cutesy pseudonyms: I can't relate to your little kid if you call him quackersmacker–at least act like his fucking name is Steve. I hate most other things you listed; however, I can tolerate some of the days, but when a blogger's only posts consist of that shit, I do hate it.
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@Amanda of Shamelessly Sassy, it's when it starts getting into fourteen different cutesy names or sets of initials that I glaze over and stop paying attention.
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I'm not a big fan of sweeping generalizations on blogs. But hey, no one is perfect.
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@Maura, who made a sweeping generalization? I'm pretty sure that's my perspective and opinion on blogging up there and I was speaking pretty specifically.
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Okay.
1) You have been doing "lazy sunday" for a long time, so shaddup.
2) You read my blog even though I refer to the guy I am married to as "The Hotband".
3) I've seen you whore out a product or two over the years. Usually yourself.
4) My content is not less than yours because I am too lazy to move it to the certifiableprincess.com site I have owned for about 3 years now. I am comfy on blogger. When my fat ass gets around to it…I'll move it. Or, you can do it for me on lazy sunday.
But, I will agree with you about the Twitter thing. And I am REALLY tired of people whoring out all their blog content on Facebook and Twitter. I think I keep a total of TWO people on my facebook account who do that…and only because I love them too much to defriend them.
You're one of them. Britt is the other. Anyone else has been fredited. Buh byes!
You know what I DO love about blogging?
Stealing other peoples ideas.
I think I shall use this tomorrow. Ha.
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@CP, 1. Well, no shit. I'm talking about global themes. Not a theme that you come up for yourself.
2. It annoys the fuck out of me. Call him by his name! However, since it's only one person, it's not as hard to keep track of as when there are 4-5 or more people running around.
3. I said "Product Review Sites", but even then, it's the sites that don't do actual reviews. I have no problem with people reviewing products when they write real reviews.
4. Yeah, it is. Because mine belongs to me. Yours exists merely at the will of Blogger.
I have many friends on Twitter and Facebook who do not use a feedreader and I've found that is the best way to post a link to my new post each day. Are you even on Twitter at all?
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I hate bloggers who hate bloggers like me! Humph.
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@Red Lotus Mama, but are you a blogger like you?
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@Avitable, I am me online as I am in real life. I take pride in my blog and my writing.
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@Red Lotus Mama, what is the sound of one blogger blogging?
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@Avitable, click, click, click, click, click …
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People who speak in LOL Cat speak crap. Dear god stop,it's NOT funny.
Twenty pictures and no words.
Contest's coming out of their asses.
Either you're a blogger or your the publish clearing house sweepstakes.
If you write anything of value you don't need to keep doing that. I don't mind one every once in awhile, but more than twice a month is too much.
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@ChickenLiver, it does bother me when people view blogging as some lower form of writing, so there's no need for proper punctuation, spelling or grammar. Even when *ahem* leaving comments.
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@Avitable, I get it. I saw it after I hit post and I was too lazy to fix it.
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@ChickenLiver, IZ DON'T GIT IT. UZ HAZ TRUBBLE WIT MAH TYPIN'?
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@sam {temptingmama}, I love my own cats, but you need to put down the cat nip, and step away from the key board.
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meh, to each their own. There are bloggers who do one or all or a combination thereof of all of these things, but I still read them…because to me, blogs are supposed to be as unique as the individual writing them. If they chose to use a pseudonym for their kids, then so be it. I'm not going to hate them for it or not read them over their choice. In the scheme of life, it just isn't worth getting my ire up over.
Also, I moved my blog from Blogger (Blogspot) over to Wordpress.com a couple of years ago, but I do not yet have my own domain. I can't get the one I want. Hence, I'm holding out. I suspect that's the case for a lot of folks.
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@Ginger, the pseudonym thing bothers me because when I don't know who is who, whether it's through weird fucking acronyms or names that don't have any resonance with me, I can't read their posts. This is usually typical once there's a cute name for the husband and one for the daughter and one for the son and one for the son's girlfriend, etc., etc. I don't mind the occasional use of one, but once it distracts me because I can't tell who they're writing about, I'm done.
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Hmm, I agree with you to a point on most of them. Not on blogger though, the comment system can be annoying (especially at the moment as the comment verification seems not to be working properly for me for some reason).
As a frequent user of the theme day myself ("All Greek to me" Sundays, UkeTube Sundays et al) I'm assuming you mean theme days that haven't been created by the blogger. If not then HOW DARE YOU! etc etc and all sorts of finger pointing about lazy Sunday.
There is a big big trend at the moment for product reviews/free trips over on UK parenting blogs that I was briefly sucked into and am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with. That scene is becoming incredibly commercialized incredibly quickly. Driven by a lot of blogging ex-journalists and PR people I suspect. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but i've decided i need to be concious not to get swept up by it all after being in the wilderness for so long.
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@Dan, your Blu Ray reviews are good reviews – you actually put the thought into them to make them valuable to anyone who reads them. And yes, I was talking about global themes, not a theme that you develop on your own.
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I call my husband "Max Power". I let him pick his own name because I figured if I'm going to talk about him, he should at least get a kick out of it. Yes, it's a Simpsons thing. I'm not defending it because while I agree with a lot of your points (and those add-ons of other commenters), I actually don't give that much of a crap what you think about that. I just thought you'd like the story.
I hate bad writing disguised as good writing. It's like overacting in blog form.
I cast a wary eye at *reams* of advertising.
I hate bloggers who appear to have a life only so they can blog about it.
I hate bloggers whose very identity appears to be entirely wrapped up in this world.
(Actually "hate" is a little much for both those. Pity. And then don't bother much with.)
I grow weary of the word(s?) "y'all". Especially from non-Texans. But Texans are abusing it. It's a verbal thing. Leave it there.
(LOLcatz! yeah, that too. I can haz time to move on?)
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@harmzie,
oh harmzie, how do i love thee? OMG ILU, BB!!!
the best ever: i can haz time to move on? you are so awesome, i am awed by your awesomaucity (YES!!! did you freaking SEE that?? i used your own word on you! score.)
avitable: when you are a newbie blogger, and you google "blog" blogger comes up first. so i just clicked "Ok". please, you are more than welcome to buy me a domain if you are that torn up about it, are generous, or have more money than brains.
-should anyone ever discover my secret identity (and NO, it is not jerry o'connell), i do not want them to know my children's real names, too. so i gave them cutesy, original names like "Princess" and "Hurricane."
-i totally agree with the shitty comment set up blogger has. it sucks.
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@harmzie, it's okay with one name. Once there's a cast of characters in the sidebar that has 5 or 6 names on it, though, I don't even bother trying to read it.
I was also trying to focus on the elements of blogging I hate, not actual bloggers, because that's a whole new post in and of itself, and I agree with you about bloggers who appear to have a life and who have no identity outside of the blogging world.
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Those made-up OMG-SUPER-AWESOME-BLOGGER-OF-THE-SPECIAL-UNICORN-DAY awards. I've already been nominated for two Schmemmys, I don't need any more made-up awards.
Also, bloggers who namedrop the Schmemmys.
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@the slackmistress, yeah, all of the awards drive me crazy. Do bloggers really need awards? I mean, other than the Hot Blogger Calendar.
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@Avitable Exactly! Plus bloggers in the Hot Blogger Calendar can combine to form a Voltron-like MECHA-BLOGGER THAT WILL CRUSH OTHERS UNDER OUR BOOTHEEL. (Yes, we will be wearing heels. Start practicing to walk in them now.)
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@the slackmistress, I practice in heels every night. And a dress, but that's just because I look damn sexy.
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What he said. Well, except that I think theme days are fine if they are used as a template rather than a crutch.
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@Ren, good point. If you build upon the theme and use it for your own purpose, it's definitely not lazy.
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Hmmmm.
Theme Days… I blog every day, and try to do so without resulting to "taking the easy way out" by doing a meme, a random movie review, or repurposing some other blogger's content. If nothing else, I at least try to draw a new cartoon or something. That being said, there are little things that happen throughout the week that are too big for Twitter, but too small to take up an entire blog entry. I save them up and post them together at the end of the week when most people aren't reading blogs anyway. Thus, I created "Bullet Sunday." It's a theme, but it's mine and I DO have something to say with it. There's nothing "lazy" about it.
Cutsey Pseudonyms… For the most part, I agree that this is kind of distracting when reading blogs, and it very much takes me out of the story somebody is trying to tell. I would rather that they just invent a name rather than give us something that doesn't sound like a real person. On the other hand, I HAVE read blogs which use cutsey pseudonyms to more effectively illustrate their narrative. In the end, I think a talented blogger can make anything work… even this.
Twitter… Again, it's how you use it. I make a conscious effort to not let Twitter rob content from my blog. If it does, I step back from Twitter for a while. Commenting is another entity entirely. I'd be lying if I said that Twitter doesn't cut down on the time I have for commenting, but I don't think it's REPLACED commenting for me. If an entry (such as this one) moves me to comment, I do so. Unfortunately, Twitter is quickly becoming a big waste of time… with all the contests and games and horoscopes and re-tweets and other stupid shit, it's 80% garbage now. Because of that, I'm commenting more than I have in months, because I'm ignoring Twitter more and more.
Blogspot… I very much disagree. It's not the system, it's the blogger I care about. If somebody is creating compelling content on Blogspot (or whatever) then they ARE taking blogging seriously and I DO find them worth reading. On the other hand, there are people with their own domain, an expensive template, and pretty images… yet their content is complete shit. Give me a Blogspot Blogger any day.
As for what I hate about blogging? I hate the haters. People who don't know me, don't know my blog, don't know ANYTHING but find their way to my site from some random search and decide to comment or email me about how stupid I am, how stupid my blog is, or how stupid ANYTHING is… and usually in the most moronic way possible. Intelligent debate is one thing, but I really don't give a crap what some random dumbass who can barely communicate thinks. How can you respect such disrespect?
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@Dave2, I'm talking about theme days that don't belong to you. Your "Bullet Sunday" posts are yours and that works for you. It's not lazy at all.
I know that there are serious bloggers using Blogspot. But in my mind, their importance is slightly marginalized because they can't be bothered to put their work on a space that they own and have any right to.
It amazes me how many haters you get – I can't even comprehend what those people are thinking.
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I'm with Dave on Twitter 100%. I use Twitter when I'm feeling chatty and bored but other than that, I'm starting to give two craps about it honestly. Although, I do think that Twitter has deterred *other* people from commenting and paying attention to blogs. Seriously, there are people that fucking live on that damned site.
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@Hilly, yeah, I've found myself shutting off Tweetdeck more and more throughout the day.
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Dave has a very good point. I've seen bee-ou-tiful templates with crappy asinine writing. Inversely, I've seen crapola templates with great writing. I think the content stands alone. And blogger is the easiest free service out there (free wordpress won't let you edit html), so I think that's why it's so popular.
I don't think blogger's commenting is horrible unless it's set to private (no anonymous) or has a stupid captcha (are people really getting THAT much spam? I've gotten maybe 5 spam comments on 2 blogs in 5 years).
I really really hate bloggers that can dish out venom but can't take it in return. The "it's my opinion; if you disagree then just keep it the fuck to yourself" people. Dude? Get a diary, stash it under your mattress.
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@Lexi, do you mean for the Wordpress templates? Because I have no problems editing HTML in my posts.
I just click the HTML tab.
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@Lynda, yes, I meant being able to tweak your template.
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@Lexi, the templates don't matter to me. It's the fact that you don't own your work on any free service. It could disappear tomorrow and there's nothing you could do about it.
Besides, I read most posts through a feedreader, so it's all about the content.
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@Avitable, I must admit, I'm mostly just lazy. The thing about switching to a domain, etc…I don't really know where to begin, and I'm usually too busy to try to figure it out. Also, I think there are a lot of bloggers who simply aren't tech-y enough to figure it out on their own.
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@Lexi, I think that's a fair assumption. That's why I think that someone who's really serious about blogging would end up eventually moving to their own host.
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Ignore me; I forgot to subscribe. Again.
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wow. i was totally prepared to 'go against the grain' and tell you what a bunch of crap I thought you just wrote, but it seems that nearly everyone thought the same thing! Which makes me think that maybe… juuust maybe, this is one of your posts meant to piss everyone off and talk to/about you.
Well done!
xo
b.
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@just beth, nope, it's not. These are obnoxious elements about blogging. Do you think theme days aren't lazy? Or stupid pseudonyms or acronyms make it easier to give depth to a character?
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@Avitable, Not sure what you're asking me… I don't think that theme days are lazy, neccissarily, I think that they're silly. But I don't know why people do them, I figure they have their reason. I just don't read them because I think they're silly and boring.
I don't think that 'stupid pseudonyms' make it easier to give depth to a character, I think mostly they're dumb, too. But I use one for my eldest son, The Boy, because I don't want to have to deal with his stupid fucking father, my ex husband. I'm not sure why people go to such great lenghts to hide their identity, but again, if I find myself bothered by their use I probably will lose interest and not read them long.
xo
b.
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Well, I don't have a cutesy name for my ex, like Dorkbreath or something, but I don't feel right using his full name anymore when I do have something I need to say to talk about him. So I just call him D. It isn't like someone can't figure out his name. I mean, I moved all my Blogger crap and other blogs over to the new blog. But, I still feel wrong about it because I don't have his permission anymore to use his name.
The thing I hate most about blogging is having to enter in a chain of letters to verify I'm a real person, and not being able to read the chain of letters. I really hate that. My eyes are going. I'm getting old. It makes me want to whack someone over the head with my cane.
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@Lynda, the pseudonym thing works fine when it's one or two people. It becomes ridiculous once there are four or five, because I can't keep up anymore, so I won't try to.
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the one thing i hate, is the "if you want a comment, you better comment on my site first". now don't get me wrong, i love comments, but don't comment just for the sake of maybe getting one on my site. if you like the post, comment, or if you have a legitimate question, comment.
i read everything, but i don't want to post shitty comments like "yup, i agree!". i'll post something when i think its time to post.
did i just make no sense at all?
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@sudobeer, that makes sense. I try to comment when I have something to say. Commenting just to comment is not something I'll do, with a few exceptions.
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I only have one pseudonym on my blogspot blog that I use regularly, and that's only because my husband threatened me with no more sex for the rest of my life if I used his real name! I am totally serious about that and my blogging even though I write on Blogger. (I'm just really cheap.)
I personally hate the initials for names thing. I try not to do it often because trying to read how BB and FF were over at SB today and JK came in and made a total scene about TM and his GF, DP is just too frickin' confusing!
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@Blondefabulous, the initials are so confusing that it becomes less about what happened and more about trying to remember who said what to whom.
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I agree most with your first point – although I dabbled in "theme days," I got tired of trying to think of entries to go with said theme, so I said fuck it and stopped. Post if you want to post, or don't post at all. If they want to read you, they will. And if they don't, who cares! Fuck them anyway.
Twitter to me is separate and has nothing to do with blogging to me; it's just another form of communication….although the re-tweet thing is seriously abused by some. I don't need to see you re-tweet something 10 times in a 2 hour period. Sometimes I scream at my screen, "OK!! I SAW IT 20 MINUTES AGO, MOTHERFUCKER!! STOP ALREADY!!," then I ignore what the person says after that out of sheer annoyance. One or two re-tweets is enough.
Everything else that goes on I just ignore because it's just not THAT serious.
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@Robin, I use Twitter as a separate form of communication, too. I wish everyone did.
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I can't stand it when people don't use modest paragraph structure. I turn the channel as soon as I see a blog without paragraphs.
If someone can't press the enter key every so often for my sake as the reader, then fuck 'em.
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@God, there are very few blogs that I'll continue reading when their post consists of 1000 words in one long rambly column.
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@God, this is probably one of my BIGGEST blogging pet peeves, too.
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I agree with you about the cutesy nick names – especially when it goes beyond kids. Every single human being you encountered in your entire life doesn't need a codename. I can't keep track of 50 codes per blog.
I have two of my own personal pet peeve. First, bloggers who are "too good" or "too big" to visit us little guys or respond to our comments. There are blogs that I read almost daily, but don't comment upon because the blogger never responds and never considers visiting my blog.
And second, are blogggers and commenters that are too sugary sweet. Seriously, when every single comment is something along the lines of "You are so right. You are so beautiful." it makes me ill. I like where counter-opinions are shared (and respected) and discussions can occur.
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@Karen, I agree with both of your pet peeves. I should write a post about the types of bloggers I dislike instead of what type of blogging I dislike – I'd have a huge list!
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Oops!
Guilty of 1-4. Though my review blog is actually kind of cool, AND it's run on WP.
These things make me crazy:
1. Acronyms that don't make sense. Especially message board ones. AF? BD? WTF. ha.
2. The same stock art from 400 other sites.
3. White text on a black background.
4. MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND.
5. Consistent failure to distinguish fact from opinion.
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@Maria, you're not guilty of the pseudonyms, at least if you are, it's never distracted me, and you're not on Blogspot, are you?
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@Avitable, I'm on blogspot, but I have my own domain and jacked up a theme to look somewhat nice. Since I hosted a shitload of my photos through blogger I'm mostly afraid that switching over will break them. I don't totally dislike the platform, but wordpress definitely has advantages. (It can overwhelm the shit out of newbies though.)
I call the boys Moose and Chipmunk. I call the baby Moose to his face though, so my whole family calls him that. Calling S a silly name in serious blog posts actually drives me crazy too, but I'm just not comfortable using his name on my blog.
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@Maria, well, it's good that you can't tell you're on blogspot, but if you're going to do that, just host it somewhere too! Your photos on blogger will still work for now, but eventually you'll want to move them over to Flickr anyways, right?
Those names are easy to remember and easy to relate to, I think. It's hard to discuss without trying to find a specific example, but it's when they feel more like characters than people.
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Wow. I'm guilty of the last 3 (although I actually write reviews of products) and maybe #2 as well. And I guess I'm guilty of #1 too, because I've made up my own theme days for my site.
Christ, I suck.
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@Chag, making up your own themes is perfectly acceptable – that's the opposite of lazy writing!
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I absolutely hate pseudonyms. Call your wife, husband, children by their real names. You aren't being cute and you aren't protecting anyone's identity.
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@corrin, very true. Anyone who thinks that they are is deceiving themselves.
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@corrin, fyi – while it's rather pointless i use a name for my husband i have to do it as his ex has tried to use my blog to sue us or to use in court. i don't think it helps but at least it saves my ass to some degree or makes me feel safer to post.
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#6 People who presume they have the right to decide what is, or is not, acceptable blogging.
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@thepsychobabble, don't think I said anywhere that this was unacceptable blogging or that I had the right to decide. Just this is what I personally hate about blogging. That's the nice thing about opinions.
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I hate conflict. Can't you just go back to being an agreeable lovable teddy bear that puts unicorns and strawberry shortcake all over his blog, so we're all happy and joyful and loving life?
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@whall, pfft. Fine.
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MeMes. I despise them. They are just blog filler, like Theme posts. Occasionally I reply to one because I'm afraid to offend the people who tagged me, but honestly, I hate them and I have decided that I need to stop caring if they get offended because I feel way too lame when I post MeMes.
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@Elisa, I only enjoy doing memes when I can come up with a funny twist on them.
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Oh, and anonymous posters. You are either lazy or a coward – fill in your info, dammit!
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@Elisa, exactly.
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@Avitable, fully agree.
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Loved reading this. I am totally nodding in agreement here! I don't do theme days… shoot me if I have in the past, but I don't think I ever have. I post pictures on any fucking day of the week! Oh but wait, you don't read my blog because I'm on a blogger.com… should I really make the switch? Wordpress.com is so much more formal, I think?! Anyway and I too am not a fan of the cutesy names. What's up with that? My children have names, they are Christos and Dimitry. Big deal, I scream out their names at the park or in other public places where strangers can see them and know what they are called, so what's the big deal here? Anyway! And the whole Twitter stealing comments from your blog is so true. I HATE THAT! Do not tell me you love my post on TWITTER, damn it!!!!! Thanks for this great post!
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@Loukia, I'm of the strong belief that if you want to blog seriously, you should move over to your own domain. With most places, it costs less than $5 a month and you can have a domain name and your own space.
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Nice list Adam… I would have to add music. Nothing like stumbling across a blog only to hear Celine Dion. My poor MacBook is tainted now.
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@OHmommy, I haven't come across a blog with autoplay music in a while. If I did, I'd unsubscribe from them.
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I hate "I heart".
I hate music that starts playing when I go on a blog.
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@Anna, what about "pph" – pink puffy heart? I have a soft spot for that term.
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@Avitable, I can actually understand why you'd have a soft spot for "pph". I never knew it existed (probably because I don't get acronyms at all) but know that I know, it kind of makes me giggle.
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whoopsie – I meant "now that I know"
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Is today "bitching tuesday?" damn, i always miss that. but just to clarify, Manly Man isn't cutesy, that's what I actually call him in order to demean him…even though he kind of came up with it.
ps. and i'm THIS close to just dropping all the blogger blogs, i'm sick of it.
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@Robin, I still read blogger blogs, because they do have good content – some have great content. But I think a blogger who wants to be serious should consider leaving the .blogspot address.
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@Avitable, oh i read them too, i just can't comment. at work it's just too hard to get it to go through, i get errors. if they could just move to wordpress.com that would be fantastic.
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@Robin, or to their own host.
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@Avitable, doesn't matter to me. i just hate blogger. anything but blogger is fine with me.
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I would be all annoyed at you for calling me out for agreeing with you – but since I already said it on my panel at BlogHer…
Yep.
I hate the acronyms/pseudonyms. It takes you out of the story. Call your kid Steve if you're worried about protecting them or whatever – I won't KNOW his name isn't Steve. (BHJ actually always did a good job with this with Lucy and Jackson, which I'm presuming aren't his kids' names.)
Other things that I don't like about blogging:
-reallllly long paragraphs.
-people who mimic another blogger's "voice" instead of finding their own.
-bloggers who are all promotion and fluff and "ooh! i love everyone and they all love me!" and no substance.
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@Miss Britt, blogs with no substance don't last in my feedreader if they make it there at all.
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@Miss Britt, BHJ's kids aren't named that. But, now he's changing their names every post, which makes it a little harder.
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I must be in a really zen place today because while all of those little things are somewhat irritating (except Blogger blogs, I don't care about those), there is only one real thing that irritates me more than anything else.
Skimming poorly.
I'll admit that I read very quickly and have been trained to speed read, as a matter of fact. However, I am also smart enough to pick out key points or slow the fuck down when it seems that someone is writing something really heartfelt or important to their lives. I absolutely cringe when I receive a comment on my blog that's got nothing to do with what I just said and is completely wrong for the subject at hand. I can tell when someone skimmed and didn't read versus someone just trying to be witty and lighten the mood. If you are going to skim and don't really care about what I've said then you should not take the time to pseudo-read my blog.
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@Hilly, I hate when people skim so that they can rush to leave a comment that then highlights their inability to read the fucking words on the page.
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Justifying myself:
I started my blog on a whim, and blogspot was the easiest place to start. Besides, I write what, once a week? If that? And I'll be the first to admit that my content is probably not entertaining in the least. I write for myself, and perhaps I should just stick with a personal journal saved on my hard drive or something but I have a pretty template dammit!… Screw it, I'll stick with blogspot. As far as the possibility of losing what I wrote, since I don't claim to be a quality writer, I'm not really worried about it yet. Maybe if I get more motivated about being a REAL blogger, I'll make a change.
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@jen, that's fair. And if you're doing it on a whim and just having fun with it, then it doesn't really matter what I think, either!
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#1 hate – gorilla boys who post more pictures of their balls than hot Asian women.
And Blogspot rulz! Suffer the wrath of the redneck jihad, bloggy snob. Really, now we have a prejudice against blogging services? Thank god I ain't black, huh?
Actually, Google blogger used to be way worse than it is now. When I switched to a pay service, it took me four days to be able to post my final post because their servers were always down. When I switched, for some reason several bloggers (7, I think, of the about 20 who normally commented) used it as an excuse to break contact, by which I mean they left a final comment on my blogspot blog saying they wouldn't follow me to whatever service I was using and that was the last I heard from them. They also suddenly stopped returning my e-mails. It was a nice reminder that a lot of the sense of community we feel comes from a bunch of anonymous flakes.
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@Grant, Blogger has improved significantly from what it used to be. I can't imagine people wouldn't follow you to your new blog? That's retarded – there are a lot of idiots in the community, too.
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@Avitable, and when I returned to Google some years later they still wouldn't talk to me. I still see some commenting on other blogs I visit. I commented on their blogs to see their reaction and some simply ignored my comments but responded to others, and some moved / hid their blogs. The bloggysphere allows people to be the type of flakes they'd never have the courage to be in real life.
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@Grant, who are these people? Tell me their names.
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Hmm I am on blogspot, does that mean I do not take my writing seriously? I don't think so, I backup my writing in a journal on my computer and I am cheap and just not that computer savy I guess when it comes to setting up my own site.
What do I hate? I hate when bloggers use cutesy little names for there family, I find it irritating as I can't remember who they are talking about half way through the damn thing. So I agree with you!
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@Deb, it's good that you back it up – at least you know the risk of being on a free site.
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I don't hate any of that stuff. Some of it bothers me (especially Twitter), but none to the extant that it will keep me from reading anyone's blog.
As for Blogger, I agree that it has some limitations, especially the commenting. But I really don't care. I set up another blog on Wordpress.com last year (my beer review site) and I just never got into it. I didn't find it to be any worse or any better…just different. There are some blogs out there whose setups I don't really like regardless of the platform, but what the hell…it's not my blog, so live and let live I always say.
But this whole "serious about blogging" business? C'mon…lighten up, dude.
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@B.E. Earl, I'm talking about people who consider themselves serious, big time bloggers – they make money off of their blogs, or they are really into blogging. I just can't take them seriously as bloggers if they're not even on their own host. It takes minimal effort and income to do it, and if they want to claim to be serious about it, they should actually be serious about it.
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Word to yer mutha.
I've tried so many times to be a lazy blogger and jumped on the theme days, but I can't even do that right.
Blogspot annoys the shit out of me. I am {thisclose} to not even doing designs for it anymore. I can't stand the comments either.
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@sam {temptingmama}, I think it's a good starting point for new bloggers, but once they understand the blogging world, it's smart to move over to their own host.
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It's a little bit odd for me, because at one time or another I've complained about the same things and would normally be in full agreement but…
Theme Days- I don't have a problem with a blog using Themed Days, even copied Themed Days unless they are doing that three or more times a week. Assuming a blogger posts 5 times a week, three themed days would make up 60% of the content, and that to me isn't really blogging but memeing.
Cutsey Pseudonyms- I have no problem with Cutsey Pseudonyms unless they are a blog title unto themselves. For example: If I call my girlfriend BGITW consistently, that's fine… but if I actually spelled out Best Girlfriend In The World consistently then I want to scratch my eyes out. I'm also not a fan of negative pseudonyms or numbering like Brat #3, Bitch #27, or Bastard #3,708. I also find the trend of referring to a child's mother as The Egg Donor and a child's father as The Sperm Donor to also be not only annoying, but downright offensive by downplaying the role that person had in the creation of a life… and that to me is short sighted.
Twitter- I agree, although I prefer it that since Twitter the blog posts that are comprised of "Look at this great link I found!" I have since disappeared.
Blooger- I hate them. My hatred for them is well documented. My hatred for them continues to burn passionately… but I will still read a Blooger blog. That's why they invented RSS, because Blooger sucks.
Product Review Sites- Honestly, I'm not a big fan of them either but for an entirely different reason. These are the sites that Personal Bloggers create so as to appear they aren't selling out on their personal blog, which I can honestly respect and I do appreciate them hawking shit elsewhere… in fact for that matter I applaud it. Unfortunately, rarely do they know how to do it right and while being blinded for greed will grab everything and anything they can get their product/swag loving hands on. So then they review stuff and forget about it because they are onto their next new thing, and rarely follow up on any of their reviewed products… including those that are recalled for safety reasons. During the huge lead paint recall, I actually found review blogs that posted positive reviews on products AFTER they had been recalled. I don't view them as safe, informative, or authorities when they behave in this manner.
So now that I have written an entire blog post in your comments… please consider myself as having blogged for the week.
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@NYCWD, the problem with BGITW is that I don't remember what it means and whether that's a boy or a girl or a kid or a spouse, so every time I read their post I have to go look at their cast of characters. Why not call her "Melissa"?
Product review sites have no responsibility to keep up on product recalls. It's still the consumer's responsibility to do enough research before buying any product.
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@Avitable, Product review sites have no responsibility to keep up on product recalls. It's still the consumer's responsibility to do enough research before buying any product. Ah, but one of the problems is that the Product Review sites are offering information about the product, are perceived by the consumer as a trusted source of information, and are therefore misleading in both their authority and their ability to offer timely and unbiased reviews… hence why the FTC is now looking into regulating them. With great power comes….
You try calling BGITW "Melissa", and let me know how that works out for you.
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@NYCWD, a fake name is better than some stupid acronym if you can't use their real name.
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I agree with what you said, especially Wordless Wednesdays. Some people I know are great photographers, so their Wednesdays don't bother me, but overall, it makes me want to scream. I have pretty much stopped commenting on them, unless the picture is exceptionally cool.
I have a Blogger blog, and I have yet to move it. I suck! but I was already aware of that, thankyouverymuch.
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@Sybil Law, well, you only blog about once a year, right?
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Okay, I agree with much of what you say… but… I use T for my hubby and the first two letters of each of my kids names, why, because I'm trying to limit their exposure on the internet. I also dont post their pictures on my blog.
I found blogger first and I'm not a great writer, so a little de-value is what it is, I'm fine with that, I mostly write for me anyway.
I agree about twitter, especially the lack of commenting. I actually use plurk for any microblogging needs, I can get comments, and people can have conversations. I have it route to twitter and facebook but dont really pay attention to if anyone responds there.
There's my two cents, I enjoy your brutal honesty on your blog, and you can right whatever you want, you pay for it, so go you.
S
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@Sarah O G, I forgot to say, I call my twin girls Tweedles, in real life, and they do get referred to as such, but anyone else out side my family will get their real name most of the time, why, because I cant keep up with all the nicknames either.
I would also like to note that my blog is not one of bloggers already formatted ones, I took the html and tweaked it to work for me. I'm no programmer, but hate all of their preformatted looks, yuck.
S
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@Sarah O G, those names seem to be easy to figure out from context. There's a line when everything becomes more about figuring out who the hell you're talking about, though.
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To cover a few things in my opinion:
Theme posts get me down, too. I've never done them, and I never will.
I think nicknames for people is okay for the purposes of anonymity, but I guess one could also pick a name like Steve or Linda for their husband or wife instead. For the sake of keeping my wife anonymous, I started calling her The Boss… because, well she is.
I agree with what you said about Twitter. I use it mostly to share a bit of humor, or to do a little of self-promotion when I've got a new post up (nothing wrong with that, so long as it's not overdone).
And yes, Blogger sucks sometimes. Wordpress isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.
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@Badass Geek, Wordpress isn't perfect, but at least you own your space and you can customize it as you see fit.
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I wonder what it says about me that I don't really care enough about what anyone else does (in regards to blogging) to say "I hate that." The possible exception is being boring. That, to me, is THE cardinal sin. You can do Thursday Thirteen from now until the end of time and if it's clever and well done, I'll love it, but you can post all "original" content and if it's not interesting (and/or poorly written), I'm gone.
BTW, I thought this was supposed to be counter to your usual opinion.
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@Finn, well, boring blogs don't even make it in my feedreader. And that's true, this isn't really counter to my usual opinion, is it? I guess I failed that assignment!
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Are people still tagging people with memes? I hate memes. And thanks for commenting on my Blogger blog.
By the way, I really loved your Jesus fucking Christ post. I mean, I really loved it.
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@fuzzarelly, I wish I had thought of it!
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Oh, and because I drink and drive these country roads, I made a blogger website just for pictures, because sometimes I can't wrtie.
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@fuzzarelly, if you're going to make a Blogger website with just photos, upload the photos to Flickr and post them on Blogger then. That way, you still retain ownership over them!
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@Avitable, I am so reatrded and drunk most times. Vlogger is so easy.
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Oh! What else I hate?
CENTERED POSTS.
GAH!!!!!
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@sam {temptingmama}, people do that? Thank God for feedreaders.
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only thing i hate about other blogging is when the writer is all eeyore (everything they write is totally depressing…no positive outlook at all). i can deal with a bunch of that other shit. it annoys me, but i can deal if i like the writer.
question…jester hosts my wordpress site. if we ever got in a fight, or if he wanted to for any reason, he could shut me down, just the same as the blogspot people could close up shop and screw everyone. does that mean you hate my blog? or do you just hate that i participate in hnt and usually call aunt chris "aunt tinkle" because she peed her pants that one time?
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@hello haha narf, you don't pay Jester for that? And even in that situation, that's still completely different from Blogger. And I'm not a fan of HNT, but "Aunt Tinkle" makes me laugh.
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I pretty much hate all those things too. And Follow Friday on Twitter. I refuse to participate. And I also hate white or colored text on dark backgrounds. I can't read it. And when you have to "sign in" before commenting. No thanks!
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@sizzle, the design flaws in a lot of blogs don't bother me too much because I read them through a reader.
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I have to agree with you on everything. Although, I do call my father the Paranoid Persian and not by his name if only b/c his actual first name is highly googleable. That and it's an accurate description. Any other nicknames on the site are names I actually use. I call my godson The Moose to his face more often than Owen. But I agree that having 18 pseudonyms to keep track of is distracting more than anything else.
But you know what I love? Bloggers who create and continue conversations on their blogs. Who welcome differing opinions and don't immediately put up defenses the minute someone disagrees with them. It's why I come here so often. Even if I'm not commenting I love reading the comments almost as much as the content. Kudos.
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@Just Shireen, my commenters are always some of the best on the web.
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And here I thought blogging was about getting to know people and sharing information with them and maybe making new friends. I guess I was guilty of all, except product review.
But who cares what I think, I was on Blogger, which means I don't really give a care. Which I didn't. I wasn't trying to become a "writer". I was just trying to meet people as I said.
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@trishk, blogging is definitely about community. But it's also about getting to know someone based on how they blog, and if I can't read it because it's too confusing or it's all memes, I'm not going to get to know them, right? The Blogger one is more of a nitpick for me.
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I've connected with lots of bloggers via Twitter, but getting comments on Twitter would drive me crazy! It's bad enough that some people email me their comments. (That drives me crazy!) But I guess I should just shut up and be grateful that someone's actually reading my pathetic drivel, right? (;
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@Elizabeth Kaylene, I hate when I get email comments.
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@Avitable, There's probably a society of comment emailers out to get us!
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Did you really just tell me that you hate Nekkid Fridays?
And twitter. I love twitter. I feel like I know vastly MORE bloggers because of twitter, and like I know them better.
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@Miss Grace, AND I use Blogger (blogspot, whatever), but I use flickr to host my pictures. And my commenting format is a work in progress really.
But I like how much control you have over your CSS without paying for it in Blogger.
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@Miss Grace, knowing people through Twitter is like running into them at a party for thirty seconds. Knowing them through a blog is like getting several hours sitting down at a restaurant talking to them. I prefer the latter, even if it means I meet less people.
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@Avitable, What about when you run into someone at a party for 30 seconds, and they make a lunch date with you the next day? For me, that's what twitter is like. I see a pretty fluid journey between twitter and blogs and back to twitter. This person's neat, I wonder what their life is like, oh look, I'll go to their blog. And at the same time, I can chat with them on twitter while we sip our cocktails.
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@Miss Grace, Twitter seems way too shallow to me for me to find much value in it.
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@Avitable, Let's box.
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And I HATE memes and blog carnivals and awards.
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@Miss Grace, well, that's too bad because I was going to give you the Boobie Blogger Award that you have to pass onto ten other people and put the image in your sidebar and then tell ten things you like about them.
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@Avitable, Don't make me cut a bitch.
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a million here heres on this post. i absolutely DESPISE the fake name crap. if you're that worried about protecting your identity, don't blog. bugs me endlessly.
i hate lurkers. i mean that in a nice way. but if you're going to take the time to read my shit, why not comment occasionally? unless you're my ex. in that case, shut the hell up.
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@cristina, I don't mind lurkers, but it would be nice if people felt comfortable enough to comment.
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Hmm….theme days, I use them now and again, but cannot stand blogs that are so scripted they use a theme every fucking day of the week. I started using pseudonyms awhile ago, but I'm not sure why I do it anymore. I slap my kid's picture up with annoying frequency so it's not like I can deny that the blog belongs to me if an unsuspecting family member stumbles across it.
Wow. Suddenly I feel like the straightjacket sleeves have been unbuckled. I think I see the end of pseudonyms!
I do hate Blogger blogs that do not acknowledge in their comment section that some (most) people don't use that piece of shit site and won't let you enter your own site since it doesn't have blogspot in the URL. Those blogs get thrown out of my reader in a hot minute!
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@perpstu, I've released you from your demons! Hallelujah!
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There are lots of things about blogging that I hate. And lots of types of bloggers and commenters that I hate. But, I do love watching people get defensive when they think that "Things I hate about Blogging/Bloggers/Commenters" posts are aimed at them.
One of my life's goals is to move away from Blogspot and get my own domain. I just have to finally get around to doing it. Maybe someday I will.
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@Jay, yeah, exactly. It's not like I'm talking about one person when I write this shit. I'm just explaining what irks me.
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Hmmm- I do most of what you hate. Sucks to be me…
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@Princess of the Universe, well, I didn't say that I hate the bloggers who do those things, just those aspects of blogging.
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I wanted to comment on this but twitter is down so I had to actually comment here on your blog. Twitter is an asshole.
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@Jenny, Bloggess, if Twitter's an asshole, does that make Blogger a douchenozzle? Is Google the cunt of the Internet?
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I hate rambling. I try pretty hard not to ramble on my blog. Adverbs are for pussies and are extraneous. Most adjectives, too. Ditto for passive voice verbs.
Most of all, I hate the use of 's to make a word plural. Or, for "it's" to be the possessive for "it." People who do this should spend their evenings at the local tech school or community college, not writing. Clearly, they have no fucking clue.
Lastly, I don't like bloggers who keep cars on blocks in their front yards. It's ugly and low class. Stop.
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@muskrat, I'm with you on the grammar. Those people should just stick to photos on their blogs.
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You are of course entitled to both your opinion and your right to voice it. Here is mine: I could care less. Let people do and be whatever they want. Why waste energy "hating" on anything. It's a wasted emotion.
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@Willie G, don't you mean you "couldn't" care less?
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The names I use for my kids are their actual nicknames. If I'm not called them by their names, I'm using those nicknames you see on my blog. So, there you go.
And blogspot? Wow. OK. I'll just go fuck off, I guess.
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@Coal Miner's Granddaughter, and your nicknames resonate because it's obvious how naturally you use them. And yes, you should move over to your own domain someday.
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@Coal Miner's Granddaughter, oh, and, are you a bit cranky? I didn't say you should fuck off. Plus, I love you!
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You're absolutely right about Twitter's effect on blogging. It makes me sad. And I hate that EVERYONE is now @YourNameHere in blog's comment's sections. Twitter + spillover = Twillover?
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@bo, spittover.
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I hate word verification systems.
I hate people who use initials to refer to people as my brain is not big enough to remember who is who for more than 30 seconds. Maybe less.
I hate people who take entire posts to whinge about how no one comments.
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@Aunt Becky, yeah, I hate those posts, too. Why is anyone going to comment if they're so damn whiny?
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@Avitable, I've wondered that for years. And yet it ALWAYS brings out the comments. Maybe I've been doing it wrong for years. Which, obviously.
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I use "cutesy" names for my husband and kids and best friend because I just figured it was easier to remember I'm talking about my husband when I say "The Husband" rather than Mike, that sort of thing. The cutesy names *are* what we call them at home though too. And everyone who is anyone (that I love) on the internet already knows their real names so it's really just a moot point or something like that about why I still use the cutesy names you hate so much. And we've already had this conversation so I don't know why the fuck I'm putting this in my comment other than the fact that I like to ramble and sometimes I talk just to hear myself talk dammit and *that* is why I started a blog fucker so don't you judge me.
And, after reading this list, I tried to figure out why you loved me so freakin' much because I should be your number one bloggin' nemesis really except I got lucky and my awesome friend Sarah moved me to my own domain and then you hauled all my boxes for me from my old one to my new one and then I tricked this awesome guy into internet marrying me and he knocked my blog up and keeps up with all the yard work on my blog and I love him. And so now I'm not on blogspot and I have an awesome template and it's just everything else about my blog that sucks. Right? Right.
And then I remember that I let you touch my boobs and sometimes I send you pictures which is why I can be as annoying as I possibly can be and you still love me.
The power of boobies compel you.
<>
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@Sheila (Charm School Reject), boobs solve everything.
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Comic Art Fridays ain't going away, so suck it.
Oh, never mind… there's an edit. You don't have to suck it now. Unless you want to. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
My pet blogging peeve is bloggers who can't write. Though that may be more of a peeve about the world in general.
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@SwanShadow, bloggers who can't write are like artists who can't create. They should find a different pursuit.
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This is the first time I've been to your blog. I don't think you'll like me and my Blogger blog very much. My kids are Lovely and Bird, because I want them to be. Real names for everyone else. I loved Haiku Friday because it forced me to think outside of prose or stream of consciousness.
On the other hand, I agree about Twitter. To me, Twitter is a cocktail party that I mingle through when I have time. And I don't do reviews or take free shit. Tried it, hated it, stopped it.
Things I don't like (because "hate" is too strong of a word – I can't care that much about it). Auto-play music. Pay per post. Vlogging.
And one I could almost say I hated – blogs written in the voice of your two year old.
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@marty, why not write haiku when you wanted to, rather than do it on Fridays because everyone else is?
Why don't you like vlogs?
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@Avitable, I suppose I never had the instinctual urge to write haiku, but enjoyed it when I did it – and I liked reading other people's as well. It was fun for awhile, and then I was over it. You know, fun while it lasted.
I don't like vlogs because I can read a lot faster than someone can talk, and I get impatient waiting for them to finish what they are saying. I don't feel that way about a conversation with someone – I have far more patience IRL. Otherwise I would be a terrible friend, wouldn't I?
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@marty, I can't stand Vlogs either. I'm from Ireland and speak faster than absolutely everyone. There's nothing worse than sitting there willing someone to hurry the hell up and finish the damn sentence before I scratch my eyes out.
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@Leanne, And all of the "um's" really get me too.
@Avitable, After I left my comment, I realized that I basically just told you that I can't think for myself and am a terrible listener. Awesome. I think I'll shut up now.
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@marty, so when I do vlogs, I should just speak faster?
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You can ejaculate on twitter??? Clearly I missed out on that part when I read the TOS.
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@The Demigod, only when you use Twitter on your prostate. It's called Twitterbating.
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Blogger serves a purpose. If they decide to pack up, I have everything backed up, I'll start over. No big deal really!
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@Leanne, well, it's good that you back it all up!
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Twitter is microblogging, and is all the time some people have.
I get tired of you telling me how much you hate me sometimes, you are so mean.
PBLT!
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@Poppy, it's obnoxioblogging is what it is.
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@Avitable, Then why do you participate, bridge jumper?
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@Poppy, because it has certain benefits as well. Just because other people don't know how to use it properly doesn't mean I can't!
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PS – You adore people who use cutesy pseudonyms so I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT ANYMORE!
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@Poppy, no way. Do not!
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@Avitable, I'm pretty sure Snackiepoo is now VERY offended. She is who I had in mind, AHMOO.
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@Poppy, I don't think she uses cutesy pseudonyms for her spouse and children like I said originally, does she?
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PPS – Are you just trying to weed out some people who piss you off? I enjoy when you do that.
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@Poppy, people who piss me off I just unsubscribe and unfollow.
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@Avitable, WHY DO YOU HAVE ANYONE TO UNFOLLOW if you think Twitter is stupid?
It's not that I disagree with your point, I just disagree with your hypocrisy.
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@Poppy, I think that many of the people who use Twitter are stupid. The concept of Twitter is a good one.
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AHMOO, I AM TOP COMMENTER, WOOOOOOT!!!!
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@Poppy, how do you know? I don't even have that widget in the sidebar anymore!
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@Avitable, I was kidding. I'm a kidder. I'm here to amuse you.
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I love being ridiculous on your blog.
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@Poppy, you do so well at it, too!
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@Avitable, Thank you!
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Ok, I'm guilty of only one… ok, maybe two. I think I should get a gold star or something.
1 – I do one theme day, and that's only cause I'm lazy and haven't been writing shit lately.
2 – I'd prefer not to use pseudonyms at all. But "the husband" prefers his anonymity *read: hates that I blog at all*, and I'd rather stay cyber-hidden from my psychotic relatives, thanks. I try to keep mine simple – my teenage son is "the teenager", or at least make up names.
4 – Hate Blogger. I've had them pull a previous blog on me (which of course, was NOT backed up at all). WP is so much better, even if you don't want to shell out the few $$ for your own domain.
5 – I only read one review site, because it makes me laugh (and actually convinces me to buy stuff). And you linked to that one.
My biggest hate? I love winning the occasional giveaway, but if you're spending more time trying to suck people in to reading your blog by giving shit away than writing, I won't bother coming back.
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@Kay, "the husband" and "the teenager" are obvious so it doesn't distract from the writing.
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Poppy makes me laugh.
Me? I hate it when bloggers put ranty holier than thou shit into the blogosphere and thereby increase the negativity that all the pure, light loving souls on this earth strive to rise above.
:D
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@Faiqa, are you trying to imply that you of all people are one of the "pure, light loving souls"? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
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I don't have the lousy $5 to set up my own domain name – although I'm saving my pennies so I can do it someday. Blogger sucks. Wordpress is better, but I want to be able to tweak the templates.
What I dislike most about blogging is … guest posts. For Christ's sake, is the world going to end if someone goes on vacation and doesn't post for a week? Really? I read the blogs in my blogroll because I want to know what they have to say – I don't care about their friends. And yes, I've guested. And yes, I almost said no. I said yes because I was flattered to be asked. So there ya go. I'm a hypocrite.
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@Cap, I like guest posts because it gives my readers the chance to try someone new and gives a friend a chance to try a different audience!
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Their and they're, your and you're, its and it's, irregardless and L33T speak in that order. If you're going to blog at least pretend to be a writer…
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@SiteInsights, I concur.
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Dang, what happened there? my comments got a bit jammed together!
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@Mik, I don't know. The only comment left is this one. Weird.
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I have a problem with anyone reading a specific post and hearing it only speak about themselves and then feeling the need to defend themselves in the comments. Where's the blogging with integrity badge, Avitable?
Also, can you please be a little more specific about what you mean about using pseudonyms, because I don't really get it.
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@Zoeyjane, I'm sensing some sarcasm here.
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@Avitable, I'm never sarcastic. . .
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I just read every comment.
I think I might have to quit blogging now.
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@Mr Lady, and why would you do that? Your blog is awesome!
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Oh, and in defense of the pseudonyms:
My 11 year old and I were talking about the blog today, and he asked me, quite concerned, "Mom, my friends can't google my name and find your blog, can they?" And I told him no, that's why I always ask his permission before I talk about him and that's why I've never once mentioned his name. Because it's his identity and not mine to share.
And he said thank you. This from a kid who LOVES his mom's blog.
And before anyone says that his LIFE isn't mine to share, either, it kind of is actually. And I always ask first and let him read after. And if he doesn't like it, I take it down.
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@Mr Lady, well, it's also because you named him Gaylord Homo III, and you know how mean that was of you to do.
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Banal Leakage is in the clear. I don't do any of those 5 things on my blog, at least that I know of.
But I do have a Blogger blog that I occasionally post on.
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@martymankins, is that your anonymous dirty sex blog?
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@Avitable, Nope, that would be rackandtail.com.
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Okay, so sometimes I read your stuff and I think: That's funny! Other times I read it and think: HOLY CRAP! How did this guy get in my head.
Yesterday I spent a chunk of the day moving my blog from blogspot to wordpress AND telling everyone they were getting outed on my blog because I'm dropping the nicknames. In the middle of all that I took a break to read your blog and… HOLY CRAP!
It feels good to be a big girl blogger now.
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@Jennifer, I'm not in your head. Just hiding in your closet. And you should remember to change your URL to http://jlakec.wordpress.com/ not http://jlakec@wordpress.com/.
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@Avitable, yeah, the email address & URL being similar is going to be tough. The devil's in the details for me. I'll leave you a snack in the closet.
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@Jennifer, I like chocolate.
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Blogger bugs me too because the commenting feature is so unfriendly. It also bugs me when the only way I can comment is through an OpenID. How many identities do I need just to comment? I am most likely to skip commenting when it's harder than it should be.
I'm waffling about Twitter lately. The RTs and the people who just post quotes and what they had for lunch bug me. I don't mind the blog post updates, but some of the inane crap people post is irritating. I can't imagine responding to someone's blog post on there! Pick the right venue, people!
Blogs that get ejected from my reader are those that update more than once in a day, with very rare exceptions. Unless it's a co-op of different writers, do you really have that much to say that you have to clog my reader? Serious pet peeve.
Extended entries are another one. If I have to click through to read the whole entry I'm probably going to skip it altogether.
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@floating princess, I really hate truncated feeds. There are only 2 or 3 blogs that have truncated feeds that I'll continue to read. The rest get axed.
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I hate people who comment ONLY to tell me about a mistake I made in a post. HATE. Those assholes should either leave a comment about something I have actually taken the time to write about or shut the fuck up and pretend that I didn't forget to put a 't' in the word blanket.
Also, I wish no one would be allowed to use 'totes' or 'I can haz' in blog posts. EVER.
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@ali, I totes agree with you.
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I SO agree with your list. Those things drive me crazy! The Twitter thing amazes me. How do these people have time to tweet every twenty minutes? I'm new to the blogosphere, but I'm trying to do it right.
What I hate is all the cutsy headers I'm finding (mostly on Blogger of course) of illustrated cartoonish ladies holding laptops and pushing baby strollers in their high heels while looking at me from under their glasses with their oversized eyes beside their silly little tag lines. ha!
I'm really glad I found your blog. I'll be reading….
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@Carolyn, Twitter can be fun, but it also fosters laziness, which is frustrating. Welcome to the blogosphere!
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Is it sad that I read this hoping I didn't do any of the five things? lol
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@Katie, I'm sure everyone's done some of those things at some point, even me!
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Uh, the moosh.
*ahem*
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@moosh in indy., one cute pseudonym is allowed.
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I agree with you on most of it. I hate theme days. Wordless Wednesdays, spin cycles, random tuesdays … c'mon folks – write an original post or don't … but please don't use cop outs. I *do* use a fake name for my husband though (Briefcase) becuz he won't let me use his real name. He's a workaholic so it fits him. BUT … that means you won't ever read me again. I guess that's too bad for you though cuz I have great tits and you won't get to see them! : )
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@Twenty Four At Heart, it's when the pseudonyms get too much. Calling your spouse by a name is one thing. Having a cast of characters of 5-10 people is too much to expect your readers to remember what all the acronyms stand for.
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Sweet Jesus – almost 250 comments on this one post? And additional comments through Twitter. Know what I now hate? When bloggers steal my idea and get 100x the response/conversation that I get. hahaha. Nice job – I like your list.
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@SoMi's Nilsa, of course, you were nicer about it than I was, so that helps, too.
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