To hell with him, Rae. I know this much. Your blog I read; his, well, I don't. That sort of boorish behavior is so typical of those with over-inflated senses of self-importance and the intellectual capacity for tapioca profundities. Right or left. Boring.

Wow, Rae! Having a little time on my hands, I read that entire exchange. Bill was a jerk--the very opposite of a gentleman.

In my early-blogging-naivete, I e-mailed a couple heavy-hitters and asked them to consider adding me to their blogrolls. They just didn't reply to me (which is actually nice of them, I guess--they could have send me nasty e-mails dressing me down for my bad form.)

One major heavy hitter was kind enough to not only add me to her roll after I asked her to consider doing so IN HER COMMENTS SECTION, but to honor my e-mailed request for her to make a comment to use on my sidebar. Now I shudder to think how she could have blistered me! (I did include a caveat in my e-mailed request for the comment: "Please excuse and disregard this if it is considered bad form."

And I'm pretty sure I may have even directly asked YOU, Rae, to blogroll me. And you kindly and nicely did just that. Heck, you're a Large Mammal and I'm a lowly Adorable Rodent, and I DO have aspirations of increasing my readership, so every little bit of linkage helps!

I certainly hope that if I'm ever a major player in the blogosphere, I will honor direct requests for linkage if I visit the blog and actually like it. After all, what's one more?

I know this...I'll never treat anyone like that guy treated you.

Bill was a jerk--the very opposite of a gentleman.

I'm fine with that, but considering the fact that I ignored Rae's public entreaty twice, and a third time (I believe) simply stated at WWR that I don't like entreaties for blogrolling in comments ... shrug. I don't get testy until at least the third time.

Please enlighten me as to the "spoonful of sugar" way to say - "you are pressuring me again and it's pissing me off."

Frankly, I don't think it was all that sugary to try and cajole a reciprocal blogroll out of someone.

And this isn't so much "blog protocol," as "life protocol."

And Cindy -

certainly hope that if I'm ever a major player in the blogosphere, I will honor direct requests for linkage if I visit the blog and actually like it. After all, what's one more?

I eagerly await your ascendance to test that theory. Though I think you wildly overstate my status.

My blogroll would literally have 900 links on my siebar. You are naive if you think that this is possible. Also, there's a very large difference between e-mailing someone once - and repeatedly asking for a blogrolling in various comment threads. I just don't understand this.

This isn't a narrative about a big blogger thinking he's hot stuff, stepping on the little people. Those bloggers don't visit comment threads, much less respond to most communication, good or bad. Sorry.

Hey, Bill. You either clicked and scrolled, or you did a Technorati and saw that I had specifically linked you. I prefer to think you more tactical and so will believe the latter until told otherwise.

1)Ignoring, that's always the most mature, polite, honest way to address something. I find your method passive-agressive, Bill. But I still like your sharp-witted writing and won't stop reading.

2)"Spoonful of Sugar" way- "Hey, Rae. I appreciate the fact that you want to be linked by me, but I don't do reciprocal links. I really have never read your blog, (you may quote yourself here in mild acknowlegment that my blog might be acceptable) and prefer to link those writers whom I regularly read. Best wishes for your blogging success. -Bill." How was that? Too hard?

3)I am typically thoughtful, but rarely sweet. So, no, it wasn't "sweet." It was a jovial attempt obviously lost to our differing manners and humors.

4)"Life Protocol"- refer to points 2 and 3.

5)My blogroll would literally have 900 links on my siebar. You are naive if you think that this is possible. Hmmm, La Shawn Barber, a strategic, intellectual, prolific writer seems to have had no difficulty in linking those who link her (and she occasionally comments here, too). But, as you have pointed out, it is a bloggers personal prerogative to choose to do so.

In conclusion, (again, I already concluded at Jeff's) Bill, I don't automatically link everyone who comments. I ususually hang back a bit, read their blogs, comment over there, allow dialogue exchange, and then link. I especially attempt to give some attention to the underdogs because we were all there and some bigger blogger had to have given us that one link that gave us a bit of needed traffic. However, I learned from The Kos long ago that there truly is no such thing as bad publicity.

Again, thanks for the lesson. I am the wiser for it.

Oh, and one more thing: please remember to reduce all female bloggers to the sum of their parts: blonde and attractive. It is what we women have been striving for all these years. :D

Good grief-when egos collide like this it seems that someone has too much time on their hands.