Here's a lesson from me, a lowly, yet "attractive blonde" begging, woman blogger: a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. I'll just to keep to my side of the tracks from now on.
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.
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Greg on March 3, 2005 07:50 PM
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.
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Cindy Swanson on March 4, 2005 09:57 AM
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."
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Bill from INDC on March 4, 2005 11:29 AM
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.
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Bill from INDC on March 4, 2005 11:35 AM
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
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Rae on March 4, 2005 12:19 PM
Good grief-when egos collide like this it seems that someone has too much time on their hands.
by
R on March 4, 2005 09:10 PM
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