FAQ #1: Comments December 9, 2007

Frequently Asked Question #1:
 
Q. Are you ever going to open comments?
 
A. Probably not, unless by some kind of miracle I am cured of my comment phobia and whatever is causing it. Believe it or not, but just the thought of the comment option being open keeps me up at night.
 
A more appropriate question would be why I am scared of comments.

• Personal attacks
• Criticism / negative feedback
• Dissenting thoughts / opposing viewpoints 
• Unsolicited patronizing advice
• Self-righteous comments (particularly when religion is brought up and touted as THE solution to mankind’s problems)
• Commenters’ displeasure at my not following up on their comments (I often have no idea how best to reply to comments and I feel like saying stuff like ‘thank you’ or ‘I agree’ sounds lame)
• Positive comments, which to myself and other readers may seem undeserved
• Being so concerned with people’s opinions of me that I stop being completely honest and open in my blogging
• Being excessively concerned with comment count / quality
• Dealing with the increased pressure of living up to people’s expectations once the lines of communication are open (for instance, when I’m depressed and people give me encouragement, I feel like I’m expected to do something to get myself out of my funk. Same thing when I’ve written a post people say they like; I feel like they expect me to keep giving them good posts, which I am just totally incapable of doing)
• Being unable to meet those expectations, losing face, closing shop, and running away to another blog once again to avoid any further humiliation

These things bring about a whole array of unhealthy emotions I just don’t want to deal with (life is already stressful enough as it is, thank you), emotions like:

• Anger / indignation
• Humiliation
• Emotional hurt / sadness
• Embarrassment / shame
• Self doubt / confusion
• Anxiety / apprehension
• Frustration
• Feeling of loss of control

All in all, I think that allowing comments on my blog causes a lot more stress in my life than I can handle.