Dear Al, Douglas, Jason etc. 

Maybe I am being presumptuous to call you my fan club.... Vanity? None of you were probably an ActiveRain member when Joe Zekas was on ActiveRain.  Joe was gone by the end of February  2007.  "So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye"

Joe Zekas was a curmudgeon or is a curmudgeon... Joe Zekas has a very popular Chicago Blog, YoChicago.   I doubt I ever commented on any of Joe Zekas' posts on ActiveRain.  Joe used to chase the "GPTFS" (Great post thanks for sharing) crowd from his posts... with a stick. Joe Zekas probably gave a good swift kick to people who left comments with more substance too. I was not a fan of Joe's posts on ActiveRain but I have grown to believe he had some good pointers for ActiveRain.

Joe Zekas told ActiveRain members:

"Stop slobbering over each other in comments. Advance the conversation or shut up. Too many of you sound like you're at a little league game encouraging the uncoordinated kid who simply forgot to swing at the pitch."

Not that you guys are slobbering but people on ActiveRain often use comments to encourage one another more than to discuss a topic... that whole idea of it's better to leave a "GPTFS" rather than nothing at all idea that lots of ActiveRain members have going on...  Personally thanks but no thanks... The I'll comment on yours if you comment on mine thing... yes that's what associations and subscriptions are all about, but mindless slobbering comments (not your comments necessarily but much of what you see on ActiveRain) water down good conversations.  And what about those not so good conversations?  The mediocre muck which much of ActiveRain is... the stuff written by those who are thrilled with any "GPTFS"

Oooh I am tempted to quote Joe Zekas on the two posts on the dashboard today encouraging ActiveRain members to slobber comment on one anothers blogs.

Joe Zekas said:"Please, please, please don't use comments to compliment me" Members Only

It is so hard for me when you leave comments like those on Those good for nothing, lying, deceitful, group moderators on ActiveRain :

"Maureen - I love reading your blog.  I read it as much for your comments as for the blog content itself.  You seem to always play devil's advocate which borders on trying to antagonize your own readers.  Conflict is always interesting.  Do you do this by design to "stir the pot" and make the blog more interesting or do you just love a good fight?  Or both?  Whatever the reason - it works very well.

Your blog should say "Comment at your own risk".   "

or

"Maureen - You're like the female version of me (assuming my good traits and subtracting my bad), but you don't hold back.  Mad props to you there.  The whiny crap that oozes from the keyboards will never stop.  It just won't.  AR guys and gals seem to be as fair as the human condition can allow.  Shoot, I haven't even bedded Mr. Jacobson and he still likes some of the crap that comes from my brain through these fingers."

or

"Maureen - as Aloysius Donohue wrote on 8/24/08 (in reference to this blog) "...you seem to play Devil's advocate which borders on trying to antagonize your readers."

She went on to say that it made good reading.

Damn right.

Told you so.

Keep up the good work"

VANITY  It's so hard not to just gobble it up .... and change the conversation from groups, dryer vents,   opossums, etc.  to ME ME ME Me....  But I must NOT allow the topic to change...

Long ago Joe Zekas wrote:

"What's happened all too often instead is that people are jumping in, ignoring the topic, and trying (and sometimes succeeding) in hijacking my post into a discussion of my style rather than the substance of what I had to say."

And for another thing it is harder for me to poke commenters if we are discussing in the comments how  I lure them in to comment and then poke them with my stick  when you are studying my method and giving a play by play in the comments...Please if you get the urge to praise just quietly lurk and whisper in hushed tones, clap quietly as if this is a golf tournament...  shhhhh be very quiet...

Sincerely,

Maureen McCabe

P.S. You can always borrow my stick...