1. Comments Are Peer-Review: Discussing a counter-argument to the original post helps balance the viewpoint and encourages the writer and other comments to better define the original point.
2. Comments Make a Community: By contributing you know are part of a small network of Pallimed commenters which provides a foundation for a growing community. Often times the commenters answer each other's questions before any Pallimed writer gets a chance to reply.
3. Comments Guide the Content: Sure blog topics are what we decide to write on, but how we decide to write on is influenced by great comments which open up new areas of interest.
4. Comments Are Currency: Comments help any blog writer realize they are not talking into thin air, which is what it feels like when you first press 'publish post.' And that currency can be cashed in as goodwill from any of the blog writers. If we get a request for more info or a favor from someone who comments often, we will be much more likely to reciprocate.
5. Comments Make a Better, Smarter Blog: Comments often lead to new resources, new links and new insights making the blog a better resource for everyone. Also like a huge crowd sourced editors desk, if you find a broken link, a misspelling, poor grammar, tell us. We'll fix it, then thank you for helping all future readers.
6. Comment Make you a Pallimed Author: Drew started this whole thing, but Thomas Quinn, Lyle Fettig and Christian Sinclair (me) all started out as commenters before becoming formal contributors.
Barriers to Commenting:
"I didn't know I could make a comment"
-Well now you know. And knowing is half the battle."I don't know how to comment"
-See below."I don't have anything important to say."
-A comment doesn't have to be a long counter-point, it can express general agreement, a variation on a theme, a new question, a request for blogging on something different, etc."I am concerned about putting my real name online"
-Comment anonymously. Don't say anything inflammatory. Say anything you would be willing to defend on the radio or in court. Talk about thing more generally. But using your own name actually establish you as a thought-leader and for continuity purposes lets us know who is doing the talking. Is anonymous one person or a 45 people?How to Comment on a Blog Post:
Pallimed has a comment function (at the bottom of each post) that allows you to give us feedback on each post. Just click on the "comments" link at the end of each post (the link usually tells you how many comments have been left so it says, e.g., "0 Comments" or "1 Comment"). If you usually see the posts via email or RSS subscription there is now a link added to 'Post a Comment.'
You do NOT need a Gmail account to post a comment it is just one of the options in addition to OpenID and anonymous. The wiggly word check is to help reduce spam commenters which should be a minor hurdle for a great relief.
Comments Policy: The editors of Pallimed reserve the right to remove any comments we deem offensive/hateful, mean-spirited, commercial, or in any other way inappropriate. This blog is intended to foster collegial, well-informed discussions about research and news relevant to clinicians working with patients facing severe/life-limiting diseases: it is not a forum for discussing individual cases or airing complaints or concerns about specific cases (whether from the clinician, patient, or family perspective). Such comments will be removed at the discretion of the Pallimed editors. Any posts older than 14 days are moderated to reduce spam.
We ask that you refrain from providing specific details about cases because of HIPAA restrictions. But if you want to discuss a case more broadly, that would be more appropriate.
Our full comments policy is here.
8 comments:
I just wanted to affirm your efforts for this blog and be sure you know that someone is reading and you are not writing into "Thin Air," :-) I plan to comment more! Call me weird but it's actually fun to comment!
My comment- love the G.I. Joe reference in this article! And love the blog...
I am one person. I have posted all of the Anonymous comments on this blog. Call me Anonymous.
I understand how intimidating writing can be for the general public. All those years of red-ink corrections on English papers created negative memories for many. But I encourage those who are reluctant to take the comment leap. Go ahead, even if it’s one sentence or one word. Each time will be a little bit easier. In addition to all the benefits Christian mentioned in the post, it will be empowering for you to have your contribution out there in cyberspace positively impacting thoughts of others. That’s what one person making a difference is all about.
Anon: I knew there was an anti-government, pro-euthanasia, oncologist-resenting, tramadol-hatin individual out there. All I can do is to try to guess your location.
Thanks HP/DF/Frances for your support.
It really does make a difference to know people are reading and engaging with what we write. I myself can't figure out the GI Joe reference (where is it DF?), and I can't speak for Christian who might in fact feel he is Cobra Commander and as such infallible, but I try to write about things I struggle with in one way or the other - what to make of this? how should we respond to this, etc? - that comments really make a difference.
Drew-
Under barrier#1 Christian tells us that "now we know- and knowing is half the battle." I can only assume he is alluding to the ubiquitous GI Joe PSA's that ran during Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. They featured this sagacious byline.
I found one on youtube that might serve as an inspiration to a palliative care team:
GI Joe PSA #9
The requirement to have a Google account and type in a distorted word makes psoting comments burdensome.
Thanks everyone for the supportive comments.
HP, I think it is fun to comment too! I need to comment on your blog more often. Good reading and makes me think.
Yes David F. you got the GI Joe reference. Drew i thought you were a renaissance man and would see that cultural reference clearly.
Anonymous, you sure are busy then. I see you on tons of sites!
Frances,
Thanks for your encouraging words to all potential commenters out there.
Anon#2,
The Google account sign-in is not required but is optional to link to your blogger profile. Same with the OpenID. As you used 'anonymous' no identification was needed. So that is one barrier down.
As far as the wiggly word verification, that is actually for your protection from spam. Without it anytime you made a comment and clicked 'yes' for email follow-up you would get tons of email from spam-bots who are usually prevented because of the wiggly word. And we would spend all our time deleting and checking for spam. Many sites make use of this so it is fairly ubiquitous. I agree it is a hurdle that even I mess up once or twice, but for less spam I think we can all be happy.
I am working on getting a comment link in the email feeds as people noted it was not there.
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