A quick note on comments. Having a look round the 23 Things Blogs, most comments seem to be helpful, and, in some cases, quite charming (I've enjoyed the doodle posts especially). I'm finally getting this community thing, and losing the sense of blogging to myself!

At the other extreme, online blogs for national newspapers seem to attract outrageous comments. Whilst people who record their responses to a particular viewpoint are understandably partisan, it amazes me that some are apparently happy to parade the fact that they are ill-informed. For some participants, the comment function enables them to join in the conversation, playing the flamboyant devil's advocate role that flies in the pub, but not the online forum. Others approach it in a more journalistic fashion, including facts and statistics to support their opinions, which seems more appropriate (many responses to the blogs about library strategy that I've looked at fall into this category, happily!) I wonder why someone would bother to read, for instance, a Guardian blog (it's not like you can't anticipate the political standpoint!) then post a comment complaining about left-wing liberals and their views? That is not political engagement, it is knee-jerk defensiveness. I know you can be condemned by your own comments in this context, and therefore they shoudn't be deleted by a moderator unless they are directly offensive, and I admire the Guardian's approach. However, as a naturally cautious person, it makes me nervous that people are happy to splurge themselves into a comment box without taking time to consider the subject - it implies the same level of involvement as 'liking' a facebook post. I suppose that's part if the instantanious nature of blogging...but I think I'm too uptight (or well-mannered??) to dive in!

I guess part of the role of an 'information professional' is to contribute to the process - I was particularly heartened when I read G Greer's last blog-moan about the UL: someone had left a dramatic comment about how the library should stop being an enigma and open it's doors to the wider world, and a public-spirited librarian goddess followed it up with the friendly advice to check our admissions pages!