Blog+Comments

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzFAo_5x9zpMdO40BotAuHJ8Rbf1A9-sMDnGt3_vwK0/edit?pli=1 Commenting is what brings a blog to life. Comments are a big reason that people write blogs - to start a conversation, to get people thinking and communicating. Comments should help to keep the learning going.

We want to leave “Highway” comments that take the learning further, not “Dead-End” comments that stop the conversation. (A dead-end comment might be something like, “Wow!!! That’s cool!!!” It isn’t specific and doesn’t add anything to the post.)

Here are some tips for leaving “highway” comments:

Read the post carefully, thinking about what the author is really trying to communicate. Think about what the post made you feel, made you think of, or made you wonder about. Compliment the author on the parts you liked. Be specific in your comment. Give details from the post. Be positive. Even if you disagree (which is fine!), do it in a polite way. Ask a question if you are wondering about something. Make a connection if the post sparks something in you. Recommend ideas that connect to the post. Sign your name (first name only). Triple-check your comment for mistakes or confusing sentences. Imagine that your parents (or Mr. Powell, or your favorite elementary school teacher, or your grandmother) is going to read the comment. It should be free of mistakes.

Remember: A comment should keep the conversation and the learning going. We don’t want to write “dead-end” comments that just say things like “Cool!” These are dead-end comments because they are hard to respond to and they don’t open the conversation up.

Instead, we want to write “highway” comments that keep the conversation going and maybe take the post in new directions. Highway comments may have questions, connections, or suggestions in them. And they definitely have specific details and clear, correct writing.