Something else I don't like
I don't like that Blogger comments sections are configured to display "so-and-so said..." at the lead of each comment.
For one thing, the phrasing is clumsy on a semantic level: The past tense ("said") is counterintuitive to readers, who instinctively process the presentation of words in "real time," so to speak. In other words, as a reader comes upon a comment, he or she thinks in terms of what so-and-so is SAYING, not what so-and-so SAID.
The second issue is that this phrasing introduces the potential for confusion, or at least less clarity than need be. In the realm of blog comments, it's customary for commenters to lead off their posts with excerpted quotes from other users' posts, upon which they'll then remark. These excerpts are often presented in italics or bold; sometimes they're distinguished simply by quote marks. Because of Blogger's "so-and-so said" atop each comment, it can appear at first glance that the excerpted quote is being attributed to "so-and-so," when in fact "so-and-so" is, of course, the present commenter.
Finally: Words in written form are not "said." They're written. I am not "saying" this post. I am writing it.
And now I'm done.
For one thing, the phrasing is clumsy on a semantic level: The past tense ("said") is counterintuitive to readers, who instinctively process the presentation of words in "real time," so to speak. In other words, as a reader comes upon a comment, he or she thinks in terms of what so-and-so is SAYING, not what so-and-so SAID.
The second issue is that this phrasing introduces the potential for confusion, or at least less clarity than need be. In the realm of blog comments, it's customary for commenters to lead off their posts with excerpted quotes from other users' posts, upon which they'll then remark. These excerpts are often presented in italics or bold; sometimes they're distinguished simply by quote marks. Because of Blogger's "so-and-so said" atop each comment, it can appear at first glance that the excerpted quote is being attributed to "so-and-so," when in fact "so-and-so" is, of course, the present commenter.
Finally: Words in written form are not "said." They're written. I am not "saying" this post. I am writing it.
And now I'm done.
posted by Registering To Comment With Blogger Sucks at 1:59 PM
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