ActiveRain Comments Etiquette

After participating in ActiveRain for some time, I thought I would write a list of things to watch out for when writing comments. Too often I see people miss these and I hope this list helps.

Always read the post before commenting, not just the other comments. Very often comments take tangents and if you fail to read the actual post, your comment will look very out of place.

Offensive comments are never called for. I delete them, so if you are outright offensive you'll just waste your time writing the comment.

Think before critiquing. For instance, if the blogger says "I did this, what do you think?", the blogger is asking for constructive criticism and it may be appropriate to say "you did the wrong thing". However, if the blog says "I'm so proud of how I handled this!", it's probably a good idea in most cases to tone down the criticism.

Read your comments before posting them. Very often you'll find mistakes or you'll decide to reword things. Do this especially when you are concerned that the comment may be a bit harsh. When you read it, you'll probably think of a way to soften it a bit.

Remember real estate is different depending on where you are. It is great when other members comment on how things are different in other states. Real estate markets vary widely and laws are different. However, if the blogger says "This is what I do in Seattle", responding "you're wrong. It doesn't work in Miami" is not an appropriate response. Instead, a response such as "In Miami things are a bit different because of x, and therefore I do y", is a more appropriate response.

Make sure you understand the subject matter. For instance, if the blogger says that x is better than y, and you have used y often but have never seen x, you probably want to avoid disagreeing until you have at least checked both.