Sly, erm, shy Comments

You know what? Posting a comment always feels like a big deal to me.

When I read other people's blogs/notes/tweets/tumblrs/fill-in-the-blanks, I like it. I love to read what's on other people's minds, to get a glimpse of how they think and tick.

I might agree with what they say; I might even laugh at their humor.

I might find what they say encouraging, thoughtful, or (occasionally) have a question about a post that I would like clarified.

This is the reason they've invented the comment box.

But do I take the time to type some response out?
Ummm, usually...
...to be honest...
no.

I've been wondering because I don't totally understand why I am so reserved, because I know I love love love love love getting feedback from people.

Even (sigh) the critical kind. Sure, it might hurt my ego, but in the end, it's good for me.
My favorite comments go like this:

"Wow, you are smarter than the average bear, mildly humorous, and I like your blog!
What a rare find! I think I should send you money just for being so amazing. Do you take pay pal?" 

Now that is a gooood comment.

Here are the reasons I have come up with for my lack of interaction concerning commentating:

• I don't feel comfortable. Sometimes, if it's a distant friend's blog, I feel silly for commenting. I mean, I don't even know the person that well, what if they think I'm a creep? What if they're annoyed at my interest in what they say? 

• What if I start a crazy debate with my comment? Internet debates are usually heated and lame.

• I'm afraid of sounding stupid in my comment, especially if the post-er doesn't know me that well. Text can easily be misinterpreted. Self-explanatory, right? 

• My eloquence leaves me. It must be Murphy's Law in action, because when I have the need to write a well-crafted response, I just can't. 

• The capacha code makes the process feel too long. I have to really want to post a comment to go through all of the mumbo-jumbo. I type something, click "post" and THEN I get redirected to the funny little capacha (I like that word, don't you?)  It's even worse when the site makes you sign up for their website just so you can comment. And after you sign up, they delete your comment so you have to recreate your response. Soooo lame. 

• I feel like enough has been said in the post and that I can't really add anything.  I could post an "amen!" or "right on!" but that falls under the laaame comment category. (therefore, I have decided to use the "instant feedback" option. Click a box and you're good to go!)

And now that I have the perspective of a blogger who enjoys feedback, I see that all of these reasons are dumb. 

YET, I am still a shy commenter. 

I'm going to try to work on this. 

What are your reasons for not commenting? 

(It feels funny to ask you to comment with your reasons for not commenting. but we're taking baby steps here. You can become a engaged reader, I know you can! I've made it easy, you can be anonymous annnnd there's no capacha!)

Also, I'm typing this on a different computer, and I don't like it. It has a terrible keyboard I'm not used to, and typos have been made. I'm sorry if I didn't catch them all...