[mpk]

As far as I'm concerned this is just another piece of opinion put online by a programmer. That's not a bad thing - putting things out there and talking about them is integral to the programming profession as a whole. Look at the body of writing work out there written by programmers that's considered 'classic' already. Never mind that most of the discussion is usually subjective, highly opinionated, often misinformed and abrasive, insulting or abusive.

Anything that is out there for the public to comment on is subjected to this. Just take that as a given, this is what you get when you make public comments. People not being nice on the internet is just a fact of life. That doesn't immediately devalue what you're saying. There are plenty of people out there who don't read or write commentary and read postings on their merit.

Not writing in public just because people might say nasty things about you or your writings seems wrong to me.

Also, VI rocks! Down with Emacs! Yeah! Screw your non-modal editors!

[toothcomb]

Why do people comment? Perhaps it's because they can. People can say what they like. But I still have to filter it. And that wastes my time.

I like threads and tree like comments as it can be interesting to see the ideas and feedback at play. But sometimes I think it would be far better if the comments remained completely on topic.

The problem is good jeurnalism is inherently difficult. I resist writing blog posts because I'd spend too long on a post. As a teacher I'd spend a day at least on a hand out. And a post requires listening to feedback and fine tuning it. That's great if you have an informed receptive audience.

If I do ever bother with a blog, I think I'd ask for my desired feedback. I'd like users to submit links to relavant associated content.

I do enjoy a 'good' article about programming, I specifically like to hear about people's mistakes.