Comments and Mind Games

We've seen recently how lack of comments on a blog or journal can cause stress, anxiety, and even depression. Just two nights ago I was in freak-out mode myself, half-convinced that nobody was reading my fiction, despite my VIVI award for fiction-slash-poetry. My reason for this supposition? Hardly anyone ever comments in my all-fiction blog, Messages from Mâvarin, which has been in existence for nearly a year and a half. And aside from a nice plug or two from Becky on her old AOL Journal last year, nobody but me has ever linked to Messages - that is, until Carly did so this weekend. Thanks, Carly!

But sometimes a comment that does come in can produce a freak-out of its own. What do you make of this?

are you serious?

Posted by Neil Coan to Messages from Mâvarin at 11/28/2005 08:53:47 AM

My first reaction: "Are you serious? Do you actually expect anyone to like this dreck?"

My second reaction: "Are you serious in your threat to curl up and die if nobody comments?"

My third reaction: hang on, this might not even be attached to one of the Heirs of Mâvarin serial entries. Maybe this means, "Are you serious? Are you literally claiming to have had an 18th Century Pirate as a house guest?"

So I clicked on the link. The comment was attached to "Meet Joshua Wander, Part Nine," originally posted January 1st, 2005. There was nothing unusual about this particular installment in my VIVI-nominated serial (Best Entry or Series of Entries) - except that it already had a comment. It was a one-word, much appreciated comment from Becky:

Anonymous said...
Excellent! -B

So maybe "Neal Coan" (one letter off the name of the host of NPR's Talk of the Nation, another source of freakishness considering I emailed that program today) was asking Becky if she seriously thought it was excellent.

Still no closer to a definitive explanation of the comment, I clicked on the name Neal Coan for his Blogger profile:

This Account is Closed.

We are sorry but this account is no longer active.

So whatever Neal was trying to communicate, he evidently was so abashed by his utter failure to do so that he closed his account. Or something. ;) Maybe he asked someone else today whether he or she was serious - and that someone seriously retaliated.

Karen

(One more entry coming tonight.)