(as an example of the fact that some comments may SEEM to be horrible and bullying, but are, in fact, a joke. Many people do not realise that tone of voice and body language do not translate over the internet, and thus what seems obviously a joke to the writer may not come across as such to the reader. Hence the proliferation of “stage directions” in asteriska or square barackets in my comments and those of many others who have been active in fandom/RP)

* waggles eyebrows *

I don’t think this is very acurate. In my experience (reciving, leading and reading comments) about a third of comments will disagree with the writer, and about a third of those will be quite aggressive about it.

The internet brings out the worst in people: like driving, we interact impersonally, and the normal rules of polite behaviour do not apply. Bloggers need to be aware that people who disagree will often hide behind a psuedonym and attack you and your views as though you were advocating the compulsory disembowelment of babies, when all you’ve suggested is that the local high street could use a new bookshop. If one has a regular audiance, it is easy to attract serial abusers – a kind of cyber-bully. Some hide behind anonymity; others are quite brazen about it.

Put simply, blogging requires a thick skin.

I think more needs to made of interacting with your commenters in this piece, too. That is how you get and retain readers. Also, making comments in other places helps to attract readers.