I’m not sure I have said this before. Scott Adams is my favourite blogger. Of course I have other favourite bloggers (don’t worry I am not going to list them, I like links but I am not that desperate, heh). Before I let you in on why I think Scott is one of the best bloggers around, here is what made me think about him today.
Scott writes in “The Vanishing Post” that he had to pull one of his articles …
I approve reader comments before they get posted. You didn’t see the worst ones. The reactions to my Hardaway post were making me lose the last morsel of respect I have for humanity. It was a personal decision to kill the post and stop the incoming comments on that topic. I couldn’t read them anymore.
One of the reasons Scotts blog is so interesting is because he writes about interesting issues. He has discussed politics, religion, relationships, philosophy, tipping, how he would murder someone and get away with it … His posts make you think, even if you don’t always agree with him. In fact I think he wants you to disagree more often than not. He writes with more humour, and in with a more original take and perspective than any other writer I can think of.
Unfortunately you don’t always get the readers you deserve.
I have been lucky throughout my writing “career”. Yes, right from the early days in the mid-90’s I have had my fair share of “you suck” emails. I still do. But I have never had to put up with the ignorance that Scott Adams does. It seems he attracts people who argue with what they hallucinate they thought he might have said. Or nutters who just want to spout drivel in the hope of attracting drivel. We all get the odd troll, his blog seems to breed them.
What in the world could be special about his blog that he gets such strange reactions? Is it because of the topics he writes about? Maybe, I am not sure that is the whole story though. I think he is a weirdo magnet.
I have seen bloggers give up because of negativity and adverse public reaction to their writing. My hope is Scott Adams has a thicker skin and can ride out the weirdness that goes on. When you write hoping people will enjoy what you have to say, you hope at least they will respond to your actual words rather than what they didn’t read.