A Question of Blog Etiquette

I do have an invisible StatCounter on my site. Because I do, I know that there are multiple visitors to my blog who never leave a comment. Their visits are logged about the same time each day. If I had to guess, I would say that a stop over to Divagation is part of a somewhat daily routine. I get that.

I have my own routine. In the morning I grab a cup of coffee and head to the computer. After I check e-mail, I read the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston.com, and our local paper. Lest anyone think I spend all morning reading online news, please note that I am skimming headlines/articles and reading Op-Ed pieces. It takes half an hour. Tops.

Then if I have time, there are a half dozen or so blogs that I check up on--all for different reasons.

Some blogs touch my heart with the honesty of life shared. Some blogs inform me.  Some blogs humor me. 

And, there are a couple of blogs I continue to follow with a sick sort of dedication because I can't believe that anyone actually lives the way they portray themselves through photos, spiritual insights, and stories. Maybe part of me hopes that perfection like that does really exist, while the other more cynical part of me knows it does not--and those authors are full of shit no matter how hard they try to package it as godly.  

In all my blog travels, I leave comments as seldom as some of my most regular blog readers. It is not that I am not interested; it is just that I don't like to leave my electronic footprints all over the world wide web. 

I have been wondering though, what is the etiquette for removing a comment from your blog? It is true; we are all masters of our own cyber kingdoms. We control who may enter, and who may post a comment on our entries. However, in three years of blogging, I can remember only once that I deleted a comment left on my blog. It was a link for some online business startup. It didn't have anything to do with my post, so I removed it.

And, I must ask, if you don't want someone to leave you a comment, wouldn't it be better to have a "friends only" or approved setting? Or, if you know the person who has commented, mightn't  you at least stir yourself to offer the courtesy notification that "No offense or anything, but I don't want your kind to be muddying up the sanctity of my blog? And, P.S. Maybe you would like to be a real Christian like me."

Fat chance.