What do bloggers owe their readers?

One of the pleasant surprises I have experienced after I started my blog is the comments. To be more precise, it's the quality of the comments. Many, or perhaps even most of my posts are met by an extraordinarily rich set of responses: not the one- or two-sentence knee-jerk response, but highly detailed, considered discussions of the issues I have raised. The by-now legendary "paine" even manages to express his thoughtful comments in verse. These responses are rarely of the sycophantic kind (which, truth be told, I might sometimes have preferred). Vigorous disagreements are as common as nods of assent. I learn a lot from them, and they give me ideas for further posts (and even for research).

Which raises the question: how much do I owe in return? Many responses pose direct questions to me. Others are comments that I feel I have something to say about. Many of the disagreements, I think I have a good answer to. But even though I do pick up on these responses occasionally, most go unanswered and uncommented. I imagine this may be disappointing to their authors. But obviously I need to have a life outside of this blog too. So what is the correct etiquette here?

Maybe a more seasoned blogger has already written on this. Or maybe there is a straightforward answer. I don't know, but I thought I'd share the question with you.

UPDATE: Thank you all for the various suggestions and the encouragement. What I will do is try to post more updates of this kind, responding to some of the general themes in the discussion, while avoiding the temptation to be comprehensive.

Comments

[unarmed]

How about participating in the comments yourself every once in a while. We don't expect you to write a post on every issue raised, but certainly some of the short comments could be briefly reaplied to in comment format.

[Dani Rodrik]

OK.

[Salih]

i do not see myself in the position of commenting on your posts as i am only a second year economics major student. i have asked one question since i began reading your block and amazingly i got a quick response to it. You can can suggest some reading, i.e books, essays, articles, for the questions raised in the comment and this would be easy for you and the commentator will benefit from it. i am really grateful to you for all that you have done. For a beginner like me you open new doors for new ideas and relieve me from accepting what has been tought as the single truth. You may appreciate what is it like being introduced to economics by Mankiw's (a first-best economics) books.Thank you again...

[Mr. Impressive]

Here is how I think you should handle this issue.

Decide on any policy that you like concerning answering questions. The policy that I would adopt if I were you is the following: Commentators should not expect you to answer their questions nor to engage in debate nor expect any other sort of response from you, except for at your whim. Whatever policy you decide to adopt, put a link to it in your sidebar. Call it either "Comment Policy" or "Response Policy."

While I think you should make any policy that you like, the reason that I do not think it is a good idea to obligate yourself to answer readers questions is because to the extent that this becomes a sort of burden for you, then you probably will feel inclined to post here less often due to the open-ended commitment such posting implies. That would make us all worse off. I for one very much enjoy your posts. If you decide to engage commenters on occasion when it suits you, I see that as a bonus. But I think you should feel free to not respond to comments at all. We have already benefited from the original posts, which, if the past is any indication, are likely to be insightful. Responses to comments should be seen as a bonus, not an entitlement.

Probably, you should not obligate yourself in anyway with responses to commenters. Commenters who do not get a response to questions or disagreements should not feel bad, since if they had read your comment or response policy, they would understand that they have no reasonable expectation of getting a response except for at your whim. That would probably make us all better off. As soon as posting at this blog becomes a burden that conflicts with the other obligations in your life, you will be less inclined to share your insights in this forum.

[R Mutt]

Easy. Reply to all my comments in detail, ignore everyone elses...

More seriously: there's no way you'll have time to respond to all comments, especially if the popularity of the blog grows. It might be a better rule to try to reply to one comment only per post, assuming you get comments of sufficient quality.

[unarmed]

When I suggested that Dr. Rodrik participate in the comments, it was implicit that he would do so at his whim (how could it be otherwise?).

Certainly, I still think a short comment reply to one or two deserving comments that spike his interest would strike the right balance between value added to the post and the time they would take to formulate.

[Thorsten]

Actually I like the present "update" style of replying to the comments. To be honest, I am often too lazy to read all the comments and I take the "update" as an indicator that also the comments are worth reading.

Just make this policy official as suggested above and that's enough IMHO.

[Aaron]

I think at the very least bloggers who comment on their commentors in their main blog show that they do take into account what their readers are thinking. That can create a sense of a real discussion, even if you aren't acknowledging each and every poster directly (which would be nearly impossible, and not even called for, as this isn't Myspace). I would suggest occasional forays into commenting amongst the commentors, as time and whimsy allow. Oh, and definitely post comments on other folks' blogs (e.g. Marginal Revolution). It expands your base and gives the readers a thrill. Those posts I would recommend to be brief, on point, and preferably witty (but never mean).

[unarmed]

On a slightly unrelated note, given your time constraints and numerous reposibilities, have you considered the possibility of having colleagues or co-authors appear as guest bloggers?

Just an idea, tho. I would suggest Lant Pritchett to start.

[Greg Sanders]

I generally agree with what's been said above. I think the default presumption on blogs like this is that comments will be addressed on whim, there's no obligation on your part. That said, stating it as a policy couldn't hurt and would be an opportunity to think about how you want to handle trolls once that issue arises.

Your policy of updating in response to comments works pretty well. Commenting in response can make sense but could be reserved for those times when a update would be overkill.

I'd say the obligation to participate is a bit higher if you throw questions to your readers, although aside from this post that hasn't really come up that I remember. At that point you still have no obligation to reply to every question, but some participation would probably make sense (your Okay above qualifies in a rather humorous manner).

[Nilgun]

I very much enjoy all the entries, articles and the comments whenever I find the time to read them. I do not think that Dani needs to respond to each comment but it might be nice to find out what he thinks if and when there is a serious disagreement... I thank you for sharing your ideas, Dani, and all the responses from this brilliant and simultaneously humorous group... I could not help thinking last night what all of you might say to the article, "Slippery Business: The trade in adulterated olive oil," by Tom Mueller in the latest issues of the New Yorker.

[nop]

A policy for responding to questions and comments? You don't need a policy, it's a BLOG for crying out loud! Why not just respond to comments at your whim?

We read your blog because it is interesting. I venture that the majority of us do not read the comments. So if your response to a comment is as interesting as what you would have posted otherwise, its worth making a post of it. I think that will add the most value.

[lostnihilist]

I agree with nop

[jonfernquest]

Your blog is perfect as is.

It provides a lot more food for thought for a whole lot more of the world than any other blog out there.

Especially your Turkey rumination points provided insights into other currency appreciation problems faced in other countries.

Thanks for pointing in the direction of Ha-Joon Chang also. Hopefully his books will make it to other countries in Asia soon.

[robertdfeinman]

On some sites, the original author makes a unified response after enough comments that call out for a reply have been posted.

Something like this:
X: my response is...

Y: my response is..

W,Z: (same point from both) response

This works quite well on some forums such as the TPMcafe book talk section where authors discuss their books.

Sometimes the original author wraps all the responses into a new blog entry and includes some other items that he wishes to discuss.

What you don't want to get into is the back and forth endless rants that seem to break out. I see more of them on the rightwing, true believer sites, but the left has its share as well.

[wjd123]

My suggestion would be that you let your readers do your work for you other wise you will insult their intelligence and that wouldn't be good etiquette. For instance, if the problem of trolls ever comes up resist the urge to censor them. Let your readers do their own self censoring, they can easily skip by those they don't want to read. I'm a little sensitive on this point because I've been censored three times on DeLong's blog, "Semi-Daily Journal." When I e-mailed him a note asking why, his reply was that I was a troll. Now I've been insulted and censored. I'm also left with the impression that he has and agenda which he is shaping through censorship.

A few days ago I ran into another problem. I commented on something Mark Thoma had said on his blog--I was comparing your take on procedural fairness to his--and got an unexpected reply. I felt the need to re-reply. Fortunately, he stopped before that sort of thing got out of hand, I don't want to argue back and forth, and I presume he doesn't have the time. I should have been perfectly happy to allow the host to have the last word, it would have been the polite thing to do. Once again, I'll let readers decide if my comparison and his reply rang true. That's my take on proper blog etiquette: don't censor, don't call people names, and let the host have the last word.

[Mr. Impressive]

I disagree with the point about not censoring. Deleting comments is appropriate (and appreciated by your readers) when someone is being nasty and unpleasant. Especially when they are not saying anything substantive.

Some bloggers delete comments less and some delete them more. It is a very subjective judgment call, I would say. But, however much you want to go through the trouble of deleting comments or not, I would certainly reserve my right to do so if I were you.

[hari]

I take a more cartesian approach to blogging. Namely, those who're interested/have something of substance to contribute will do (inspite of misgivings and whatnots). My view of your blog is simply Cartesian! You're not seriously affected by what I call "academic arrogance". I try to keep ALL this type of BLOGS together in order to see what-the-hell-is-going-on. I was introduced to your blog by your colleague GM. Most of us, here, I think are more or less soul mates looking for real/comparative knowledge/experience, etc.
Brad has LOST me; so did a few other's because of their intrinsic "nonsense".
Paine can be a pain....but I like good/interlocutors who're also able to contribue and also enlarge the canvas for real exchange of ideas. That's why I try to read as many as possible before I comment on your subject(s).

I suppose globalization is forcing us to conceptualize/understand underlying fundamentals which-I'm afraid- are have serious global political
consequences. And we should be the folks who can collectively come to grips with it here. SO, Dani, you're doing a great job of blogging, and I'd NOT constraint you also to take on commentary on your own commentary. That might eventually kill the goose that layed the golden egg!

[notsneaky]

I agree with everyone who has said that you're doing just fine. Arrow Impossibility Theorem tells us that there's no perfect comments policy anyway.

[ben]

I think there are a lot of good suggestions here, and I would suggest responding to comments in a way that is appropriate to the case:

1. If you want to ask a follow-up question that you'd like the person who made the comment to reply to, use the comments section.
2. If you would like to draw your readers' attention to some particularly interesting comments, use updates as you do now.
3. For very interesting comments that you would like to reply to in-depth, make a new post.
4. When people are asking you questions that can be answered relatively easily combine them into a single comment that answers all such questions.

[save_the_rustbelt]

Styles vary across the economic blogosphere. Do whatever feels comfortable.

[save_the_rustbelt]

Styles vary across the economic blogosphere. Do whatever feels comfortable.

[Kramlaen]

Dear Mr. Rodrik,

I enjoy reading your blog very much. There is a policy at a German blog where I contribute regularly: there are four authors who post an article. People who comment begin to discuss the themes raised in the article among themselves, with an @ sign before the name of a contributor whom one want to address.

Without being an official policy, these discussions have developped and are highly interesting. Sometimes - depending on their time - the official authors add some comments to the discussion or begin discussing themselves.

Perhaps it is a cultural difference between American and German blogs that in most American blogs I read there is no discussion among the commentators. Some expriments on the economics of culture might provide us with an answer to this ;-).

[caroline]

would be great to have access to the syllabi for your fall and spring courses, once you've updated them...

[patoche]

Prof. Rodrik, I don't often comment, but I read with great interest, thanks for your blog, I'm learning a great deal, and having a lot of (intellectual) fun.

[Eduardo]

Do you really read the comments of your blog?
I thought you were a busy person...
What a dissapointment!!

Cheers.

[gaddeswarup]

My response is similar to that of Salih above. I read most of the posts, a lot of the comments and some of your papers. I am beginning to get some feel for the topics but not enough to comment. May be an open thread would help. Meanwhile, some suggestions on core economics and reading material are welcome.
Paine has been a pleasure. Is it a psedonym in honour of Tom Paine?

[Robert]

Assume al commenters are honest, intelligent, and at least somewhat informed. Still, for me, it is a lot of work to clarify and talk across different point of views. Commenters cannot demand that the host do this work.

If you have enough commenters, they may end up having discussions among themselves.

[Econ_Apprentice]

Your blog is a gold mine for someone who wants to escape the ManQ and DeLong's often un-intellectual debates and entries. Thank you for pooring time into enlightening our thinking. I feel reassured to know that there are wise people like you in top institutions that think hard, well and live in a state of constant questioning. You appeared through this blog to me ( and I am sure to lots of us) as a true academics. I wish there were more of you...
If I may ask you a favor is the following: could you share with us your approach for managing to be so productive? Is it that early hours of the day have a higher marginal product? :)
As for commenting on the entries, I would keep the policy of updating in response to comments as you have been doing it so far.

[Per Kurowski]

You see what happens? Here one leaves a small comment and immediately they want to grab you and enter into a lengthy dialogue. It’s a world full of risky blogs.
Cheers

[projectshave]

Over at the Becker&Posner blog, they occasionally post a response to some comments. That seems to work well. Frankly, I'm surprised you even have the time to read comments.

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