COMMENTING AND COUNTER COMMENTING

The more I browse through various sites including face book and blogs,  the more I feel elated to find members commenting on one topic or the other, particularly those one which are tagged (e.g face book). Tagging should not be done without seeking prior approval of the tagged. This sometimes creates unpleasantness too as number of community/group members do abhor tags. However the participation has always been very encouraging. It is really heartening to note that comments have become multi-dimensional. Comments are sober, knowledgeable, witty and humorous, naughty and teasing, complaining and reassuring depending upon the topics/statuses presented before the friends/ members.

 Sites/groups which cater for literary activities are fast coming of age as a virtual magazine worth its salt with each and every topic under the sun being showcased through poetry & prose. The big difference between a hard magazine and virtual magazine lies in its acceptance. If one feels like commenting on any subject/story/poetry of the hard magazine or sends his/her work to get published, it can be rejected by some obscure sub-editor of the magazine as per his/her whims & fancies and convictions rather than going through the merits of the work/comment. The comments/works are sieved before it is printed and if a work/ comment is on the political subject, clearance depends upon the political leanings of the owner of the magazines/papers. This is not the case with these virtual magazines. Except the vulgar & indecent comments or the comments/posts which hurt the sentiments of anyone, the moderator or an originator of the status/posts allows it to be seen and read. The biggest advantage in this case is that even a layman like me can post the topics/ comments and watch community friends/ members to react, advise, laugh and share their experiences under the disguise of commenting and counter commenting. Ultimately I stand to gain from the vast wealth of knowledge & experiences which the other hon’ble members impart/ share.  These comments are to be chewed, gulped, gloated over, laughed at or simply ignored. No one pressurises anyone to read their statuses though friends do have large expectations to be read by their friends which may not be justified sometimes due to paucity of time at one’s disposal and number of like minded groups to be catered for.

Counter commenting provides a great scope of interaction between the members leading to their social interaction sometimes in person within their vicinity. Some members who surf through the sites may read a subject of their interest only and yet may or may not comment on it.  Others may go through the topics randomly and offer their comments to the best of their capabilities and knowledge. A few may confine to their groups and discuss/dissect everything which is vended to them by the vendor. The end result is shedding all inhibitions and coming out to reclaim your wit, humour, love for writing & expressing your own self which ordinarily might not have been possible while sitting in the comforting four walls of one’s own  habitat. Sometimes even if a controversy crops up due to member’s comments, discussion cum interaction becomes more interesting which when converted into arguments and clashes of ego are automatically sorted out by the creator or moderator.

 All sort of complexes are shun when it comes to posting and commenting and in this respect the female gender has also made its presence felt time and again. It is to the credit of empowerment of women that our women friends don’t lag behind when it comes to join their counterparts creating a niche of their own while posting their topics and commenting even on male dominated subjects.  The females in the virtual world have become a force in themselves to reckon with.

In the end it has always been my pleasure to go through various subjects of my interest written by both professionals and non-professionals on these sites including face book. God bless this virtual world which has kept us entertained, shared, busy and lively.

--------------------------------------------------------by Tribhawan Kaul