Metablogging

Thirty thousand comments

John Quiggin14 Comments

The 30 000th comment on this blog[1] has just been posted. I was going to award a prize but, rather embarrassingly, the comment was one of mine. So I’ll announce a shared award between comment #29999 (Andrew Bartlett) and #30001 (still working it out).

More seriously, thanks to everyone who’s helped to make the comments threads on this blog some of the best on the web.

fn1. That’s in the Movable Type and WordPress incarnations, not counting comments made in earlier systems such as Haloscan, and those lost in the great database disaster. of 2003. Including these lost contributions, the total number is probably close to 50 000. WordPress numbers comments at about 38500 suggesting a loss of 8000 or so in the database disaste.

14 thoughts on “Thirty thousand comments”

  1. PrQ,
    The links to those two comments are the admin links. You may want to correct that. We cannot insepct the now hallowed words.

  5. Congratulations John. For mine, you have set the standard in this infernal place. The combination of both exceptional dissent and logic marks you as a priceless Australian asset. Long may you type and soon may we drink ..

  6. Congratulations.

    My comment was preceded by that of an Australian Senator and one of “the top economists in Australia”. I am afraid that my own comment did not add a as much prestige to the site as those two as I am only a lowly helpdesk monkey who is barely known, even in my place of employment.

    Its one of the greatest things about the internet and blogging. The chance for people like myself who are not part of the academic community, the political community or the media but rather just normal people doing their 40 hour a week job to be an active part of the conversation. In the pre-internet days I could only ever passively read what was being said and maybe get a letter to the editor published. Its wonderful for us little guys to have a chance to make a contribution. Thank you Professor Quiggin.

  9. 30,000 comments alone is very impressive, and the task in moderating the discussions is not be underestimated. Congratulations.

    As for myself I only want a few readers and a few comments, which I have to say I am successful in achieving.

  10. The task of reading a significant proportion of them is also not to be underestimated. Well done all.

  11. Quote

    I am only a lowly helpdesk monkey who is barely known, even in my place of employment.

    Its one of the greatest things about the internet and blogging. The chance for people like myself who are not part of the academic community, the political community or the media but rather just normal people doing their 40 hour a week job to be an active part of the conversation. In the pre-internet days I could only ever passively read what was being said and maybe get a letter to the editor published. Its wonderful for us little guys to have a chance to make a contribution. Thank you Professor Quiggin.

    end quote

    My opinion is exactly the same FWIW (as is my occupation). As someone who grew up around academics, chose not to follow that path but now feels a bit starved of that type of discussion / discourse, it’s a tonic, I tells ya.

  12. Helen,
    Although I am not a helpdesk monkey, FWIW I agree with you. May blogging long continue.

    PrQ,
    I have noticed that the tags put into comments no longer work. While this may be a good way of quietening some commenters down (vide Jack Strocchi) when using latin it would be good to be able to italisise. Can these be restored, please?

  13. It’s on my to-do list, AR. I don’t know why this happened, and will try to fix it when I get some free time.

  14. I have been a bit too busy & slow to post much… but, congrats good professor!

    Keep the quality and down-to-earth wisdom coming!

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