Saturday 8^th September

I have been so lucky with this blog.  I have a regular little number of people who read it, some of who sometimes leave witty and amusing comments.  I enjoy returning to it every day and writing my daily essay – about the only thing I ever REALLY liked about school, other than recess and lunch, - was writing essays… Nothing bad ever comes of it, other than the odd PickyPedant (Allan??  Dad??  Pete??) noticing my (many…) typos

I also enjoy reading other blogs – I often quote bits from them here.  They have brought a lot of joy, interest, entertainment, and occasional consternation into my life.  I have learned a lot about travel, technology, politics, cooking, knitting, sailing, reading, films, TV, general gossip, grammar, music, interior design, you name it.  It is astonishing the energy some people put into various passions and interests. 

Usually I read blogs which make me laugh, or reach for a new book, or think about a certain issue in a different way.  How many times, for example, have I changed my mind about Julian Assange.  Is he a devil, a hero, a total jerkerama??

I have followed people’s lives over the course of a few years through births, deaths, floods and fires, divorces, tragedy, happiness and have mostly enjoyed it very much, when I wasn’t crying over the keyboard…

I do prefer the happyhappy blogs but sometimes the happyhappy people have bad/sad things happen to them…A bit like real life, really…funny, that.

Recently I have become aware, however, of a really horrid thing happening, on blogs.  A lot of bloggers attract trolls.  Nasty, bitter, hateful comments appear, usually, of course, anonymously.  Why??  I have no idea.  If you don’t like a certain blog, don’t read it!  If you think a certain blogger is vain, or annoying, or stupid – don’t read the blog… It’s not like real life, is it, where you really do have to put up with annoying/vain/stupid people.  They might, after all, be closely related to you, or be otherwise unavoidable… Whereas in BlogWorld – well you can avoid anyone!