Being WireBender73

 They say "Never read the comments." I'm sure that's true  in a lot of places, and I know it's true even in places where I can learn a lot from some of the comments. I hate stupidity - including my own - hateful slams, and unrelenting arguing. Don't particularly care for comments where every third word starts with "f". It usually takes me two or three comments to find out what kind of a site I'm on.

I found one with rules. I've been reading it for over a year now. Articles are sent in by the community as well as regular staff. Much information is conveyed, fact based, often sourced if requested. It's also political. It's called Daily Kos. And I do read the comments, since they often give a much wider view of whatever the topic is.

I was reading another site, not as popular but worth the read, and wanted to make a comment myself once. It immediately rejected my comment, informing me that my email address was "bogus." Not their word, but their meaning. Yes, it's odd, but it's really mine. The rejection, both there and in a couple other places where I wished to send a message, say, to a TV news show, kept me from trying to send any comments in to Daily Kos. Until yesterday.

I used to comment on my daughter's blog, but I never liked the moniker that I came up with in a hurry for that one. I switched to the abbreviated version that another commenter made for me, still not liking it. Besides, she quit writing in it. A few days ago a moniker popped into my head, "WireBender". It fits me, describes a lot of what I do in my favorite hobby. Deciding somebody else might have used it, I threw on a number. Those who know me well enough will understand why I picked what I did.

Then I went over to Daily Kos, and joined the community. No rejection for my email address this time. Cool! Several articles later, I found one where I felt I had something to say. I'm still learning, like  trying to figure out how to get my comment to address a specific previous comment so it doesn't sound totally irrelevant. I can also recommend somebody else's comment I really like. It's been fun.

It's also nice that they reply to your first comment with a "welcome to the community" message, sending lots of info on rules and how-tos for the site. I also get notified when somebody responds to a comment of mine. It really can feel like a community. If I get really brave, I can even submit my own article... once I decide I have something worth saying. Then there's that thing about posting a picture with your title....

Oohhh, intimidating. Gotta figure that one out. What picture would fit? Do I go shoot something- as if something would fit? Or do they mean some kind of identity pic, like the sunflower that one person uses next to their moniker? Or some trove of stock photos? Or....

Maybe I'll just comment for a while.