RE: Hive has some pretty interesting incentives that makes people want to ...

@ahmadmangazap Commenting on a piece without reading all of it is risky and disrespectful to the writer. I find it hugely irritating when people comment on my work when they clearly have not read all of it. I would prefer no comments at all.

Why is this? I find that at least half my comments are by people who are clearly "doing engagement." Their comments are on my headline or on one or two points I made. That would be okay except that, usually, I have already addressed their point if they would give me the respect of reading my work.

If people don't want to read my work, that is totally fair. Then... don't.

When I comment, I try to make sure I understand what the writer is saying. Sometimes, I read the piece more than once. If I am not interested enough to read it even once, I don't comment.

While this approach might not do my engagement numbers any favours, I think it has integrity. And, if integrity counts for nothing, what's the point?

However, beyond that, it is frustrating for the writer. You sit down and spend usually a few hours (in my case) creating a piece of writing, and then, some people read the first paragraph and say, "Oh, sure, but what about X?" Well, X is in the third paragraph if you had read that far.

Now, I have to either ignore the comment, which is bad form, reply politely even though I feel irritated and disrespected, or reply honestly, "Hey, dude, why don't you actually read this and then comment?" which would not win me any friends. It puts the writer in a no-win situation, and, frankly, I hate it.