In honor of my father, April has been designated as Just Passing Thru's anniversary month. In connection with this, this blog will be holding a commenting contest from April 1 to 30, 2013. Only one comment will be chosen as the best.
The Value of Commenting
Comments add value to a post. It enriches the article especially if it is able to encourage a lively and healthy discussion about the issues being discussed. Comments sometimes can either reinforce existing views or change them, depending on the strength of the presented arguments. Of course, it is not the primary aim of commenting to change minds of others but to air genuine views that can be useful to the discussion.
Where Should We Comment
It is always best for readers to comment on posts or articles that actually manage to affect them in some way, whether intellectually or emotionally. This is the only way that people can provide useful comments. Commenting for the sake of commenting is not productive.
Caveats in Commenting
Although commenters are basically free to say what they want, maintaining courtesy at all times even in differences of opinion is important. The atmosphere should not be hateful or destructive. The owner of the site can choose to "control" commenting in so far as not publishing comments that are clearly hateful or destructive. The question of allowing the publication of comments totally not connected to the topic or containing links can only be answered by the site owner. Ditto for anonymous comments.
Mechanics of the Contest
1. Choose any post from this blog (except this one) and leave one insightful comment with no spammy links please. Commenters can choose to comment on up to five posts. Each comment is considered a unique entry to the contest.
2. Email your name using a valid email address together with the url of the post you commented on to adapio.martinez@gmail.com. Your correct email address is important so we can contact you in case your comment is chosen to be the best. Anonymous comments are automatically deleted and are not qualified for this contest.
3. Contest starts on April 1, 2013 and ends on April 30, 2013. The name of the winner will be announced on May 1, 2013.
4. The lone winner will get $25.00 to be credited to his/her PayPal account.
5. The determination of the best comment is based on its relevance to the chosen post. The blog author and the blog manager will choose the winner and their decision is final.
My Say
Relevant comments are very useful to bloggers like me. Comments need not always be in agreement with my personal views for me to consider them good. They just need to be presented clearly with genuine and respectful convictions.
That said, I hope everyone who reads this can provide at least one entry to make this contest a lively and exciting one. While you're at it, can you please like this blog's Facebook Fan page? I'll appreciate the support very much.
Congratulations to Ms. Lainy Belle for winning this contest and many thanks to all those who joined.
