Posting Comments

Frequently, after blogging a reading response, you will be asked to post comments to the blogs of others.

Read through the posts on the class home page regarding the recent assignment.
Unless otherwise specified, using the comment boards attached to blog posts, post a separate comment for at least 4 blog posts, at least 50 words for each comment. You may post them all in one visit to the class website or spread them out over different visits (before the due date, of course). And you are always welcome, and encouraged, to post beyond the minimum requirements.
Each time there is a reading assignment, a specific group will assigned in the course calendar to post to the home page instead of their blog site. This will allow us to have some posts which receive a lot of comments, thus creating a dialogue. Therefore, each of you should pick two blogs on the home page and post a comment to each of them. At the same time, it's also important that you read and give some responses to your group members. So you should also pick two blogs from those posted by your group members and post a comment to each of them. An easy way to find your group members most recent posts is to click on their username in the block for Groups on the right hand side of every page. If for some reason your group members have not posted on the assigned reading, then feel free to respond to someone else in either class.
You are not obligated to reply directly to the original post, but may, instead, elect to reply to an existing comment with a post.
Strive to be thoughtful and analytical in your comments.
Try to find something new to say instead of saying what has already been said in the original post and in other comments already posted.
Feel free to share personal experiences which shape your views on the topic discussed.
You might provide links to additional resources on the web which would better inform the discussion.
Try arguing with and/or supporting the original blog post. If you are negatively criticizing what the blogger has said, remember to do so in a respectful, civil manner which encourages further dialogue. Thus, "this sucks" would not be an appropriate response. But neither would "That's great!" if you don't explain what you mean.
You may find, too, that none of the posts on the class website about a particular set of readings confront what you feel is an important issue on the assigned texts. As long as it is related to the general topic of the readings, as well as the topic of this class, feel free to post a comment which starts the conversation in a new direction (use the subject line to clearly specify this new direction).
The point of posting comments following reading assignments is, of course, to engage in discussion on the assignment. However, if you like, you may choose to post one of your comments to any other recently submitted blogs on the class site from the instructors and/or other students, even if they do not regard the current reading assignment.
Comment posting is typically informal writing, much like email. Because emoticons and acronyms are useful for conveying additional information on discussion boards, feel free to use them.
Always follow good citation practices in your posts.

For those of you wishing to do more than the minimum requirements of the course, you might visit the class website additional times per week and post new comments and/or replies to any of the blog posts.

How to Post

First and foremost, you must be logged into the class website to post comments.
When on the main page of the class website, use the navigation menu below the post to access existing comments. If there are no existing comments, you can use the "Add new comment" link to be the first.
To reply to the original blog post and start a new conversation thread, select "Add new comment." Enter a subject line which gives a glimpse of the nature of your comment. Type in your message.
To reply to a message, use the "Reply to this comment" link underneath the comment.
Before posting any comments, use the "preview" option to proofread and double check your post.

For your first couple of times posting, at least until you become familiar with it, you might want to begin by writing your comments in your word processor, then copying and pasting them into the comment board text window.

Advanced Usage

Try the various display options for the comment board: Nested, Flat, Threaded. You'll see that you can adjust how the comment board presents the messages. You can also set your preference permanently under "Save settings" button.
You can use HTML in your posts other than <a href> tags. However, we recommend limiting your use of tags to <a href>, , , <ul>, <li> and . Make sure that your tags are well-formed, i.e., using closing tags: .....