Very good point about the purpose of commenting and it’s real value, I agree with you both on that.

One thing to consider is it was Rarst’s comments on your blog that made me interested in taking a look at his site. When someone comments a lot (good quality comments, I mean) it does make people interested in seeing where they come from.

Thanks again!

I have to agree with Rarst, the purpose of commenting should be to build relationships with other bloggers. The back links are just a little something that come as a bonus. Blogging can make one feel quite lonely at times, comments are our way of just trying to get to know one another. Comments, in my opinion, is what keeps blogging alive. It is definitely the one thing that keeps blogging interesting.

Thanks for the comment, it’s always good to hear other peoples opinion on the topics you write about. I think you have hit the nail on the head about forming relationships, that is very much what it is all about, and it’s great to see some of the same names popping up from time to time, commenting on the posts.

That fear is partly responsible for ultra-complex anti-spam plugins that like to grief normal users almost as much as spammers. Is mistakengly killing good comments adequate price for not letting few bad ones slip by? I think not.

About strategy aspect – after staring my own blog I do comment more. But main priority is creating relationships with fellow bloggers, not getting backlink at any cost (comment backlinks are close to worthless anyway unless you strike reeeeaaaaly good and eye-catching comment).