Hello -ns123- (03-15-2008, 12:11 AM),
I've been thinking about what you wrote, for these few days since you posted.
1) I keep wondering whether folks like Kathy Sierra and Dare Obasanjo really made their personal decision to quit their blogs.
Or perhaps, this is some elaborate endgame of the mind, a complex and terribly effective chessplay, of which starting levels alone already kept Steve occupied, just a while ago.
This version of game I refer to, however, manipulates people towards certain actions.
Yes, conspiracy theory all over again.
But if true, it is effective terrorism, and Steve Atwood said it before me.
Much like how almost 2 years ago, Blue Security Inc's anti-spam crusade was killed, and the company crushed, thanks to cracker PharmaMaster:
Antispam crusade backfires; Blue Security shuts down
2) Still, except for such spectacular personal attacks, I join many other readers in going mostly unnoticed, in our typical comments.
After all, popular bloggers first stop replying the too-many replies coming in, be they via email or blog.
Then they may establish forums for people to fill with talk, but being human themselves, cannot possibly track everyone else.
That is where other moderators come in.
It's already amazing that star bloggers themselves can even read everything coming in, like Wil Wheaton (ex-Wesley Crusher of Star Trek Next Generation) claims in his blog FAQ, under 'So are you going to reply to me or what?' --
WWdN: In Exile: The WWdN:iX FAQ
3) So forgive me, it's already hard imagining ever being that widely read, much less being frightened into silence after enjoying such renown.
When threatened, politicians and media celebrities get bodyguards.
They do not quit their positions of power or their creative careers.
In fact, bad publicity is often construed as great marketing.
Why is the outcome different for famous blogs?