DETRITUS

What Can I Say?

Sometimes I just go numb

Screenshot by author

Some comments are easy. They are spam and need no response; I report and block. Easy, done. Then there are the “I read you. Now you read me.” comments. Technically, those are offers to trade reads, and are a violation of Medium rules. But will Medium do anything if I report them?

I have reported, once anyway, but I forgot to check to see if the miscreant is still here. If Medium ignores this sort of transgression, I don’t want to pester them with more of the same. I guess I’ll have to try once more and remember to follow up by checking next time.

Or maybe someone reading this knows the answer?

Now and then I make a futile effort to explain to the wayward commenter that their efforts will not succeed with any honest member. Then I remember that there are many members who will give over at least thirty seconds, trading a penny for a penny, hoping that pennies will add up to dollars. Sigh.

Do some feel an obligation? This minimally communicative stranger has gifted them. It’s a small gift, yes, but shouldn’t gifts be reciprocated? Though, in truth, we don’t know if the stranger really did spend the necessary thirty seconds, do we?

There are more comments that find me staring at a blinking cursor, fingers…