Putting the finishing touches on Simi Linton’s website, we have been discussing the ins and outs of managing her new blog. Simi asked me how I deal with all the comments I receive on my own blog (ie this website).

I confessed that most of my comments were spam, which have now disapeared to the addition of a spam filter. However, she was more surprised to hear that my regular readers choose not to post a comment because they are hesitant about appearing in public.

“It’s an Australian thing,” I said. “Quite different to America, where everyone wants to be heard, no matter how banal their contribution.”

Fortunately she thought that was hilarious. “I’m definitely going to have the opposite problem,” she said. I’ll report back in a few months.