Category — IComLeavWe

This List is Closed. Join Along for August.

Welcome to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn’t it sounds like “I come; [but] leave [as a] we”? And that’s sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments should be honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Here is the vital information, pure and simple (a more detailed set of rules follows below the list):

• The list opens the 1st of every month. It remains open until the 21st. You can add yourself at any point. The list is open to everyone in the blogosphere–blog writers and/or blog readers.
• Add yourself to the list by leaving in the comment section your blog name, blog url, and three words that describe what you blog about most often.

• I move the information from the comment section into the post (usually within 24 hours).
• Click here to cut-and-paste this bit of code to add to your sidebar.
• Commenting kicks off every month on the 21st. Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th. Every day, leave 5 comments and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments. You are highly encouraged to choose the blogs you comment on from the participants list below, but this is not required.
• Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commentors.
• The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch out breath and the whole thing starts again the next month on the 1st. Drop in and out according to what is happening in your life between the 21st and the 28th.

1. Stirrup Queens (infertility, twins, books)
2. Emily the Hopeless (infertility, veganism, dogs)
3. What Wuz I Saying? (kids, infertility, adoption)
4. This is my Truth, Tell me Yours (personal, current affairs, randomness)
5. Cupcakes & Conundrums (infertility, adoption, Australia)
6. Gas Passer (infertility, pregnancy bedrest, unicornuate uterus)
7. Maybe it’s Just Me… (PCOS, infertility, life)
8. I’m a Smart One (surrogacy, infertility, children)
9. Life and Times of KimboSue (infertility, A.R.T., randomness)
10. Butterfly on My Shoulder (miscarriage, Lovenox, adoption)
11. We’re Barren, How ‘Bout You? (life, infertility, puppy)
12. Life in the White House (infertility, daily life, donor sperm)
13. Three of a Kind Working on a Full House… (neonatal loss, secondary infertility, parenting)
14. Andria and Co. (personal, marriage, kids)
15. Child Bearing Hips (unexplained infertility, pregnancy, IVF)
16. Communique (life, infertility)
17. BagMomma (parenting, secondary infertility, RPL)
18. Such Great Heights (decisions, infertility, family)
19. Kicking You From The Inside (parenting, infertility, life)
20. Sticky Feet (baby, food, personal)
21. Helping Make Sense (infertility, IVF, life)
22. One Pink Line (IVF, turning 30, life)
23. In Ancient Starlight (infertility, IVF, life)
24. Age 30 – A Year of Books (book reviews, book clubs, son)
25. Waiting On Life (IVF, infertility, life)
26. Ramblings by Reba (marriage, life, photography)
27. Soliloquies of Tash (everything and nothing!)
28. Fractured Rainbows (infertility, pcos, life)
29. …And Not By Sight (infertility, home renovation, life)
30. Precious Little… (miscarriage, IVF, moving on)
31. Mommy Confessions (kids, family, humor)
32. Musings of a High School Teacher (TTC, teaching, life)
33. Where Is That Special Water (secondary infertility, kids, random crap)
34. My Family and Other Animals (kids, life, oddness)
35. Our Life in a Nut Chelle (infertility, stress, personal)
36. The Making of a Family (infertility, IVF, life)
37. His Eyes My Nose (IVF, pregnancy, kids)
38. Sell Crazy Someplace Else (infertility, male-factor, weight loss)
39. Elusive BFP (infertility, fibroids, TV)
40. Nest Half Empty (kids, grandkids, life)
41. Who Shot My Stork? (MF infertility, life, being poor ass broke)
42. Life Without Caden (stillbirth, grief, IVF)
43. One Hardy Swimmer (donor sperm, life, adoption)
44. Maybe I Will Have a Glass (infertility, going crazy, pupp
    y)
45. My Little Drummer Boys (stillbirth, infertility, IVF children)
46. Just Me (infertility, going mad, infertility hell)
47. A Soldier’s Girl (military life, personal, IVF)
48. The Idle Mind of Beth (infertility, meds, other stuff)
49. A Maybe Story (miscarriage, life, mystery illness)
50. A Sense of Humor is Essential (parenting, pediatric/art nursing, southern California)
51. Alicia (infertility, adoption, shoes)
52. Sippy Cups Are Not For Starbucks (personal, parenting, sarcasm)
53. Not The Path I Chose (secondary IF, kids, acupuncture)
54. Bellyaching and Benedictions (IVF, home-life, working-mom)
55. They Grow In Your Heart (adoption, infertility, parenting)
56. The Bailly Blog (pregnancy, photography, life)
57. iwantitvmuch (IVF, FET)
58. Vicious Cycle of Cycle (infertility, twins, life)
59. Creating New Life Not As Easy As It Seems (infertility, endo, life)
60. Are You Listening? (getting pregnant, life, randomness)
61. The Not So Secret Life Of Us (infertility, life, emigration)
62. The Non-Smoker (quitting smoking, life, addiction)
63. Mommy Needs Therapy (special needs child, infant, marriage)
64. Conceive This! (TTC, life, cynicism)
65. Tales of the Phoenix (IVF survivor, meaning of life, prenatal depression)
66. Edie Claire and Ella Grace (Edie, Ella, no sleep)
67. Our Displaced Southern Family (parenting, family, work)
68. Life of Melzie and Co. (secondary infertility, PCOS, life)
69. Three Ring Circus (parenting, neonatal loss, life after loss)
70. The Porridge Measurer (finding me, family, craft)
71. Dreams Come True…Sometimes (life, photography, TTC)
72. Ronda’s Rants (faith, environment, rants)
73. The Other Shoe (work/life balance, infertility, parenting)
74. They Call Me Bobby (kids, life, opinions)
75. Out of the Blue (books, blogging, language learning)
76. Books Love Me (books, university, random stuff)
77. Getting There (infertility, life, IVF)
78. Slade Rocks and a Few Pebbles… (military, kids, daily life)
79. Operation Life (surrogacy, healthy living, weight loss)
80. Off My Mind But From My Heart (domestic adoption, kids, family)
81. Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? (books, life, funny stuff)
82. Help, I Have A Teenager! (parenting teenagers, depression, PTSD)
83. Charms (infertility, twins, loss)
84. Binary Blonde (life, pregnancy, randomness)
85. Bugged (life, infertility)
86. Dreaming of Baby (loss, TTC, randomness)
87. Doolittle (illness, family, irreverence)
88. The Road Through Life (life, fun, adventure)
89. It’s Not the End of the World (infertility, rampant emotions, life)
90. Equal Opportunity Hater (infertility, grad school, personal annoyances)
91. Stop the Train, I Wanna Get Off… (infertility, life, the bean)
92. Isn’t it Pretty to Think So? (stuff, fertility/RPL issues, IVF)
93. Wit’s End (personal, politics, food)
94. That’s My Answer (question of the day, would you rather questions, fill in the blank)
95. The Spohrs Are Multiplying… (baby, her health issues, humor)
96. Duchess Jane (home remodeling, randomness, travel)
97. The Modern Woman’s Divorce Guide (divorce, law, life)
98. What Was I THINKING? (twins, teenagers, miscellaneous)
99. Colored With Memories (kids, potty training, humor)
100. Tales from Kiddyland, USA (motherhood, triplets, life)
101. Must Love Tots (tots, life, cancer)
102. The Hidden Side of a Leaf (books, reading, community)
103. Snippets (knitting, family, personal)
104. Here We Go Again (randomness, pregnancy, cooking)
105. The View From The Hill (knitting, rock climbing, life)
106. Gotcha Baby (adoption, young children, life)
107. I’d Blog That! (randomness, life, kids)
108. That Grrl (stick figures, drawing, abandoned farm houses)
109. Mama Writing So I Don’t Go Crazy (motherhood, reviews, random)
110. Clearview (life, kids, urbanity)
111. In Due Time (infertility, life, PCOS)
112. Confessions of a Raving Lunatic (life in general)
113. Our Journey to Baby – Weathering the Storm of Infertility (life, infertility, adoption)
114. Book Haven (books, parenting, politics)
115. Bookroom Reviews (books, giveaways, reviews)
116. Do Without Doing (infertility, nursing, dog)
117. The
     Unfair Struggle (infertility, male-factor, life)
118. My Life on the Fertility D-List (miscarriage, IVF, life)
119. Listen Up, Mofos! (parenting, San Francisco, my opinion)
120. Let’s Generate (motherhood, miscarriage, secondary infertility)
121. The Saga of Becoming Fruitful (infertility, finances, cost)
122. BB’s BabyQuest (pregnancy, fear, randomness)
123. Skrambled (infertility, donor conception, work)
124. The Egg Drop Post (infertility, IVF, life)
125. A Virtual Hobby Store and Coffee Shop (entertainment, news, interesting finds)
126. There’s Hope (miscarriage, ttc, life in general)
127. Baby Smiling In Back Seat (infertility, IVF, philosophy)
128. Antigone Lost (deadbabies, subsequent pregnancy, divorce)
129. Add yourself…

Q: What if I miss a day?
A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments–12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What is an Iron Commentor?
A: Not for the faint-of-heart. People who wish to be an Iron Commentor and be entered on the Iron Commentor honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting any way you wish over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commentor status is done on an honour system.

Q: Why do I have to add that bit of code to my sidebar?
A: The code is the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you’re on the right list). This month, the icon is red, the next month it will be orange, etc. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins. The icon is linked back to the current list. On the 28th, remove the icon from your blog. A new one will be created for the next month.

Q: It’s the 23rd and I just saw this for the first time on my friend’s blog! I want to join the list–why can’t I?
A: Because IComLeavWe happens every month, once the list is closed, it’s closed. If you’re finding out about this on the 23rd, you can’t join the current month. But leave yourself a note to check back in a week on the 1st and you can sign up for the next month.

Q: You said the list closes on the 21st. Well, it’s still the 21st where I am. Why aren’t you moving my information onto the list?
A: All dates and times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5 hours).

Q: What if no one comments on my blog and I have no comments to return?
A: Well, that really doesn’t happen for the most part, but in that case, simply choose another blog and add an additional comment. The goal is to hit 6 comments daily as a minimum. Going over that is fantastic and encouraged.

Q: Mel, my question wasn’t covered at all. What do I do?
A: Email me; I’m quite friendly. It helps to place “IComLeavWe” in the subject line. You could also check this post which contains the history of IComLeavWe and see if you can glean anything there.

Welcome to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn’t it sounds like “I come; [but] leave [as a] we”? And that’s sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments are honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Look at the icon in the top left corner of this blog to jump directly to the current list.

I’m assuming if you’re still reading that you actually want to hear more about IComLeavWe. This is actually the third incarnation of this project. The first time, it was called the Commentathon and it was a group of 67 participants pledging to leave at least 1000 comments collectively over the course of a week. We ended up leaving 3739 comments altogether.

The next year, we called it NaComLeavMo in the tradition of NaBloPoMo. We had 214 participants vow to leave 5 comments each day and return one comment for a total of 6 daily comments. But people heard about it after the list closed and someone suggested holding it year-round. So IComLeavWe was born.

How does it work?

On the first day of each month (regardless of the day of the week), a new list opens. Anyone can and should sign up who wants to participate. Because it is held monthly, you can drop in and out month-by-month depending on your schedule. You sign up by leaving a comment on the current list (do not leave it on this post) with the following information:

• Your blog name (if you don’t have a blog, this isn’t a problem. Simply leave your first name instead and write that you don’t have a blog)
• Your blog url
• Three words to describe the three things you write about most frequently (only three; if you leave more, I only take the first three).

Example:

• Stirrup Queens
• http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com
• Infertility, twins, books

I move the information from the comment section into the body of the post every so often (usually within 24 hours). There is also a bit of code at the bottom of the current list for you to grab that contains the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you’re on the right list) and it would rock if you place it somewhere on your blog. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins.

The list remains open from the 1st of the month until the 21st. On the 21st, it closes for the month. Commenting begins on the 21st and runs until the 28th. Participants agree to leave 5 comments a day and return 1. If something bizarre happens and they don’t have any comments to return, they just pick another random blog and leave a comment. The daily total should be 6 though you are obviously encouraged to go well beyond 6 daily comments. This goes on for a full week. You are highly encouraged to choose new blogs to read from the participants list. You could also leave comments on blogs you already know and read daily. Both count. But support your fellow participants please. Here is your big chance to delurk or find new blogs to add to your Google Reader.

There is one more challenge–Iron Commenter. People who wish to be an Iron Commenter and be entered on the Iron Commenter honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commenter status is done on an honour system. The Wall of Honour is at the bottom of this post.

And that’s it. The commenting orgy ends, we all catch our breath, and it starts back up a few days later on the 1st. So–regardless of the day of the week, IComLeavWe always opens on the 1st, the list closes on the 21st, and the commenting takes place between the 21st and the 28th. And then we do it all over again.

Any questions? Why don’t you write me. Feel free to leave a general comment about IComLeavWe below, but if you want to sign up for the current list, pop over and leave it on that list. Comments listed below will not make it onto the current list, get it?

Oh… and the dog on the icon. The story behind that is in this post.

1. I’ll start with the obvious: why not? NaComLeavMo will be fun at the very least and will definitely introduce you to a few new blogs and perhaps even get you a few new regular readers. Josh says, “it might get you laid! Well, it might.” I can see where he may have a point.

2. I’ll admit that I’ve never done NaBloWriMo even though I’ve considered it each fall. The reason is that even though I seem to post almost daily, I never know whether or not I’m going to post. If I have something to say, I post. If I don’t, I don’t post. But I can always read regardless of the mood that I’m in. I’ve never had reader’s block in the same way that I’ve had writer’s block.

3. And reading is a creative process–responding to blogs is just as much a creative outlet as writing a blog. I think it’s important to respond to a post when I can, not just to let the person know that someone out there is reading, but because blogging is a conversation. It’s my job to hold up the other end: respond to the idea, answer a question, give support, let them know I laughed (since they’re not in my living room and privy to the fact that I snorted coffee into the screen).

4. And it’s great that we all have these amazing conversation going on within small groups, but sometimes people feel like they can’t break into a group. NaComLeavMo is an invitation–join in the conversation; please comment. Anyone on this list is literally opening the door to their mind and allowing you to read and laugh and cry and learn something. And sing a little kumbaya.

5. And I don’t know about you, but I tend to comment mostly on blogs that are similar in content to mine. I read lots of other blogs–I’ll admit it: I read the Brothers & Sisters fan blog. I read cooking blogs and knitting blogs and random political blogs and even mommybloggers. But until we start having cross-blog conversations–having the IF bloggers talking with the mommybloggers and the political bloggers talking with…who do they need to speak with?…well, you know what I mean–the conversations need to be happening not just within the community, but between communities too. So bring your non-IF friends to NaComLeavMo, admit to your favourite book blogger that you want them to join along too, call out to all the fashionistas and ask them to get on the list so we can find out whether mesh tops will ever come back.

And that’s why you should join NaComLeavMo and leave lots of comments in a 30-day period. Because of all those reasons and because you just might get laid. I’m not saying it’s a promise. But it’s a possibility.

IMPORTANT: This list is no longer open. The current list can be found here: IComLeavWe.

Blog writing for a month is all good and fine; but what about the other side of blogging–the comment leaving? Comment leaving is an integral part of blogging. Without comments, blog posts are as flat as…Flat Stanley. Blogging is a conversation.

Therefore, in honour of my own blogoversary (since I am so modest. Wait, and because community and conversations are very important to me and a huge reason why I write my blog), I am conducting NaComLeavMo–National Comment Leaving Month (the national refers to wherever you are reading) from May 25th to June 25th. A full month of intense comment leaving.

Want to join along? The details are under the participant’s list.

1. Stirrup Queens
2. Fertilized
3. Growing in Our Hearts
4. Child Bearing Hips
5. Mrs. Spit Spouts Off
6. Love, Hope, and Faith
7. Here We Go Again
8. I Think I Hear Your Mother Calling
9. Sticky Bean Preconception Journal
10. Andria and Co.
11. Sluggish Butterfly
12. Busted Babymaker
13. The Making of Baby V
14. Waiting in Line
15. Resplendent Quetzal
16. Who Shot My Stork?
17. Just the Baby and Me…
18. Bee in the Bonnet
19. Adventures [in] Fertility Wonderland
20. Life in the White House
21. Sell Crazy Someplace Else
22. My Wait is Over…
23. The Promise of Our Love
24. From Such Great Heights
25. The Happy Hours
26. Trying to Conceive with DH Through IVF…
27. Baby Step
28. Cupcakes & Conundrums
29. The Therapist is In
30. Infertility on the Brain
31. Dreams Come True…Sometimes
32. Southern Infertility
33. “Just” a Stay at Home Wife
34. Freezer Buns
35. (Un)complicate Me
36. The Young and the Infertile
37. TheNewLifeofNancy
38. What a Trip
39. The Life of Swimmy Swim
40. What Wuz I Saying?
41. Speculum Stories
42. Scarred Bellybutton
43. My Little Drummer Boys
44. The Only Constant is Change
45. Years in the Making
46. Infertility Bites
47. On 2 Plan B
48. Baby, Borneo or Bust…
49. Climbing Mount Pregnancy
50. Creating Motherhood
51. Apron Strings
52. It’s Either Sadness or Euphoria
53. Fertility Notes
54. Daily Tomorrow
55. Surviving Single Motherhood
56. Mission: Impossible, or Adventures in Infertility
57. Working on It
58. Gas Passer
59. My Sanctuary
60. I’m a Smart One
61. This is Me and My Hectic Life
62. Single Mommy by Choice
63. Maybe If You Just Relax
64. The Daily Doings of Mr. Silly and Little Miss Trouble
65. Wishing Waiting Hoping Praying
66. Isn’t It Pretty to Think So?
67. In Search of Biscuit 2.0
68. Ruminations
69. Scrambled Eggz
70. Unwellness
71. Blurb This!
72. Off My Mind but From My Heart
73. My World
74. PCOS Baby
75. Weebles Wobblog
76. His Eyes and My Nose
77. MyBabyQuest
78. Thinking Miracles
79. The Life and Times of KimboSue
80. Will They Have His Eyes?
81. Nine Months
82. Blood Signs
83. My Perky Ovaries
84. The I Word
85. The Waiting Womb
86. Reproductive Jeans
87. Still Passing Open Windows
88. A Little Sweetness
89. Are You Listening?
90. Coming2Terms
91. Sweet Baby Dreams
92. Infertility Bites
93. Our Box of Rain
94. Life After Infertility and Loss
95. Happy Hopefuls
96. Barren Albion
97. Joyce’s Blog
98. Desperate to Multiply
99. Alicia
100. Nervous Breakdowns are Highly Underrated
101. Growing Wathens
102. Sweet Southern Knits
103. Apron Strings for Emily
104. The Road Less Travelled
105. Frantically Simple
106. Sunny in Seattle
107. Sam’s Stories
108. Hecticmom – Completely Undone
109. Bugged
110. Confessions of a Paranoid Parent
111. Becoming a Different Person
112. Heeeeeeere Storkey, Storkey!
113. Teacher, Mom, Mad Woman
114. Confessions of a Raving Lunatic
115. In Due Time
116. Mommypause
117. Perchance to Dream
118. The Other Shoe
119. Our Journey
120. Doolittle
121. Breathe Through It
122. The Johnson Family Journey
123. Terribly Unfashionable: Tales of a Geeky Librarian
124. I Won’t Fear Love
125. Mommy Meryl
126. Today’s the Day!
127. The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
128. A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm
129. Mom of Two Dancers
130. The View from the Hill
131. A Journey Through
132. Back into the Fire
133. Nuts in May
134. The Surprise of Unfolding
135. Twin Peas
136. The Idle Mind of Beth
137. This is Me
138. Three P’s in a Pod
139. Communique
140. Moxie Mama
141. Sassymonkey
142. Ramblings by Reba
143. Help, I Have a Teenager!
144. Good & Plenty
145. Masha
146. The Life and Times of Me!
147. Jason and Samantha’s Journey
148. The Whole of Her Sermon
149. Fat Fighter TV Blog
150. Viva La Feminista
151. The Limelight
152. Hoping for Another Lovebug
153. A Slice of Life
154. Infertile Turtle
155. Age 30 – A Year of Books
156. A Very Open Book
157. Letting it Out
158. Imagine Alyzabeth An
159. Our Journey to Sophie
160. No Regrets
161. There’s Hope
162. When Will Hope and Faith Pay Off
163. Twice as Nice
164. Couples Living with Infertility
165. Operation Baby
166. Diary of an Infertile Mad Woman
167. Bits and Pieces
168. It’s Stork Season…And I’ve Bagged My Limit
169. Locker Room Towel Fights
170. After 10 Years…Finally…IVF
171. Learning to Breathe
172. From Here to Maternity–Yael’s Journey
173. Solo Trekking Through Recurrent Miscarriage
174. Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?
175. One Day Two Day
176. The Idaho Smiths
177. What Was I Thinking?
178. Your Kiss is On My List…
179. Seeryus Mama
180. Rational Irrationalities
181. Adventures of a Bad Ass
182. Dirt and Rocks
183. A Lady Scientist
184. Psych Post Doc
185. Postcards from the Edge
186. Living with the Cards I was Dealt
187. Monogrammed Mom
188. …And the Rest is History
189. Gotcha Baby
190. Kore Chronicles
191. We’re Barren, How ’bout You?
192. Scientist Mother
193. In 2 Me See
194. Small Town Girl in a Big City
195. A Woman and Her Blog
196. Kicking You From the Inside
197. Raspberry Chip
198. Acqua Cheta Rovina I Ponti
199. Mr. Buttertoes
200. The Hairy Farmer Family
201. Antigone Lost
202. Ramblings and Everyday Amusements
203. Mommy Needs Therapy
204. Hearts Wide Open
205. Candid Engineer in Academia
206. Stop the Train, I Wanna Get Off
207. High Land, Hard Rain
208. Production, Not Reproduction
209. Grad Ovaries
210. A Soldier’s Girl
211. Lupus Pie
212. There’s Weenie Juice on my Cookie
213. Mommy Wants Vodka
214. Sam’s Feet

     The list is now closed–12:01 a.m. Sunday, May 25th. Let the commenting commence!

     This is how it works:

(1) leave a comment below saying you would like to participate in NaComLeavMo. Leave your blog name and url. I will add you soon after to the list of participants above. Everyone is invited to join NaComLeavMo (you do not have to ask because the answer is yes. It is always yes. It is open to everyone in this whole huge blogosphere). My goal is actually to get non-IF/adoption/loss blogs participating too and get conversations going between different corners of the blogosphere. Therefore, if you have non-IF blogging friends or straddle two communities, encourage them to join along too. But be forewarned, there will be blogs on the list that are about knitting or politics or cooking, but there will probably be blogs with babies or children as well.

If you do not have a blog, you can technically still participate in NaComLeavMo. When you leave your comment, just state that you don’t have a blog but will be participating. Um…though this may be a good week to start that blog you’ve always been meaning to start.

(2) mark somewhere on your calendar that you are going to leave 5 comments a day and return one comment a day between May 25 and June 25. In other words, you will do your normal blog reading, but you will make sure that you leave at least 5 comments a day and regardless of how many comments you usually receive, you will return at least 1 comment by going to a commentor’s blog and leaving a comment there. If you do not have any comments that day (perhaps you didn’t write a new post or your blog falls into a strange, other-worldly commentless abyss), simply jump to the participant’s list below and pick a new blog and leave a comment.

New people who have never commented
on your blog before take precedence over usual commentors. All commenting is done on the honour system–if you tell me you left the requisite amount of comments each day, I’m going to believe you. Try to spread your comments around–it’s okay to comment on the same person’s blog each day, but it’s better to hit new ones continuously. Please try to visit once all of the blogs listed on the participant’s list at some point during the course of the month. Even if you don’t leave a comment.

(3) those who wish to step up the commenting and enter the wall of honour, leave a comment on every NaComLeavMo participating blog at least once a week (in other words, if there are 100 blogs on the participant’s list below, you would click down the list once a week and leave a comment on each one). These bloggers are called Iron Commentors and they will be placed on the wall of honour at the end of NaComLeavMo. You must do this once a week (4 times during the month) in order to get on the wall of honour, though even if you only do it once, let me know.

(4) take the code listed here back to your blog and place it somewhere on the sidebar or in an easily accessible post. Encourage your readers to participate in NaComLeavMo. The more, the merrier. Please leave this code up throughout NaComLeavMo because it gives people easy access to the participant’s list.

(5) check in with me on June 20th (put that on a calendar too, though there will be a reminder that day in the Roundup) to let me know if you’re on track for completing NaComLeavMo. When you email me at the towncriers@gmail.com, I will send you the code for the completed NaComLeavMo icon or the Iron Commentor icon. If you don’t check in, I won’t know if you completed NaComLeavMo and I won’t move you to the final list of participants. So…check in that weekend.

(6) if you miss a day, you can double up your comment leaving (10 comments and 2 returns) the next day. If you miss three days, triple your comment leaving when you return, so on and so on.

(7) the participant’s list closes on May 24th at midnight EST. You can still do NaComLeavMo, but you can’t add your blog to the list. Therefore, get the word out now to your readers and let’s see how many people we can get participating.