I'm relaxing this blog's comment preferences so that readers can now post a comment without first having to sign in to a TypeKey account. I didn't think this was such a huge barrier, but one reader has begged to differ, and I have to admit I haven't been getting a whole lot of comments here. (So I do really appreciate my regulars in the combox, including Vox, Puff and Bear, Shelray, Onionboy, Deborah, StatGuy, Belinda, Warren, felix hominum, and Maggie.)
Hopefully (Yes, Miss Thistlebottom, that's a sentence adverb--do you have a problem with that?) my correspondent will be right and the change will encourage a few more people to put in their two cents' worth. To encourage people to read whatever comments are posted, I've added a sidebar listing recent ones. So please jump in!
For what it's worth, I've also added a Feedburner feed--we'll see how useful this turns out to be.
The only hurdle now for people who want to comment is the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) for users who haven't authenticated themselves through TypeKey. Personally I dislike the CAPTCHA that TypePad uses, because I have to squint to figure it out and it's not at all unusual for me to get it wrong and have to try again. (Is this because I'm a proofreader and my brain works funny? Don't answer that.)
Meanwhile, I'm pondering quite what purpose I want this blog to serve. Since May 2005 when I started posting as a Catholic-curious Baptist, The Sheepcat has evolved in content and tone. Aside from the obvious fact that I'm now Catholic and cannot imagine leaving the Church, it's hard for me to say from up close which of the shifts are permanent and which will turn out to have been cyclical.
One reader writes of the content here:
Sometimes it's informative, sometimes it's grating, and sometimes it's just downright scary to see how extreme your views can be. At least it's seldom dull!
And a blog should never be dull. So towards that end, dear readers, please do tell: What would you like to see more
of (my time and energy permitting)? What leaves you indifferent? What should I keep on doing?
One final thing: the tagline, "Sniffin' around to try to please the Good Shepherd," dates back to the earliest days of the blog, when I really wasn't sure where this blog was headed. Since JPII's death in April that year, I'd thought there was a good chance I might become Catholic, but I wasn't ready to commit yet. I was still searching around pretty eclectically for whatever might prove edifying. Having discovered just how wide and deep Catholicism really is, I don't feel as much need to look outside its visible confines as I used to (though I still faithfully read several excellent non-Catholic blogs). And some clearer focus on Catholic renewal has emerged, though the blog is still a bit of a grab bag and likely to stay that way.
Anyway, for a while now, that tagline has struck me as kind of feeble, so suggestions to replace it would be welcome.
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