Thanks for the shoutout! Much appreciated, man. You already know I gave you a week-long shoutout the other month, so I hope that brought in a couple of new followers.

Admittedly, you're more fast and loose about it while I'm a bit more rigid. I made it this way for me because I really don't want to miss out in responding to anyone who comments on me. Since I don't have a lot of time to spare, I'm trying to be economical about it. I have sought you out a bunch of times before. Like I said, there was a stretch where I continually commented on your work even though you didn't comment on mine. No worries there, but yeah, I have sought you out a few times before. So, I totally get what you mean. I don't want to say that seekin out and not being reciprocated weighs more, but it is what it is.

With regard to one-way support, I totall get what you're saying and you make a really great point. The thing is, like I said, I can only fit so much Steemit time in my day, so as much as I want to comment on posts I enjoy reading, I put precedence to the people who support me. I think we just have different approaches, and I totally respect how you go about things. It's just that, in my life, I've had trouble finding people who genuinely return support. I am often excluded in things (which I hate), that's why I try to be as inclusive as I can. People who make me feel included are rare gems that I try not to let go of. So, if I would be given a choice whether to comment on people who won't even reply to my comment, I'd rather have long conversations with people who do appreciate my support and who reciprocate it as well.

Maybe that's just how I'm wired. I'm not really a huge "fan" of anything, in the strictest sense of the word, so maybe that's why I don't have droves of "fans" as well. I would rather develop lasting connections than just have passerbys. That strategy has worked for me to some extent, if we're talking about profitability. Sure, I'm not raking it in with regard to earnings, but I have a steady flow of conversations because I've fostered it through reciprocating support.

There you go. I've received entries that read like stream of consciousness stories, and that's all well and good. I wanted people to have a profound experience even though they're just telling a story from their past. Based on some of the testimonies, that was achieved so I'm a happy camper. It didn't explode the way I wanted it to, but it got the reception I needed it to. I hope that makes sense.

Do you remember now that I joined your pun contest a number of times before? I didn't win any of those, so I'm not sure if the rules just changed. I think I "won" the last one, but it's only the consolation prize I think. Also, while you have a cool mechanic, I don't think that's the norm. Many other contests here have only a strict set of winners, hence what I told you about my former winning streak. So yeah, I don't think it's really that comparable. Every contest is different in that regard. I did give a 100% upvote on all of the entries, so I guess that's the same with your mechanic of everyone winning.

Sure, some people would feel discouraged by seeing a greater entry, but other people don't. I often belong to the former, so I can relate, but I've received tons of great entries after some already awesome entries. Looking at other people's contests, I could say that happens quite a lot. While I'm not a big believer in competition, people have the tendency to be competitive. I don't think your thoughts on it is the norm, though I do like the way you think about it.

If you would examine my comments, I spend a lot of time replying to everyone. With that in mind, the time I spent replying to you would be among the average time I spend replying. But, that's because I spend a lot of time replying and posting comments. I guess the average time I spend is greater than many other Steemians spend on comments. This whole conversation, while it's particularly long in current standards, is not even among the top 5 longest conversations I've had here haha! I hope that gives you a ballpark of the length of replies I give. Also, I don't think it's fair to assume the time I spend commenting on your posts, especially since some of your posts only have less than 300 words.

I guess I'm a fan of people more than their work. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how my rules affect the quality of comments I give. And, it's not that I only comment on people who comment on me. I'm not sure you're hearing me very well when I say that I venture on posts. After making sure that I have reciprocated support, I branch out to other posts and try to connect with people. I do so by choosing posts by people I don't know that interests me. Whether that translates to a lasting connection, only time will tell.

It's not that I don't read other people's work, because I do. Admittedly, this is not the perfect way to go about things, but it's what helps me not develop resentment. I just won't bother leaving, for example this type of long comment, on people who won't even bother to reply to it, much less comment on any of my posts. I don't think I could explain it any further.

I do appreciate you taking your time to elaborate. This is the kind of conversation that I'm talking about.