A couple of commenters in the previous thread alerted me to the fact that it's been four years since I turned the crank on this jalopy and got it running for the first time. Since then it's sputtered and emitted billows of steam and suffered the occasional flat, but it's still running, and the thanks for that goes to all of you who comment with such persistence, humor, and knowledge—I've probably learned as much from you by now as I did from any of my college courses.
The thing I regret most is the fact that I have to keep closing comments on old posts to keep the spam level down to a dull roar; some of the oldest have some of the liveliest comment threads (for instance, my assault on David Foster Wallace's pretensions to language expertise, written less than two weeks into the existence of LH). I try to keep the most interesting ones open in the hopes that people will discover them and leave new comments. Blogs without comments are like artificial flowers, if you ask me: they can be pretty but they don't hold the interest.
Four years is a long time in BlogWorld, but I still find this an invigorating ride and will keep motorvating until I run out of gas.
Posted by languagehat at July 31, 2006 08:09 AMCongratulations!
Posted by: Aidan Kehoe at July 31, 2006 09:12 AM御目出度う御座居ます！
Posted by: Matt at July 31, 2006 09:14 AMCongratulations and thanks!
Posted by: MAB at July 31, 2006 10:55 AMПоздравляю!!
Incidentally, WordPress has excellent spam control, though I understand that switching blog platforms is a big pain.
Posted by: Chris T. at July 31, 2006 12:56 PMVan harte gefeliciteerd met de vier jaar, TaalHoed!
Posted by: bertil at July 31, 2006 01:15 PMJa, veels geluk, TaalHoed!
Posted by: Eliza at July 31, 2006 01:38 PMJa, veels geluk, TaalHoed!
Posted by: Eliza at July 31, 2006 01:38 PMHappy Blogday! Geez, it's been so long since I've left a comment, it doesn't even remember my info. Well, even though I may not often feel I know enough to contribute to the discussion, I do keep up with the blog and have come to value it both for the information and insights I glean from it as well as for the exceptionally clear thinking and graceful writing. Keep it up!
Posted by: Dave at July 31, 2006 01:42 PMHappy anniversary, Hat. Many congratulations, and keep up the good work.
Posted by: Tim May at July 31, 2006 02:43 PMLH: will keep motorvating until I run out of gas.
Aren't we supposed to have a few decades of oil left ahead? But maybe the barrel will soon reach an unaffordable price, alas.
Posted by: Siganus Sutor at July 31, 2006 03:06 PMMany happy returns!
Posted by: MM at July 31, 2006 03:55 PMPalju õnne, Keelekybar!
Posted by: Tanel at July 31, 2006 05:12 PMIf I may plagiarize MAB's comment:
Congratulations and thanks!
Posted by: Ran at July 31, 2006 11:17 PMAd me'a u eshrim, Hat.
Posted by: fev at August 1, 2006 01:37 AMOops. My congratters ended up in the wrong subject. Sorry; they remain heartfelt.
Posted by: sara at August 1, 2006 09:03 AMThat's OK -- that post was feeling kind of lonely with no comments!
Posted by: language hat at August 1, 2006 11:23 AMmazel tov, may all your possessives be properly apostrophized!
Posted by: jessamyn at August 1, 2006 12:39 PMBardzo dobrze, Languagehat! Wszystkiego najlepszego!
Posted by: Meatbomb at August 1, 2006 12:56 PMHappy Blogiversary! Thank you for all you provide here!
Posted by: MB at August 1, 2006 04:08 PMBravo et merci !
Posted by: céline at August 2, 2006 07:31 AMCongrats -- I'm another regular lurker who doesn't know enough to contribute to the discussion, but this is word-nerd heaven and I love it, so thanks.
Posted by: hillbillyswamp at August 2, 2006 05:57 PMGood job, hatmeister. Four more years!
Posted by: goodnewsfortheinsane at August 2, 2006 06:13 PMLlongyfarchion, parabens, and እንኳን ደስ አለሽ!
Here's to four to the fourth more!
Posted by: Patrick Hall at August 3, 2006 08:25 PM