The two sides

Mr reply : That was such a good post, in going to really take my time and right an interesting and thoughtful reply, I've checked it, double checked it and now it is perfect.

Mr poster : I've made nothing from this post, it has been up for a few hiurs now, a few replies have came in and I've answe, but it is time to move onto my next post, a reply just came in...

The outcome

Mr poster has missed a new follower, he has missed out some good engagement and is all the poorer for it.

Mr Reply has a serious dent in his belief in Steemit and will be less inclined to reply and Steemit as a whole is poorer.

No excuses

If you post at all you have a responsibility to those that read your posts, people invest time reading your post and another portion their valuable time replying - answer the post and give your reader the respect he or she deserves.

A lot of people will say "surely I can't answer all of the comments" that is bullshit (forgive the language).

Have a look at many very successful people here on Steemit, as an example of someone who writes first class posts and engages with all of his readers is @meesterboom an excellent read and he makes the time to answer every one of his replies...check him out you won't be disappointed and he engages with everyone in his community.

Upvote?

You can upvote a post without commenting, however never, ever comment and then don't upvote, it is just plain bad form.

As for upvoting comments, I think that you should upvote comments that are interesting and relevant to your post, if someone takes the time to reply to your post and have taken the extra time to do a good comment, then please reward them with an upvote.

These are very simple guidlines and help make Steemit a great place to be.

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