This is a copy of my permanent menu instructions page.  I copied it here because — heck, someone else trying to comment on a different WordPress might want to know this too.  If it’s helpful, feel free to Share or pass it around, but please — don’t copy and paste.  I’m an impoverished writer; I live on distilled compliments, and if you copy my work I don’t get the credit.  (Plus I’ll come after you and do mean things, and we can’t be having with that.)

It should be easy to leave a comment here on WordPress, but because I get inundated by spam — hundreds a day — there’s some precautions set up. A lot of people have trouble with the process, so here’s a step-by-step:

1. If you’re a WordPress member and all signed in, it’s easy. Read the article, scroll past all the fine print and tags and “Share This On Facebook” buttons — OK; you can share it on Facebook if you want; I won’t mind — and you’ll see a big box that says “Leave A Reply”. Just comment in there and hit Post Comment. Easy peasy.
2. If you’re NOT a WordPress member, you’ll go through all the effort above, hit Post Comment, and a little red line asking you to sign in will flash. If you sign in, your comment probably goes away. It’s irritating. So, in this case, I advise you to:
   1. Select your comment, then hit CTRL-C on your keyboard.
   2. Sign in, probably using FaceBook. It’ll open a pop-up window; let it, and agree to whatever it wants unless it asks for your firstborn or something. I very probably do not want your firstborn.
   3. If your comment has gone away, click back in the box and hit CTRL-V.
3. The comment process may now ask you to type your name and email address. You can lie on your name, but please don’t lie on your email. That screws the whole process up. Remember the CTRL-C and CTRL-V trick above.
4. Something may pop up asking you to sign up for Gravatar. You can; they’re a trusted organization. They let you use a little picture here. It’s convenient. Again, remember the CTRL-C and CTRL-V trick.
5. Hit Post Comment again.

If this doesn’t work, it’s probably because the security settings on your browser are set to “INSANE”. No doubt that was done for a good reason, so in that case you’ll actually have to sign up for a WordPress account in order to comment on my posts, and be all signed in before you start to type. Which, on the whole, is a lot less work than a 1040EZ, and that form is EZ by federal law. But it’s annoying, and I apologize. (Plus side? Now I’ll be able to comment on YOUR WordPress.)

If following my advice at any point has caused you problems (“Agree with whatever that pop-up wants” comes to mind), it’s your own fault. You shouldn’t be taking my advice; I may be smart, but I’m not a computer security professional. Besides, if you only ever just do what people tell you to do without thinking, that makes you part of the problem I’ve been writing about, and you shouldn’t be leaving comments but instead learning how to think. I recommend books.

(Sorry; snarky today. Normally I’d be polite and rather than saying this outright I’d just be thinking it very loudly. Whoops; there I go again. I’d better shut up now before I hurt your little feelings and… *sigh* Some days I should just not be allowed out in public.)