Who cares what you think... (by anon)

Today I got an email with a link to the FDA’s alert about Japanese food imports (this post is not about Japan’s food problems). I read a little and then noticed that there were comments left by random people... on the FDA’s website. I can understand leaving comments on blogs that you follow or things that you have a connection to (like a local newspaper), but why do people feel compelled to leave a comment on the FDA’s website? Why do they think I care what their opinion is on the FDA testing Japanese food? And the comments weren't helpful or adding to the conversation- they were more opinions like "Better safe than sorry." I understand the irony- that I am posting on a blog about other people’s comments… My question is- what makes people comment on websites? I mean I had a thought as I was reading the article, “Hmm…bet we’ll hear more about that”. Did you need to know that I thought that? I don’t think so. Did that help your understanding of the topic? Hopefully not. I’m not really complaining…just pondering the phenomenon of comments and public (as in not internal) thinking.