We all do it differently and there's certainly nothing wrong with curating. I guess, for those with really small vote value, a comment can have more impact. I remember when I had only a thousand or so staked, three years ago, I'd actually apologise for my vote being so pathetic and would leave a really good comment...It was always appreciated more than a vote. These days I do both mostly.
It doesn't matter how a person supports the community, as long as they do, although I enjoy seeing comments on my posts...If no one commented on me I'd be gone to be honest.
!ENGAGE 25
I would sometimes apologize for my low vote value too when wishing I could do better. There were times when I'd use a 'bot' to boost them; like Tipu, or merely send a gift directly to their wallet. Now, we have that 'gift' feature which is a plus as well.
Yeah... comments are certainly nice to leave and receive. They certainly help with gaining friends and keeping yourself in 'the minds eye' of others I just prefer to leave comments that occur to me naturally upon reading a post, rather than just for the sake of commenting or merely repeating what someone else already said in previous comments.
As far as REPLYS... I strive to NOT miss acknowledging comments from others. It's a more important gesture in my opinion, unless the comment to me was ugly; like wishing a horrible death upon my tender soul...😎
There needs to be a certain relevancy to commenting for sure. So many waste a comment by not adding any real quality to it. I'll still reply as you say of course, but there'll be very little else, I won't feel connected with that person and it will likely lead nowhere.
The ugly comments are a different thing altogether; It's best they are ignored.