The art of linking.

I noticed from my Site Meter referrals that I'd gotten a link from The Washington Monthly, so, in typical blogger form, I clicked over there to see what they were saying about me. Here's Kevin Drum's post. I just want to say, it's nicely constructed, amusing in itself, but designed to send readers off to read the linked posts. That's the nicest kind of link from the linkee's viewpoint. There's another sort of link, where the relevant material is used in the post in a way that gives readers the sense of already knowing what's at the link. You appreciate this link too -- as long as it doesn't make readers think you've written something that you didn't and wouldn't -- but it's not as nice as the first type. Then there are those blogs that don't seem even to have heard about linking to other bloggers. I'm looking at you, Huffington Post bloggers.