Italki.com  seems to be the only real competitor.  I do like that Lang-8 is focused on writing. It does a better job than italki. Though maybe Italki has more users (who don’t all write, so I can’t say which has more writers).

Right now I am using both sites. Maybe LingQ will be my third.

One of Benny's main criticisms of the site was that lots of the site's features aren't explained well at all, and a lot of people agree with that.

By providing the “missing manual” for your site, Benny is doing you a massive favour, because the confusing interface is a massive turnoff to many.

I read the review. Twice. I think you did a good job of looking at LingQ. You pointed out what worked for you and where it fell flat, as a good review should. You didn't slam it or get personal or snarky, either — unlike he-whose-name-shall-no-longer-be-mentioned-here. You were fair, and looked at LingQ from your perspective and with your learning style in mind. Which is all you can do really.

Keep doing what you're doing. And stop reading these comments and get back to working on your German!

Believe it or not, there was a debate going back and forth between the two of you, it was just surrounded by a bunch of fireworks. That debate was what I was tuning in for. It's a shame the fireworks brought that to an end, but I don't think anyone can blame you for removing yourself from the conversation if it was getting to you that much.

Steve hasn't given up – he will definitely mention me on his site many many more times. He has found a formula for guaranteed comments from his groupies. You can use the image again I'm sure, but it will just be of his attacks, not my defences. Steve is an annoying bug that I will just have to learn to ignore. That would be way harder if he kept coming back here and appearing in my inbox.

This was never an interesting debate about language learning. It was a soap opera or a car crash that people would slow down to peep at. Any drama is fun to watch from the outside.

I don't like your suggestion at all of attacking Steve's method. His method works for him and for other people. I have absolutely no problem with people using methods other than mine, and pointing out holes in people's approaches when they clearly work for them is not what I started a blog for.

I'd recommend attacking Steve's method as you see fit, and ignoring the rest. It's that kind of debate that will be of use to language learners, regardless of who they end up agreeing with. Indeed, if this is truly the end of the discussion between you and Steve, I myself am a bit disappointed because, vitriolic aside, the debate about how to learn a language was interesting.

(And I have to admit that I'm also a bit disappointed that I won't be able to use that stupid photoshopped image in any more posts.)

But I will NOT accept the level of abuse Steve has given me. He has used his blog as a platform to attempt to destroy my character. He has gone way beyond wearing my patience thin.

Comments are free for everyone, but if someone sends me waves of insults then they lose my respect as a person and no longer deserve to write on MY blog. They may continue to spread lies about me elsewhere and there is little I can do about that.

However, there has to be a point where you tell people to shut up when they are on your turf if all they are doing is attacking you. It has nothing to do with differing opinions, it's consistent public character slander over several weeks. The story in these comments is only the tip of the iceberg and not part of the entire story. Steve the commenter AND Steve the blogger are banned.

I understand that a lot of people won't agree with this, but unless Steve apologises and dramatically changes his tune he is not welcome here.

And even if Steve is trolling, I don't see why that's a bad thing. Once you have trolls, you've made it as a blogger!

(Note: I have not yet made it as a blogger. Trolls are welcome.)