I get a fair amount of reader feedback to this blog—and I thank you all for that—but some of the things I write seem to resonate more deeply than others. I’m not always sure just why people want to comment on certain topics or what gets them riled up, but I’m grateful for all the feedback nonetheless.

And, as I noted last week when I wrote about the top-selling books for the year from SHRM, there is probably some message in this list of my Top 10 most commented-on blog items here at the Business of Management, although honestly, I’ll be damned if I can figure it out. Can you? Here’s my Top 10 list from 2008:

1. Verbal Abuse as a Workforce Strategy (March 7). Reader comment: “Among employment attorneys, there is often talk of the so-called ‘equal opportunity jerk.’ No one is defending a manager or management style like this. It’s just that the company’s legal team doubtless looked at a tough fact situation and determined that the best strategy was to point out that the plaintiff was not singled out for bad treatment—everyone suffered more or less the same. Rest assured—eventually the company will have to reform its work environment, or else the turnover, morale and productivity problems will drag it down.”

2. Bosses Behaving Badly (January 18). Reader comment: “What is amazing to me about these crazy bosses is that we the citizens of this planet allow them to continue their bad behavior and go to great extremes to win their favor.”

3. Good Manners Never Go Out of Style (December 2). Reader comment: “Thank-you notes are a sign of class in a world where reality shows spew foul-language bleeps more often than dialogue. Thank-you notes are a sign of consideration in a world where people are shot for looking the wrong way at the wrong time. Thank-you notes are a message of respect in a world that values a bargain more than a human life.”

4. From the Editor: Why We’re Writing About SHRM (February 3). Reader comment: “SHRM has a purpose and serves a mission, just not the one that they put in writing. Where SHRM goes wrong is when they indicate that they represent a profession. The reality is they represent a large group of people that may or may not be HR professionals, but that do work in or with some HR functions.”

5. Is There Ever a Good Time to Fire Someone? (June 17). Reader comment: “Why does everyone assume that whenever anyone is fired they will either: a) go postal, shoot all their workmates and then take the server down (so don’t fire them early in the week); or b) go home, drink their drink cabinet dry and then start in on the medicine cabinet (so don’t fire them on Friday). Honestly, how many times has this really happened?”

6. Demanding That Workers Take a Vacation—or Else— (March 14)

7. Does Managing by Fear Ever Work? (August 14)

8. Delighting in Layoffs: A Sure Ticket to Management Hell (July 31)

9. Charging Workers for Smoking? Uh, Never Mind … (April 23)

10. Law or No Law, Pot Smokers Can Get Canned in California (January 25)