on the one hand, sure, it seems silly. on the other, there are folks I read who never read me... and folks who I'm happy to have read my writings but, for one reason or another, I don't read theirs or don't always read theirs. At least it's obvious under this system, rather than the silence of reading filters or the default view on LJ. Never useful to believe that someone is reading everything you write in any case. :)