I started voting on comments a while ago just to show people that I appreciate them and the time they took to read my blog and actually comment on it. It's pretty clear which ones are just hoping to get that small upvote from me and which ones really care. I still do it though because I kind of feel like it is my responsibility to give back as my account keeps growing.
Yes, I feel the same way; even so, I am annoyed by comments like ‘nice post’, two- or three-word comments that do not enrich the content of the post or generate debate. For me, although my voting power is negligible, it's easy for me to spot when a user comments just to get a vote.
Yeah, they must have really busy lives that they can't take the time to write a proper comment :)
I am annoyed by the same - but also by the "nice post" in many words, like;
"I totally agree with you and what you said about xyz. Really important to to pay attention to xyz. I am giing to spend some time thinking about xyz now."
I get the giving back, but I also think that engaged commenting should be more rewarded and incentivised than for the vote commenting. It annoys me when people come in saying essentially "great post" with lots of different sords of support, but not adding anything of value to the discussion. I guess it works for some, but when people praise without actually reading (so they can't comment), it doesn't make me feel good.
I understand what you are saying. I tend to feel the same way, but occasionally I am feeling indifferently generous.
I do this too at times. It makes it a bit of a lottery! :D