For Goodness Sake, Make It Easy To Comment On Your Blog! November 29, 2007
Posted by markdykeman in blogging.Tags: blogging, blogs, comments
trackback
There are few things that turn me off of a blog as much as when it’s not easy to comment on the blog.
There seem to be a few different systems in the blogosphere for blog commenting. Some are built into the blogging platform (i.e. Blogger, WordPress.com, Moveable Type, etc.) Other blogs seem to use exclusive systems that require you to create a user ID. Some commenting systems are… well, I don’t get them, but I’m still fairly new to the game.
Some people disable the future to allow anonymous commenting – maybe because they want to avoid abuse or spam. Some people don’t want comments at all. Maybe other people just want to control who comments and when.
I don’t think those are very compelling reasons.
Look, blogging is an interactive medium. I post, you read and comment, I respond to your comments, and so on. It’s built to work that way.
Do you really want to prevent someone from commenting on your work just because they want to stay anonymous or if they don’t want to go a lot of trouble to communicate with you? I understand that there are a few trolls out there who can make your life miserable if you give them a crayon and a piece of toilet paper, let alone a blog comment section. However you might get a loyal subscriber or two if you let them give you feedback in a way that’s comfortable to them. Who knows, maybe they are just shy or paranoid about revealing their identity? Maybe they lack self-confidence and they want to test the waters first. Who knows?
There are alternatives out there that still let you maintain control:
- use comment moderation
- use Akismet, or some other tool to block the spam
- delete offensive or unwanted comments if you really want to
I realize that I may be taking a simplistic view which might or might not fit in with your personal blogging strategy.
On the other hand, if you really do want to build up a loyal following, shouldn’t you consider making it easy for your readers to contact you?
EDIT: well, I guess I didn’t follow my own advice very well. I’m using Blogger for The Mighty Introvert and didn’t realize that I had put restrictions on comments. Ooops…
It confuses me when I read a blog that doesn’t allow comments. I usually spend a moment looking for it, thinking I’ve missed the link, however I suppose it depends on why you are blogging. Maybe it’s a personal thing so some people have no interest in feedback
@fishwithoutbicycle – yeah, I don’t like having to look for it in odd places either. Welcome back!
I could never understand why people have a public blog yet don’t want to hear comments – why make it public at all? I find it frustrating after reading something and expecting a section for comments only to discover it “aint” there!
Yeah, it’s definitely anticlimactic when you take the time to visit a blog and get into a particular post and low and behold, they’ve disabled comments! That actually happened to me the other day when I was dying to give my two-cents…
@ deathsweep – yes, you said it. Besides, I’m selfish and I want to use my comments as an opportunity to promote myself and my blog. I’m sneaky like that.
@ bamboo.blitz (you deserve a reward for commenting here so often!) – I know! The reason why I wrote this post is that I wanted to leave a comment somewhere, but I felt like I needed to give the secret code, the secret handshake, and a few drops of blood in order to make a bloody comment! No pun intended.
Well…I have been blogging for two years now and I can tell you that ANONYMOUS comments are UNWELCOMED on my blog… for reasons you sited in this post.
Blogging is interactive…why would I allow a comment , when I dont know WHO I am taking to?
And I do not need to spend HOURS deleting things.
But to each his own.
However….I fully appreciate the need to make commenting easier for the reader.
Blogger (which I no longer use…but many of my blog buddies do) has recently changed their commenting system. I can no longer comment on my friends blogs that USE blogger with a direct link to MY BLOG… I can only sign / post / comment with my google account or my unused blogger account….I really HOPE they fix that issue.
@meleah – it’s personal choice, isn’t it?
You make a good point about wanting to know the identity of the person that you are talking to.
I fully agree with you that Blogger’s system is a bit confining.
Mark
1. Sorry I haven’t had a chance to do that banner yet, busy week & weekend for me. Will email you.
2. I agree. Why have a blog but not allow comments? It is a public forum.
I have blogged for many years and hardly ever had comments, I don’t know why people don’t comment, it was always easy enough to do.
What is your take on PRIVATE blogs. You know blogs that are invite only? Nothing to me is more annoying than having someone recommend I read a blog only to discovered I am not allowed to because I haven’t been invited to.
To me what is the point of having an online blog if it isn’t available to anyone online?
@ barbara:
1. No problem, whenever you get a chance.
2. Well, maybe your readers are so intimidated by your brilliant writing that they are afraid of looking like asses when they comment. Fortunately that never deterred me!
Private blogs: there are new websites and technologies that would do the same thing as these private blogs, why not use them? It seems to me that Livejournal has a friends option to limit access to posts, which makes sense if you are using a personal journal, as opposed to a blog which is kind of really designed to be seen by the public. But it’s pretty dumb to tell you about it if you can’t get access.