Comments or No Comments – The Big Blogging Question
Why is it that when we hear of blogging we tend to link it almost instantly to post comments? Because the conversation blogs harbor, the ingredient that makes them part of a community, what turns them into a critical part of social media, the instant feedback and interaction, all that makes blogging so wonderful is mostly powered by comments.
Yet, there are blogs that choose to have no commenting options. Is that something we define as wrong? Does that make the whole 2.0 aspect of blogs simply disappear? Well, it depends. Just as enabling comments does not guarantee a meaningful conversation with your readers (if there are any readers), not having them does not imply there’s no way to build great relationships with blog visitors.
Given these many shades of gray, I thought analyzing both options might be quite helpful for both new bloggers and those who have been an active part of the blogosphere for quite a while.
What to Do when Comments Come Your Way?
Having or not having comments is not the only decision you’ll have to make. There are other questions heading your way, such as:
- Should you moderate comments?
- Should you ask readers to login to comment?
- Is a comment policy necessary?
- Should comment links be “no follow”?
I think moderating comments and having an anti-spam solution such as Akismet is a great idea. Alternatively, you’ll have to closely monitor your blog and delete spam. Leaving spam messages hanging around your blog has a pretty bad impact on you and your posts, it makes you look careless and some might even think you leave spammers be to brag with more comments on each post.
Asking users to login is seen as a way to prevent spam and to filter irrelevant comments. In my opinion, it just makes you look lazy. If you have an anti-spam-comments tool and also moderate comments, no junk should shadow your meaningful exchange of thoughts with readers. Besides, let’s take an example. There are millions of Blogger blogs. Do you really believe a spammer wouldn’t waste 5 minutes to create a Blogger account and spam them all? I can tell you from experience, they take those 5 minutes out of their busy spammy life.
This also brings me to the “no follow” issue. No follow comment links were used so that people wouldn’t comment for link love alone. And let’s face it, having replies such as “Great!”, “Good job!”, “Touching, please visit my blog now” bring no value to the issues you want debated. But moderation doesn’t take that much time, and rewarding frequent commentators and those bringing fresh and insightful perspectives to your story with some link love is quite an incentive to spark conversation.
Now if you asked me, having a comment policy (as a separate page or as part of an existing one, About, General Policies, etc) is not at all a must. But it’s something you should work on when you find the time. It makes you seem open, transparent and happy to show readers how things work around your blog. It is more than fair to let people know you don’t like spam and won’t tolerate it, that you won’t publish comments that say nothing and just crave for the link, that you will delete all insults targeting you or others visiting your blog. It will also spare you from explaining your actions over and over again to noob-readers.
With comments comes great responsibility. Cheesy, but true. You can’t just have people comment and that’s it. If you’re really committed to getting to know your readers, to find what their opinions are, to having them share their ideas with you, then you need to actually reply to your comments. And as for the actual comment, a “Thanks, come again” reply won’t do. The purpose is not just to get the conversation started, but to also keep it going.
No Comments, No Glory?
As I said earlier in this entry, comments are definitely not the only way to open dialog and keep it going. Seth Godin has been doing just fine with no comments on his blog what so ever. The secret? As someone once said on my blog, he encourages readers to write their thoughts and opinions on their blog and to email him. He also makes a point from replying to all comments emailed to him.
Emails are a way to do it, instant messenger IDs are another one and, why not, Twitter accounts. The idea is to let people know how to get in touch with you. Have your contact details posted somewhere on the blog where people can easily see them and put them to good use. They’ll get bored soon if they have to look around for too long.
But there are downsides, of course. As with being required to log in, if the compose window doesn’t just pop up and you have to log in first and then type your comment, some might choose to just not comment. They might make an extra effort if you keep offering great content and know when and how to ask the right questions. Then again, nothing guarantees they’d take the time to comment through an actual comment form. Also, you should keep in mind one aspect. Having to write an email or a twitter entry is an efficient way to filter comments that say nothing at all. So what works best for you is the highly recommended option.
Having no comments is OK at times. But having no open channel of communication is not such a great approach. You’ll just have a website with articles in reversed chronological order and nothing more. You’ll miss the true essence of blogging, which is having a community of like minded people to rely on. And comments or no comments, this is what you should set as goal.
About the author
This is a guest post by Alina Popescu, PR Consultant.
If you’re looking for a fresh voice, balancing unique views on life with original PR and marketing tips, head over to her blog at WordsOfABrokenMirror.com, or better yet, subscribe to her RSS feed.
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Great post.
Now I should leave without saying anything else, but… oops… it is not your blog. I like the idea about having a separate comments policy page or at least a disclaimer. I noticed many bloggers already practicing what you preach, but do you honestly believe that this will stop spammers from invading our blog lives? I for one know this is not true…
On another note, it breaks my heart to delete a good comment just because the commentator didn’t have the courtesy to sign with his/her name, using keywords instead.
My solution: simply remove the link.
Hi Alex, thanks for the warm introduction:) Writing the post and this whole guest posts exchange has been both rewarding and extremely fun for me. Hope we get to round two of the game sometime in the future
To me, without comments a blog is much like a magazine article. Sure, you can e-mail the author if you’re so inclined, but the comment option is the quintessential factor that makes blogs into a unique medium. Without the comment section — is a blog just a magazine article online?
I personally welcome spam littering everything I run!
After all, how else am I supposed to find out about a pill that cures erectile dysfunction, bad credit, and poor social skills? Or the sweepstakes to win one million dollars just sign up for this mailing list and send me twenty thousand dollars and sell your soul?
And who can forget the chain letters? In this day of MySpace bulletins, it is absolutely crucial that I receive and pass on all chain mail, lest my mother be murdered by a mutant clown with a peg leg and body odor! I could even be kissed by the same exact man who kisses me every night on Friday if I post this to at least fifteen more places in the next 23 seconds.
All seriousness aside, this post was informative, Alina, and I hadn’t read much debate about comments (at least not that I can remember). I hope you two continue the guest posting, as I look forward to reading more of your work, and the work of others as well.
lol @ Michael
@Mihaela: Welcome to Blogsessive! Very good observation on keyword usage instead of comment author name or nickname.
@Alina: Thanks for the wonderful post and yes, it’s been fun and I’m looking forward to round two.
@Bamboo Forest: You’re almost right on the “magazine article” thing, but keep in mind that we’re still online and by shutting down the comments, the blogger could redirect readers to other commenting environments like his Twitter of FriendFeed account. It can all be part of a different approach / strategy. I still prefer comments.
@Michael:
Spam can be funny sometimes. Did I mention that I inherited $80M somewhere in Africa? Just got an email yesterday from a “lawyer” that found me after years of searching. Anyway, thanks for your fun comment and yes, we’ll continue our little guest posting game.
I think you’ve hit on the main aspects effectively. And I think you identify four worthwhile questions. The answer to all of them is no, or at least largely so.
If a comment is genuine, then whether you disagree with it or otherwise, don’t moderate it. Arguments and discussions are valuable in themselves. Genuine expressions of enjoyment or admiration are similarly worthwhile, even if they aren’t making a significant contribution in information terms.
You shouldn’t require a login. You want to be as accessible as you possibly can. Even the use of CAPTCHA is something that can make commenting inaccessible to certain users. Assuming good spam policing (e.g. up to date Askimet on WordPress), you shouldn’t need to moderate.
No comment “policy” is necessary, unless we’re assuming that the comment policy is “as free a discussion as possible”.
Nofollow is in general massively abused by blogs and other sites. I think at some point in the not too distant future we’ll see Google eliminate it or change it, because it’s now being used to massage Google results, which they hate, rather than for its initial purpose. I remove nofollow from the main blog-link for my comments, but not from links that are included in the comment body. Though I think I may even take it off there in future.
@bamboo forest I also believe comments are the main ingredient of the blogging format. The conversation after posting is something I really look forward to every time.
@Michael Hoppal As someone deleting about 600 spam emails daily, I have to say I love them! I love finding out how I can get my penis enlarged, being a girl and all that
Yes, spam is funny at times, it makes me really laugh and it’s quite innovative at times. I loved the grow an anaconda out of your pants subject line
Thanks for the comment, I hope we keep doing the guest posting thing in the future
@Robin Cannon I thought moderation wasn’t really needed a while ago. But when you have to navigate through dozens of posts to delete span and you are not using wordpress, you might think otherwise.
yes, appreciative comments are a great addition. But when you get the same comment on 3 different posts in 5 minutes, there’s something wrong.
Other than that, you are right, nothing is compulsory. You just choose what’s best. Moderation works for me, I don’t want cialis or viagra on my blog, not even for 30 minutes. My inbox is full of it and that is quite enough