@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

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.

@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.

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.

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.