Picture Courtesy of Geoff Harries
I recently received this comment inside my WP Dashboard and realized that I’ve never addressed the “rules” here at SBB. I thought I’d take a moment to share with you a recent comment I have received…
I am new to the blog commenting realm. I have always read blogs to find useful information but have recently started leaving comments to build up my linking campiaign. I only leave quality comments on the topic of the blog and I believe what I add to the discussion is useful. However, I have noticed that most of my comments never show up. I wish someone would go into detail about what spamming a blog is. Maybe, I am doing something wrong. I think knowing the rules could be benificial to a lot of people.
Now I’m no expert on blog spam BUT… I do have a sense of what I will and won’t allow here on my blog. I personally find it difficult to approve comments that seem well thought out, but then have no name in place. It’s instead the name of their business or worse yet a keyword to direct traffic over to their blog.
I have no problems with people getting exposure from commenting here but I don’t personally like it when there is no name in place. I prefer to get to know who the readers are here at SBB and would like the opportunity to build a relationship with all readers.
What do you think? Do you approve comments that are not from an actual name?
Hi,
I have two blogs. One allows comments and the other does not.
For the blog that allows comments, I moderate them. I look for comments meaningful to the topic. I don’t require a name. If there is not a name, then I don’t allow links to another site.
For the blog with no comments, it is a notification blog for an association ~ set up for one way communication.
I recently came across your blog and have enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more in the future!
Debbie May
Wholesale Supplies Plus.com
I allow all comments. I must admit that I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to identify themselves. Several of my regular commenters have handles (I guess you would call them). This is fine with me, as I can identify with the person.
If a comment is not really related to the topic of the blog post and just is either blatant selfpromotion or a “Yes, me too – interesting post” comment, it is not worth to being published.
On a site i maintain (not a blog) I have a commets feature that frequently gets spammed with keyword and URL stuffing. Those posts that make it through my filters get moderated or deleted.
Keep up the good work (and your blog clean)
Tom
(thats a real name)
Surprisingly, I absolutely agree with you. It just saddens me how I almost have to discourage commenting on my blogs simply because there’s no name on the otherwise valid comment. I tend to pass it through but replace the name of the business with a name, if it is present. For most cases it is, but when it’s not – regretfully I dump the comment to spam.
I actually allow and encourage my commenters to put their KW in comment name as my blog is do-follow, and who wants to rank for their first name, but I ask that they use the Name @ KW format, or sign their names at the end of the comment, works well for everyone.
JR
Well i agree with you , i personally don’t like comment without a name . My blogs often get that kind of comments. But as long the comments related to the post articles i still approve it to appears.
Currently I’m not very restrictive because I’m trying to build readership. I don’t moderate comments that aren’t defined as spam beforehand (Spam IP’s, Multiple Links, etc).
I’m on the same boat as JR is. If the person leaves an actual comment that is relevant to my post well then I’ll allow it as long as they use their name @ KW format. If the comment is relevant it usually means whoever the poster is read my blog post and will hopefully leave with a tid-bit of new information in their head.
Susan
Interesting article, I allow more posts than most because I understand what people are trying to do and I understand about spreading the comment love. I have a huge problem with commenters who just type half a sentence, if you add a salient comment related to the article, then I’m fine with it and will allow almost any comment as long as I can tell they made an effort to read a little bit.
hey Vera,
It’s a good question and I think it varies blog to blog. For blogs that don’t care if they get comments they can have any standards they want. But for blogs that aren’t incredibly popular and still want comments, I think there has to be some give and take, which seems fair. The commenter must ADD VALUE and then he gets a link which can be his name, or as Ed puts it, his handle. Mine for this comment is “trade show giveaways”, but you can call me Steve. The key is the comment must add value, or it isn’t a fair trade.
~ Steve, aka trade show giveaways
Nice topic! I don’t like those kind of commenter who just type thanks, nice article etc.. I only appreciate that commenter who keeps the theme and post unique comment on blog.
Participation of others is what makes a blog a valuable tool. I often wonder why would people limit participation. I will encourage people to participate with real contributions and even link to their web site.
I don’t mind if someone spams me with a comment on my blogs as long as it is a comment more than “nice points” or “well said”. It helps both parties when there is good content on both the blog and the comment as far as SEO is concerned.
Like Moshe Cohen said above, logs need participation, otherwise they can become quite stale or onesided. A comment should add value to the original blog post and not just say “Wow, what an interesting point you have”.
Why would people limit participation? Probably because they see their blog being misused.
I think moderaation is OK, maybe even having a tool that detects and prevents posts with stop words. But it should all be reasonable – For getting quality comments on a blog one can give also a little link love back.
PS: Are your sites ready for Christmas? It’s just 77 days left to the biggest holiday of the year
I am allowing open commenting on my blog for now. Of course, I don’t have a ton of people reading and commenting on my blog yet. I guess we will see how it goes. I can always turn on moderation later.
I think I would allow negative comments as long as they are not destructive or hateful.
I am allowing open commenting on my blog for now. Of course, I don’t have a ton of people reading and commenting on my blog yet. I guess we will see how it goes. I can always turn on moderation later.