Why comment moderation is a mistake if you want to make money blogging
People are getting very worked up about comments, but how you deal with the comments on your blog isn’t worth dwelling on. I was surprised to read a post on Ben Cook’s blog outlining his policy on dealing with comments. I think even having such a policy is a mistake because it gives your readers the impression that you are establishing rules on your blog.
As a reader, I don’t want to be treated like a child. It’s common sense that if a comment is spam then it will be deleted, but otherwise I don’t see the need for censorship in any shape or form. Sure, you can use an asterisk if somebody writes f*ck, but otherwise you are messing with what people are saying and treading a thin line.
Bloggers can come across all sort of problems if they edit their posts, remove their posts, move their posts, edit comments, don’t let comments slide, or delete comments. I’ve experienced this myself in the past when I had to remove a blog post because it could have had a negative impact on my life in the real world. I was then accused of editing people’s comments (which I had never done) and imposing censorship on my blog.
Readers can be very sensitive about how you treat them, so I think having a policy or, as Becky did recently, saying you uphold your right to edit people’s comments is a mistake. If you are going to do this, I would say it’s better to keep it private, because even if I know that a blog’s comment policy does not affect me, the fact that the threat is there is something that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I think such policies and stances are unproductive toward the overall goal most of us share of making money blogging. If someone posts in Spanish, then so be it; if someone gives you a slating, then let it slide; if someone posts something stupid, then call them out for doing so.
Thinking that certain comments don’t add value to your blog is like trying to create an elitist group. I’m all for minimal moderation, except perhaps to correct obvious typos. Akismet deals with spam and that’s really all you need
Am I off the mark here?
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7 Responses to “Why comment moderation is a mistake if you want to make money blogging”
While I agree with you to some extent about it being a thin line to tread, I have found that it’s always better to let people know what you will and won’t accept on your site.
For example, if someone leaves a comment on my site that is perfectly valid, but their name links to an adult site, I’m not going to allow that comment. That person might get annoyed or even pissed off if they don’t see their comment or I edit it without them knowing that there is a policy in place. Now, I’ll put a link to my policy near the comment form and just point to it when deleting a comment or editing a link or something.
Another example would be swearing or hate speech. There are some words or phrases I just won’t allow to be displayed on my site. I realize that’s a slippery slope and all but I think those kinds of things reflect on the site they appear on, as much as the person leaving the comments.
Lastly, akismet takes care of a lot of spam but it doesn’t detect all the splogs or sites that are blatantly ripping off other people’s content etc.
This is a very interesting topic though, and I always enjoy reading opinions that differ from my own. Great post!
Oh dude. Only just got a chance to look at the changes you made to the blog. Very nice, very nice
!
Anyway, I do think generally all you need to do is plug your key into askimet and leave it be.
However, if you’re going to possibly moderate/edit etc comments it may be wise to make this clear to people before they comment but I agree that it’s better to just let the comments flow.
What the F*CK??!?! Okay that was a joke. I agree that you shouldn’t run around editing comments of regular users unless it is becoming a real problem. There have been times when I’ve posted comments on blog, then I get an email response back from the blogger – but my post doesn’t appear on the blog. Then I’m really thinking “What the F???”
To me it all depends on what type of blog you have. And as there are many different types (fun/businesess/political/sports/etc) it’s hard to have a blaket policy on this.
I do reserve the rights to change comments, but I will try my best to contact the person and explain my reasons for doing so. It’s not something I would do likely or flippantly , but at the end of the day, it’s my blog. I think as long as you are fair you will be okay.
Becky
I completely agree. Fair enough – delete all the spam. But whey should a blogger edit what others have to say? That’s what makes blogs interesting, because everyone can chip into the discussion.
You’re dead right about bloggers who have this elitist notion about editing people’s comments and setting up all kinds of roadblocks just because they abhor spammy comments and such. Anyways, to me, there are comments and there are comments, and if they fall out of line, they just get zapped. There’s no big deal trying to deal with spammy comments. Better to spend time improving one’s own blog, writing and work towards gaining traffic. I also agree with Adam and Catherine Lawson regarding comments.
Hope you enjoy your stay in Thailand.
Spamming is there on comments I still woudn’t feel that the comments should be moderated.