The Thing About Blog Comments Is…

Commenting is a privilege. Agree 100%.

I so expect that person is not my customer or client, or otherwise s/he is going to request a refund after getting the product/ service because of a simple flaw. If I can get him/her out of my RSS feed, I'll do that. Everyone will be much more happy without that kind of comment.

Regarding comments as the lifeblood, I have to partially disagree. The conversation part is the lifeblood, but the format of the conversation doesn't have to be comments. I mean, nowadays, blogs are not only blogs.

They are also content publishing tools. Many bloggers are using WordPress, for instance, to get static pages up, and then turn on comments selectively to encourage conversations. I'd prefer this route and soon will implement it on my blog.

I'm pretty interested in how blog comments work, so thanks for opening up a discussion here. My two peeves include the one you've mentioned: people who correct each other just for the sake of correcting each other, the sort of blog equivalent of playground insults (I was reading a blog the other day where one commenter wrote to another, "You must be the child left behind"). Unless you're on a blog where that sort of thing is relevant, I say leave well enough alone if another commenter chooses to use dangling participles or what have you. My other peeve is how blog commenters treat dissent. Although I like to think that blog comments generate dialogue, often they're just a forum for relentlessly hammering home opposing viewpoints. What I find disappointing is when people who disagree with a blogger are ganged up on with the desired result of forcing that person to take their toys and go home. Not dialogue.

I agree with many comments here and also remember being told that "when you stick your head above the crowd, you will be the one the sniper takes a shot at" - social media experts like Chris Brogan are leading and some people are looking for any reason to "discredit" him. Sort of like they are creating their own worth. Doesn't mean they can't have an opinion, but let's be polite. Good old-fashioned courtesy and constructive criticism goes a long way in my book. We are allowed to be anonymous too often, less shirking responsibility for our behavior. I say identify yourself - own your words:)

I think if you're going to put the content out there it's a right to be able to respond. We're making ourselves known publicly by blogging and it from a particular perspective is journalism. As a "web journalist" on all things customer sat my readers have the right to chime in and say they feel. Obviously I moderate comments and if one came in that was belligerent I would delete it. Nothing irritates me more than reading a great blog post where the comments are closed, or you are unable to leave feedback.

Again I think it's the readers right to chime in.

Hey Danny,
I totally agree that blog comments are a privilege. I find it sad (and rather amazing) that some folks feel they have the right to leave nasty, abusive comments on someone's blog. Of course it is fine. to disagree, that's part of the fun, but it never needs to be done rudely. If you have something to say, use that awesome gray matter and say it! Resorting to insults and rudeness generally reflects the intelligence level of the person leaving the comments, IMHO. That's right- I said it!)

So - thanks for the privilege, Danny! You can always be depended upon to say what needs to be said!!

This is a great post. I think comments are one of the most valuable aspects of the blogging world. It helps us to learn what we are getting right and doing wrong. I always encourage my readers to leave comments ( not many of them do). Direct feedback is the greatest way we learn to write better or look at new ideas and viewpoints that we might be missing.

Keep up the great work.

I am privileged to be typing in this comment box right now:). Seriously, you bring up a very good point about "constructive criticism" and what qualifies as such. I view social media and conversations on blogs no different than I do in real-life. I offer the same type of feedback here as I would face-to-face. Often I think others feel like they have a shield of defense with this being virtual in nature and often lash out much more than they would ever think of doing in-person.

As a result, my advice to everyone is to 1) be yourself above all else and 2) ask yourself if what you're typing you would feel comfortable saying to this person and group in-person. Or as David Armano said in a presentation last week, "social media will amplify your personality. If you're a jerk in real life...you'll be a huge jerk within social media"...how true.

There are always going to be "haters" - those people who like to be nitpicky (I believe one of the most frequent type of letters to the editor are actually pointing out grammatical errors in articles) and those who simply have a chip on their shoulder and like to personally attack the blogger. Most people (for good reason) feel the only type of negative commentary should be based on the content, and personal attacks are unwarranted. I agree. Also, responding to the personal attacks may just egg on the person, who could just be looking for attention (think of the classroom bully).

It's a good point. People (usually) bring their offline personas with them online, so perhaps they'd be comfortable saying things others wouldn't?

I agree. Comments are definitely a privilege and those who comment should interact in a reasonable manner. I've never understood those who leave comments on blogs simply to pick a fight or be an agitator. What do you accomplish by doing that?

That said, do you acknowledge those who are simply picking a fight by leaving rude or hateful comments on your blog? I've always ignored them, although lately I did respond to one. What is your policy on that? Curious how someone else approaches that.

I never thought one way or the other before about comments being a right or a privilege. On my blog, I encourage conversation. (Hasn't happened yet but it's a young blog.) It seems to depend on the comfort level and intent of the blogger to include comments. Disagreement should be about discourse. This requires self-restraint and good manners. Good rule of thumb-would you say your comments to the person's face?

In my view, comments are just another part of the conversation--and definitely a privilege. The blogger starts the discussion with his or her post and the comments keep it going, take it in new directions and inject humor, sarcasm and new insights the author probably never though of in the first place. Comments really are the lifeblood of any blog. Without them it's really just Danny Brown, Chris Brogan or Robert Scoble lecturing the class. That's not why the majority of us are out here. We're hear to share, learn and, as Danny states, to grow.

I agree. Blog comments are and should be a privilege; however, I personally do not like having to "log in" to post a comment. Not because I'm lazy, but there are some blog sites that cannot be trusted with private "login" info. I'm a bit leary with those particular blogs. Respect, however, is always key to constructive dialogue -- even in blog format. I once wrote an OPED on a blog and although very tastefully written, there was one commentator, who had nothing nice to say. I permitted him to comment on my blog though I disagreed with him; but he began personally attacking me, and fellow commentators. That was when I put an end to his commenting privileges. Blogging is a two-way street, but people have to give mutual respect. Great post, btw.

Peace

Commenting is a privilege. Agree 100%.

I so expect that person is not my customer or client, or otherwise s/he is going to request a refund after getting the product/ service because of a simple flaw. If I can get him/her out of my RSS feed, I'll do that. Everyone will be much more happy without that kind of comment.

Regarding comments as the lifeblood, I have to partially disagree. The conversation part is the lifeblood, but the format of the conversation doesn't have to be comments. I mean, nowadays, blogs are not only blogs.

They are also content publishing tools. Many bloggers are using WordPress, for instance, to get static pages up, and then turn on comments selectively to encourage conversations. I'd prefer this route and soon will implement it on my blog.

I'm pretty interested in how blog comments work, so thanks for opening up a discussion here. My two peeves include the one you've mentioned: people who correct each other just for the sake of correcting each other, the sort of blog equivalent of playground insults (I was reading a blog the other day where one commenter wrote to another, "You must be the child left behind"). Unless you're on a blog where that sort of thing is relevant, I say leave well enough alone if another commenter chooses to use dangling participles or what have you. My other peeve is how blog commenters treat dissent. Although I like to think that blog comments generate dialogue, often they're just a forum for relentlessly hammering home opposing viewpoints. What I find disappointing is when people who disagree with a blogger are ganged up on with the desired result of forcing that person to take their toys and go home. Not dialogue.

I agree with many comments here and also remember being told that "when you stick your head above the crowd, you will be the one the sniper takes a shot at" - social media experts like Chris Brogan are leading and some people are looking for any reason to "discredit" him. Sort of like they are creating their own worth. Doesn't mean they can't have an opinion, but let's be polite. Good old-fashioned courtesy and constructive criticism goes a long way in my book. We are allowed to be anonymous too often, less shirking responsibility for our behavior. I say identify yourself - own your words:)

I think if you're going to put the content out there it's a right to be able to respond. We're making ourselves known publicly by blogging and it from a particular perspective is journalism. As a "web journalist" on all things customer sat my readers have the right to chime in and say they feel. Obviously I moderate comments and if one came in that was belligerent I would delete it. Nothing irritates me more than reading a great blog post where the comments are closed, or you are unable to leave feedback.

Again I think it's the readers right to chime in.

Hey Danny,
I totally agree that blog comments are a privilege. I find it sad (and rather amazing) that some folks feel they have the right to leave nasty, abusive comments on someone's blog. Of course it is fine. to disagree, that's part of the fun, but it never needs to be done rudely. If you have something to say, use that awesome gray matter and say it! Resorting to insults and rudeness generally reflects the intelligence level of the person leaving the comments, IMHO. That's right- I said it!)

So - thanks for the privilege, Danny! You can always be depended upon to say what needs to be said!!

This is a great post. I think comments are one of the most valuable aspects of the blogging world. It helps us to learn what we are getting right and doing wrong. I always encourage my readers to leave comments ( not many of them do). Direct feedback is the greatest way we learn to write better or look at new ideas and viewpoints that we might be missing.

Keep up the great work.

I am privileged to be typing in this comment box right now:). Seriously, you bring up a very good point about "constructive criticism" and what qualifies as such. I view social media and conversations on blogs no different than I do in real-life. I offer the same type of feedback here as I would face-to-face. Often I think others feel like they have a shield of defense with this being virtual in nature and often lash out much more than they would ever think of doing in-person.

As a result, my advice to everyone is to 1) be yourself above all else and 2) ask yourself if what you're typing you would feel comfortable saying to this person and group in-person. Or as David Armano said in a presentation last week, "social media will amplify your personality. If you're a jerk in real life...you'll be a huge jerk within social media"...how true.

There are always going to be "haters" - those people who like to be nitpicky (I believe one of the most frequent type of letters to the editor are actually pointing out grammatical errors in articles) and those who simply have a chip on their shoulder and like to personally attack the blogger. Most people (for good reason) feel the only type of negative commentary should be based on the content, and personal attacks are unwarranted. I agree. Also, responding to the personal attacks may just egg on the person, who could just be looking for attention (think of the classroom bully).

It's a good point. People (usually) bring their offline personas with them online, so perhaps they'd be comfortable saying things others wouldn't?

I agree. Comments are definitely a privilege and those who comment should interact in a reasonable manner. I've never understood those who leave comments on blogs simply to pick a fight or be an agitator. What do you accomplish by doing that?

That said, do you acknowledge those who are simply picking a fight by leaving rude or hateful comments on your blog? I've always ignored them, although lately I did respond to one. What is your policy on that? Curious how someone else approaches that.

I never thought one way or the other before about comments being a right or a privilege. On my blog, I encourage conversation. (Hasn't happened yet but it's a young blog.) It seems to depend on the comfort level and intent of the blogger to include comments. Disagreement should be about discourse. This requires self-restraint and good manners. Good rule of thumb-would you say your comments to the person's face?

In my view, comments are just another part of the conversation--and definitely a privilege. The blogger starts the discussion with his or her post and the comments keep it going, take it in new directions and inject humor, sarcasm and new insights the author probably never though of in the first place. Comments really are the lifeblood of any blog. Without them it's really just Danny Brown, Chris Brogan or Robert Scoble lecturing the class. That's not why the majority of us are out here. We're hear to share, learn and, as Danny states, to grow.

I agree. Blog comments are and should be a privilege; however, I personally do not like having to "log in" to post a comment. Not because I'm lazy, but there are some blog sites that cannot be trusted with private "login" info. I'm a bit leary with those particular blogs. Respect, however, is always key to constructive dialogue -- even in blog format. I once wrote an OPED on a blog and although very tastefully written, there was one commentator, who had nothing nice to say. I permitted him to comment on my blog though I disagreed with him; but he began personally attacking me, and fellow commentators. That was when I put an end to his commenting privileges. Blogging is a two-way street, but people have to give mutual respect. Great post, btw.

Peace