Being Careful with Comments
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A post by Becky @ PreBlogging.com. I take the more simple approach to blogging topics, i.e. a no nonsense approach to things. This is my 3rd guest post here, please check out the other ones , [1] & [2], and if you like them maybe swing by my own blog !
Dealing with Comments
No matter if your blog gets 100 or 1 comments per post, you do need to take care of them. I have my wordpress set so that people need at least 1 approved comment to automatically get their following comments approved. But from time to time I do get rather strange comments, some of them that should never be published for various reasons. When you are setting up your blog, you need to think about what policy (and possibly publish it) you are going to have with regards to comments.
Confused Comments
In the past I have had people post some personal information that should probably not be published on the net. For example, in one post I was talking about having to get my Social Security card replaced, and some lady posted up all her details and SSN and asked me if I could get her a new card. This content isn’t something that people should be sharing on the internet and I didn’t want to be the person responsible for this. Granted the lady had freely submitted the data, this doesn’t matter. There are things you shouldn’t publish, even if your commentator is completely clueless. You need to be responsible for the content that appears on your website, both posts and comments.
Dubious Comments
Or in another case I had a post referring to a new service from a cell phone operator. And someone found the post, and had a question directed at the company rather than at me. It is not my place to hold this comment, or to forward it on to the correct people. I am not affiliated or a representative of the company, so having this question on my blog doesn’t add any value to me or my readers. Also if someone sees a comment like this, you might be inexplicably linked with that company.
Hate Comments
Remember that the comments on your blog, are being published by you. Even if it is clear that it is a comment from someone else, you shouldn’t publish something like “company X blows chunks” or “john X is responsible for killing my wife“. One of the reasons for this is that it can be difficult to make sure that the person commenting is the person at the end of the email address. And another one is that there is a time and a place for flinging accusations, and on your blog probably isn’t the best place. Creating an atmosphere of such negativity is also something you should try to do on your blog.
Editing Comments
Don’t be afraid to edit comments. Either if it is because someone used foul language or they have a poor command of the English language. On your blog, they are your comments, something that other people have submitted to be added to your post. If it contains something that you are not entirely happy with, then don’t publish it.
One final note is that I would add is that if you edit or delete someone’s comment, you should take the time to explain your reasons for it. And explain why it isn’t inline with your policy on comments.
Credits
For more interesting ideas you can go to PreBlogging.com and read my 5 Step Guide to start Blogging.
P.S.: Bob has said that any milk money from my posts will be directed to me, so if you liked the post, buy me a gallon/litre !
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Being Careful with CommentsWho Needs An iPhoney When You’ve Got a PS3! Free Beer! We Won An iPhoney Criticizing Critics
be discarded as spam. They may also need to be blocked from the site. I don’t like to have to resort to such draconian measures, but some limits are necessary. BeckyS, who is the author of Beginners Guide to Blogging, posted an informative article,Being Careful with Comments, over at JohnCow dot com. How do you feel about this? Tell us all how you really feel about comments! Do YOU participate in the give and take of commenting? Have you EVER turned off commenting on your revolutionary blogs? How do you deal with comment
So do we really have to edit all of Angel’s comments now?
By the way, the adwords ad above which says something about JC with the domain name johnchow.info is redirecting to cashquests.com . Guess kumiko is running out of good posts lately… tough luck!
Yes, you’re right. I can’t imagine why I would advertise under the JohnChow.info domain…nobody would click on that all…what on earth am I thinking…I should really form a plan when I do these things…
Which comment are you referring to?
You really gotta be careful about editing comments as you please. Those comments, believe it or not, are owned by their writers, not the blog owner. The commenter retains copyright of their comments. At best, you just get a non-exclusive license to display it. Editing a comment may violate that person’s copyright. It’s best to spell out that your non-exclusive right also includes the right to edit, delete, or republish in your commenting policy.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but remember that just because it’s on your blog doesn’t mean it’s automatically copyright you.
Whether you publish them or not is up to you. If you are editing them to change someone’s main point, this would not be fair use IMHO, but if you wanted to remove expletives from a post, I think this is something you are entitled to do.
I think you got it wrong. While the comment clearly belongs to the commentor, the blog owner has the right to post, edit, or delete the comment itself. Never once was there a mentioning of the blog owner taking credit or claiming copyrights to the comment itself, so there is no such thing as violating copyrights here. Deleting or dismissing a commment altogether is the sole discretion of the blog owner.
Editing is to delete unwanted language or other unwanted comments. Just because you are editing a comment or omitting unwanted information, does not mean you are violating the copyright laws, afterall, the blog owner never claim they wrote the comment nor would they edit it in a way to make it seem like they made the comment themselves.
I have edited a couple of comments because they put links to something they were selling. I don’t mind links in comments if it’s related though. I edited those links and commented back saying, “If you would like to advertise on my site, please contact me via email to negotiate a price or linkback. Thank you.”. I still leave their comment just take the link out.
You forgot spam comments! A blog I have on a .edu domain gets hundreds of comments from “augnajksgnaksg.random-domain-name.info” and username gaklsngklasnglkang all the time, expecting someone not to filter them.
Seems like I get a lot more spam comments lately. If someone has a valid comment, I don’t mind linking to their site. But those that are nothing but a blatant advertisement, I just delete.
eh, this is sorta common sense. nothing was learned to day. no offense.
True you may not have learned anything, and it is common sense, my articles are more aimed at beginner bloggers. (no offence taken btw)
oh ok, cool. didnt mean to sound like an ass. lol.
The same system of having a comments approved first before subsequent comments will be approved automatically is also being used by me.
I agree with you that we need a policy to stick to when moderating out comments.
Moderation is rarely needed. If you start messing with what people say then people will get angry. Akismet for spam, and let the rest slide, nofollowing links if need be.
Thanks for people’s comments and feedback. You may say that editing comments can deter commentators, this may be true, but if you run a business blog, some comments may be totally inappropriate and not in-line with what you want your corporate image to be.
NO big deal as far as comments are concerned. If one is out of place, delete it as you see fit. Don’t ever alter people’s comments. If you’re too fussy about comments, set up moderation. Spam is an overplayed word. You don’t need a rocket scientist to control comments coming to your blog.
I don’t find myself having problems with any comments on my site. My readers are mostly respectful.
Really? Are you sure you don’t have a “not” missing there?
Becky,
This was a great read. If I get a really bad comment, I’m more likely just to delete it than edit it out. But even if I’m not 100% happy with it but it’s still okay, I’ll leave the comment. People do have the right to voice their own opinion on my blog. I know it’s my blog and they’re my comments, but I am interested in what people have to say even if it can be negative sometimes.
But of course, if I did get a comment where someone gave out some very personal information, I would delete it. It’s not that I’m afraid of being held responsible or connected to any other group, but I don’t want someone to get their hands on someone else’s info.
Once again, great post. I look forward to reading more from you.
Thanks Tay !
I do get a ton of spam comments, and I really need to start editing them more..
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Cool Nice post Becky , You forgot to mention about the Spam comments & the duplicate comments
Seems like I get a lot more spam comments lately. If someone has a valid comment, I don’t mind linking to their site. But those that are nothing but a blatant advertisement, I just delete.
FYI the domain created an impression of a spam site.
Is Kumiko really human? That’s what I want to know. ‘Tis not woman, ’tis machine!