If you're super-popular, and can't possibly respond to all, then you can do what you damn well please anyway, but the classiest bloggers at least put a general note saying thanks for all the comments, or respond to a few here and there.
3. If you have your comments option on, unless you have more comments than you can handle, leave your "receive your comments via e-mail" option on as well.
I've heard people say "I didnt' know you commented until my friend told me" or "Sorry. I hadn't checked my blog in awhile." What's up with that? When it comes to your own blog, who wants to be the last to know?
4. The best way to generate comments is to visit other blogs and comment to them, and link to them too if you think they're good. Basic good karma/golden rule/blogger etiquette stuff.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. I hope people will feel free to comment about my comments about (mostly) comments — if so, I promise I will try my best to comment back.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Mary K. Williams
This was fun Elvira -
I share some of the same peeves as well.
2 - Elvira Black
Thanks Mary--good to know I'm not alone on this one!
3 - Aaman
Not every one has automatic notification turned on for comments - in many cases it's the default, did you think of that?
4 - Elvira Black
Aaman:
(And let me just add this is not the same Aaman I referred to in my piece above, of course)--
Yes, I have thought long and hard over these issues--lol. If some are unaware of the option, perhaps in my own small way I can make a few people cognizant of the fact that they do have the choice to allow comment notification.
All I can say is--and this is just me--if someone comments to one of my posts, be it old or new, this inquiring mind wants to know--pronto.
5 - Elvira Black
PS: Of course Aaman is not Aaron (the example in my post)--my mistake. Duh.
6 - Sampsa
Nice reading Elvira. As I'm a cheap guy (#7) I'd like you to come and chip in (#6) on my, for some reason comment poor, blog. ;)
http://sampsak.blogspot.com/
7 - JELIEL³
Comments turned off is annoying. There'S no point in reading the blog.
I sometimes delete comments though. When some guy from a forum I write to comes in and leaves a pointless comment. Otherwise I leave them all.
8 - Aaman
On another note, JELIEL3 should actually be written JE2L4I :)
9 - Elvira Black
Thanks Sampsa--done and done! I just left a comment on your latest post. Looks like you've got some linkage coming in and your stats are pretty good too! You've got a great, eclectic mix of politics, culture, vid clips, metablogging, etc. You go! I've bookmarked you and will visit again.
10 - Elvira Black
JELIEL (sorry, don't know how to do the "to the third power" notation):
I hear you! I'm just not that altruistic--if someone doesn't allow comments, my "what's in it for me" antennae go up and I usually don't deign to visit again.
I can also see the logic in deleting comments esp from someone who derails the post's raison d'etre with irrelevant rants or personal vendettas--but so far I've left everything in save for the 'bots--and if they're amusing enough, I leave them in too.
11 - Elvira Black
Aaman:
Dost thou mocketh me for mixing your name up with Aaron? LOL...
12 - Mark Sahm
As far as commenting back on your own posts, I feel it depends on one's original reasons for blogging. While some people are looking for conversation or debate, others are simply airing their thoughts. Of course, it doesn't always work the way you want. I often find that the posts I want feedback on don't get it, while a slew of flames comes for ones I expected to get little.
Unlike my BC posts where I would comment back to anyone, I usually reserve commenting on my personal blog if someone asks a question or opens a thread for discussion. Basically, this is because (as you said) many that read the post don't comment.
Fun post though.
13 - Elvira Black
Mark:
Thanks! Yes, now that I've been blogging awhile (but not all that long) I can see the comment conundrum more clearly. I started out vowing to answer every single comment individually, but lately "real" life and the fact that I'm also doing the BC thing has led me to "neglect" some of my Shithouse comments. So the best I can do then is to respond when I can and thank everyone because I treasure comments like gold.
I also think that some blogs are more self-contained/informational/link-heavy, etc. and thus less likely to generate comments for some posts. But my blog is more of a personal essay-ish thing so comments do seem especially apt for these kinds of blogs. Whatever--I'll take 'em if I can get 'em!
One other factor I should mention is that I never blog on a daily basis. The longer I let a post sit, the more people meander on over and comment, whereas if I posted daily a lot of them would get lost in the shuffle. I try to give each post some room to "breathe," if you will.
But aside from that, since I'm a blatant comment whore, if I have the time and energy I'll devise a reply to even the most un-comment-worthy or gratuitious comment on my personal blog. I just can't seem to help myself..
14 - -E
Interesting post. I share a lot of the same opinions as to what annoys be about some blogs out there. Esp the music thing! As far as deleting comments, I usually find myself too lazy to even consider it. Though I have deleted a spam comment about the logging industry.
15 - RogerMDillon
Blogs that bug me: People who make lists
16 - -E
Aww Roger, you had to know this was going to be a list when you saw the title. You choose to read it ;)
17 - Dave Nalle
Damn, I was hoping this would be a collection of reviews of particularly stupid blogs.
Dave
18 - Elvira Black
-E:
The logging industry, huh? I like the breast and penile enlargement ads myself, though they're not to everyone's--ah--taste.
Roger:
I don't often do listy posts, but I find that they are easy to write, easy to digest/read, and most important, tend to garner comments, both naughty and nice.
19 - Elvira Black
Dave:
Hoo boy, have I got the blog for you! It's called I Talk too Much, and it's a definite guilty pleasure. Folks submit their blogs for analysis, and they generally get bitch slapped but good. Hilarious but often cruel--but hey, bloggers submit their sites to the blog so they know what they're in for.
20 - Rohan Venkat
Agree, agree and agree (and so on).
I prefer not to delete even spam, if any, because at least there's some comments.
And occasionally something that I don't like, but do quite often on my personal blog, is expect the readers to know what I'm talking about, which I basically because, again, I probably know the people who're going to end up reading my blog.
21 - Elvira Black
Rohan:
Yes, I generally know most of the people--or the sort of people--who will comment to my blog now--my true blue blogpals for the most part. In addition, I belong to a bipolar blog ring, and know many of these folks as well. We kind of understand each other's mindsets, so it's a very supportive kind of circle to have access to.
22 - Jackie
I'd comment, but I'm shy.
;-)
Good article! One thing I hate is neverending paragraphs (not your entry) on some blogs. And, if they're neverending and non-punctuated or not using proper upper and lowercase when dictated...! Argh!
23 - Christopher Rose
I love comments! It's great to be able to see people's reactions to stories and it's even better when the author gets involved too. That's the kind of stuff that makes me want to go back to a site.
On the other hand, when I visit sites without comments, I find the experience less engaging -- unless what I'm reading is more information than opinion oriented or the writing is so great that to simply comment "cool" or whatever would seem rather trite...
Totally agree about poor writing and long paras, that's so rude!
24 - Christopher Rose
There's always a potential conflict between freedom of speech and moderating comments.
My personal view is that the reader's experience is really important. If someone is posting gratuitously rude, simply jarring or wildly off topic remarks, I'm going to delete or edit them, without a whole lot of hesitation and not a shred of guilt. That's not to say a lot of people read my stuff, but that's another story.
There are a million and one places where people can go and spout off anything they want, but I want to try to provide a good read in an atmosphere that's tolerant and engaged. Like any great show, that takes a little staging...
For the avoidance of doubt, I ought to point out that the Blogcritics comments ethos is completely different and has broader standards.
25 - Elvira Black
Jackie:
Thanks! Yes, neverending paras are the worst. How much effort would it take to double hit the return key once in awhile in between sentences? It makes it very very hard to read, and it's one of the simplest things to remedy.