Dealing with Comments on Blogs
Today while thinking about how commenting works on blogs, I started asking myself how should I handle comments on new or upcoming blogs? Here on Tyler Ingram dot Com I let anyone comment without having to have a previously approved comment, whereas on Tyler Ingram Photos dot Com I have it set that your first comment must be moderated and any comment after that will go through without an issue.
Having people’s comments moderated, do you think that people will be less likely inclined to leave a comment? Do you feel that it is not worth commenting if your comment does not instantly appear? What if all of your comments are moderated?
There is one site that I follow that allows for comments but I guess due to the nature of their content they moderate all of them even if you have had previous ones approved. A system like that really hinders me in wanting to leave a comment. It can take a few hours for the comment to be approved and when it is, it does not keep it’s position in the thread of comments.
I believe comments are a big part of blogs and we all love to have people comment on our posts right? Without comments, we might not get the necessary feedback in making our site more useful, interesting or fun right?
So how do you handle comments on your blog? Do you moderate the first one, all of them or allow Akismet to do the dirty work for you?
I agree with the idea of requiring a first time commenter having their initial comment moderated, but after that, it should be fair game. I do believe that having one’s comments moderated each and every time might deter someone from commenting. In my view, a large part of blogging is rooted in sharing ideas and generating conversation. It’s hard to get the ball rolling on a discussion if everyone’s input and thoughts are put on hold.
I agree with Keira-Anne, I do the same. I moderate the first one, then it’s fair game.
I guess it really isn’t much of a deterrent if you just have your first comment moderated. You don’t have to ’signup’ to submit comments (which I like) so if you’ve never been to a particular blog before you just type in your info (name, email, url) enter your message and hit submit!
I like the idea of having to have your first comment moderated. I still comment on the blogs that are moderated, but it’s nice to see your comment posted right away.
BTW .. I like the (not so) new theme.
Just re-read my comment .. what I meant was I like your new theme .. it’s taken me a while to tell you that .. not that .. well, now you know what I meant ..
Thanks Bonnie! Glad you like it.
Blogs that have moderated comments don’t bother me! My blog doesn’t get that much traffic so anyone can comment any time!
I keep all mine on no moderation. Then again, I don’t get all that many comments.
I only delete comments only if they’re spam or simply too offensive. I don’t get that many comments so haven’t need to worry about it as much.
I guess if you site had a lot of commenting happening then it might take a while to moderate all of those who are new. Though as many of you said, you just don’t moderate them