Should blogs have comments?
It is a question that comes up fairly regularly in blogging circles and one that different bloggers take different approaches to.
- Most bloggers have them – they’re on by default when they set their blog up and they never switch them off. They see the comments as adding a lot to the blog – making it a place of shared learning, interactivity and dynamic conversation.
- Other bloggers decide not to have them. Their reasons vary from not having time to moderate them to being frustrated by comment spam.
Between these views other bloggers take a variety of other approaches ranging from:
- having comments on some posts but not others
- switching comments off over a certain amount of time (to protect from comment spam)
- to not having comments in the early days of a blog and switching them on later once there is a big enough audience to justify them (this is what I did on DPS).
- to requiring membership for comments (thereby effectively switching them off to the general public and reserving the privilege to comment for those willing to sign up).
There are many options – but I thought it’d be interesting to open it up for some discussion.
- Do you have comments on your blog? Why or Why Not?
- Do you think a blog is a blog without comments?
- What are the advantages of having or not having them?
Interested to see where this discussion leads us.
Further Reading on Comments on Blogs:
Well, this blog has comments so I am commenting here.
Yes, blogs should have comments (even if very few people comment). It increases the interactivity.
Its not just a place to leave your opinion. It lets you share knowledge and starts conversations with future contacts.
Definately a fan of comments
Any suggestion for bloggers like Dr. Wes and Zoe (rocket scientist) whose blogs are beeing abused by a very angry(?) anonymous commenter. Please read: Note it contains adult words I can’t repeat here–hence the links.http://drwes.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-now-what.html and http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2008/10/little-boxes.html
Yes, I have comments “on” for all my blogs. Without comments, it’s just you speaking out to the world – there’s no interaction with your readers.
I think comments are essential if you want any chance of creating a community for your readers.
Blog is still a blog even without comments. Becaause you still publish your thoughts and opinion and it’s just that you don’t get any response :D
I think blogs should have comments because it gives readers a great way to connect with the blogger. And as a blogger I enjoy feedback, so I think that’s a great idea.
Anyway just started my pitch page, but I think I should start a blog too so I can really brand myself, I plan on having comments, because it’s important to interact with your viewers.
T
http://www.traffic101.org
I do have comments on, however I added a captcha on purpose. This makes it so that if you want to comment, you’ll have to fill out a form.
It elminates the riff-raff, because it adds that extra step…you can eliminate spam comments without the captcha – but it’s even better to elminiate people who just cause trouble =)
I think turning comments off is snobbish and rarely read the blogs that don’t have comments. It seems selfish to me. It makes it seem like they don’t give a crap about what you think on what they wrote which, in my opinion, means that there would be no point in writing…….
Generally, yes, blogs should have comments for interactivity and community building reasons that others have pointed out.
With a lot of the blogs I read, I’ve considered the comments as if not more valuable than the content of the post itself. Especially when it comes to list posts where the author can accidentally leave out one or two important points.
I think comments are beneficial. It allows the blogger to receives feedback from his readers and with that feedback he can enhance the users reading experience. Comments also help build relationships between reader and author.
If one of your goals is to encourage community around you, your brand, your product/service and your expertise…then you should ABSSOLUTELY have comments. Comments provide the necessary interaction between reader & author to foster a developing relationship.
Nobody likes when the receving only takes place on one end. :)
BTW-I use Comment Relish to let new commenters know I appreciate their effort and ecourage them to stick around and join the community at my blog.
I think blogging without comments would be lonely for me. However, if that’s your preference (due to personality or time constraints) then go for it! You’re the only one who can run your blog effectively. You know what works and what doesn’t.
That being said, a blog without comments reminds me of a plain old website. The conversation tone is still there, but it all seems a bit static. Not my choice, but live and let live.
What’s the difference between an article site and a blog? The comments. You might argue that blogs are actually online journals, but that stopped being true ages ago.
No matter how much spam there will come my way, the comments will stand. To do otherwise it seems to me to be a complete folly.
Regards, George
Leaving comments open lets me know what my readers are thinking. Without comments, it just seems like I am talking to myself.
Darren,
I think having comments surely increases the interactivity of a blog. If you’re looking for conversation on your post certainly its the way to go.
On the other hand, there are certain posts that require NO comment or I just plain don’t want others to opine. Those are comment closed.
Microblogging through tumble, twitter and plurk (among others) has surely taken the “conversation” to another level. However, commenting on blogs will I feel always be a good thing.
To the point of “spammy” comments which we discussed earlier. Personally, all of the comments on my blog are moderated and of course I use a spam filter. Realizing that my blog doesn’t get near the comment #’s of some, that could become an issue for others. But it works for me, without captcha or other spam stops.
I have comments on my blog. It is the way to interact and to know what people think about your thoughts.
Some times it also helps to discover ideas.
@ Adam Singer Captchas have stopped being effective long ago and they frustrate only legitimate users. Automated posting programs like Xrumer bypass those easily.
A keen moderator is all that it takes and is by far the best choice available.
Regards, George
I think comments should be turned on, it helps build relationships with your readers, from the interaction on the blog.
I do understand the reason for not having them because of spam but there are ways to minimize that.
1. Yes I have comments on both my personal & guitar blogs. I get feedback & I love hearing from people.
2. Yes, Seth Godin’s is a prime example.
3. I’ll skip ahead & say that if u do have comments enabled, don’t make people register. Especially when you’re starting out.
I have comments turned on most of the blogs. I have the code set though so you have to type letters in before you leave a comment. Some spam still gets through though.
Comments have become the norm on blogs. Not having them says to readers, “My opinion is important and yours isn’t. You should listen to me, but I don’t need to listen to you.”
Just about every book on internet/new media points out that the big advance of this medium over print is that it is a two way street. Eliminating feedback is a big step backward.
In short, not having comments on a blog is a sign that the blogger is either too arrogant to care about others’ views, too lazy to bother to moderate them, or too stupid to understand the importance of genuine, two-way communication. None of these “alternatives” is very attractive.
Without comments , we the bloggers aren’t aware : if we are following the right path , we get their views and reviews and they comment upon our articles , they help us to improve , so i dont see why we should block comments ;] , unless they arth spams :D
No comments bad.
Comments, uncontrolled,very bad.
Comments with “via e-mail,” good.
Comments with comments RSS very good.
it depends.. i think steve pavlina turns his would be commentors to discuss in a forum format… that’s nice, but without comments, it’s hard to tell what kind of community you’re building or a part of.
i really enjoy leaving comments… and i also enjoy getting them. for me it’s what makes blogging different from the traditional media.
If it doesn’t have comments, it’s not a blog, it’s just another website, even if it uses blog publishing software.
I have always had comments on my blogs and have never thought about turning them off. While the entire point of having a blog is to put your opinion and ideas out to the world, they are worth little if you don’t get feedback on them.
Spamming is a big problem with comments, but there are enough spam blockers available to take care of the problem. While they don’t eliminate the problem, they do limit it making it easier to handle the situation.
Personally, I don’t read blogs that don’t have the option of comments. It feels like we’re being lectured without having the option to question or give our feedback to the topic in question.
It’s irritating when I read a great post and really feel like I have something to add and then realize that comments have been turned off!lol
But I do understand why some blogs don’t have comments. Sometimes the material is too personal and hard to talk about and people just need a place to get things off of thier chests.
Blogging is all about interacting with your readers. The moment there are comments on your blogs, you will see that blogging starts to really be fun!
I agree with Nathan, it’s a great way to easily get to know your readers and focus on their interests in further blog posts.
I agree with previous commenters that a blog without comments becomes a website. It would be a retrograde step. Although I don’t comment as often as I should, I like to feel that when I do, it’s because I can share either my feelings about the post or add something useful to the subject.
I can understand people switching off comments periodically because of spammers but that’s not the same as not inviting comments at all.
Well, it looks like you have your answer. I’ve even noticed myself drifting away from more traditional online venues that publish articles vs. posts.
It’s just more fun to be part of the conversation.
I still have comments enabled – it’s discouraging sometimes when there are no comments, but I find that comparing my “outside” blog with my Active Rain blog that agents comments but seldom buy; buyers and sellers seldom comment but do call when they’re ready to buy or sell. Sometimes the public comments.
While it’s tempting to limit comments to members, I have the same objection to that as on my website – too many people really don’t want to reveal their identity until they’re ready.
It’s good to be able to disable comments on some blogs – i.e., when you want to present a position but not create a dialogue. Unless there’s a huge amount of spam, it’s easy enough to delete those comments.
I wonder why people leave comments sometimes. I used to get a few comments per post, but now the last months I hardly get any comments at all. I don’t know what changed though, I guess my writing only improves over time so that’s not it.
Sometimes I think people just leave comments to get links back to their own blogs.
Without comments, this conversation wouldn’t be happening.
I think the decision to have or not have comments depends an awful lot on your motivation for blogging in the first place. I see my blog as more of a community than a monologue. I’ve even installed plugins to make the comments threaded – I want to facilitate conversation between my commentors (commenters? commentators?) as much as I want for them to talk to me.
Frankly I cannot image running my blog without comments. I love getting comments, and with Akismet I barely get any spam anyway. I think all blogs should allow conversation, and this is done via comments.
-James
If a blog doesn’t have the option for comments, I may read it once, but it will not be added to my feedreader. I may not often comment on some of the blogs I read regularly, but I certainly prefer to have the option.
Aren’t comments (falsely) considered to be a ‘success meter’?
So most people put them on, even if it makes very little sense for some blogs because of their contents. Like my travel blog for instance, where maybe a forum would be a better idea for the future.
I think comments are nice to interact with the author, but it’s rarely used to share ideas between ‘commenters’. I have the impression only a handfull of people really read the comments of others before commenting themselves.
I know I don’t when I’m in a rush but do want to leave a comment, being number 53 or so.
So, yes comments should be on I guess if your blog has a personal touch to it or requires interaction instead of merely providing the masses with information.
But I see news sites (among others) use the blog setup for their sites more and more. For them it’s simply impossible to enable comments for all their posts. Yet, they are very successful most of the times.
Cheers,
Max
I’ll weigh in with a big fat IT DEPENDS. It’s your blog, and you can choose how others interact with it. Some blogs get weighed down by the comments while others are uplifted by them.
Where a blog without comments is still a blog in my mind, I prefer comments. It benefits me to get feedback – even negative – on what I am saying, not to mention the connections you can make from it.
I don’t subscribe to any blogs that do not offer comments, as I don’t support their one-way pulpit.
mp/m
– Do you have comments on your blog? Why or Why Not?
yes, and never think to off it. simply because feedback and also to build relationship with reader and other blogger.
– Do you think a blog is a blog without comments?
speech without Q&A still a speech, so blog without comment still a blog, because what make blog a blog is the content, commenting just to enrich the blog.
– What are the advantages of having or not having them?
i can know what people think about the topic, i can build relationship with other reader and blogger, make the blog more interesting and also how this post gonna work if you turn off the comment.. :D
Absolutely, a blog should have comments. Web 2.0 is all about community. If you “disable” people’s ability to participate, you’re basically talking to yourself…and that isn’t much fun at all.
I agree that comments create a kind of community.
It is particularly important for the blogger because he/she can have a feedback on the quality of the blog.
I prefer to keep my commenting open, maybe I’d take the captcha route as I really pefer engage in conversation and not much into those generic “nice posts” kind of comments.
But a blog is still a blog even without the commenting. Commenting is the sole discretion of the author.
Of course should! Blogs – this place always the author expresses his opinion and gives it to others. If you remove this social dimension, blogging will become a site.
Blog without comments? It’s not a blog in my opinion. If you’re turning your comments off, then you’re afraid of opinions other people might post. It’s simple to post something and disallow any reaction…
I’m kinda doing a revamp in my blog now and I’ve received far more spam comments than real comments since the earlier days. Could say that this is a timely issue.
However, I’m into opening up the comments space w/o registration. Making it easy for readers to post in comments when they are really serious about doing so. :)
Do you have comments on your blog? Why or Why Not?
Yes! I love the conversation and community that comments add to my blog and my blogging experience.
Do you think a blog is a blog without comments?
Not really. Without comments, it’s just another website.
What are the advantages of having or not having them?
Interaction and social networking. Those things ARE Web 2.0, so I have a hard time understanding why a serious blogger would ignore them. There seem to be plenty of workarounds to avoid spam (my faves are requiring a captcha and requiring registration), so that argument seems weak to me .
I have a personal blog, though. Also, I have always used a captcha, and have therefore never had to deal with comment spam. I think most users don’t mind that feature, as long as it the captcha doesn’t suck (i.e. is indecipherable).
To me, there is no point to a blog without comments. I like sharing my opinion and hearing others’. However, I am a strong believer in a moderated comment section so there aren’t any personal attacks or spam.
I have comments enabled on most of my blog posts BUT they’re heavily moderated to help keep out spam and the occasional troll.
While I love reading and leaving comments on other blogs, I’m rarely disappointed when comments aren’t allowed. I don’t feel any kind of entitlement to comment on other peoples’ blogs and I don’t feel bloggers are obligated in any way to post my thoughts/comments on their posts.
Whatever works best for the blog owner, is a-ok in my book.
I think that in general, blogs should have comments. All my blogs do. Usually, not having comments will make me turn away from a blog, as the one of the main points of being online is being able to argue and interact.
However, one of my favourite Australian political blogs, The Piping Shrike, does not have comments, and I read it religiously. This is because it’s so good and incisive that I don’t mind not commenting.
I can understand a poltical blog not having comments. Most comments on political sites descend into stupid, cynical abuse-fests dominated by whoever can shout the loudest, with a sad minimum of people actually trying to discuss what is happening in the world.