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Thoughts on comments
August 2, 2008
I’ve been thinking about blog comments lately. I’ve always been thankful and interested in every response I’ve received to something I write, but sometimes, I can’t help but wonder (paging Carrie Bradshaw — Carrie Bradshaw to the post, please) are we really listening to what someone says before we’re coming up with our own responses?
Some of my favorite blogs do not open comments. I support that. In a way, it embodies the rawness of a novel. You’re engulfed in a story that will not be tampered with. You can read an account of a girl who was in the car with her sister, the new Coldplay single playing quietly on the radio, when the car spun out of control, landing on a patch of grass and barely striking a small dog who barked once at their shocked faces, without scrolling down to, OMG I HATE Coldplay but yeah.
A lot of bloggers say they keep them open because they want to be told when they’re wrong. But what if you’re not talking about the Mac software upgrade? Or the definition of “new media”? What if you’re writing about meeting your Dad for lunch? Um, yeah, great post, but I’m pretty sure it was Thursday that you and your father ate biscotti at Caribou Coffee. I definitely didn’t see you there Friday and I was there for, like, four hours.
I also find that it changes the way I write, as I attempt to foresee and influence the type of responses I receive. I’ve dealt with insulting feedback. You may have caught one or two, but if you look back, you probably won’t find them. Because I’ve deleted them. Pretty much immediately. But the voices of your readers are taken away! I can be criticized privately. This is not a forum. As with many personal websites, commenters are guests in your home. It’s fine to ask them to not fling feces at your curtains.
But what about Web 2.0? That’s where your blog is supposed to be. You’re regressing. Good. Can I be the one responsible for slashing that term’s neck? Should there always be an outlet for everyone else’s two cents, even if it’s destructive to the author or completely superfluous (FIRST!)? Basically, I see the positives in having comments, but am slightly overwhelmed by the idea that something is not legitimate unless the public is able to mark its pages, uncensored.
If a blog’s not a blog without comments, what is it? A memoir? A webmoir?
What if what you’re saying isn’t meant for conversation? Does every blog need to be a community?
With posts like this, I suppose so, but with the manner of some of my entries, I don’t find them especially necessary.
Categories: Daily
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
“FIRST!”
I especially dislike that it seems so many (most?) comments are made merely for linkage, hoping that subtle (and not-so subtle) self-promotion will equal traffic growth.
I’ve been mulling it the last few weeks, and decided this morning to cut off comments for now. As you say, I’m not off limits for private conversation, but the public forum has gotten to be either too vapid or too rude.
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 am
For me, the main reason for having comments is the interaction with readers.
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 am
I have comments so that I know who is reading and I can do some branching out on my blog roll. I enjoy meeting the people that either randomly stumble upon me and decide to stay or those that knew me before (high school, college) and are just rediscovering me.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
I agree with you. That is why, as a reader, I don’t comment unless I actually have something to say. It seems like the courteous thing to do. Luckily for me, my blog is still small and inconspicuous enough that I mostly get interesting comments.
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
i agree with emma, but i also see where jessica’s coming from. that’s why i selectively disable comments. i don’t actually do it that often, but it’s nice to have the option. i do it on entries that are either really emo, because leaving comments on makes it seem like i’m fishing for compliments or validation when i’m not, or, like, if some flamer is trolling around and just kind of pooping on everything and stealing other people’s thunder.
i’ve found that the people who care enough to respond to those comment-less entries will send me an email, and it’s usually to say something insightful and helpful, which is nice.
for the most part, people are really cool about commenting, though, and it IS incredibly validating and basically makes me happy.
thanks for writing this entry.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Generally speaking, I comment to let other people know someone is listening. That’s also why I allow comments on my own blog.
I don’t necessarily believe that’s creating a “community”, as it were, though I suppose it is on some levels. But I blog rather than, say, have a locked LiveJournal, because it isn’t just for my own purposes. My thoughts and stories are for public consumption, because blogs (particularly personal blogs) are so much about other people understanding that they’re not alone. There are other people who have suffered the same joys and pains and felt the same way, even if that way is stupid, childish, hateful, or full of grace. Reading the blogs of others is almost always to feel understood, and to write blogs is to promote understanding. It’s my personal opinion that comments (particularly on smaller blogs, when comments are in the tens rather than hundreds and can actually facilitate a real conversation) are an integral part of that purpose.
But that’s only me. Blogs that are used more in the sense of an LJ (that is, memoirs or journals in an electronic medium, rather than blank books under the mattress) obviously have less purpose for comments. Same with websites such as Dooce, wherein the readership has gotten so vast that there’s no way to even read all responses, let alone meaningfully reply to them. As for my blog, however… I’ll leave the comments open, and keep commenting on the blogs I like that will allow me to do so.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:24 am
I try to comment on sites as frequently as I can. When people leave comments open, I feel they are inviting me to do so. Mostly I do it as a way of telling people I visited and took the time to read. People put effort into their blogs and often it makes them feel good knowing this effort was noticed.
PS. I am lucky that I’ve never really gotten a negative comment on my site (except when I knocked Miller Lite).
August 4th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I am ecstatic anytime I receive a comment that isn’t either spam or the obvious “comment just for the link.” The best comments are the ones that contribute to your thought process - the ones that make you think about an argument from another point of view. It does become increasingly difficult to read any sort of feedback, however, when your posts get more personal.
Re: “webmoir.” I’ve seen the term “biolog” floating around lately. Not sure how much that will catch on considering it is also the name of a company that does “Bacterial Identification / Microbial Identification.”
August 4th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I don’t write a blog, don’t ever intend to, but as an avid reader of several blogs and also of books, you know, with covers and pages not screens and batteries, it seems to me that as a blog writer one invites comment when leaving comments open.
Sort of like making notes on the pages of a book (does anyone do that anymore?), not hi-liteing as in a text book.
With some perhaps there is a compelling need to offer an opinion, solicited or not, others are simply confrontational, contrary and combative.
Now I’ll shut up and go away.
Roses and sunshine.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:34 am
WordPress gives the option for individual posts to have closed comments.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I’m the same way… there are certain posts I’m not looking for input on, I just want to put it out there. I think it’s okay to close comments for certain entries.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’m always back and forth with blog comments, but I guess that’s my inner self trying to equate the few, better blogs I read with literature. You’re right, it is distracting.
Which is why you should publish a book, already.
Eric W - Yes, I’m sure she’s aware, as she has shut off comments on individual posts in the past, and could probably teach a graduate course in Wordpress. However, I think the topic here is whether a writer should feel like it’s necessary for them to leave comments open even when they’re not looking for/uncomfortable with feedback.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I like comments for the same reason everyone does - it makes you feel like someone is reading, and that makes you feel good. I also like comments for the interactive part of the blog.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I was just talking about this last night except I think I made it more personal. I was curious about why I was commenting. Sometimes I feel like I do it for the wrong reasons. I want to add something when I comment. Often times if I think it’s a great post, I will let the blogger know. But sometimes I feel so forced to leave a comment. I don’t like that.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
My bad. Some of my favorite blogs don’t have comments, but those seem to work more like traditional print news/opinion media. They also tend to have consistently strong content, address national/world issues, and/or have notoriety outside of blogging. Some of those authors are also egomaniacs. ;)
More often than not, I think a blog without comments is only half a blog. I think community feedback is an important difference between blogs and other web sites. Furthermore, I tend to think that a post suitable for public consumption ought to be suitable for public response.
August 5th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I lean more toward loving blogs that have comments and blogrolls. They feel more like a community and less like reading an article.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
OMG I hate Coldplay too!
(Just kiddingzies)
Most of the time I leave comments even if they’re superfluous to say HI I’m reading HI you haven’t wasted your time.
I leave mine open well, because, I love getting attention. Even if it’s dumb.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I prefer blogs with comments for the community feel as well. It’s like sitting in someone’s living room with a bunch of people having some drinks, appetizers, and good conversations vs being at home reading a book. They are both nice, but sometimes you want the conversation.
And actually now that I think about it a little more, if I just want to read a book or a magazine at home, I do. I don’t need to read a blog like that. It’s just not bloggy. I prefer blogs with comments and community.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:18 am
On the flip side, comment trolls are a pain. I prefer to not police my comments and only silence spam or really offensive commenters. That means a lot of annoying, but not completely intolerable, stuff gets through. Sometimes that stuff can make you want to stop blogging altogether.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I get comments and emails quite frequently from the musicians themselves thanking me for talking about their band in a positive way. I have had negative comments, but that’s just part of it. My favorites are always from other music bloggers I respect. When I get one of those, it can make my whole day.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Hmm…I’ve never thought about it that way, but I’m seeing what you mean. Personally, over the past few months I’ve gotten really sick and tired of comments. I love my readers but some of the things they say, I have no idea how to respond to and so lately, I just haven’t. Also, sometimes it seems like my readers are just making a comment out of courtesy, which I do not want them to feel like they need to do. I appreciate it, but I know they’re reading.
On the other hand, I haven’t been making comments much myself either. I feel obliged (which sucks) to check-in every once and a while just so they know I’m still there.
Anyway, good post. Yeah man.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:03 am
I enjoy comments and appreciate them, but I myself have considered closing comments, it could be liberating in a way, you know? But I always enjoy when new people come upon the blog and I get to visit their site…and I think I just enjoy the fact that commentors take the time to read and leave me a message, but then I wonder if I am obligating to respond, etc. It’s a cycle :) I say, do whatever feels right for your blog and for you.
I’ve missed your blog by the way. I’ve been a poo about keeping up with the blogs as of late! Not on purpose of course.
August 12th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
im totally with you on this one. sometimes i shut mine off. other times i welcome the comments/feedback. i guess it all depends.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
A blog is whatever you want it to be, comments or no comments. Do whatever makes you happy.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Rachel, this was great food for thought for me. I ended up blogging about it and linking back here. Thanks.