I love reading and commenting on other blogs. I know some people think it’s too time consuming to do, but I enjoy reading a lot of different types of things. I also love encouraging bloggers, as well as having an opinion on stuff; hey, look at how many articles I’ve written on all my blogs. š
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However, I have some rules for blogs I won’t comment on. One, if it takes my having to create some kind of account or having to put in a password or register, I’m not commenting; sometimes I won’t even read those blogs. This means if your blog uses Disqus, Livefyre, or something like that, or if it’s on some website that requires people to join, I’m not going to bother. Yeah, it’s kind of a picky thing, but there’s so many other blogs out there that are enjoyable and easy enough to comment on without having to deal with it. After all, I don’t have unlimited time.
Ah yes, let’s look at this “unlimited time” thing. You know, visiting blogs and leaving comments does take time. When I’m in the mode though, I don’t mind that. However, there’s something I do mind, and a lot of y’all are now doing it.
I hate going to a blog, commenting, and then immediately receiving your stupid email asking me to confirm that I want to subscribe to blog comments. Come on; are you kidding me?
When’s the last time someone left a “real” comment on your blog and didn’t want you, the writer, to respond to it? I’m not talking about those lousy one line comments or those that tell you how great a writer you are but never address the content. I mean real comments, those you know aren’t bad, even if they’re not great.
I know when… never!
When’s the last time someone left a comment on your blog that was pretty good, only for you to discover that they put someone else’s email in it so that, when you responded, you got an angry email from someone saying “Hey, I didn’t comment on your blog”?
I know when… never!
So then… what’s the purpose of this double opt-in process other than to clog up my inbox? Actually, I know it’s a trick by some folks because when I read the email it actually talks about subscribing to receiving a newsletter whenever you post something new; I hate that kind of bait and switch.
For the rest of you though… come on, what’s the point of this? I’m serious; I just don’t get it.
I know what some folks are going to say; don’t click in the box. There’s another little bugaboo I’m going to gripe about.
For most blogs, if you don’t click that little box, you’re not going to be notified if the writer or anyone else responds to your comment. My blog is like that, as I had to add the plugin because my theme is older, and at the time no one was getting notified that I was responding to them.
There are a few blogs where, by clicking in that box, you end up getting that email with the subscription message, but if you don’t click on it you still get notified when someone replies to your comment. That’s not the norm though.
If people actually click on the box, they want to get comments; trust me on this one. If they don’t… well, we never know who clicks on it and who doesn’t (at least I don’t), but if the comment is good enough and you care about your blog and “all” of your readers, you’re going to respond to the comment anyway right? RIGHT?!?!? š
Please, for the love of chocolate, turn off that feature, whether you’re doing it for comments or trying to sneak through a subscription to a newsletter (if you are, you’re being kind of scummy). It’s unneeded… unless someone can give me a really good reason for doing it. Remember though, I’ve been blogging for more than 10 years, so it better be good!
The problem in almost all of those blogs with that facility is that you not only receive responses for your own comments, you also receive a whole lot of other comments from others simply commenting on the main blog or responding to someone else’s comments. You can end up with reading a great deal of uninteresting stuff that way.
I acknowledge that Rummuser, and it’s one of those things where we as commenters either decide that we want to see if we get a response on our blogs or not. However, it’s also tied in to whichever plugin each blogger uses or their theme. I know that because I have an older theme that if you click the box you’re probably going to get every response that comes in after yours. Truthfully though, just how many emails are you going to get from this blog? lol
I should worry about the amount of comments I get…
But, furthering the conversation, I never click the box unless I am REALLY interested in what other people have to say, too. If I comment on a blog (and many times when I read it) I scroll through the comments (after I write mine) to see what others had to say.
I’m just not usually interested in the follow up emails. And my particular theme alerts me when someone comments, when someone “likes”, and when someone replies to my comments. That’s enough.
I must admit, though, that I’m not sure what my blog requires. I will try to be diligent and figure out if it is demanding.
That’s pretty much all I ask blog owners to do, check to see if their commenting system is doing what they think it’s doing and is being nicely accommodating to those who take the time to leave comments. I understand the thing about not wanting to click in that box to receive all the other comments. I do it, and if I don’t get that subscribe message I’m a happy guy, but if the comments get to be too much there’s always a link at the bottom of each of those comments where we can do and unsubscribe from those comments. However, there’s few blogs I’ve had a need to do something like that on.
Mitch, I’m not sure that WordPress.com users CAN turn off the feature that sends a subscription confirmation email. You are, in fact, “subscribing” to the comments feed. And it may be a legal requirement for them to ensure that the user has, without any doubt whatsoever, opted IN to that. I know it’s a bit of a pain, but if you’re a registered WordPress.com user, you can (I think) opt out of getting the emails when you reply to – and subscribe to – comments on a blog. You’ll still get it if you subscribe to the posts, but you’ll only get it once per blog unless you unsubscribe and re-subscribe.
Is that a good enough reason for you, Mr. Experienced Blogger? š
Holly, remember that I have 5 blogs and I don’t have that occurring on any of them. It’s based on which plugin people are using and I can’t believe there’s no setting to turn that sucker off. Let’s use your blog as an example. Turns out that if I don’t click in the second box on yours (I’ve mentioned before that you have two haven’t I?) that I get responses when you respond, but if I click on the second box I get that message every single time. So, you must be running two separate plugins, one that sends the message and one that doesn’t.
You’re not a WordPress.com user are you? In either case, your blog is the proof that it’s not standard or mandatory.
I have a WordPress.com account, yes.
My MAIN blog – the one you comment on – is WordPress.org, hosted on HostGator. But people who have their blogs (free or hosted) on WordPress.com are stuck with this “opt-in” thing.
I find it irritating as a reader, too, but I don’t think you can blame the blogger for it – assuming they’re using WordPress.com as their hosting platform.
Also, what you say makes sense. That “second box” must be coming from the JetPack plug-in. The first three boxes (indented) are from CommentLuv. The last two are from JetPack. (Your description just helped me to figure out which was which; I’m hesitant to get rid of the second one, though, since that lets WordPress.com users read comments from their Reader dashboard, and the first one sends it to them in email. š )
Well… it’s not just WordPress.com blogs… so yes, I can blame the bloggers lol
“if it takes my having to create some kind of account or having to put in a password or register, Iām not commenting.” I couldn’t agree more!
One of the things is, people do not realize what happens when people visit their blog. Most of us do not have a fake account we visit our own blogs to check the ‘user experience.’ We don’t yet perhaps should.
I agree with you as well with having to ‘manage my subsciptions’ to others blogs. What a hassle that is.
I agree with the hassle part Troy. Besides, no matter what those who use those commenting systems say, the overwhelming majority of people who switch to them find their comments and traffic drop considerably. So, unless you’re a big time name or don’t want to be bothered it’s not giving people what they think they’re going to get.
You know that WordPress.com also has a premium hosting service that lets you use your own domain? It would be hard to distinguish that from a blog like yours or mine.
My point is that you cannot blame ALL bloggers – some have NO way to turn that off and may not be able to afford premium hosting or want to manage their own installation of WordPress.
Holly, in your very first comment you said “Iām not sure…” so, is it a definite thing or not? I’ve never used WordPress.com, but what I know is that there are a number of blogs I visit that “aren’t” WordPress.com blogs where that happens. Actually, the truth is that I’ve stopped clicking the box on WordPress.com blogs because I never (and I do mean “never”) receive confirmation from any of them that my comment has been responded to. That’s a reason why I mostly only comment on blogs of people I know are using it so that I’ll remember to go back. I comment a lot as you know, so I don’t often remember the newer blogs I’ve commented on.
Hats off!
Thanks a lot #Mitch_Sir for such a wonderful and informative blog post. This is really helpful for me because now I am going to switch blogspot to wordpress.com, which is more knowledgable for me. You always comes with a rocket post with you, So why I like your blog and your articles.
Actually Uttam, I’m not sure there’s a great difference between WordPress.com & Blogspot, since both can limit who comments if the author doesn’t adjust their settings. The way to have true blogging freedom is to self host your blog… and WordPress software is the easiest to use to do that (though not the only one).
Ohhhhh…. Sorry, there was a mistake. My mean is to say for wordpress.org not for wordpress.com. And you are right there is no many difference between blogger and wordpress.com.
Hey Mitch, I’m like you. I expect commenting to be easy. I realise that people think these other ‘commenting systems’ prevent spam and all but it also stops people like you and me from commenting as well.
Besides as far as spam is concerned I find that Akismet, and GASP do a fantastic job.
Pete, we’ve always had this same belief, and we test our products, if you will. I tend to believe that most people set things up and believe they know what’s going on rather than making sure they do. Comments are what keeps us blogging for the most part so why make it irritating to people to do it right?
You don’t really need a “fake account” with most blogs; just log out of the blog and/or the blogging platform (for WordPress, you may also need to log out of WordPress.com for the full “new reader” effect). Read a post or two, look at the layout, try to leave a comment. Time how long it takes you and count how many flaming hoops (if any) you have to jump through. CAPTCHA codes and math problems can be particularly annoying. Ask yourself, “Do I really want comments at all?” If the answer is no, then just close off the comments section. š That’s better than wasting everyone’s time, including your own, if the honest answer is “I’d rather not deal with comments at all.”
That’s true, and this one is for Troy. I’ve written a couple of previous posts telling people how they can check their own commenting systems so a fake account isn’t needed.
I do occasionally get replies and confirmation that my comment has been responded to, on WordPress.com blogs. The thing is, those blogs tend to be more personal (often more interesting) but more “cliquish” and less up on the “rules” of social media and reciprocal commenting and such. (“Amateurs!” she cries. “What are they THINKING!” she wails. “Oh, wait – they’re mostly just having fun and reading and writing cool stuff! Half of them worry they’re messing up your walls if they leave a comment.”) It’s different, culturally. I kind of like it over there. JetPack plug-in mostly bridges the gaps, but there are HUGE gaps. Possibly because WordPress.com prohibited commercial use of a free blog for SO long, and Blogger practically begged for it, and WordPress.com – because you had to pay for hosting of it – became the platform for “serious bloggers.”
I’m with you on this Mitch,
Most times when i landed on a blog, if i discover that it uses Disqus or any of the other commenting systems you mentioned here, i usually bounce back immediately because it takes lots of time and efforts to comment on such blogs.
While should i waste such time trying to comment on one blog when there are so many other blogs out there that made it easy for me?
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment Theodore, and I’m glad we’re in total agreement on this topic. Of course, people have their reasons for using whatever they choose…
An interesting take on blog comment spam! Usually people are complaining about the comments left, but you are correct that it is too often used to gather email addresses for newsletter lists. I also would just delete my ‘subscription’ and never visit the site again.
Thanks Keith. I tend to go against the grain here and there. lol There are things I dislike about commenting on certain blogs or things people send out without us asking for it that make no sense, so I have to fuss every once in a while.
I so completely agree! Like you, I also won’t comment if I need to register or go through a bunch of steps, it’s just a time waster. Thanks for sharing!
No problem Jennifer. I like commenting to be nice and simple.
I’m well aware of your commenting “requirements”, but I do kind of agree with you on this one. I find it annoying but not necessarily a deal breaker.
In my experience, Holly had it right as far as the WordPress.com sites, whether self-hosted or not. When I get those confirmation emails the link usually takes me to WordPress.com but you comment a million times more than I do so there’s probably many other situations I’m not seeing. I’m sure I miss many of them as well since my inbox has 5,000+ unread emails at any given moment. lol
I recommend everyone to switch over to Disqus and don’t worry about permissions since that was taken care of during registration. Ouch, I couldn’t resist. LOL
Brian, the reason it’s a deal breaker is because I don’t keep track of all those sites that I leave comments on, which means I’m not ever going to know that someone’s responded to me. Course, most WordPress.com sites don’t send responses anyway, but since some do… and don’t send me that stupid email… I keep plugging along (which wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t purchased Gravatar…)
And then you had to say the “D” word; that’s it, no cake for you!