Recently I received two comments on one of my entries that I decided not to publish. One simply contained a short statement generally praising my blog and then sliding into a promotion for something else. Even though the “something else” was related to the topic in the entry, the comment didn’t really address anything I had written, pro or con, so I have treated it as spam. If that individual would resubmit something else, I’d be glad to consider it.
Another comment was done anonymously, with a very short, cryptic two word statement. I didn’t publish it either. If someone expects me to publish their comment, they can at least make the effort to present what they are saying in clear language. A comment can still be very short as long as it is relevant and clear, even if it’s just one word (I actually incorporated one of these pertinent one-worders directly into my blog recently).
I don’t get very many comments on this blog, but I do read every one that comes in and publish almost all of them. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with my article (well, I do wish that everyone agreed with me), I’ll publish it as long as it addresses the discussed topic, follows general socially accepted norms of acceptable language, and isn’t just a plug for someone’s own agenda. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with any particular agenda, but it doesn’t have a place in my “comments” section, that’s all.
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Yes, I've had a few — but only very few — comments that I've wondered whether I should post. Mostly, it's obvious one way or the other. I, too, won't accept comments that just say "Great blog," or some such. On the other hand, it's a question of context, and I might accept a "Hear, hear!" in some cases. And if a regular commenter posts something marginal, I'll probably accept it, where I wouldn't accept it from someone unknown.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing I want to avoid from the marginal ones is people commenting not because they have something to say, but because they want to post another pointer to their blogs or web pages, and that's what most of the "I like your blog" comments are.
The best recent example of a questionable one that I accepted was this one. It's basically just an advertisement. But it's an advert that's directly related to the blog post, and my post did ask, "Who are the bright, young piano stars of today?" The comment may be self-serving, but it's directly related to the blog post and it provides an answer to my question.
So I accepted it. Would it have passed your filter too?
I thought that your comment example substantially contributed to the discussion, so I would have included it, too.
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