Do you think it's rude not to leave comments behind?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by petitmacaron on October 26, 2008 at 1:35am

I don't think it's rude, sometimes people like what you've written or agree with what you've said, but just don't want to say something lame like "Great post!" or something. Personally, I fail to leave comments sometimes just because I'm lazy, or because I think the blog author will think "Eee! Creepy stranger!"... :X

It *is* lovely to get comments though, it's nice to know that someone's reading, even if you're just writing it for yourself :)

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Permalink Reply by Jen - The Alien Spouse on October 26, 2008 at 7:13am

Hi Smiler,

Hmm, interesting question and I would say no, it's not rude at all!

When I started my blog I purposely made it so that anyone who wanted to comment had to sign in, and do a CAPTCHA test and then I moderate all comments before they appear on my blog. I want to make commenting on my blog a bit of a hassle, because I actually want people to think about what they are going to write and if it is worth the bother of signing in etc.
This is because I hate the drive-by negative comments that people leave when they have an open invitation to say whatever they like anonymously, it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth all day and I don't feel that a whole bunch of smiley face emoticons left by other random people really makes up for that one loan snark.

The other reason is because I actually don't like wading through a whole bunch of inane comments myself when I read other blogs that are far more popular than mine!
Look at Stuff on My Cat for example. People tended to use the comments fields as a chat room, which meant very very few of the comments were actually about the pictures or the posts. As a regular reader that frankly drove me crazy. In the redesign Mario added a forum, and now the number of comments has plummeted from hundreds to just a handful on each picture, BUT all of the comments now actually pertain to the post. Much better I think!

Finally I hate the idea that there are any rules to blogging, or reading blogs (Other than don't be nasty obviously!). I don't mind who reads my blog or why, and I don't need to know really!
The only time I think it's rude not to leave a comment is when someone has snagged a photo or a quote for another site and doesn't mention it to the blogger they took it from. That's happened to me a couple of times, and then I think a comment would have been polite.

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Permalink Reply by Sherry Rowe on November 8, 2008 at 4:44am

Well, no...I wouldn't say it's rude to not leave a comment, but everyone loves feedback. I know that I'm getting hits (and judging by the page counts of some of them, they're very interested), and that's nice, but I think it's human nature to want them to say SOMETHING.

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Permalink Reply by Desi on November 8, 2008 at 7:56am

I wish my lurkers would post, but I also don't really want unrelated or "hi" comments - they are welcome, but not needed. And obviously, if non-comment traffic wasn't common, you'd not have a word for it - "lurkers" (sounds uber creepy doesn't it?). What I do when my comments don't roll in is start figuring out what I'd say if you were sitting there across the table from me.

I love two-way-communication in real life. It's kind of the same deal. On a first date, after you're done yapping, you stimulate the other party to talk. You have to consider what your readers will want to say back. How do you turn the conversation BACK on the readers?

And, like I said, blogging is like being on a first date - but with a very shy person. Most people out there don't like to put anything online. We overcame that, but a lot of others don't ever get past that fear of being "out there"... We're a brave lot (permission to pat selves on the back granted).

So I've come to terms with it (if you ignore last month's post about lurkers) as best I can. And I do my darndest to be an engaging hostess/date.

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Permalink Reply by Scribers Web on November 8, 2008 at 8:32am

I have this blog that I've followed for years. I never ever posted a comment. If I felt strongly about something she said, I would send her an email.

Why did I not comment? I don't know. I just wasn't comfortable commenting. Did I commit a crime? Nope. She knows that I read her blog every single day and is ok with me not commenting at all.

A few months ago, I started blogging. And I discovered that I love, love, love comments. I have some lurkers. That is ok. I am simply glad to have visitors. I have a few folks who post comments too. And I love it. To me it doesn't matter what they say. I am simply happy to get their comments. I will never ever make them take a test before they are allowed to post comments. But then that is just me. Often they point out my typos or disagree with me. That is ok. I never ever have deleted a comment.

Blogging is like throwing a party. Out of the 100% you invite, maybe 50% will show up. And maybe 20% will bring a dish to share.

If you really want comments, visit other blogs and leave comments for them. Find blogs that you can relate to and bloggers who may relate to you. I found some excellent blogs when I started blogging. Some of us have become personal friends.

Meanwhile, keep blogging. And keep reading blogs and commenting on other blogs.

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Permalink Reply by Eryn on November 19, 2008 at 1:33am

I think it's our job to write in a way that makes people WANT to leave comments. If your site has a high bounce rate, that signifies something on it's own.

It also important to look at your site meters and figure out how/why people are visiting and play up on that.

And of course, the more comments you leave around on blogs, the more likely you are to get comments in return.

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Permalink Reply by Peter M. on November 19, 2008 at 10:25am

I've long since gotten over the paucity of comments on my blog, mostly because I realized that the burden of commenting isn't solely on a reader. As bloggers it's up to us to write something that inspires response, because for many people comments aren't just "comments" but "responses." And, frequently my posts aren't meant to be responded to - they're essays, critiques, or personal reflections.

Trying to elicit a response in any situation nets less than 100% participation - whether it's asking for students to raise their hands or conducting a phone survey. And, those are situations where the call to respond is obvious! If our posts don't solicit opinions or contain calls to action many readers just don't have a reason to say anything. Even as a longtime blogger, I often feel embarrassed to leave an unsubstantive comment like, "Love the writing; keep at it."

Of course, not every post can end with a question to initiate discussion. Another thing to consider is that comments attract more comments - if your number is eternally 0 it's a barrier to entry for potential commenters. If you have a regular influx of comments - even if it's just yourself making a footnote on the post - readers are more likely to click through to the comments page and consider leaving their own.

We should all be mindful of the "Read More" trend. Putting something behind a "Read More" is the same as continuing a front page story somewhere deep in the newspaper. If the thesis or call for response in your post is at the end many of your readers will never see it - which means they have no reason to leave a comment.

Finally, don't discount the RSS effect. More and more regular blog readers are viewing your posts in a feed aggregator where they don't even see your comment link. If you also use "Read More" in your RSS feed you need a really powerful lead-in to get people to trudge out of the comfort of their feed reader to read the rest of the post on your blog and potentially comment.

To alleviate both of those issues (and possibly yield more comments) consider posting a full post for a day before abridging it, or do a cut in the post so that main page readers can still see your conclusion.

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Permalink Reply by Marye on November 20, 2008 at 10:24am

I hate that I only get 1 or 2 comments. Sometimes I think it's because I don't write about pertinent enough topics. I know that more that 4-5 people are reading my blog. I've tried to leave open ended questions, once I even had an Ask The Suburban Farmer post, but nothing. I usually leave comment when I'm visiting other blogs so I don't what to tell you. I was hoping that maybe someone else could answer that question.

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Permalink Reply by Marye on November 20, 2008 at 11:52am

Erika, On my actual page I don't have the music playing and the whole post shows up. I'm sure I should have my NaBloPoMo page set up the same way. Thanks for the suggestion. m~

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Permalink Reply by monnibo on November 27, 2008 at 11:04am

Sometiems I don't leave comments just because I don't have anything to say... it feels like I'm blatantly pimping my own link if I just say "nice site"

I'd rather say something specific to their discussio.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on November 27, 2008 at 11:43pm

At first I was embarrassed to be a blog creeper, so I'd never leave a comment. But I've recently realized how much a) I love getting comments (doesn't matter if it's a "Hi" or more in-depth), and b) that I'm actually really interested in learning more about who all stops by my blog (the wonders/annoyances of SiteMeter). So I'm trying to make an effort to at the very least start to publicly follow any Blogger blogs I read on a regular basis. I'm slowly leaving comments on more and more blogs I read as well - although I'm still reluctant to leave just a "hi".

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