Comment Policy

One of the first things I learned about blogging back in the very early days of blogging was not all comments are created equal.  It quickly became apparent that a comment policy was in order.  As a blogger I decided how I would handle certain types of comments.  Essentially there are several types of commentators each leaving rather unique style of comments and it seemed to me that each had to be dealt with differently.  First there is the blatant comment spammer so the reject button works well.  Then there is the borderline comment spammer who really is just trying to get a backlink so the comment isn't really sincere but has something to do with the post so stripping their link yet allowing the post seems reasonable.  This sends them a clear message to the commentator that you are onto their game and you do consider it borderline comment spam.  Occasionally one of these commentators will get upset over stripping the link so will email you which can be a very good insight as to whether to allow any future comments from them.  Some commentators will leave a comment that is a personal attack or one trying to engage you in a fight.  Personal attacks simply should not be tolerated for any reason.  The nettling type of comment is almost on the fence but in most cases shouldn't be allowed either. 

The next question regarding a comment policy is whether you need to post it on your blog.  The simple answer is no and in fact on 5 of my 6 public blogs there is no comment policy.  I have just recently with the overhaul added a comment policy to my cooking blog as part of the new design.  I'm still not 100% convinced it is needed.  The comment policy can be hinted at in the comment section with a couple of simple statements like "Thank-you for your comment.  Your comment will appear once approved." or something similar.  The bottom line is and the view I take is it's my blog so if I don't like your comment I'm under no obligation to post it.  Essentially it's my blog so my rules.  At some point I really do think it is important to take this harder line.

Garden Gnome
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