Comment Policy: New! And Improved! On Sale Now.

A while back I let a comment stand – minus the self-promotional links – even though it had that ‘eau du spam’ whiff to it – because it at least was on topic. Time to refresh and update ye olde comment policy.

Rules of Commenting, Part II, Subsection B, Paragraph 12.3, itty bitty fine print

My comment policy still stands: I’ll take it if you have something to say and have a pretty easy-going, let it fly attitude. Grammar and punctuation are our friends. Play nice.

  • Links. Links are fine, hence the CommentLuv. Feel free to pimp your own posts – provided they are related to the post, not 3rd half-cousin, twice removed on your Uncle Bob’s side.
  • Store’s Open. I’m using the Tweet Old Post plugin, so I’m keeping comments open on older posts. (Peeve: seeing an older but still relevant post that’s been autobot tweeted – only to be unable to comment; not sure I get tweeting closed posts.)
  • Spam will be canned. Trolls sent a packing. NEW: People have names, not keywords.

What I really meant was…

Discussion. By all means, chat away. This gives me ideas, this provides examples, advancing the conversation provides valuable insights to the reader. This is why comments are open.

But learn when to let it go. I’ve seen posts that had a little too much back and forth in comments, with people restating their case over and over to the point I got tennis whiplash. Someone has to get the last word, won’t always be you. Or me.

Professional. Courtesy. It’s not an option.

Posts will be unpopular; there are ways to deal with blog criticism and keep it civil.

Marcus Sheridan has his ‘delete and move on’ method of dealing with comment trolls. Mine: If a comment is ‘this is just dumb’ – I’ll sometimes counter with: “TY for you input. Please tell me WHY oh guru, give me examples, educate me and my readers.” Crickets chirp very loudly.

My philosophy hasn’t changed: discuss the topic, attack the post and the ideas; do not attack the writer or others commenting; give reasons for disagreeing. Why?

YMMV. About 93.56% of the time, we’re discussing opinions and experiences. I know what I did, what I wrote and what I meant by it; sure you do too and don’t need me visiting your intentions (still want another Firefly/Serenity sequel).

Opinions will differ, whether talking about Facebook or to what degree Game of Thrones is awesome. Approaches to public relations, marketing via social media, making the perfect omelet will vary; some shake, others stir their martinis.

No matter how wrong I know in my heart and head that it’s bad PR, bad communications, bad business to delete valid-yet-negative feedback from your customers, I won’t call you a blithering idiot. I might think it, tweet not to do it, but you’re free to do that wrong, along with many things.

If you have a comment policy, what am I forgetting? If not, why not?

Want More? Keep Reading.

4 thoughts on “Comment Policy: New! And Improved! On Sale Now.

  1. I appreciate spending some time to talk about that, I believe firmly regarding this and so really enjoy understanding more about this kind of subject.

    1. And I appreciate genuine comments without spam, hence the link to your marketing company’s Facebook page has been removed. I’ll gladly accept a real comment with a link to your site or blog post — if it’s ON topic with something more than ‘nice post.’ FWIW.

  2. I take a fairly similar approach — though I might lean pretty heavily towards the Marcus school of “delete and move on.”

    Since I always want to give the benefit of the doubt, I use Clicky to help with the question “is it spam”, since you can link the comment to the IP address pretty easily. When I see a comment for Tulsa Auto Repair, and it originated from the other side of the globe, it’s bye-bye time!
    Adam recently posted..What Is Great Customer Service?

    1. Thanks Adam, I’ll have to check out Clicky to see if it helps. Spam, flame, haters, trolls – that kinda junk doesn’t qualify as a comment. Delete, block, move on. For those moments when we disagree, if the post is more of the hot button variety or even a very TEHO – like say, approaches to social media – then it’s a good idea to establish the house rules. Especially for company blogs, brand pages, etc.

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