A Lesson in Comment Etiquette

There are a million different designs, holding over a hundred million active blogs. Despite the endless things which make each unique, there’s one thing which nearly every one shares.

The comments lay beyond the horizon of our initial message. Some bloggers allow their posts to perish uponpublish, others choose to fan the flames of discussion.

Ultimately, it is up to us whether we abandon our comments beneath the body of our blog, or use them as a tool to transform our post from passé to popular.

One thing we must be mindful of if we are to grow our comments like flowers in the garden, is the knowledge that we are working on sacred ground. We should treat our own commentators as guests in our home, and remember that when we comment, we are a guest in theirs.

Here are a half dozen rules. Three for when we open the door, and three for when we bring the bottle of wine.

When in another’s house:

Once we comment, we’ve already left a link to our site. That’s more than enough, and we shouldn’t push it. There’s no reason to leave another link in the body of our comment. That behavior easily renders an otherwise well meaning comment into something embarrassingly transparent. No one wants to play with a spammer.

Comment when passionate. If we comment when we feel strongly about something, our words will be thick from natural thought, rather than stuttering from the “nice post” and “I agree with you” remarks that we’ve all seen… and probably made.

Try to add to the discussion, don’t just parrot the author. Illuminate what the writer might have missed, or disagree with a message or specific point. The idea is to add to the dialogue; engage either author or audience to examine our words, and then perhaps take the next logical step by exploring the content of our blog.

When in our own house:

It’s perfectly acceptable to disagree with our commenters, but respect is non negotiable. Vulgarity or name calling is never necessary, and only succeeds in reducing dialogue to its lowest common denominator. This sort of exchange will not help spread a positive reputation, or good will. It’s better to ignore the comment entirely than to respond poorly.

Respond to every comment. Not everyone agrees with this method, but I believe it’s paramount to preening powerful discourse. If you’re regularly pulling triple digit comments, then of course it will be difficult to respond to every one with equal thought. We can, however, build rapport with our regulars, send some private emails, and write inclusive sentences which gather everyone into the fold, even if not by name. Our readers can’t be expected to keep serving the ball if we never bounce it back.

It’s our house, our rules. By in large, our audience will follow the example we set. Discussion group or tailgate party, the mood is entirely up to us. It is most helpful when we are consistent, so our readers know what to expect.

People love to talk, and have since forever. There’s no better advertisement than word of mouth, and no place better to build it than our own comment section. How we do it is entirely up to us. (Source: linkersblog.com)