Bloggy Help:

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I Don't Read Comments Anymore

Commenting on blogs and commenting etiquette
Or, at least I try not to...and I don't mean comments here at The Blog Guidebook...I mean comments on giant mainstream websites (the big guns?), like YouTube, Huffington Post, ProBlogger and even Facebook. 

Do you know why? I'm sure you do. 

Because a large percentage of commenters are Haters. They have nothing nice to say so it's all mean, spiteful, rude and profane things. I hate it when I've watched something amazing on YouTube (I'm half crying or in awe) and my eyes wander down to the comments (accidentally) and all I can see is slander, four letter words and bunch of crass and low class language. I hate it when I'm reading comments on Facebook under a posting from someone I'm following and I want to see what the response is to a question...and all I see are comments from Jerks and Meanies.

I'm bringing this up because I've noticed how prevalent it has become. It's like a plague around the Blogosphere...and it can become upsetting. 

I wanted to mention at this point that it is of my own free will that I'm reading these horrid things...and I should stop. But wouldn't it be nice if they weren't there? Maybe turn off comments that fall in a certain category...we could program into this "field" words that we don't want to read (four letter, three letter)...of course this could then open a can of worms and we could be accused of burying our heads in the sand. Anyway....

As a blog owner and author I get to read a lot of comments...and on this blog I have started to look forward to reading them and finding answers to my readers' questions...quickly posting back a response...and then hearing that my tidbit of info has helped them in their blog quest...

Replying To Comments

We love to respond to comments...many bloggers do...many don't. Do you ever leave a comment hoping to hear back and never do? Do you pop over to the post you commented on a few days later and scroll through the comments? You see a reply and it was just a few minutes later? Ah ha!
Did you know you might be a No Reply Commenter? That's right...there is such a thing and there are many who don't know they are one...

To find out if you are a No Reply-er do this:

After logging into your blog look for this in the upper right hand corner - a little image of yourself and your name...click on the arrow it will look like this (except not me, it'll be you) below:


You will then click on Blogger Profile. The new page may say Profile Not Available (that means no one can read about you etc.), click on "enable access to your profile". You will then see the Show My Email Address box to click. You can leave the Share My Profile box unclicked if you like.  Make sure Show My Email Address is clicked, as shown below.  Don't forget to click SAVE.

Update: If you're a Google+ user this may not show up (it does for me). 










You are now a Reply To Blogger!









I've turned Word Verification OFF

Have you? Do you think it's crazy?

I want my responsible readers to be able to comment as quickly as possible without any hassle...some of those word verification images are so difficult to read, and out of focus...you have to make something up and do it again and again.

Sort of causes me to not want to leave a comment at all anymore. You can keep an eye on comments by not having them publish immediately...you have to do it manually...easy and saves your readers time!

Do you have any commenting peeves you'd love to talk about? Leave a sweet and kind comment below and we'll certainly reply! Happy Blogging Everyone!


27 comments:

  1. I'm a commenter and a replier of comments on my own blog too...but I never look at the comments on Youtube... NEVER!...I made that mistake ONE TIME...and that was enough! I find the interaction of commenting part of the great experience of blogging. But I don't always comment. Sometimes I just don't have a response, or I feel it would be better to NOT comment to some subjects...or I'm just too busy to take the time. I 'do' try to read as many as I can though. I'm a reader, and a talker. Could you tell that from this comment?! ^_^

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    1. Good comment! Sometimes it's better to say nothing at all if it can't be nice! So it should be for the world!

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  2. I have looked on my blogger profile and for some reason have not found the place you show here. I think I already did this in the past, but I wanted to recheck. I am on Google plus and so I think it may be somewhere I haven't stumbled on yet. Is anyone else having a problem locating where to check this?

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    1. Diane, I emailed you to let you know that you are fine! You are a reply-to blogger! No worries!

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  3. I am totally with you about the hateful comments out there. They are not only upsetting, but frightening. I always imagine these are the same people who own guns. Enough said.

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  4. I am a commenter. I also try to respond to comments on my own blog. I try to answer every one but that darn no reply shows up so often. Perhaps you are right and people do not know they have to make their email addresses show.

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    1. Elizabeth...I think many newer bloggers might not know about the reply-to feature. However, I find Blogger's platform lacking in the comment department. They need to incorporate the notification system that will allow a commenter to sign up to receive new comments or replies on that post/comment. I find that very helpful....!

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  5. My blog is also connected to my Google+ account so the settings you have given for an example are not available to us. I do have my comments set to moderation (not word verification) so I know when anyone comments, and can usually keep on top of replying.

    BTW! I love your blog and all the information you share! Thanks!!!

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    1. Vickie, I am on Google+ too and didn't have any problem...strange. When you click on the Blogger Profile (or does it show?) does the next page say Profile Not Available? Because if it does, just click "enable access to your profile" and it will take you to the correct page. I'm looking deeper into the Google+ thing. Thanks for the heads-up!

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  6. If anyone wants to know if they are a reply-to blogger, just leave a comment and then check back in a bit. I will let you know if you are or not. If you don't hear from me via email then you're definitely not!

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  7. Thanks for this info! Really helpful :)

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  8. I comment relative comments too.
    As for my YouTube, I set it so I have to approve the comments. I cannot stand all the hater stuff. I think it is ridiculous that some people spend all day just to be jerks!

    So here is another comment for you...thank you and have a great day.

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    1. Naila...you're a no replier...do you need help changing to a replier?

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  9. Oh man! You took the thoughts right out of my head! I feel the same way on everything you said! It ruins my day to see the mean and hateful comments and makes me sad and mad all at the same time. Thanks for this post! It was great!

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  10. i could not agree with you more about the negative comments>on the big blog guys! i am kinda new at blogging and when i first started i was not replying and learned real quickly how important this part of getting connections is, so i am working hard at being a good replier and am finding that i am finally starting to get replies back! i find it so exciting when i see a reply/comment to a post, when you think about it, no matter what you are trying to do in life there is always that grp of negative/ downer/ sad kind of folks out there, the lesson for us is to not give them any energy back and try to just ignore them, cause they are the loosers in my book! aloha, angi in hana p.s. tx to you guys at blog guide, i am always learning from you guys!

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  11. i agree! it's become upsetting JUST how much hatred it out there on the web! it's disheartening! i have to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to you for all the info. your provide on blogging. you have helped me so so much & i so look forward to your updates!!! cheers!:)

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  12. Sarah, I lurk, well I read, and don't always have time to leave a comment...lol. But now that you have turned off the hated word verification I will be leaving a very nice, and polite comment from time to time.

    I will not even attempt to leave a comment on blogs that have Word Verification, I just can't work it, it's useless in my eyes, and frankly I hate it.

    I have a very nicely worded [because I am a nice blogger] sentence in my comments section telling bloggers that if they have WV I can't reply to their blogs and leave a comment.

    Thanks for suggesting that bloggers check out the reply button...I am always trying to reply to every comment left on my blog, and nothing is more frustrating then reading their post, and finding that I can't leave a comment because of WV. And then they have a no reply email...it's a real shame.

    Thanks for all the wonderful advice.

    Jen

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    1. Jen, thanks so much for commenting. It's nice to hear a voice out there in the blogosphere...

      We've NEVER used WV. Ever!

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  13. I know what you mean about comments. I left a very nice comment once on a video on youtube, and then people replied to my comment with the most slanderous words at me. I just don't get how people can feel good about themselves being that mean. Thankfully, on my blog I've only had two mean comments which as moderator I chose not to post. But, I still had to read it. :(

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    1. Thanks for your comment...glad to know it's not just me! Keep blogging!

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  14. I have so many "no-reply" commenters on my blog. I have contacted a few that had no idea. As far as YouTube I don't even bother to look at comments.I really am too busy and trying to build my own blog to worry about people and their negative comments. I take the high road :-)

    Great blog post, Sarah! I really enjoyed it and wish more people would read it.

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  15. Sarah- a quick question- when turning off the word verification, how do you or is there a setting so you then need to manually approve a comment to be posted? I'm looking to see how to do that and haven't found it yet.

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    1. I just found it!!! Yea for me! :) Thanks for your comments and posts- am learning!

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    2. Wow! You're fast...was just going to reply. Let me know if you need any more help. It's also helpful if you have the comments emailed to you so you don't miss any. Very simple and then you can just delete and baddies (ie. spam).

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  16. CAPTCHA drives me insane. The worst part is that I write a thoughtful comment only to delete it once I see the WV. Uggg. Thanks for putting the word out there!

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  17. CAPTCHA drives me insane. The worst part is that I write a thoughtful comment only to delete it once I see the WV. Uggg. Thanks for putting the word out there!

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Comments are how we stay connected as bloggers. Let us know how you feel and we'll return the favor...stay calm and blog on!!! And guess what? You'll never find Word Verification on our blog...it gets kind of annoying when you can't read what WV wants you to verify right?

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