Comments on: Are you Losing Good Blog Readers and Comments?

By: Josh Spaulding

Josh Spaulding — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 01:20:36 +0000

Since i installed the subscribe to comments plugin, I’ve noticed more comments so it’s definitely a good deal!

As far as cocomment I started using it, but I’ll admit it was for the links I was getting. Now they aren’t showing up as links so I don’t use it lol I know that’s bad.

That’s amazing Maurice, yours is one of the very few that doesn’t send my comments to the spam filter

By: Maurice (TheCaymanHost)

Maurice (TheCaymanHost) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:24:24 +0000

Like Snoskred I like the “subscribe to comments” option although I have been relying more on CoComment in an attempt to keep track of conversations I get involved in.

What I do find puzzling is that the option to subscribe to a comment thread on my blog is habitually completed by people with a fake email address. The subscribe option is double opt-in for prevention of abuse, but I frequently see undeliverable messages where folk have filled out the box with a phony email!

I’ve never relegated you to my spam bin Josh in fact you seem to be one of the few who manages to send successful trackbacks.

By: Snoskred

Snoskred — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:59:43 +0000

It’s about participating. If someone won’t let you participate, you lose a bit of respect for their content – and let’s face it, there are literally thousands of blogs on the internet so why would you go back to one that isn’t respectful to you as a commentor when you can just go find somewhere else that is respectful to you as a commentor?

On the other hand, I don’t like it when people use their website name rather than their “handle” – I don’t go around commenting as “life in the country” because it seems a bit odd. I’m known on the net as Snoskred. My advice to people would be – choose a very unique name as your handle and get to be known as that name around the place. There’s not another Snoskred, thank the deities. That’s because it is the Norwegian word for avalanche. I chose it specifically because it was unique and would stand out.

I love the subscribe to comments option. This has been an interesting discussion to watch!

By: Josh Spaulding

Josh Spaulding — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:53:03 +0000

Thanks YC, much appreciated

WarriorBlog, if you read further you’ll see my reasoning. If I can’t even contribute and interact I normally won’t come back, unless it’s a friend, family member, frequent visitor here etc.

Why would anyones reason for visiting a blog be to just comment? Unless you mean for the link you get (if they use dofollow,) which is something I rarely think about, as it’s not much of a link building strategy.

By: WarriorBlog

WarriorBlog — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:37:30 +0000

You said that you would never come back to a site that doesn’t show your comment…so does that mean you only visit to leave a comment? not for the content?

By: YC

YC — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 08:04:20 +0000

Heh! Josh you were flagged as spam on my blog but I do check Akismet periodically. Luckily I managed to fish yours out

By: Josh Spaulding

Josh Spaulding — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:44:16 +0000

Hey Chuck, thanks, I hope you didn’t take offense to that. Just letting you know

By: Chuck Brown

Chuck Brown — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:34:14 +0000

Ouch…thanks for letting me know about that, Josh! Sometimes I have my fingers in too many pies at once. Both of those comments have now been freed from the clutches of the Akismet gods!

By: Josh Spaulding

Josh Spaulding — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:22:59 +0000

Thanks Snoskred, duly noted

By: Snoskred

Snoskred — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:10:43 +0000

I used to have a lot of trouble with getting stuck in spam traps. It seems a few bloggers did not like that I put my url under my name in comments and they marked my comments as spam. Once Akismet is told your comment is spam by a few bloggers, it ends up being spam across the internet.

I have a couple of thoughts on how to stop your comments going to spam –

- always comment using your name rather than your blog name, at least the first few times you comment on a blog – and don’t use your blog name without contacting the blogger first and asking if it’s ok.

- don’t use links in your comments on wordpress blogs unless you have built a relationship with that blogger by commenting several times on their blog

- drop by my blog and leave a comment – if it goes to Akismet I’ll drag it out of there and let you know – it may take a few “drags” out of Akismet to pull you out of their spam box for good.

I hope that’s helpful.

Cheers,
Snoskred