I’ve been thinking about commenting on comments for a while now. Though I’m still a relatively newish blogger, I’m a very longtime commenter and I do have some thoughts on comments and commenting that I’d like to share.
In my view, comments are what make blogging such an interesting phenomenon. Via their blogs, I’ve had the good fortune to meet Steve Cotton, Gary Denness, “Felipe Zapata,” Barbara of San Miguel de Allende, and had the fortune to correspond with several others. As you might expect, these folks are engaging, adventuresome folk who had the gumption to pick up everything and start new lives south of the border (SOB). I don’t get the chance to meet such people every day, and it’s unlikely that I would have met all of them within the space of a few years without having read their blogs. And I now consider them friends, and look forward to spending time with them in the future.
How did I gain their trust to meet me in person? I had been leaving comments on all these bloggers’ blogs for a long time. Though my own blog only got off the ground in July (after many years of threatening to write one), I had been leaving comments on many of their blogs for years. In fact, I’ve been leaving comments on a predecessor to Felipe’s blog since 2006, when I first became really interested in Mexico and the possibility of someday moving there. So people felt like I was a bit of a known quantity, or at least not some random stalker. In Gary’s case, I volunteered to buy him a camera in the US and bring it to DF with me, thereby saving him a good 20-25% on its cost.
I also believe it’s crucial for the blogger to respond to comments, preferably within 24 hours. The truth of the matter is that most blogs (especially this one) don’t come anywhere close to the professional content available at commercial news sites, magazines, or other places. But they do offer insights into particular places, and the opportunity to engage with someone with shared interests. But if the blogger doesn’t respond to comments, I almost always find myself losing interest in the blog, no matter how promising the blogger’s topic. It’s nothing intentional, but a blogger that doesn’t reply to my comments just can’t seem to hold my interest. Conversely, the bloggers who respond keep me coming back and often adding comments to the comments, creating a real conversation in the process. I’m also finding that the comments make me want to write more posts, so it’s truly a virtuous circle.
Comments should also be easy to leave, and approvals should be minimal. Now that I’m actually writing a blog, I can see how this works from the other side, and I can see no good reason why most comments shouldn’t be fast, easy, and immediately displayed. This blog is set so that anyone can leave a comment, but the first comment requires approval before it becomes visible. After that, a reader’s comments are visible immediately. Why is this good? Comments tend to feed off each other. Bloggers with well-established communities such as John Calypso, Steve Cotton, Barbara of SMA, or “Felipe Zapata” can get interesting discussions going amongst the commenters. If every single comment had to be approved, the lag would likely discourage such interaction, and the blog would be poorer for it. So if you have a blog that requires approval of every single comment, what are you afraid of? Your regular readers aren’t going to post anything embarrassing, and if they do, you can either require that they be approved each time, or just block them. Don’t punish the majority because of an irrational fear. And more importantly, don’t deprive your blog of the vitality that comments provide.
As for spam, at least on WordPress, the Askimet filter seems to work pretty well. Though one or two legitimate comments have ended up in the spam box, I’ve never had a spam comment that wasn’t properly flagged. Three weeks ago, I got a run of pornographic spam (fortunately all captured by Askimet), and I began to worry that deleting these comments would become burdensome. I was getting about 35 of them a day, and I feared that they would blossom into the hundreds. But after quickly reading through them to make sure I wasn’t deleting legitimate comments, it was easy enough to hit the “bulk delete.” Within a few days, this spam stopped, and I wasn’t forced to activate any of these “prove-you-are-not-a-robot” settings, which I find very annoying. I’d imagine that the system on Blogger or Blogspot must work equally well. So if you have a blog, please consider making your commenting systems as easy-to-use as possible, and please stop requiring approval of every single comment of repeat commenters.
If you have your own blog, by all means, enter the web address when you make a comment. I’m surprised by how much traffic I get from clicks on the comments I make on other blogs. If you don’t do this, you are depriving yourself of traffic you deserve. I know a couple of you who have started commenting here aren’t putting your blog address. And I can assure you, you are losing traffic as a result. And you’re probably losing traffic from the people most likely to comment, since they’re actually reading other peoples’ comments.
Finally, of course, please comment on my blog if you are at all so inclined. As a blog writer, I can attest that it’s fun to read comments and respond to them. I really enjoy the dialog, as do other bloggers. I’ve also found that readers’ comments can really add to the original post. And some day, I’m hoping to get to know a few of y’all too!
And to those of you who already leave comments, a BIG THANKS!!!! I am very gratified to have a young blog that already has such a nice level of commenting and interaction. Thanks for helping me get this blog off to a great start!
What are some of your thoughts on commenting? Please comment!
El Gringo Suelto 
hi, has my comment appeared yet?
LikeLike
Hola Emmanuel! I just got home, and just approved your comment. Any subsequent comment you make to the blog (using same name, email, etc) will appear immediately. Saludos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂 hi, Kim, My internet is a bit slow so I wasn’t sure whether my comment had been uploaded. 😆
LikeLike
It just needs to be approved the first time. Now you’re good to go! Saludos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so great to hear that. I also love having conversations on my comment section, like if you look at my 600 comments on 50 Shades of Blogging, you’ll see that I’ve had long chats with peeps there. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, this is an amazng post. Sorry I didn’t peruse through it sooner. I’ve been busy with my uni project. #Tired
LikeLike
Hola Emmanuel! I’m glad you liked the post. To me, comments are the lifeblood of blogging. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re quite welvome. 😆 It’s true that if an author replies to comments within 24 he’s, then he won’t slowly lose readers.
LikeLike
I try to respond as soon as I can. To me, the dialog is fun. So are you in Kenya?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’m in Kenya, Nairobi to be specific 😁. And u?
LikeLike
I’m in Boston, MA, and never been to Africa. Hopefully some day I can go. I love Kenyan coffee, though. Saludos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol, that’s wonderful. You’re welcome here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim, I don’t know where I’ve been since July, but I didn’t realize you had started blogging. I’ll be reading backward to catch up.
What great comments about comments. Gives me some things to think about for my own blog.
LikeLike
Hi Billie, Thanks for taking the time to stop by. I’ve read quite a bit of your prior blog, and some of the new blog. I love your photos! Saludos.
LikeLike
Pingback: The Mexile 2013 | The Mexile
I’m surprised at seeing so many comments! Congratulations. I also have my own blog http://www.elbibis.blogspot.mx and sometimes I wonder why so many people just read what I write but leave the page without making any comment. Leaving a comment on my blog is easy, no captcha or the like, and yet comments are scarce. Perhaps I need to write about more interesting stuff?
LikeLike
Hi Florentino, I’m blown away by how many comments this post has attracted. I wasn’t particularly trying to fish for comments, only put out some thoughts I had been thinking for a while. As for your blog, I enjoy reading it (both in English and Spanish), but as far as I can tell, you approve each and every comment. So even though I’ve left several comments, they don’t seem to appear until you approve them. Maybe you should consider responding to each comment. I think that would definitely stimulate more comments. And I know that helps keep this reader more interested in a blog. Saludos!
LikeLike
The irony. I spoke so highly of operating a light touch, live and let live moderation policy. I was so pleased how few comments I’ve ever had to apply that light touch to. And I promptly get a visit from borderline troll.
So I’ll expand on my mod policy. Spam and trolls are no no’s.
LikeLike
Only after I replied to that guy did I realize that he rants constantly on Bloomberg and I believe Politico too. All the same wild-eyed assertions, with no argument, no examples, and no real reason to believe anything he writes. What bothers me is when people slander others without so much as a whit of evidence. If he wanted to push Soros in front of the train for no particular reason, I file that under “opinion,” and let it be. But when accompanied by a bunch of slanderous and false assertions, I usually try to make some kind of reasoned argument.
And yes. Life has a way of creating ironies right under our noses, LOL.
LikeLike
Commenting systems have improved a lot over the years. Except the standard Blogger commenting system, which has already been mentioned. I’m not the greatest commenter in the world, for a few reasons. Firstly, although I read pretty much every post that the likes of Steve, John, yourself and a few others, I usually read them on a mobile device while I’m on the go. I’ll often think of something to say, and flag it in Pocket for later. When later comes, I’m often pressed for time, have forgotten what I was going to say or am too overwhelmed with flagged posts….or all three! I try to comment at least now and again to let them know I’m watching. The test to see if I’m following is to run a post mentioning turtles or cameras! 🙂
But seriously, blogging and commenting is, I’m beginning to feel, a retired man’s (or woman’s!) game! I definitely don’t get as much time these days as I used to in Mexico. I think about pressing the ‘pause’ button regularly. That I haven’t done so is down to three reasons. Firstly, I earn money from my blogging and quite frankly need the extra bit of income. Secondly, habits die hard. Thirdly….comments from the chaps and chapettes who regularly stop by.
By the by, I’m not sure I ever mentioned how dubious I was when you offered to bring me a camera that first time. You’d been commenting a while, and seemed like the decent sort. But you were up till that point….well, you know. Bits and bytes on a screen. Nothing more. Did I trust someone enough to send them hundreds of dollars of my hard earned pesos, never certain that I’d see the shiny new camera? I know that that is not how ‘the system’ worked, but it was how I assumed the system would work!
Whether or not you remember, I agreed to the deal when I still assumed I was taking the risk. I really wanted that camera. One has to live dangerously from tim to time. It wasn’t the first time I’d done such a thing. I sent another stranger (who’d left only a couple of comments previously) a fair chunk of money to bring me some climbing boots from the UK. That panned out very nicely.
So all in all, its good to let the conversation flow, and get to know people. I have met quite a few people through my blog. I hope to meet a few more. Steve is top of the list, of course. In the not too distant future. John’s also top of the list, but that will have to wait till I’m back in Mexico. And when he is in Escondido. I’d like to see some of those baby turtles being released.
Otherwise I agree totally with your moderation system, and use it myself. Akismet is good, but without the ‘first comment approval’ button switched on, I’d get an awful lot of spam being published. Maybe half a dozen a day.
LikeLike
Hi Gary, I know you’re pretty busy, and as someone who has left the odd comment via a mobile device, I too can attest to how much of a pain it is. As for bringing you the camera, I didn’t even want you to think I was some kind of scammer. But I wanted to meet you and learn more of your experiences in Mexico. I figured that if it didn’t work out, I’d just return the camera for full credit, and perhaps be out a few bucks for shipping. It didn’t seem a big risk on my part, and I didn’t want it to be a risk on your part either. As it turns out, it worked out well, and I’ve enjoyed knowing you ever since. And yes, I can’t let the first comment go automatically, or my blog would be festooned with pornography and ads for knockoffs of designer handbags. Saludos.
LikeLike
The way you did it was pretty risk free. But I didn’t think someone would put themselves out to that degree for me. But then I didn’t know you at the time. I am now well aware of what a decent chap you are!
Needless to say I hope we can resume our occasional photowalks in DF one day. I also selfishly hope that you continue to commute between Boston and DF, so that we might resume our camera smuggling racket?
(Raquet or racket….gee, I’m tired. Roll on New Years Day)
PS. I didn’t get to comment on your Merry Xmas post. To save time going there, I’d just like to wish you a Merry Xmas too, albeit belatedly. The Happy New Year is in perfectly good time. Love the photos of DF. The clarity of the lights is fantastic.
LikeLike
Wow! Very nice comments; thanks! I too would like to resume some photowalks. I’ll be in DF the minute you are ready! Thanks for the compliments on the DF Christmas photos. Somewhere along the line I bought a better lens, and it shows.
LikeLike
P.S. I’m finding that writing a blog is indeed taking time away from reading and commenting on the blogs of others. It can be amazingly time-consuming, though a lot of fun.
LikeLike
Truth be told, I am finding it a lot of hard work lately.
LikeLike
We can all “hear” you… LOL
LikeLike
I’ve also been away for the Holidays, so spending more time with family and friends too.
LikeLike
It’s admirable that you take such time to post and comment during this busy holiday season.
LikeLike
The funny thing about commenting is that I seldom go back to see the replies.
As far as Bloggers comments, I have no boundaries or steps to go through so you just go to it and comment. I can’t imagine how that makes it difficult. If that is not the case, someone needs to tell me that…….please. On Disqus I can’t comment without being a guest, which is slightly irritating…….at some point it changed and I’ve never again been able to post my website or photo.
LikeLike
Hi Barbara, I’m glad you came back this time. We seem to have a good discussion going here. I’m always pleasantly surprised that so many people want to read my random musings. Your blog doesn’t (or at least didn’t) allow anonymous comments, but having some kind of online identity isn’t an unreasonable requirement to comment. Total anonymity tends to breed nasty comments, and I’m happy of people keep those to themselves. By the way, whenever I read your blog, I always go back to see your response to my comments on the prior post. Thanks for coming back! Saludos.
P.S. Are you sure you have a Disqus account? It needs to be set up with your email address (which won’t be displayed to the public).
LikeLike
As a blogger, my position on comments is “my website, my rules”. Pretty much anything goes, short of personal insults (I gotten a few over the years), though I reserve the right to mock, insult and/or delete comments that are stupid, racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
There are some exceptions where moderation might be applied. One advantage of “wordpress” is that individual posts can be marked for moderation. I’ve had to do this with a one post (which dealt with a synagogue in Tijuana and renewed interest in Judaism among the descendents of the conversos) that was linked to by both a genealogy site for Sephardic Jews and some neo-Nazi site. Ugg… the comments have been coming in for years, mostly regarding genealogy, but I do maintain moderation on that one post. It’s no longer my party, but I am still the bouncer, keeping out the unwanted guests.
One other thing, another result of that post, was I discovered you can enter key words in your “Settings>Discussion” that you can list keywords that will prevent a post from appearing without moderation. This can be useful (to cull out the unwanted commentators on the Sephardic post, comments with words like “Hitler” and so on require moderation.
Of course, you’re writing more about personal experiences, so it’s unlikely you’ll raise anyone’s ire, or gore anyone’s sacred cow. If you do, let them start their own blog… you’re not obliged to give a forum, nor to “debate” annoying people.
LikeLike
Hi Rich! Good points, all. I’ve only left one comment unpublished, which basically called me a whiner. But overall, the comments here (and on all the other Mexico-related blogs I read) are courteous and respectful. But I can imagine that a topic involving Jews could be controversial, sadly. It always astounds and saddens me when I read anti-semitic comments, particularly where they seem to be far-fetched, or having nothing to do with the topic of the article. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for your thoughtful comment. Saludos.
LikeLike
Kim: Are you not paying attention? Anti-Semitism is the new black, all the rage in “with-it” circles.
LikeLike
The blog owner sets the moderation policy, whether others agree with it or not. That said, some moderation policies are better than others. I leave most stuff up providing it’s not spam. If it’s unnecessary profanity, I edit the individual words. If it’s outright abuse. I’ll likely just edit out the rubbish. If the conversation is just going round in repetitive circles and one participant just won’t stop spinning it, I’ll put a stop to it myself, eventually.
But it’s really rare that I need to do so. The fact is, most of our blogs are written by adults, read by adults and commented on by adults. I don’t want to be the one who picks the ball up and storms off because I’m not winning. It’s a bit childish. It’s also rude. I wouldn’t want to be so thin skinned. Moderation is like government. It’s a necessary evil, but the less of it the better. Or so my libertarian friends tell me! 🙂
Minor insults generally stay on my blog. It’s better to engage than censor. I’ve had a few conversations which began badly and ended well. Remember my post on ‘Why I hate Mexicans…today?’ Perhaps not. It was long ago. A Mexican living in London took it quite the wrong way and said so. He didn’t mince his words. A few comments later, all was well. I took a few insults directed my way when I wrote about an episode of Top Gear. Know what? I was in the wrong. I said as much. I put those comments down to constructive criticism.
LikeLike
I do remember the “I Hate Mexicans…Today” post on your aborted voyage to Cancún. The videos of your nephews blowing stuff up were worth the hassle though. At least to this reader. LOL And I laud John Calypso for calmly responding to some invective on his blog a while back, despite his ability to have easily deleted it.
LikeLike
John is also a very decent chap. I had a good rant on his blog a month or two back. I certainly wasn’t personal or abusive and was responding to the topic, a subject that is a bit sore with me to say the least. But it was a rant. One of those spontaneous rants that a few minutes later you kinda wish you hadn’t left. You don’t know how everyone will take it.
Not for a moment though did I think he’d censor it or get in a tizzy. It’s often best to live and let live.Which is one more reason why his blog is a great community of its own.
LikeLike
OK. I’m persuaded. I just approved the “whiner” comment. I think it speaks for itself anyway. For those who are curious, it can be found here.
LikeLike
Lol! You know, when someone does drop a turd in the comments section, one of the reasons I leave it up is so that others will see the person for who they are. I prefer to point and mock idiocy than to hide it.
But….it does rather depend on how bad it is. You don’t want one person stinking the whole blog out!
I am curious about the ‘whiner’ post now though! Still, it could be worse Kim.It could always be a Weiner post. Oh, he does texts not posts though, doesn’t he….
LikeLike
Actually, one of my commenters (“Doobster418”) wrote a blog post about cardinal sins of blogging. After reading his post, I hastily re-read my “Unexpected Denouement” post and judged it not whiny, even though at the end I do lament the break-up with F. But George is entitled to his opinion. Even though I disagree, it’s not particularly offensive.
LikeLike
To me, commenting changes a blog from a one way to a two way street. Increasing the scenery with different perspectives. I look forward to reading the comments about as much as the blog itself. Keep up the good work G. S.
LikeLike
Francisco: that’s exactly how I feel. The New York Times is pretty much a one-way street, and that’s fine. It’s an amazing paper and well worth reading. But the fun of blogging is meeting new friends, even if you never get to meet face to face. Thanks for your comment and your comments in the past.
LikeLike
It is nice to at least acknowledge a comment. I’m afraid I regularly break your 24 hour rule! Maybe you didn’t notice but I recently got around to respoding to one of your comments about two or three weeks later, although that’s the exception. I get to them when I can. I can’t do better than that.
I do think it’s a shame when bloggers never respond to comments. I almost feel that they should turn their comments off, and just be a straightforward one-way publication. Having a comments system enabled is an invitation to converse, so use it.
I commented a few times on David Lida’s sites, every time when I was trying to find out a little more about something. Never got anything back, not a dickie bird. I still read the blog, but never even look at the comments.
LikeLike
I get notified via WordPress when you respond to my comments, and I’ve gotten used to your timing. Since I consider that we are now real (as opposed to virtual) friends, I’m cutting you considerable slack. David Lida only responds to very few comments. But his blog is still interesting, and since he’s a professional writer, he’s operating under a slightly different rule set. That said, I’d read his blog more often if he responded to comments.
LikeLike
Hi Kim – great topic. I’ve read many of the blogs from Mexico for years – some since they were planning the move and still living in the U.S., and while I check for updates daily and I’ve commented on them, I don’t regularly for a number of reasons.
One – I’m not at all technically inclined. I don’t have a Google Account, IM, Facebook, Twitter account, etc. so if commenting asks you to sign in re these things (I don’t even know what some of them mean) and does not give you the option to sign is as “Anonymous” then I’ve not been able to comment. Not long ago I did ask and was given permission to use a friend’s Google account for comments, at which times I sign my comment “Barbara at Dean’s” though it’s not something I do all the time.
Two – My work week starts at 2:30am. I read blogs over coffee at that time and often want to comment but if I have to jump through hoops to do it I simply don’t have time then, and rarely get back to it. When time permits I’ll go ahead and post a comment and often find I haven’t done it correctly when I look back at a later date and don’t see it on the blog, which discourages me from attempting to make further comments.
And I agree re replying to comments. I found one new blog not long ago by the author of a new book and the one who stars in the yoga DVD I use and love. I enjoyed her blog and was happy to see she had started one, and I started commenting. In all those months mine was the only comment on posts, and not once did she reply, I have since stopped reading it.
Thank you for nudging people to make commenting easy. Like any good conversation it should flow.
P.S. My own plan (which have been in the works for over ten years, thus the reading and researching of others that have blazed the trail) is to move to San Miguel in four and a half years when I retire. For now I must be content with visiting once a year. Perhaps one day I will be able to meet you in Mexico. That would be lovely.
LikeLike
Hi Barbara: Wow, you do have an early work day! Thanks for posting such a long and detailed comment. I always appreciate your comments, and you are very gracious in your praise. And I know what you mean by social media. I’m not on Facebook, and don’t really use those other services either. I had a brief dalliance with Twitter, but frankly didn’t really get the point. As for “nudging,” my post managed to convince William to simplify his commenting process, so I feel like I’ve done some good with this post. Good luck on the plans to move to SMA. It’s an amazing place. And yes, I’d love to meet you there some time. Saludos.
LikeLike
What can I say? I fully concur in your comments on comments and I have no other comment than to comment that I really appreciate the people who leave comments and generate more comments. Other than that, I have no further comment.
LikeLike
Thanks for commenting. I’d comment further on your comments, but you seem to have covered all the bases.
LikeLike
Whew, 27 comments. I wrote a blog on comments and got hardly any comments. Go figure. I remember when you first starting commenting. Your tag lines were always what I looked forward to the most! Keep on writing – it’s great fun to read and to keep up with your progress to getting to Mexico on a full time basis.
I’m so happy I’m one of the few you have met in person. I still remember that day with great fondness……….on to the NEXT time!
LikeLike
Hi Barbara, Yes, I remember that day fondly too. I could have kept chatting with you for several more hours, but I think we’d already been at brunch for about that long when you had to go. As for comments, frankly, I’m surprised I get as many readers and comments as I do. The funniest part? My offline friends (with one notable exception) don’t read my blog, and none of them comment, LOL. I look forward to our next brunch. Hopefully it’s not TOO far off in the future. Saludos.
LikeLike
“My offline friends (with one notable exception) don’t read my blog, and none of them comment.”
My few relatives in the United States, with the very rare exception of my daughter, have never commented on my website either. Never. Nine years of silence.
LikeLike
I am convinced Kim will never move to Mexico. Why should he? He is happy in Boston, and is well off enough to travel to Mexico when he wishes. It is the best of both worlds. For him.
LikeLike
We’ll see. So far the evidence is all on your side. But there’s a grain of truth in what you write. This winter was supposed to be my dry run, but various things have come up. And they continue to come up. I’m working on a blog post on that. But the ironic part? I’ve already done what most expats should do, but haven’t: learned Spanish. So if I ever get there, I’ll really be set.
LikeLike
I’ve had my blog for less than 3 months, and I had the “moderation” option activated as well as the “prove you are not a robot” option. The comments I have received so far have all been favorable, so I have decided to take you advice, and I have removed the restrictions on comments. As far as responding to comments, I have made the mistake a few times (including at least one of your comments, Kim) of adding my response as a new comment instead of hitting the “reply” button. Oops! I’m still learning about blogging! And I am also adding my blog address here with my comment.
Thanks for your advice.
LikeLike
William: Go to disqus.com. Open a free account, and install their universal comment system. It is the cat’s pajamas, far superior to Blogger’s system.
LikeLike
Hi William, I’ve enjoyed your blog so far. By the way, since it’s your blog, you have almost unlimited editing powers. I’ve moved a few comments from my “about” page to the page that the commenter was clearly thinking of. So you can fix your little mistake if you want to. I’m glad you’re going to try to relax your commenting system a bit. I hope that it works. Based on my experience, the filters are pretty good at catching the bad guys. Saludos!
LikeLike
Thanks, Kim. Glad you’re enjoying my blog.
LikeLike
Very good topic, señor. I agree that comments should get a response. It’s common courtesy. That such a small percentage of people who read blogs (dreadful word) leave comments is a mystery to me, especially considering they can invent names for themselves. Nobody can track them down and kill them. Well, not easily.
Moderating everybody is a real conversation-stopper, as you note, and it’s not even necessary. WordPress’s comment system does it for you 99.99% of the time. The Disqus system is similar but better, plus you can use your free Disqus account to leave comments in lots of other places, news sites, etc. Blogger’s comment system is bad, but it can be replaced by Disqus so very easily. I have tried to convince a number of people who have Blogger sites that they would like Disqus commenting far better. Some have switched, but a couple of others plod on with the Blogger system. Pity. They often have everybody moderated, plus those cursed numbers and garbled letters you must repeat. Jeez.
You do not get into the courtesy issue. Alas, I stopped commenting on two very good blogs because the owners did nothing about name-calling to other commenters, namely me. I mentioned it to both blog writers. One essentially shrugged it off, and the other defended the name-calling as a free-speech issue. Absurd. People confuse free speech, which is one’s right to offer contrary opinions, with the right to be crass and rude.
Maintaining decorum in today’s world that has so little decorum is doing a good deed.
And that’s all I have to say about commenting. Keep up the excellent work.
LikeLike
Thanks for the comment, especially that bit about decorum. As you well know, we have some differences politically, but I do appreciate your decorum, and I try to present logical and reasoned arguments on your blog when I disagree. I also try very hard to never make ad hominem arguments, as they are usually offensive, and seldom persuasive. Also thanks for the input on Disqus. I’m happy with the WordPress commenting system, but from what I’ve been able to gather, the Blogger/Blogspot commenting system leaves something to be desired.
Finally, having read your blog longer than anyone’s, I’m ALWAYS appreciative of the replies to my many, and often times long-winded comments.
Saludos.
LikeLike
Kim: I like your attempts to make me reasonable with politics. But, it is no myth that opinions on politics and religion rarely are altered by “reasonable” arguments from the other side. We believe what we believe in those areas. And it’s best to be courteous about it, something so few do.
It’s best to be courteous about everything.
As for Blogspot’s commenting system, it’s a dinosaur. Amazing that Blogger has not changed it. Luckily, it’s easy for others to do it.
LikeLike
Ironically one of my most commented upon early posts was one that I did early on about this topic. It generated another post and what was ton of comments for my blog at that stage of my blogging. I think that posts are the meat of blogging but comments are the sauce, and sometimes they are even better than the original post.
You also touch on one of the best ways to gather readers for your blog. By adding to the conversation, people get interested in you and in your blog. I don’t comment on other people’s blogs just to get readership, I do it because I genuinely am interested in what the author had to say. After all, writing nice post, great photos is friendly, and polite but it doesn’t add any value.
I like to answer comments as they come, however for some reason since I switched my blogging platform (to self hosted WP), I don’t receive notification immediately like I did when I used blogger’s free platform. I also found out that gmail was sending my emails that were forwarded from my blog account into a spam folder! I probably offended a few people when I never responded to their emails. But I digress.
Great blog. Please don’t feel abandoned by me, I would comment more often but I haven’t as much energy as I used to have and I have a bit of brain fog these days. I have your blog on my feedly account so I don’t miss any posts.
regards,
Theresa
LikeLike
Hi Theresa, thanks for the thoughtful comment. I enjoy your blog, and like you, I comment because I enjoy the post. I’m not just trolling for more readers, LOL… As for not commenting here, don’t worry. I know you have much bigger fish to fry these days, so I hope you’re focusing your energy there. I hope you’re feeling better, but I know what you’re going through is going to be a long-ish process. I’m rooting for you, and hope that you focus on what’s best for you now, including resting up and taking care of your self. Saludos.
LikeLike
It’s interesting how certain blogs attract certain people. And one may feel like you clicked somehow even if you have not actually met. All this through writing, reading, and commenting. Communicating is a wonderful thing. I enjoy this little community that has been built through the years and that is one reason I comment as often as I do.
LikeLike
Hi Andean,
I also like this little community of bloggers and commenters, and I always look forward to your comments too.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Saludos.
LikeLike
Kim – Of course I am acquainted with you by way of your comments on my and other Blogs I read – you are one of the best in that department – always pithy, on topic and erudite.
I have been writing a Blog for 8 years in May of 2014. Nearly a million words. For several years I wrote Blog every day. For more than a year Felipe’s and my Blog were actually syndicated on Global Press. Some weeks I have had more than 40,000 visits (not hits but visits).
So with all that said – not too many people comment. Some Blogs lend themselves to commenting – they cry out to be responded to. Mine is not one of them. On the rare occasion I might have 25 + comments (50 + counting my responses. This is what I have learned. There are things you can write about that will elicit comments. But the reality is few comment. I have met and heard from people that have read my Blog for years – nary a comment.
Encouraging people to comment will probably produce little fruit. One thing you can count on – a lot more people are reading than replying – it is really simple math. There are a whole lot more readers than there are writers. I take the comments as they come good, bad and ugly. Some censor their comments – I do not unless it is totally beyond polite behavior. I think I have disallowed two comments in that period of time.
I have learned to enjoy the few that do comment (most are regulars such as yourself) and not be concerned that few do engage.
Sometimes when I am writing my Blog entry I laugh out loud – yes – laugh at my own joke or humor – so what I am getting from that is I am entertained. When I try to get away from Blogging I miss it. Why? Because it is a skill and cathartic at the same time.
I can always find a reason to comment on you Blog because we are friends via this medium (only sad to say) and interacting is a special treat as you suggest. Bloggers are part if the Brave New World. Someone is out there reading – even our enemies are lurking out there.
At the end of the day if I have gained just one friend (and here I have that in you) then it is all worth the effort. I comment, therefore I AM. Stay Tuned!
LikeLike
Hi John,
I really enjoy your blog for its eclectic mix of life in Puerto Escondido, Xico, musings from the recording industry, your building projects, and the various adventures and misadventures of your friends and relatives. I consider it only a matter of time before we meet in person and get to be real (as opposed to just online) friends.
Thanks for the wonderful comment, and saludos!
LikeLike
Great post, and I agree with your sentiments on commenting. (BTW, I can’t find your “like” button either!)
To me, commenting is the lifeblood of blogging, and it’s delightful how, slowly but surely, a ‘community’ grows out of that. I blog to connect with like-minded people who enjoy food, travel, languages and the multi-cultural, country-moving experience. And I’ve found a good few of them on WP, hurraaah.
I’ve never had a dodgy or offensive comment after more than a year since starting my blog. A few risqué ones, definitely, but that’s just hilarious banter between me and the regulars 😉
Some of my blog buddies moderate every comment, because they’ve had problems. However, they are dedicated bloggers who respond to comments quickly, and so it doesn’t seem to inhibit the flow of communication too much.
LikeLike
I really like your blog, and the liveliness of the comments. You and your community have a great sense of humor. I’ve only had a couple grumpy comments, one of which I approved and let it speak for its author. The other one came last week, landed in the spam box, and I just decided to leave it there. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
Yes, a lively lot they are, lol, but they keep the right balance between opinionated and tolerant.
Thanks for your kind response 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for reading! (P.S. I’m trying to put back the “like” button, but am not sure how. Hopefully I’ll figure it out.)
LikeLike
I’ve just had a look re. “like” button… can’t figure out how to manipulate that one either! IT faffery is not my forte 😦
LikeLike
I may have figured it out. If you go to your dashboard, select “settings,” and then select “Sharing Settings,” toward the bottom of that screen is text saying “Show buttons on” followed by some tick boxes. I ticked “Posts” and then the “like” button appeared. At least I think it did, LOL.
LikeLike
It worked 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve met a few of the folks that write blogs that I comment on, all good people who were just as interesting in person as on the screen. One turned out to be a fugitive on the run from the FBI but he was still fun, he is up for parole in 2014.
LikeLike
LOL… That’s too funny. Hopefully your guy was on the run for a non-violent crime. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Holidays!
LikeLike
Investment banker who paid returns with new investor money, a scam artist of the standard sort. He had me bring down goods for him one winter and never paid but to be honest, I suspected him before I met him of being a runner. He moved to Guatemala with ten children in tow-makes a family man wonder.
LikeLike
It sounds like a rather colorful story. Hopefully you didn’t advance him too much for those goods. You should consider starting your own blog. I’ve enjoyed your comments here and elsewhere, and you seem to have plenty of interesting material, from your life experiences, and your apparently considerable travel. Let me know if you decide to write one.
LikeLike
I’m a ruin hound, I try to bag a few every trip south.I have a thing for the old stage coach roads, back country churches anyplace the locals are still wearing colorful duds.Not much of a city guy, I was in Merida last winter for less than a week-more than enough. And Merida is a pretty laid back city as cities go. I use facebook to post my snaps. A great many locals have such slow internet service that posting facebook is even a pain, I’ll stick with a comment or two for now.
LikeLike
Well, it took me literally years to make the leap from commenter to blogger, so I totally understand. Everyone enjoys your comments, though, so please feel free.
LikeLike
I love getting comments as well. It reassures me that I have actual readers and am not just talking to myself. 😉 Blogger is pretty good at blocking spam as well but every once in a while one gets through. I did have to stop accepting “anonymous” comments as many spammers use this method to get through.
LikeLike
Hi Croft, Yeah, I don’t accept anonymous comments either. I’ve never personally had anyone abuse my e-mail address that they got from a blog comment, but I’m sure there are a few cautious people out there who worry about it. Enjoy New Orleans! Saludos.
LikeLike
like what.
LikeLike
Like that!
LikeLike
May I be the first to comment? I’ve gotten so much out of my blog from the comments section, where I’ve made a good number of friends. It’s the best part of any blog, especially mine, where the commenters often have a more thorough understanding of the topic. I’ve been schooled a couple of times, but have also received support and encouragement from readers, many of them strangers who post anonymously.
I get roughly the same amount of hits on each post, but if you scroll down, you’ll see some get more comments than others. The posts with few comments I consider flops. Hits are one thing, but it’s the engagement that matters most. I’ve certainly enjoyed your comments, and always look forward to your distinctive sign-off lines. Hopefully we’ll get to meet in person one day, too.
LikeLike
Hi Lee, I totally agree. I’ve enjoyed your blog a lot, and I’m vicariously living through your experience of remodeling Casa Nana. I too hope we can meet some day. Thanks for reading, and moreover, thanks for the comments!
LikeLike
I enjoyed reading this post and I tried to “like” it, but I couldn’t find your “like” icon. Did you intentionally remove it? And if so, I’m curious as to why.
I try to reply back to every comment I receive, even if it’s just to say “thank you for reading my post and taking the time to comment.” I’m not always 100% successful, especially if I get a lot of comments that come in at night when I’m sleeping or that require moderation.
Reading through the comments can be as entertaining and informative as the blog post upon which the comments are made. So I completely agree with your sentiment.
LikeLike
Hi Doobster,
I’ve had a couple people “like” the post already, so I think the button is still there. But as one of the few not on Facebook, I’m a bit of an ignoramus when it comes to “likes,” so I apologize if I’ve inadvertently left out something. I’m on my way out the door, but will check out your blog later. Thanks for passing by and commenting. Saludos!
LikeLike
There is a like button at the end of every post and before the comment section. Got nothing to do with Facebook.
LikeLike
Thanks, yes, I see you “liked” it. I’m not sure why that button disappeared as I’ve had “likes” before. I’m just going to attribute it to computer randomness and hope the like buttons stay put.
LikeLike
There is indeed a spot in Settings — and/or where you edit posts — where you can include or not the Like button. “Share” too, that sort of stuff.
LikeLike
I found it! I found it! It would help if I opened my eyes before my mouth…or I guess my fingers, since you can’t hear me anyway.
LikeLike
Well, it may have shown up after you posted your comment, since I did some poking about in the settings menu and changed it as described in my reply to LadyOfTheCakes.
LikeLike