I want to take a few minutes to talk about leaving comments on “Shooting the Breeze”. This past weekend I realized that I needed to create a comment policy because of two situations that happened.
First, I had a commenter “hijack” a post. They went off on a tangent that had NOTHING to do with the original post and then they began to belittle other commenters. NOT COOL!
Then, a few hours later I received this comment on this blog post:
If you “honestly” believe there is an invisible man living in the clouds..
You’re mentally ill..
You’re a threat to the safety and security of every living person on this planet.
A plague to mankind.
I will not tolerate these types of comments and this type of behavior on my blog.
I have nothing against someone presenting a different idea or opinion or disagreeing with me but name calling and belittling is not acceptable.
With this in mind I have created a comment policy.
My Comment Policy and Guidelines:
- I encourage you to comment. I love comments on this blog. Share your thoughts, I encourage you to disagree or see things differently.
- Please keep your comments on the blog post topic. Don’t go off on a tangent or a totally unrelated subject.
- You are 100% responsible for your comment and it represents not only your opinion but also you as a person. Take that into consideration when you post!
- You “Hold Harmless” me and any blog post author that writes for this blog. That means you hold all writers here on Shooting the Breeze harmless of any and all repercussions, damages, and liabilities.
- I reserve the right to moderate, delete, or change any content within a comment as I see fit at any time for no reason. I have never had to do this yet but if I do moderate and/or change a comment I will make note of it in the comment itself.
- I reserve the right to delete any comments that go against this comment policy.
- I reserve the right to “shut down” comments on a particular post if I feel the discussion is getting way off topic or out of hand (i.e. name calling, being rude and offensive).
- I reserve the right to block offensive commenters.
- Names – I’d prefer that you use your real name, but you may use a “brand name” or online persona if you wish.
- URL – Please use a legitimate and operating URL that you control specifically.
- Email – Please use a working email address as I may want to contact you directly!
- Pingbacks are considered comments and will be treated as such.
- Please use good taste in the content of your comment as well as your word choice. I don’t have issue with “bad” language unless it is used aggressively or in poor taste.
- No personal attacks of any kind will be accepted!
- My goal on this blog is to create exceptional value through my posts as well as to create a community that creates value as well. Please keep your comment of that type and kind: High Value!
- Please no affiliate links in your comments and please limit the amount of links in your comment.
- I will protect your privacy and will not share your email address without your direct consent.
- I hate spam. Don’t do it! I use Akismet to help me with this.
- If your comment is classified as spam by mistake I will do the best I can to get it out of my spam folder as quickly as possible.
- You grant me license to use your comment in blog posts, written material, and any other form of publishing. Thanks!
Again, I LOVE COMMENTS and I want to do as much as I possibly can to foster community and conversation here on this blog!
If you would like more information about creating a comment policy and to see a sample comment policy, check out Tentblogger! My policy is based on his suggestions.
Do you have a comment policy on your blog?
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Great idea. I recently posted a review of a Christian book and still am getting comments after 6 or 7 months about how I’m not really a Christian because I was critical of the story of the book. Pathetic. Just because I see something in a different light doesn’t give someone the right to belittle me or judge my faith in God. If I said something against God, sure. But all I did was talk about how I disliked a book and 70 comments later, I never felt so insulted in my life. I’m gonna implement this on my blog soon. Great post
. Sorry for all the insulting comments.
I think that people think that because their comments are online that they don’t have to still be respectful. What they forget is that everything they do online is a permanent record of who they are.
Thanks for sharing Michelle!
It’s unfortunate that it comes to this . . . but it’s the world we live in.
Blessings,
Cherie
Cherie Hill recently posted…Get Up!
Hi Cherie,
It is definitely unfortunate. This is a bit of a knee jerk reaction but I want people to know where I stand with comments.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin
No, I don’t have a comment policy. Perhaps I should.
But I love The Christmas Story movie, and that pic rocks.
I love the “Christmas Story” movie too!
Thanks for sharing Ryan!
I don’t have a comment policy. The commenting system I have allows me to edit comments so that I can take out any profane/etc. stuff from comments.
When you start getting hate comments, it means you’re getting more popular. And the random commenting that takes a turn for the worse is called “trolling.”
Congrats!
I have definitely noticed an increase in new commenters as I my pageviews has increased. This is both a blessing and a curse. I guess I can’t expect to have my cake and eat it too.
Thanks for sharing Brian!
great stuff! thanks for the love!
You’re welcome John!
Thanks for providing all the great information on running a WordPress blog!
I am curious as to how that would happen? Are your comments moderated before they are posted? This is terrible but unfortunately, the more religous a topic the more it is prone to morbid opinions. Some good and some bad.
if he set it up like me then the first comment is moderated and every approved commenter’s comments thereafter are fine.
Hi John,
My struggle is, I a mentioned in my previous response, is not being around enough to moderate comments. I get a lot of new commenters and I don’t want them to think that their comment didn’t go through.
Do you find it a pain to have to moderate first time commenters?
Kevin
Hi Nicole,
At this point I do not moderate my comments before they are posted. Maybe this is something that I need to be doing. The reason I haven’t is that I am not always around to moderate comments right away and I don’t want people to think that their comment did not go through.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin
Kevin; Sorry that this has become necessary but you can’t expect the devil to leave you on your own for too long…. I really like the term “trolling”. It’s so appropriate and conveys the meaning without the use of “bad” language. I haven’t been keeping up with you as much lately but I did catch one recent post that hit home in a big way. My son is living on the street right now. He was given the choice of living by house rules or moving out. I’m not doing so well with his decision….Everyone says I did “the right thing” but I am frightened night and day. Anyway…I think society could use more dangerous people like you!
Hi Karen:
Nice to see you here again.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin
That was a must and glad you enforce it in time. I wonder why some don’t understand that there’s just a thin transparent line between the author and commenters, its not from behind the curtain. Interaction and discussion for the betterment, we have fields to fight if wished
Suresh Khanal recently posted…Here is the new reply to your comment
Great points Suresh! Do you have a comment policy?
Hmmm… Hadn’t thought of it. of course, I have things set to require administrator approval of all comments, anyway, so to me it seems fairly obvious that I’m moderating comments, and stating it just seems a little redundant to me. Of course it might not be a bad idea anyway.
PCGuyIV recently posted…Front to Back- Back to Front
I hear what you are saying. I haven’t kept comments in moderation and I have never really liked that on blogs but there are definitely benefits to it.
My big issue with moderating comments is that I am not around enough to take them out of moderation. I don’t want to stifle any potential interaction between commenters.
Thanks for sharing!
After reading your comment policy, it gets me thinking that I might want to add a comment policy to my blog myself. Good idea, and you make some very valid points about what is (and is not) a true acceptable comment. People can be so abusive with these in general.
It is sad that these points are not commonly understood by everyone but some people seem to think that what they say online doesn’t really matter.
Thanks for sharing Adrian!
I’m digging your new look dude.
I have been offline this past week…
Thanks Duane!
I don’t have a written policy, but if I did it would look a lot like yours.
seekingpastor recently posted…Learning from Rufus
Thanks for sharing!
Setting up a strong, well explained, comment policy was one of the best things I did for my blog Kevin. It’s important as they grow to clearly define the rules of being invited to play in our sandbox. Knee-jerk or not, the policy is solid and will serve you well at an emotional level when you question whether or not you should remove offensive content!
Kimberly
Kimberly Castleberry recently posted…WordPress Plugin Review- SEO SmartLinks
Thanks Kimberly!
Hey Kevin, great idea to post up your standard’s about commenting. it is a good idea, I recommend making a separate page or icon for it so people can check it out before they comment.
Some people just haven’t heard the saying “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” It is a shame that some people try and disrespect you on your own home turf.
Good post,
BW
Great idea Brandon. I need to add a link to this commenting policy at the end of each post.
Thanks for sharing!
I find it kind of ironic to comment on a comment policy but I must ask the question. Why didn’t you just set things up to approve all comments before they are posted? Is it because of too much traffic or what? Serious question since I have a blog that is gaining in popularity and getting quite a few comments.
Keep up the good work Brother! I love your articles!
Pastor Duke
Hi Duke, I don’t put all comments through moderation for a few reasons. One is I don’t like that when I go to other blogs. I think it limits conversation. And second, I am not always around to moderate the comments so they could stay there all day sometimes.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I understand that comments like that can really bug you, but I moderate my site and it is set up so that I must approve every comment. If a comment is inappropriate or doesn’t meet my standards, I trash it. People will behave badly at times, and I know it is better to not waste my time paying any attention to any garbage that flows down the river.
Thanks!
Raena Lynn
Raena Lynn recently posted…Raena Lynns iFrame engine Demonstration using Hubze
Thanks for sharing Raena!
Thought provoking article, and I certainly agree it’s something of a balancing act. So far I haven’t had to worry about negative or disruptive comments (hear me knock on wood!) but just to be safe I approve all “first time” poster comments.
As far as a comments guideline, I must admit I have mixed feelings. I visited a blog not long ago – liked the article and decided to leave a complimentary comment – then the commenting guidelines popped up. By the time I finished reading the long list of “thou shall not even think about doing this” points, I no longer felt inclined to leave any sort of comment, nor have I returned. I guess the point I’m trying to make is guidelines are one thing, but we can also turn readers off by lecturing to them.
Marquita Herald recently posted…Hula … the Heartbeat of the Hawaiian Culture
Good points Marquita!
It definitely is a balancing act.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin, this is one of those A-HA moments! I do not have anything like this on my blog, but now I have to construct one. It is such a great idea….never thought of that. My comments don’t go on unless I “approve” it. I cannot tell you how much horrible spam I get. (but I’m sure you know all about that). I just cannot figure out why anyone would write anything negative for a comment. Guess they just don’t know how the business runs. Thank you so much for this great idea.
Blessings,
Donna
I am glad you found this post helpful Donna.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kevin,
This is really quite sad, but there are those who do these kinds of unnecessary stuff. I don’t know if they meant to hurt the blog author’s feelings or they just want to harm his/her site just for their amusement. There are sites I’ve encountered with comment policies that were made to protect the interests of both the blog owners and their readers. I have no problem with your comment policies here. Thanks for sharing!
Felicia recently posted…FTP leaderboard April- 1000 freeroll for top 200 scheduled
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Felicia!
A lot of useful information. I am currently in the process of creating policies for 2 blogs that I run and was glad I stumbled upon your site. Very useful, deserving of a Google+ on my end.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Marcin!
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