Photo courtesy of Hormel Foods http://spam.com
In my time writing this blog, I’ve gotten to know a lot of my readers. Many of you are my friends, many of you have become my friends, and there are many of you that I would love to meet!
And then, there are my comment spam friends. These are the people that make me so excited to see that a post received a comment, only to realize that this “person” did not even read a thing I wrote. I try to delete these “comments” ASAP as they really do not add to the conversation, and sometimes they link to places I’d rather not advertise on my blog. But, some of them are too funny not to share.
My bloggy friend Jen had a post of a Q & A from her spammers. My spammers don’t tend to ask a lot of questions, but I’d love to feature some of the gems I find each and every day nonetheless!
First up “Clarice”: She was really inspired about our Urban Hike yesterday. So much so, that she wants to plan a family reunion to gain much happiness! (She wants to sell us tips on how to get pregnant…think I’ve got that down…thanks!)
Having this kind of affair, really helps to create a bound of foundation to the family. This coming summer vacation, I will pursue to have a family reunion in order to gain a kind of happiness like yours..
Denise (who sells children’s bedroom furniture…so not a bad match up) really, really likes school cafeteria food, becasue this is what she had to say on my post about School Lunches:
I liked this place! Good food, great prices, perfect for a healthy midday lunch, plus it’s environment-friendly. Set menu is BIG and excellent value for money.
Gelhi (who has learned to cure panic attacks) found great encouragement from my guest posting announcement:
I want to have twins too… So that I can learn a lot of lessons of being a mother to them…
Oh honey, there are a lot of better ways to learn to be a better mother than having twins, trust me on this one!
Keith (with tips on effective conference calls) wanted to encourage me to share more content here, since I was guest posting.
Hello There,
You have a cool ideas from here, i know that you can create more than what you have share with us. Thanks a lot. It’s my pleasure to view your great creation…
Wow, “great creation”…Keith, you are making my head swell!
My friends. I love it when you come to visit. And I love to read what you have to say, but rest assured, my spam comments will be deleted. But I’ll share more with you when I get another interesting batch. It does not take long:)
Chime in! What is some of the funniest spam you have received? I’d love to read it!
Mar 01
The Top 6 Reasons I’m not Commenting on Your Blog
Blogging
by Dakotapam
March 1, 2012
Seems pretty simple right?
No one wants to speak, or write, to an empty room.
As bloggers we not only want people to read what we write, we want people to respond and interact with us about our writing.
But, dear fellow bloggers, you are making it really hard for me to comment on your blogs.
Here are the Top 6 reasons that I’m not commenting a whole lot on your blog:
1. Your comment platform is too hard to use.
Whether it be Intense Debate, Discus, or LiveFyre, all of the “neat features” that compelled you to install it on your blog is what keeps me from commenting. First off, the comment platforms slow down your blog, and secondly, it is often confusing to comment on these platforms (and I am a seasoned blogger, if it is hard for me, it is near impossible to someone new to blogdom). Quick example. I was at another blog today for the first time. Something she wrote resonated with me and I thought I had something to add to the conversation. So I clicked on the “reply” button and typed my comment. Then I was taken to a LiveFyre sign on page and I attempted to sign in as a guest, leaving name, email and website url. I was then directed to another screen asking for my password as I had already registered with this platform. Then I could not come up with my password and had to send for a re-set. The email was slow in coming so I tried signing on with Facebook or twitter to comment and kept getting the same message that I already had a livefyre account. I finally gave up and decided to not leave my comment.
2. I’m Sick of Captcha Codes
Call me impatient, but those little captcha codes at the end of your comment forms are a turn off. Sure, you are getting fewer spam comments (maybe), but you are also getting fewer legitimate comments. I turned off my captcha code options long ago and did not see any significant spam comment increase. On some blogs the captcha verification comes up After I have submitted my comment and have clicked out of the page, so I left you a comment, but you never got it.
3. I can’t find your comment form.
Your template and design is lovely. You have wonderful things to say. If I can’t find a way to comment in less than 30 seconds I give up. Make it easy for me to find a way to comment. Don’t hide your comment link under a cute icon. I might not get it.
4. Your Spam Filter is set way too high.
I understand. Spam annoys me as much as it annoys you. however, if your filter is set that unless I am your bff my comment can’t get past your filter, then you lose my comment.
5. I hate that you moderate your comments.
I see the comment section as a ”real time” converstion. Joe comments on your post, Susie chimes in and agrees with Joe on all but one point, Barb jumps in and adds her thoughts. It is a conversation. If you have your comments set up to await moderation then you lose that conversational feel. It is disheartening for a reader to go through the trouble to type out a thoughtful comment and then get a notice that it will appear on the site once it is approved. Once again, sure it cuts down on spam comments, but at the cost of cutting down on insightful comments as well.
6. I don’t think that you read my comments.
If I peek in your comment section and see that it is a lot of comments from your reader, and no response from you, I’m not sure I have much to add to a one sided conversation.
There you have it! I’m no comment snob and I love to leave my thoughts around the internet, but if you were wondering why you’ve not seen much of me at your blog, this is probably why.
If you are fearful of specific negative people leaving comments on your blog, an easier way to block them is to block their specific IP. There is a simple way to do this on Word Press and I’m sure on blogger as well. I spend a bit of time each day weeding out spammy comments, but I’ve begun saving them up to share the best ones with you!
Chime in! What keeps you from commenting on blogs? What makes you want to come back and add more to the conversation?
Tags: bloggers, blogs, captcha code, comment forms, discus, intense debate, legitimate comments, spam
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