I’m getting annoyed.
I don’t like it when people put keywords where their name goes in the comments. Aside from my personal preferences, it’s just not a good idea. Here’s why:
- It makes it difficult for me to respond to you properly–how am I supposed to address you?
- It makes you look like a cheap spammer. Don’t give me any shit about that your comment is well-written and that it contributes to the conversation. Nobody will ever know, because they will skip past your spammy keyword name and ignore your comment. You just wasted your own time. I know all the excuses, because I used to do this myself.
- It makes me look cheap, because my blog is filled with comments that look like they were made by spammers. I don’t appreciate you doing that to me, and I have decided I will no longer allow it.
- It simply isn’t appropriate: the comment name field is so that we can see who left the comment, not your website’s name or keywords in the anchor text of the link. It already links to your blog or site. Isn’t that enough? If your comment is good, people will click on that link. Like I already mentioned, a keyword-stuffed name field causes people to pass you by.
I don’t like doing this, but it’s my blog, and I need to maintain its quality in many different ways (I hear you snickering). Many of you who do this are my friends and people that I like and respect. If you consider yourself my friend, you will use only your name in the comments field here from now on.
Otherwise, I will delete your comment. Unlike Alister Cameron, I will not mark your comment as spam, causing you to be added to Akismet’s spammer list.
I’m not angry at anyone and nobody need apologize. I just will no longer allow it. And I suggest that you adopt a similar comment policy. Maybe we should start a movement, similar to “do-follow” and create our own little badge.
Remember: create content for people, not search engines.
@ James – I’ll give it until the end of March. I already have the experience of not doing it, whereas you just started Men with Pens. I’m positive that doing this will not hurt me, I just want to see if it helps more and by how much (very unscientifically, mind you). But if you don’t do it, that might be more of a risk than you want to take. Of course, saying that will only push you to do it.
It’s up to you, of course.
Arrrggggh dilemma, dilemma! To risk or not to risk…!
That Ford standard or automatic? And is shipping included?
@James – It’s an automatic, and sure shipping is included… as soon as I raise the price.
*points to DD*
Now *that* is completely unfair – and against the rules right now. Your site is Domestica Diva. Putting DD is just as bad as shoving your blog name in. This is what the whole post and commenting is about. Sheesh.
@ James – You’re right. Gone.
[...] few days ago I changed my comment policy and it caused a bit of a stir, to say the least: I’m getting [...]
Dave!!Where are you from? I could be intrested in that ford of yours.
Thanks
@Claudio – I don’t want to turn Michael’s post into a classified ad, so email me at dc[at]backfireblog[dot]com and I’ll give you the info.
OMG, the first time I saw Mens with Pens my eyes played a trick on me and inserted an i before that final s.
As for the practice of using the name field to brand your company, Problogger actually lists that on his list of 10 ways to hurt your blog’s brand by commenting on blogs.
I’ve never had a problem with it as long as the person was doing it for branding purposes and actually contributed something useful to the conversation (as opposed to pretending to contribute something useful). The one’s I have a problem with are the ones who think they are clever and try to disguise spam as useful commentary. I can tell the difference, and so can most of the rest of us.
@ Allen – See, now *that’s* good branding. Your dirty mind aside, tell me you won’t remember our blog name
[...] with someone who uses a keyword stuffed name, or the name of their website instead of a real one. Michael Martine has written an excellent post on keyword stuffing here. And I’m thinking of adopting his policy of deleting comments made by these keyword [...]
BTW, if a commentator can’t be bothered to read the policy and follow it, then I can’t be bothered to email them and suggest they try again. I’ve been doing this but it’s getting out of hand.
[...] to get some link juice from their comments then he will have to install a do-follow plugin. Some bloggers do that. Other bloggers don’t. But should [...]
[...] of Remarkablogger has a good explanation. And he’s also fed up with comment spam, and even updated his comment policy because of it. Twice. Spam = [...]
[...] but I’m too lazy to hack my WordPress comment form and thus I prefer the easiest solution, introduced in part by my favorite blog consultant, Michael Martine. He just combines two things, his name a his job [...]
[...] couple months ago, I followed an interesting discussion at Remarkablogger related to a new comment policy that Michael Martine posted for his blog. It seems that Michael had become frustrated with the [...]
Reading this now, but bravo!
Why oh why do people have to put stupid keywords and dumb names as their name…