Open Discussion: Where Do You Draw the Line on Deleting Comments?

Mar 11, 2010
84 Comments

I got a great question from Marc the other day in a comment on my post Ten Ways to Crank Out Killer Posts in Ten Minutes or Less:

Hi. I’d like to suggest a blog post topic for you. It has to do with where a blogger draws the line about posting someones comment. This is a complicated and highly personal topic since no two bloggers have identical personalities and have different tolerances for all the ways that commenters can be rude. It seems there’s a large spectrum in how bloggers deal with commenters.

Some don’t want to bother themselves at all with this and keep the comments turn off.

Others seem to cherry pick their comments and some are very sensitive to the slightest hint of disagreement or debate.

And there are some like Jim Edwards who will publish even the rudest comments (but will defend himself).

I personally don’t have skin as thick as Jim Edwards and am somewhere in the middle. I do feel that my blog isn’t Youtube (I’m always amazed at the frequency of quarrelsome comments over there) so I have my own limits. There are also a number of ethical issues such as whether to publish a criticism regarding a product one promotes that also provides the money to feed ones family.

When I decide not to publish a comment, I often wonder how the person will take the rejection.

I thought this would make a great open discussion topic, so I’m putting the question to you: where do you draw the line on deleting comments?

  • I think it makes complete sense to publish almost all comments received. It doesn't make any sense to block out comments that unnerve the author or make them feel uncomfortable. Publishing your views on a blog means you have a point of view, and it's only just that others are eligible to their points of view also. If the author can still win the debate and prove his or her point effectively it'll only increase their authority over their subject of interest. I believe bloggers should not delete uncomfortable comments, rather they should take a stand and prove their point!
  • I've just had this very dilemma on my blog, which is how I came to find your post. The person in question was quite rude towards me personally, but also made some valid and intelligent comments which I believe would add to the discussion. In the end, I let the comment stand, but also wrote a reply that made clear that personal attacks weren't welcome. If they come back, that's fine, so long as they play nice :D Thanks for the informative discussion, J
  • So fascinating, my blog has just had this issue come up. To me, I'm a big free speech, open debate mind-set. Unless it is illegal, or over-the-top offensive, I'll let it go up.

    I'll also point out that the writer is wrong, but I won't feed the troll. My co-bloggers disagree. One finds most any crazy/out there comment bad for the website ("Do we want those people coming to our site") and the other is somewhere in the middle.

    I say, it is up to what makes each person comfortable. As far as traffic goes, more comments will get more traffic, but not necessarily more monetized traffic.
  • I know I should delete them but for the spam comments which just say "great post" or similar I leave them there but remove the link. It feels like a minor victory in the fight against spam.
  • remarkablogger
    Early on, it feels like a victory to have comments at all. After you get
    busy, though, you just want to not only delete the spam comments, but wish
    you could electrocute them on the other end when you do so. :-)
  • Archan Mehta
    Michael:

    Thanks for this post. Timely, to be sure, and much needed by your readers. And cheers!

    Some people who leave comments on blogs, I think, are sometimes misjudged. Sometimes, my jokes have bombed at the box office, but I was genuinely trying to be funny. I guess I lack the writing skills of a Johnny Truant/Steve Martin/ Woody Allen/take your pick.

    Only a few writers can make people laugh. Sometimes, I fall short, but I try my best.
    And I have had people disagree with me several times, and that's fine. I welcome both agreements and disagreements. Join the debate and tell me about your point of view. Give examples and let me know why I should believe you. I am not the gospel truth: I don't try to play God. But I am curious and I like reading blogs and guest posts are awesome too.

    My personal opinion is that most of the bloggers I have come across are fair and open-minded. Michael is one of them, that's for sure. And there are so many others too: Naomi, Charlie, Ali, Johnny,...sorry, folks, I have an entire list of great bloggers. Thanks.
  • remarkablogger
    Being funny in writing is way different than being funny in person. Writing
    comedy to be performed is different than writing something that's funny when
    you read it. I've seen quite a few comedians who are trying to be funny on
    Twitter, for example, and they're just not.

    Humor is always a risk, but it also means you get a more passionate and
    agreeable audience.
  • CarlBurke
    Am going to agree with Chris, I am new in blogging and welcome all comments, good or bad, think that it could be a valuable tool, feedback. Now on the other hand off color remarks or comments, is where I draw the line, not that I have had any, but am sure there will come a day that I will be face with this. But as with some one disagreeing with my standing, it is all food for thought,
  • Lin
    Thank you for mentioning that comments are content. So true. Content from comments actually contribute to search visitors finding your blog due to the words they use in searches. Sometimes for good and sometimes not so much.

    I've had my share of trolls - oh boy have I ever.

    I moderate comments and refuse to allow hateful, attacking comments towards me or others who have commented. Spammers arrive in droves, wasting their time and mine.

    Certain kinds of spammers (shall remain nameless) from a specific site are now automatically redirected to a page informing them their spam activity won't work and what they need to do to actually participate legitimately in the comment section.

    Spam comments and trackbacks are pretty easy to spot and deleted, but the ones that I shake my head at are the content thieves who steal your entire post AND send you a trackback approval request. Grrr
  • Hmm, though I haven't been attacked on my blog so far, I feel like I'd probably post whatever (to a point) and defend myself as necessary. I'm lucky enough to have the support of at least a couple of readers who have my back though, so even if I let some hate fitter through it would be dealt with accordingly (perhaps even if it wasn't by me).

    I'm interested to see how I'd act in a situation like this, though... Couldn't say until it happened.

    Garrett
  • I try to stay loose with comment moderation. But I do draw a few lines here and there - such as someone dropping a link to their product, service, or blog post and not having the courtesy to leave their real email address (like fake@fake.com kind of stuff).

    I'll remove a link in a comment if its just being put there as part of a signature, if they've already linked to it in the URL field of the comment form.

    Spam, swearing, and pointless personal attacks all get moderated.
  • See, it's comments like Marcs that make deletion tempting, but as I said in my previous....
  • Marc
    Sorry about that. It was an ironic comment aimed at myself (I'm the same Marc mentioned in the intro).
  • Greg Rajewski
    Good one, Marc! LOL
  • Marc
    Hummm...this discussion topic kinda blows.
  • remarkablogger
    LMAO! Nicely played, sir.
  • I delete spam comments, (DUH!) although every now and then I get one that I'm not sure if it is or not. In that case I'll simply remove any links and leave it.

    I don't get a lot of abusive or disagreeable spam overall so I've never had to delete a genuine comment (so far, touch wood). We did have a discussion last year on the use of business contacts for email lists that got a little heated.

    A person came on to defend her position of 'if you give my your business card then you've given me permission to add you to my list'. While the discussion was heated - by two commenters, not by me - it never crossed the line into abusive.

    I did edit a few comments once when someone used profanity in a comment, and emailed them privately to explain and ask them not to swear in future please.

    I've seen James at Men with Pens receive some real crap in his comments, and he handles them brilliantly. Either turns them into humour or explains nicely. It's a fantastic way to handle contenious issues.
  • remarkablogger
    In the USA there are laws regarding spam and yes, a business card is not permission to spam.

    (By the way, I don't know if you didn't know or if you forgot... but James is a woman. And she does indeed handle comments deftly.)
  • menwithpens
    Hee, that makes me laugh. It's one of those, "What do I write? He? She? Uh?" I like 'he' myself, if only because the pronoun matches the name.

    As for comments, I try to handle the situation in the best way possible to get my point across, try not to piss anyone off and also help keep everyone feeling as comfortable as possible in a bad situation.

    And yes, I've had some doozies. And I've never deleted a single one. I like to think that's a measure of my integrity.

    On keyword name comments, I just change the keyword name to "I left a spammy keyword here". Gets THAT point across nicely.
  • remarkablogger
    James, I think you do an admirable job in that respect. One of the reasons
    why the community around your blog is so vibrant.
  • The laws on spam are the pretty close here in Aust too, and this person was just really pushing the envelope with them. And being deliberately antagonistic in the comments....

    Yes, I'm well aware of James' gender, we know each other very well for people who haven't met. :-)
  • I deleted one this morning.

    Everything seemed valid, except her claim that she was new at blogging.

    No.

    She has a well-established blog, every post pumping her gift store.

    The crowning touch was the lastest which was promoting Dragon Tattoo. I have no problem with promotion. Being disingenuous, now that's a problem.
  • remarkablogger
    That's bizarre. And too bad. You gotta wonder what people are thinking. Comments like that backfire so badly it would have been better to not leave one at all.
  • I'm still a new blog so I don't get a whole lot of comments. I have just recently had one that was rather rude and I replied in a professional way instead of attacking back. Honestly, I feel that the person who got a little nasty with the rude comments and implied rude comments acted very unprofessional and I only wish I had been able to trace her back to a website so that I could warn others of her unprofessionalism. The kind of person that thinks your an idiot for not thinking the way they do. I have yet to delete any commets because I am not 'big' enough to even get spam yet.
  • remarkablogger
    Much spam is automated, and it doesn't care about the size of your blog. The more popular your topic is, the more spam you will get.
  • Networkaegis
    Disclaimer, my blog isn't up yet but I have decided how I will deal with comments (when I eventually get some). The line will be drawn at hate. You can debate all day long you can disagree with what I post and I will even allow comments questioning my intellect.

    I will quickly invoke the delete key for comments that personally attack other commentators or comments that contain racist or other types of hate speech. This low order life form can find other places to spew their venom.
  • remarkablogger
    This is one of those things you want to think about in advance so you don't get caught by surprise. Really great idea!
  • I get very few comments so it's not exactly a problem. :) Most reactions are via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, I've seen other blogs struggling with the question and for me I think it's pretty simple. Spam gets deleted. Sometimes things get through filters but if I'm pretty sure it's spam, it goes out. I don't have much patience for anonymous comments so as far as I'm concerned I can do whatever I like with those -- whatever my mood is. Offensive comments go out but this is the tricky one because it involves a certain amount of subjective judgement, at least in some cases. Excess use of certain words, something invoking hate -- they go out. Negative comments stay, although if they start making it a personal attack that might put them in a gray area.

    I know one blog in particular that allows anonymous comments and he sometimes gets loads of anonymous comments, usually the same people, ranting on in a personalized way, diverting the discussion and thus ruining worthwhile discussions. To me, when comments start going there it's time to delete/block them. It has less to do with the negative nature of the comments than the unproductiveness of the repetition and the impact on the discussion overall. In other words, when it is affecting the usefulness of a blog for its audience it is time to get rid of them.
  • remarkablogger
    That is a great point, Bill. Spot on. The integrity of the blog and a great experience for all the readers is paramount.
  • Great discussion topic Michael. Most of what I delete is trackback spam. I've had a few people use profanity or post something downright insulting. I've not deleted but edited their comment. To me pretty much anything is welcome, as long as it's not rude. If someone's being rude, I get more satisfaction in editing their comment as opposed to deleting ;)
  • remarkablogger
    Yes, people need to feel safe or they won't comment. You're the only person in control of your blog's comments.
  • daverowley
    I only delete spam. I haven't had any flare-ups in my blog comments, but I'm pretty used to scathing criticism from writing workshops I've participated in, so that's not going to bother me. I would be pretty quick to delete straight-out attacks directed at other commenters, though.
  • I don't mind deleting obvious spam; I'm getting better at visually detecting it. Otherwise, I don't moderate actual blog comments unless/until someone or something really offensive comes along.
  • remarkablogger
    Intuition helps here, too: a comment can feel off, not quite right.
  • I've only had one troll (so far). Aksimet (Wordpress plugin) does a great job of filtering out the spammers (40 of them yesterday, no idea why a post about stopping scope creep would have attracted them). Discussions and disagreements are fine. Name-calling, cursing, defamation, or flame-throwing is not.
  • remarkablogger
    Akismet is pretty good. I bet your problem was one of keyword mismatch/out of context.

    To many folks, stripping is about more than paint.
  • There isn't much to debate on my very uncontroversial travel photography blog. So far there have been no vulgarities or attacks. However I get 4-5 spam comments from Russians promoting their Russian brides websites or illegal movie downloads or something similar. Askimet picks those out and I just hit delete. If someone is just trying to get their blog or website link posted then I erase that too unless it's relevant in some fashion.
  • remarkablogger
    Good call. If there's any seed of doubt, contact the person. A quick response said one thing, dead silence another.
  • You're right. Interesting topic for discussion, for sure.

    I've deleted very few comments. They were from someone who I somehow managed to make an enemy of, they were personal in nature and didn't add to the discussion.

    Otherwise, I've even left snarky comments from idiots just so the whole world could see what idiots they are.

    George
  • remarkablogger
    Sooner or later (usually sooner) the idiots will give themselves away.
  • I moderate all my comments so I am the only one to see the spammy ones. That having been said, anything but pure spam gets approved! I frequently have competitors comment on my posts with blatant sales pitches which I publish right along with the people who are actually commenting on my topic. OH - I also do not publish comments which are obviously computer generated and which are just strings of keywords strung together.
  • remarkablogger
    Fearless in the face of competition! I like that. Rock on.
  • I'll delete the content-free comments that are clearly just backlinks to their sales page. I've only deleted a couple for the actual content, and they were well-known blog stalker whack-jobs. (If I mentioned the names you'd recognize them, but they must use Google Alerts because they always show up within a few hours of someone posting their handles.)

    When people call me names, I usually just thank them for the feedback.
  • remarkablogger
    Kindness is very powerful stuff.

    One issue with deleting comments that just occurred to me (and that's why it's in this comment, LOL) is that if you delete comments, you destroy the continuity of the comment thread.
  • You make it sound so positive. Truth is it's also pretty passive-aggressive. When someone is intentionally being a jackass they're looking for a fight. I acknowledge that I've seen them without giving them what they want.
  • remarkablogger
    I actually don't see it as "positive" (or "negative" either). You're absolutely right about passive-aggressive behavior. It's so obvious to everyone but the person doing it.

    One thing I will never accept is any commenter who makes other commenters feel unsafe or anxious. That gets banned without a second thought.
  • I am fairly new to the blogging world, but I approach how I deal with comments this way. I am sharing information with my readers. I have my own opinions about that information, issue, etc. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I invite comments on my blog. I am always open to other people's viewpoints.

    I delete comments that are:
    >spam >disparaging >insulting
  • remarkablogger
    That will serve you well. Keep it up and good luck with your blog! I hope you like it here and stick around. :-)
  • I don't get a lot of controversy on my food blog, so mostly I just delete the spammy comments. I notice there are a lot more douche-y comments on my YouTube vids. I let them through - except for the really asinine ones - but I won't be trolled into a flamewar (I've learned my lesson, I hope!).

    So basically, if a comment indicates that the commenter is 1) a spammer or 2) an asshat, then it'll be deleted.
  • remarkablogger
    There certainly are controversial food issues. It might be interesting to blog about one and see what happens in the comments. No asshat-ery is a good comment policy. :-)
  • SimplySnowboard
    I think that constructive comments are ok. Criticism is fine as long as it's constructive.

    People who are really aggressive and pedantic can go somewhere else, I don't even want them as a reader. Those sorts of people can stay on Youtube.

    Youtube is the worst example! It's pretty funny to see how angry people get over nothing.
  • remarkablogger
    Oh yeah, YouTube comments are often the pinnacle of imbecility.
  • Anything discriminatory or satanic is a start LOL. And frankly I have an issue with anyone who seems like a spammer. Besides that the convo is ON :)
  • remarkablogger
    That's my policy too: you can be a satanist (let's not discriminate on the basis of religion) but please don't post anything satanic here. Unless it has a really cool picture.
  • I have more problems with deciphering which comments are spam lol. The bots are getting really good these days. I must say I'm getting less and less lenient with BS comments where there's no real substance. I am also not as lenient anymore with people who have obviously not read the post, but just came in to post an opinion ~ whether it's directly relevant or not. They saw a kw in the post title and just state their opinion without reading. I'm starting to delete those. If you can't give me the respect to actually read the post and make your comment relevant, then I don't keep the comment.

    I've also noticed some regular commentors who seem to have an agenda with their posts ~ promote a product etc. I've actually emailed them. Stated I appreciate you reading my blog, but can we tone down the comments so every comment doesn't seem like an ad for [product]. Thanks.

    I think there's a time when you don't get any comments that every comment is a good comment, but as you start getting more and more you get more exacting with the delete button. :)
  • remarkablogger
    It's easier to ask: "Does this comment really contribute anything valuable to the post and to the existing discussion?" That's an easier test than trying to figure out if it's spam.

    One of the features I like about Disqus is that I can ban spammers permanently.
  • That's because a lot of the bots these days are actually humans in places like India and Asia working for cents per day to fill in comments.... Sad isn't it.
  • I have an Open Comment policy and I allow all comments to go through unmoderated. I do have filters in place to stop certain ones before approval, but that's more to do with links than anything else.

    The only time I'll delete (or edit) a comment is when it's a personal attack, racist, sexist, homophobic or bigoted in any way, or has no relevance and is just filled with self-referential links. Apart from that, good to go. :)
  • remarkablogger
    Good criteria. I also just delete every comment made by John Haydon. ;-)

    (Now the countdown begins to see how long it takes for his Google Alert to come in and send him here, LOL.)
  • Well, yeah - Haydon's a given... ;-)
  • I give commenters the benefit at first. For me there are times when I leave a comment and all I say is " Great Post, Thanks for sharing" I look at it as, sometimes I have nothing to add,, I read the post, I learned something I didn't know, so I like least show my appreciation and let them know I liked the post.

    Now if I get this more then a couple times from same person then I delete. But a "great post" comment once in awhile is fine for me.

    We all prefer a nice long discussion adding comment, but sometimes people are learning, and trully have nothing to share and that's ok.

    As far as negative comment, if the comment is just ignorant and rude, then I ussually dump it, but if it is negative in a way he doesn't agree with my view then that's fine, let's battle it out lol

    I posted on a top bloggers blog last week and got a few ignorant comments, thet didn't even read the post, now I replied to each one,, one with some Alexa facts thrown in, to relax the noise,..lol and the blogger deleted the comments and the replies,, I thought that was wrong, not everyone agrees with what you think or say, so deal with it.
  • remarkablogger
    A thick skin is necessary, or you'll never make it. :-)
  • lol Yea I think I can handle all the "Internet Tuff Guys"
  • theinspiredsolo
    I had my very first "defamatory" comment recently. I won't recount the specifics - you can read them at my blog on the post about spam and permission based marketing from this week's batch - but basically, seems I've picked up a spammy stalker by defending another small business owner against the same guy. Now he's targeting us both, and wrote a truly laughable post giving "his side." Of course "his side" is rife with blatant misstatements of fact -- I mean, not even questionably untrue; these statements were totally blatantly false.

    So he left a comment with a link to that post on my blog. I was struggling with how to respond for awhile. I'm not going to ban him - that's not transparent. I'm not going to allow the link - legally, that constitutes republishing the defamation and I'm not about to do that. Sooo ... ???

    The solution I eventually came up with was editing the link out, and editing the comment to show I'd done it, and explain why. I stated if he fixed the post, I'd be happy to post the link.

    I don't care if someone calls me a b!tch or @$$hole or whatever on their blog. I'm not sure I really care if they do it on my blog, unless it's done using really offensive language. But defamation, racism, sexism - they have absolutely no place on anyone's business blog, not even as a link.
  • remarkablogger
    Have you ever considered a career in law? ;-)

    Thanks for bringing up some great points and providing a good example of how to handle a tough situation!
  • theinspiredsolo
    Bwah!

    No.

    ;)
  • I wish that this were my issue. My challenge is in seeking comments. I don't know if my writing on http://thisoldbrain.net isn't compelling enough or controversial enough or what, but comments on my blog have been few and far between.
  • remarkablogger
    Comments grow as your audience grows, but there are ways to encourage comments. Note how this post does it (and also see Liz Strauss' "open mic" Tuesdays at http://successful-blog.com, from whom I shamelessly stole the idea). Chris Brogan (http://chrisbrogan.com) and James Chartrand (http://menwithpens.ca) are masters of asking questions that get people talking. Learn from their examples.
  • For me its personal attacks...no place for them. Opinions, however I may disagree with them are fine.
  • remarkablogger
    Agreed. Personal attacks go bye-bye.
  • I've been lucky so far. People don't seem to get into heated debates on my site, so I haven't had to make any tough calls about pulling the plug on rude comments. My biggest problem is trying to decide who has actually read the posts and publish only those.
  • remarkablogger
    Maybe you need to start a fight. :-) Just kidding. Although, writing in a balanced way (or taking a stand) about a hot-button topic will get you some impassioned commenting for sure!
  • I'll delete something if it doesn't provide any value and is either an attack or clueless.

    I like to foster discussion, but in some cases I've thought of deleting some "whiney" comments.
  • remarkablogger
    Liz Strauss says that comments are content. She's right. And who's in control of that content? We are. Who's responsible for that content? We are.

    I've deleted comments that provide no value. I'll gladly sacrifice a small second of my time to prevent my readers from having to waste their time reading someone's lame-ass do-nothing comment.
  • I don't get too many, but I let comments go where the person writing it is only hurting themselves by writing such whiney BS anyway, why not let the public see what an @#$hole someone really is.... I have seen prominent bloggers get a bad rap for exactly this same thing, and they probably thought the blogger wouldn't publish it....
  • Haha... whiney comments just make THEM look stupid though, not you :) I totally agree that inflammatory comments have no place in your personal space. Those are delete-worthy for sure. Disagreement is cool; I actually like a good argument, but there's a huge difference between arguing a point and cussing someone out or just saying something stupid.
  • I moderate all comments. However, now I use Disqus and I do "whitelist" some commenters on Blog For Profit.

    While I do moderate, I only not allow a comment to post if it is spam or is flaming another comment. I do not, not post a comment because they may disagree with me or my position.
  • remarkablogger
    I think the word you're looking for is "disallow." :-) I hear ya. Disagreements and debate bring comments to life and keep people interested.
  • I have a pretty loose comment threshold. However personal attacks and directed vulgarity (I get called a c*** at least twice a week on one blog) get canned immediately.

    W
  • remarkablogger
    Personal attacks are definitely a no-no. Deal with the information, the facts, the ideas, but don't get personal.
  • I think any comment is good. If it isn't a very nice one, readers are usually impressed with the way you handle yourself. Not everyone is going to play nice, so it's up to you to show that you are the one coming up on top.
  • remarkablogger
    Good point about how you handle yourself and reader perception.
  • I dont mean to be rude but...... That is not a good start for a comment on a blog. I do try and allow comments even if they are rude, and dont agree with me (how dare they!), I dont actually care about that, that is not the point, of bloging is it? open the comments, and have a real debate, go on I dare you!
  • remarkablogger
    I agree: not the best opening line, is it? :-) If you don't mean to be rude,
    then don't be. If there's one thing I dislike, it's that kind of
    passive-aggressive bullshit. Rude is exactly what they intend to be.

    Agreement isn't necessary, but reading the post before commenting is
    (another peeve of mine).
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