Should Blog Comments Be Moderated? Why?
December 10th, 2007I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately. Comment moderation is a very common practice around the blogosphere. But for some (obscure) reason I’m not totally sure that I should keep on moderating comments on my own blogs.
Comments on a1-fan-fun are all moderated. On Abaminds I took a different approach: only the first comment is moderated. Once it’s approved, the future comments left by the same reader should be displayed immediately. Two blogs, two systems. (This is one of the advantages of having more than one blog. I may write more about it someday.)
This blog gets much more comments than the other, for Abaminds is newer and I haven’t promoted it properly (yet). Therefore I still can’t make comparisons to base my decisions upon.
That being said, I came up with 2 short lists of pros and cons of comment moderation.
Why should a blogger moderate comments?
1. To control spammy messages not caught by anti-spam plugins: this is actually the main and best reason why anyone would want to read all comments before they are published.
2. To be able to edit comments before they go live: good if you suspect a certain comment to be spam but eventually decide to allow it. You may “punish” the supposed spammer by deleting, modifying or no-following the links he/she has left before they can be seen by other readers.
3. Because you want a chance to solve some delicated matters before they become public: if an usually friendly reader overreacts to a post of yours at first, he/she might need some time to calm down and realise his/her comment could have been toned down. With comment moderation turned on, you’ll have the chance to contact him/her privately and try to work things out. Or he/she might take the initiative.
I wonder how many bloggers actually put #3 into practice. I confess I don’t… There was an occasion when I could (perhaps should) have done it. But I had the feeling that trying to keep things “secret” would just make the commenter’s annoyance grow. Hence I chose to approve the comment as it was and respond it right away.
Why shouldn’t a blogger moderate comments?
1. Because some readers don’t like waiting: they want to be sure that their comments will actually be published. Just don’t ask me why. There must be a psychological mechanism that determines this behaviour. Maybe a need for reassurance? Who knows?
2. To show that you trust your readers: perhaps it’s a dangerous way to see things, with so many spammers out there. Nevertheless, it might not be a totally bad idea, if you know how to take advantage of it.
3. Because you may have to spend some time off-line: if that happens, you won’t be able to approve new comments and your blog will look too quiet.
After rereading my own lists, I still haven’t come to any conclusions. So here comes the part when I ask you to leave your comments on this post (you saw that coming! 
).
What are your views on comment moderation? Have I forgotten to mention any good reasons why one should or shouldn’t have it turned on? As a blog reader and commenter, how do you feel when your comments are queued for moderation?
Your opinions are welcome and I appreciate any input you can give me.
December 10th, 2007 at 2:02 am
As a commenter, I don’t like the optics behind moderating comments. Are they trying to censor me? It just isn’t too inviting and gives the appearance that all the comments have to be “in line” and doesn’t encourage genuine discussion.
As a blogger, I haven’t reached the point where I need to moderate comments. Spam filters catch most of it and if one slips through, no big deal. I’ll just deal with it after I come back from work.
mariam’s last blog post..Did I mention it’s a dog?
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:56 am
[...] asks us the question should comments be moderated? this can be a touchy subject and should be done with caution, on a personnel note if its spam then [...]
December 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
On my blog only the first comment is moderated, once approved all comments by that commentor are displayed automatically. I’m getting quite a few spam comments in my moderation queue so my approach helps a big deal with that.
I’ve noticed many spam comments on several blogs, including the very prominent ones, and it didn’t look nice, was wondering if the blogger doesn’t pay much attention to the comments.
As a reader, I’m used to seeing my comment awaiting moderation if that was my first time commenting on that blog, on all other blogs it shows up right away, as expected, so I’m fine with that.
inspirationbit’s last blog post..Creative Christmas Solutions
January 13th, 2008 at 5:00 am
[...] Zara presents Should Blog Comments Be Moderated? Why? posted at a1-fan-fun, saying, “Three reasons why blog comments should be moderated and three [...]
January 13th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I don’t moderate comments at all, because it will only mean more work for me. I don’t find the quantity of spam I get to be very annoying, and it can be handled easily. I don’t have a problem with other blog authors who decide to moderate the comments, and I won’t comment less for that reason.
However, if I need to subscribe to a blog in order to be able to comment, I won’t do it. I’m just too lazy for that.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
hey karen, good to find you on your other blog!
i’m quite strongly anti-moderation. if you have good spam blocking, it’ll catch almost all the junk.
moderation slows down the conversation.
even worse is having to register to comment.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I moderate for a few reasons:
1) Akismet doesn’t catch all spam, including ones linking to porn sites. I prefer to keep my site a PG and spyware-free environment.
2) I have a “You comment, I follow” policy. I do not appreciate spammers who plug their site, but don’t take the time to read mine. Those who post with relevant, thoughtful information deserve a follow.
3) As per the PG enivornment, I don’t appreciate rude or hateful comments. I haven’t had this problem with TipDiva.com yet, but on another blog.
I may delete comments, but I never edit the ones I do post. And if you have posted once before, your subsequent comments are not moderated if they come from the same IP address.