I began moderating when some scoundrel I “met” on another blog started following me around. Finally, I decided the only way to control his inappropriate posts on MY blog was to moderate. I have told him not to visit but he keeps coming. Perhaps he will stop someday. Meanwhile, I try not to visit his blog at all. If I do, and post a comment, it rarely is taken in the way that I expected. He has a coterie of people who just like going there.

I don’t get a lot of spam. I’m enjoying blogging since August 2008. Prior to that, I was a member of a political forum where the discussions were hot and heavy. Last summer, I was “banned” by moderators — I like to say we had “irreconcilable differences.” There were people who truly believed I was not who I said I was. Many of us now contribute to a small but kindly website. You can see me as Radio_Lady at http://www.oldelmtree.com

Cordially,

Ellen Kimball
Portland, OR

Ellen Kimball´s last blog post..Daughters and Dads — we’ve seen it all!

@ariherzog – love that post – adding it to my bookmark rather than rewrite folder [link to post] #blogchat

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I saw your link on Valeria’s blog and realized I haven’t visited enough. These are three great tips, though comment moderation doesn’t bother me much.

My professional blog doesn’t have comment moderation, but we maintain several that do. In one case, it’s a combination of spam and purpose:

The blog was nothing more than an experimental side project, developed to highlight business giving practices of a variety of businesses. As such, the spirit of the blog was strictly positive, never leaning toward controversy. Of course, some businesses attract negative comments anyway. It was so distracting from the purpose, we had to moderate it.

For most clients, we advise them not to moderate. Authors actively participating in the comments tends to reduce spam (you can always delete those, which sends a message not to bother). They also can guide comment sections, which is what I keep reminding journalists to help them prevent what can be easily described as anarchy.

However, some companies need the additional security to get over the initial fear. (I don’t believe in fear-based decisions, but many do.) Over time, they’ll see that based on the surprisingly few comments that get disallowed, moderation isn’t really warranted. At least, I hope so.

All my best,
Rich

Richard Becker´s last blog post..Keeping Clients Engaged: On Blogs