Ethics of commenting – do they exist?
Lately, I’ve slowed down the frequency at which I post new posts and articles on this site. At the same time, the frequency of new comments, from me, on other sites has slowed down also, though it’s still higher than the rate at which I post new posts.
The question of commenting on other sites is always been on my mind, even after I have commented. How should I post a comment? How many words should it be, or should I not care about the number of words? Should I be frank, or should I be biased and careful as to make the author feel better [when it's a hard time for the author, for instance]? Should I simply post since I have the obligation to post on other sites, or should I post because the person in question also posts comments on my site? Should I post any comments at all, or should I make it a daily routine?
These questions always come to our mind in one way or the other. The ethics of commenting requires an understanding of what ethics is, and what a comment is. Should one email a person to thank them for dropping by their site, or should one post a comment, even if it’s forced and for a topic that’s not very interesting or doesn’t need a comment? Should one include their own link in the comment, or should the comment only contain the name for identification? Should a comment be a comment, or should a comment be another link for your website for the search engines to follow?
It’s really hard to leave a comment without any thinking, and thus the chances of leaving fairly unique comment that comes straight from the heart, through the keyboard, into a comment box, are usually not 100% . Should one edit the comment at least once to make sure it doesn’t offend or irritate the site owner in any manner, or should one express their minds completely and at the first chance available? Many people leave blunt comments that express the first and immediately feelings within them, while others walk within the borders of mannerism by refraining from expressing anything contradictory to the post that’s being commented. Still, others write down a comment after thinking, and still think after a comment has been written down to see if it needs changing, and then they post it.
Basically, the question of why one should comment, and how, boils down to the reason why we comment in the first place. Whether it’s to offer an opinion or simply let the other person know you visited, or to have more incoming links to your own site, commenting is, in my view, the most important interaction you can have with the content and the people who wrote the content. You leave a mark, a legacy on another website for the rest of its life; whether it be a year, 10 years or more. In addition to that, you leave an opinion in the mind of everyone who reads the comment, whether or not they agree with you.
As for me, I will keep commenting as much as I can, and be as relevant and focused on topic as I can be. If I haven’t commented much on your site, my reason is the same as before; I’ve been so busy, I spend less than 7 hours a day at home most of the week. Tonight I actually had a little bit time and played an online game of checkers with Shoomin. That kept a few extra comments from being unleashed on some sites.
What is your opinion on this issue?
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( October 19th, 2005 at 7:05 am )
Hehe, yeah, it takes me awhile to return comments also. Anyways… As for commenting… I do sometimes feel "forced" to comment on a something that I don’t really have anything to say about just because I’m returning their comment… I do feel that it is an interaction between the visitor and the site owner, because it expresses how the visitor feels about something, or some advice, or something like that. That’s why I’d like my visitors to comment, especially when I need advice on stuff. Hehe. Hmm… I think that’s it?
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( October 19th, 2005 at 8:53 pm )
Hmmm… interesting points of view
I like to get comments to have a second to what I’m saying or opinion of something or advice for something, etc. If they be long, so be it, if they be short, so be it! I just hate comments that start with, "hey nice layout, I was wondering if you could help me…" You know those.
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( October 20th, 2005 at 12:28 pm )
Chau –> Yes, sometimes one is forced to comment because of the fact that it’s polite to return a comment. Thanks for sharing that. : )
valerie –> Yes, opinions from someone about what you’ve said are always important, and I like them since they help me improve and know where I’m standing and whether or not I’m on the right track regarding a certain thing.
Heh, yes, I know those comments.
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( October 20th, 2005 at 5:52 pm )
Wow Bes, I’ve never taken any of that into consideration…heck, I didn’t even realize there was a commenting ethic? Is it like netiquette? Or a part of that?
Well, excuse my naivete, but I’ve always comment for the sake of commenting….well, not quite literally, but I mean don’t do it of obligation. I try my best to comment on people’s entries when I empathise, sympathise, or am intrigued. It seems like an odd habit to adhere to, but I find that it suits me. Oh, and I rarely ever edit my comments…so that explains why some of my feedback seem incoherent. Alas, perfection is one of my weaker points.
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( October 21st, 2005 at 10:39 am )
Never thought there were ethics for commenting…
I comment
1. If I have a different piont of view.
2. To complement the author.
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( October 24th, 2005 at 11:38 am )
My whole life goal is to bug the slave and friend of Mootilda.
I leave bad comments, yo.
One of these days, you’re going to smack the crap out of me when we play checkers and comment. [cries]
You’ve already proven your amazingness at this checkers deal.
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What others are saying about this article elsewhere
[...] Leaving comments on other sites is considered to be one of the backbones of getting comments in return. The concept of commenting is simple: one picks a post to respond to and writes a comment about it, letting the author of the post know what the commenter thinks about that post. Lately I’ve noticed a trend in commenting which is, in my view, equivalent to commenting with no useful information simply to attract attention to a particular site. This is basically the concept of leaving similar comments or the exact same comment on different sites. Whether it’s “I love your site” or “Wow, what a long read!“, I’ve noticed some readers coming to my site for the first time and leaving comments that I’ve then noticed posted on other sites by the same people. That’s comment trolling, or comment spamming, simply to get a site more visibility or comments. This falls within the realm presented by my earlier post, “Ethics of commenting – do they exist?“, in which I talk about the art of commenting also. Of course, there are users who really intend to leave similar typeo of messages on other sites because that’s the way they actually feel about different sites. However, if over time these users do not return or simply continue the same practice, I think it’s all right for site owners to delete such comments or even let others know what these commenters are doing. [...]