Tuesday 20 October 2009

Comments OFF Due to Bad Anons


Boho Girl (seen on right) of Boho Photography has taken a radical step. Denise has decided to permanently turn off the 'comments' on her blog because of some really nasty, negative, judgemental Anonymous commenter's. These 'bad' anons were really effecting her state of mind and so she drew a line and declared, 'Enough is enough'. I wanted to leave a 'Bravo' comment on her blog to let her know that I support her decision, but I couldn't! The comments were OFF. And then this got me thinking. How can you possibly be fair to all the blogs you read and give them all good, uplifting, encouraging comments and then also respond to all the comments people leave for you....and the merry-go-round of 'no time' continues...the pressure builds, you feel like a bad blogging friend and then your blogging self-esteem goes down the drain. I for one get super sad when I don't have the proper time to make comments on all the blogs I read - and I read a lot. (see my blog tour on right side bar) So what's a good blogger to do...I mean - how can top bloggers possibly do everything right? What do you think? Should we all turn OFF our comments or what?





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10 comments:

WendyB said...

It's sad that she got harassed so badly!

vicki archer said...

I for one like leaving comments and I love reading them LP. I think moderating the comments solves most of the problems....If someone gets nasty it is then your choice to go with it or not; to make it a statement, a cause or just plain delete it. I never make as many comments as I would like but I think bloggers understand that and know that it doesn't mean we are not reading. So I vote we leave the comments on and do not be intimidated. xv

Kitty said...

I hope she'll change her mind after the scab falls off from whatever missives were fired at her. Comments make blogs the interactive media we have all come to know and love.

Anonymous said...

I think comments are an important part of blogging. Without comments, posting on a blog is just a one way conversation with yourself.

I think that most people out there are decent and kind and actually interested in a discussion, but there are those nut cases who get their jollys by slamming someone's blog. I wouldn't want to think those "off" people would actually have the power to stop a dialogue from happening. Don't give them that power!!!

Moderating is a good solution. So is remembering that you don't have to take to heart what "the bad apples" say.
Colleen

Dianne said...

I am sorry she had such bad comments...no one gains anything by being rude. BUT...I do wish all comments were off. It would be more like reading a magazine or newspaper. The comments are so distracting.

boho girl said...

thank you patti for being so sensitive and supportive with my decision.

my reasoning for turning comments off is more complicated, really...and it took me 6 months to get to that place. i first tried moderating them but this drove this mean spirited person to leave even more hurtful words because they knew only i would be reading them (and then deleting them). it caused me and my family too much stress...since this person was not only bashing me, but my son and husband.

i need a break from it. a soft, gentle break.

i have read blogs with comments on and some with comments off and since i don't have a lot of time to read comments, it hasn't made that much of a difference for me but i can see how that dialog can be missed.

i do miss the feedback, the gentle love, the voices of others joining in...but i don't miss the stress and the fear of what may come when i share something. it started to taint my sharings.

its a journey and i am learning and growing from it.

love,
boho girl

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

What a bummer for Boho...because of one fat turd!

The beauty of blogging is you can have it your way...any shape, form or direction. And...you can change your mind at whim.

I like the two sided social aspect as much as I like being able to whip through and read what I want without feeling compelled to comment. I guess when it starts feeling like "work" it's time to re-evaluate.

My 2 cents.

All Things Bright and Beautiful said...

Negative comments were one of the ( numerous) reasons I took my blog down - only 4 in thousands but the angst they caused were one of the things that outweighed the joy of blogging.

I understand.

One day I may be back tho :-). I'm here - I'm just not "out there".:-)

She smiles:-)

Silke Powers said...

That's too bad she felt so harassed by negative comments! I find that I like blogs where I can leave comments. When a couple of my favorite bloggers went comment free, I found that I don't really visit them much anymore. I like the personal connection most of all... I also know a few bloggers who turned on comment moderation after they got some negative ones. That seems to work pretty well...:) Silke

corine said...

Yep it's tempting to take drastic measures, but then the enemy wins.