an idea about after leaving comments
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often after i press the submit button after posting a comment, i do a double take when i don’t see my comment after the page loads. obviously this is because the author wants to moderate all comments, but it doesn’t leave any indication after i have commented, so i start to wonder if my comment didn’t go through (with dialup any thing is possible). maybe wp should put a notice after a person has commented in a blog that moderates its comments to avoid confusion.
or is thr any other way to know if one’s comment has safely gone through moderation and not lost in space due to dialup?
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Some themes do post the comment but have a “Your comment is awaiting moderation” next to it. That way only you and the blog admin can see it. Theme authors are the ones to do this really.
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maybe blog owners could inform their readers if they moderate comments and their themes do not have this feature since this is a theme dependent problem.
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Pain in the royal *cough* if you ask me. One of the forums I visit has this feature as well for certain subforums on it and it always throws me off.
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drmike: i don’t like the fact that someone moderates my comment, but at least i know whr it has gone if it doesn’t appear in the next page load.
but i am curious why do ppl moderate comments – if they’re annoyed by spam well, it doesn’t take much effort to delete it without the moderation mode is it?
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I moderate all comments because I do not want “tat” (useless crap or mindless raving) appearing on my blog. It’s my belief that anyone who wants to post “tat” can get their own blog.
Here’s a perfect example. I recently noticed that a badger wrote a disgusting personal attack against me on his own wordpress blog replete with scathing low life vilification and reeking of ego-manical malicious motivation not to mention obscenitites.
On one hand, there’s nothing one can do about this on another person’s blog other than to waste time and money in a legal suit for libel. On the other, if I had not moderated my comments then he could have posted this kind of “tat” on my blog.
I’m a strong believer in “Nihil carborundum illegitimatum” or Don’t let the bastards grind you down. No way! I say to allowing a *couging* egomaniacial *cough* head libel me on my own blog. And if I didn’t moderate my comments that could happen.
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well if it were me, i’d just delete it the moment i see it rather than going through moderation – but each to his own of course…
is thr any other reason why someone would want to moderate comments in their blog?
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I don’t moderate comments. However, as a part of the SPAM controls, if a post contains more than 2 links, it is automatically moderated. I have a blog elsewhere that requires I approve each comment. I find that cumbersome and really don’t like it but I have no control over that. (It’s on a newspaper site.)
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i don’t like the fact that someone moderates my comment
Oh, I agree but again it falls under “My blog, my rules” It would be better to see more people using a Comment Policy Page and stating flat out that any comments left will be moderated first before posting.
I know I’ve deleted three comments from my site but they were left by a total *cough* who though his political views were everybody elses. Or at least should be.
but i am curious why do ppl moderate comments
Honest answer – fear. They’re afraid of something being on their blog that they don’t like, they don’t want to see, or they don’t want other people to see. Probably a control thing as well.
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I allow comments without approval (one reason is I don’t have many comments ;) ) but just a day or so back I had to edit out details as some people were abusing each other’s beliefs. I had the option of deleting the entire comment or deleting small portions. I preferred editing out small portions as not all of what the person said was abusive. I did put in [edited] at the end of the comment.
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There’s just one glitch as I see it. Suppose the abusive and/or malicious and/or obscene comments had been read by several people before you got around to noticing and editing them. Now also suppose one of the people who read the abuse was the specifically identified target of the abuse.
Wouldn’t it be ebtter to moderate? At least that way you could assure that no one used your blog for the purposes of abusing another person.
This is my thinking and the reason why I do moderate comments. I have never yet edited, nor have I refused to post a comment I received. In fact, I posted a comment that I absolutely disagree with. It wasn’t abusive and that’s my bottom line. No abuse – no personal attacks. Argue your case, use sarcasm and hyperbole when you do so, but if your comment is deliberately malicious, hurtful and/or obscene then I will not post it.
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You’ll note that when I edit a post around here, I make a note of it as like kashmir does. It’s a good idea.
I don’t moderate before posting. If you’re worried about people posting garbage or abusive material, then it’s up to you. “Your blog, your rules.”
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I can definitely understand why people might want to moderate comments,particulary if they’ve had a comment/comments previously bordering on the personal or threatening to turn the blog into a fighting ground or similar. It gives you an opportunity to vet comments before they appear live to the world. It’s a very useful option to have. Blogs are picked up by feeds as well so there is every chance a comment you would rather not have out there gets out before you have time to do anything about it.
I started off moderating my comments, but changed this option to unmoderated because I personally 1 – remember how startled I was when I posted on a blog and the comment disappeared – I never went back to the blog, too many others to see. ( BTW I think blog owners really should tell visitors if they moderate comments so as not to leave people wondering and give them a heads up – I often like to review and edit my comments) 2 – I personally (unless I am really motivated) can’t be bothered to comment on blogs if I can’t see my comment immediately I post, maybe I shouldn’t be so impatient, but I am, and 3 – my blog is new.
I also feel that it puts some people off from commenting (although that may not always be a bad thing as it also makes people think twice before they post), so you risk losing potentially good commentors. I have noticed that there are some blogs – Problogger for example that moderate comments yet still have lots of posts.
Having said that, if I started getting a situation that Timethief had, which was particularly nasty or such as Kashmir had, that would probably be enough reason for me to consider moderating comments. I like to have the option to do so. As with most things there pros and cons, you just need to weigh them up.
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What the fluff! I have my blog check box marked that the administrator must moderate regardless of the other matches and britgirl says this isn’t happening. drmike are you out there? Is this a feedback issue?
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thanks for all your replies, this is an eye-opener of sorts for me. i probably still won’t moderate because i have yet to experience anything unpleasant with it, but seeing as how many resort to moderation after unwelcome content by visitors, i might do that in future though i really hope not. instead, i could try kashmir and drmike’s tip of editing and noting it.
britgirl: i think if you announce to your readers that you moderate, that would be even more of a turn off than switching on the moderation without notifying your readers, which is the case for every moderated blog i’ve commented on. :-P and tt probably has filtered you through the moderation so that it approves all your comments, whereas i seldom comment and got the moderation treatment :-( tt don’t i get the vip treatment too?
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I just got back from a political bloggers’ conference. One of the things they mentioned was the legal responsibility when editing comments. I had never edited comments anyway but from what I understand, if you do too much editing, you do open yourself up to possible liability. This may not apply everywhere, though.
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(1) drmike – I have sent in feedback in regards to britgirl’s heads up.
(2) For the sake of information sharing and interest only the law as it pertains to Canada with respect to cyber libel is as follows.
CYBER LIBEL REMINDER
Libel & Slander Rights and Wrongs
We live in a democracy and freedom of speech is our right, however, with rights come responsibilities. In Canada our freedom of speech is very limited. So while it’s true that we are all entitled to make ‘fair comment’ on any issue of public interest, the legal rule of thumb is: ‘fair comment’ must reflect an honestly held opinion based upon proven fact and must not be motivated by malice.
Accordingly, any author may go as far as to presume motives on the part of a person whose actions he or she is criticizing in print, provided the motives presumed are based on fact and are reasonable given the circumstances.
Both common law and provincial legislation protect every person in Canada from harm to their reputation arising from false and derogatory remarks being made about their person (defamation). Both slander (verbal) and libel (printed) are included in the definition of defamation.
Defamation is a ‘strict liability’ tort, which means it does not matter if it was intentional or the result of negligence, defamatory material is presumed to be false and malicious.
Although evidence of repetition to others is required to prove slander, such proof is not required in libel, the damage is presumed as it is published:
Thus, ‘whatever a man publishes, he publishes at his peril’. (Yes, you’re presumed guilty in law until you prove yourself innocent.)
Please be aware that writing on the forum (or anywhere else) under a pseudonym does not offer you or the site administrator any protection from a lawsuit for libel. It also does not offer protection from a frivolous SLAPP suit either.
Be aware that some folks have so much money, so little worthwhile to do, and tend to think so highly of themselves that they may commence a SLAPP suit (Strategic Law Suit to Prevent Public Participation in Political Discourse) at the drop of a hat. It can cost you a fortune and years of your life to prove you weren’t guilty. Even if you’re successful the legal award you get from the court will mostly go to the lawyer that defended you. Moreover, the rich person or corporation who frivolously sued you can and will write off all his or her legal costs of as a business expense.
So please be smart. Speak in the first person singular whenever possible. State “It’s my opinion that” or “I believe that” or “Correct me if I’m wrong but I think” and always take the cautious approach when complaining about anyone or anything.
Avoid commenting at all on issues that are of a personal nature. If you’re angry or hurt wait for a full 48 hours before you post. Then check your wording out at least 3 times for malicious intent (determination to hurt another person). Most of all limit your reporting of feelings of hurt, offence or outrage to only public issues.
Never ever state that something is fact unless you can absolutely prove it to be so, far beyond a reasonable shadow of a doubt.
Never ever rely on hearsay. If you weren’t there and you didn’t see it or hear it happen then you shouldn’t put your own neck (and the site administrator’s) out on the chopping block.
Thanks for reading this posting. I hope you found the information useful. I apologize for the preachy tone but it had to be said.
Freedom, truth and justice are there for those who think smart and are always cautious.
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VP – I think it’s to do with who owns the copyright of the original content and whether they give permission to change it. And or whether that permission is inherent in the act of posting comments.
I know we had this question on our team blog, but copyright law is quite dense, seemingly intent on confusing one, and we are still looking into it trying to find some guidance.We just haven’t had the time. If I write a comment to a blog and someone edits it, their editing it could completely change the sense of what I originally intended to say. Does that make me liable or the person who changed the comment if someone felt in a litigious mood? Like you say I think it depends on how much is edited. On some sites where user comments are encouraged there is a clear message that comments may be edited for brevity (usually the don’t get posted until they’ve been vetted). Not sure how this pertains to blogs, but it may be as well to find out. Does the comment become the property of the blog owner of the blog being commented on or does it retain the copyright of the writer? I assume that the writer retains the rights but again it’s a huge grey area that we should all be clear about.I don’t edit other’s comments, even for spelling errors.
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I need to look back over my notes from the conference as well as listen to the podcasts. One of the speakers was the Attorney General of Virginia and I’m pretty sure he mentioned the applicable laws. I just have to dig out the info.
The issue in question is defamation and who can be sued for it. That’s where the editing part came in. Too much editing and it becomes your post as opposed to the commentor’s.
Unrelated to editing, there is a blogger in the VA blogsphere who is being sued for defamation.
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