Misadventures in Blogging (3) – When the internet eats your comments

June 17, 2014 Discussion 31

Brace yourselves, Comments are coming!

TINA: So, I have had an exciting start to my blogging adventure. Write a blog Tabs said, it will be fun she said. To be completely honest it has been fun. I enjoy sharing my reviews and reading your comments and replying. I enjoy visiting your blogs and seeing what you guys have all been up to or what your latest review on a book may be. Here’s where the story gets interesting.  I have been commenting when I visit your blogs, today I was looking through your comments on The Goblin Emperor and visiting blogs from the authors of the comments,and commenting on it all and… well… NOTHING POSTED when I tried to publish! I realized after several hours of trying to get things working right that from the beginning NONE of my comments have been posting to other blogs!!! Oh man, so much time and so many witty comments wasted! Well, maybe not so witty, but hey you’ll never know now ; P Anyhow, I have finally got it figured out and have my settings on my browser correct thanks to my techy nerd of a fiance. From this day forward you shall see my comments when I visit your blog. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! 😛

twilight zone scream

TINA

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taking the opportunity to RANT about comments and give beginner tips!

TABITHA: Visiting other blogs and commenting back is all part of the fun but hey it’s also good etiquette right? It helps us get to know eachother and build community. So we always try to do that – but it can be like trying to wrestle a greased pig. I remember those days when I first started blogging and didn’t really know what to do and how to go about the whole thing. Heck some times I think those days never really end. I’m always learning things to this day some 3 years later. One of the biggest hurtles to conquer successful blogging is commenting.

There are so many different commenting systems out there that it can make commenting a freaking pain let me tell you. So here are some tips!

  • Googleplus (how we hates it) and it ties it to your gmail account – which is tied to your google plus which does NOT have a quick easy profile to pull up that user’s website.  – Update your google plus profile with your link to your blog.I also recommend updating your display name to reflect your blog like your Name (blog name) – it seems to be the trend lately.
  • If you leave a comment on a blogspot.com blog wait til after your comment has posted, click on your OWN name link and it should take you to your blogger profile – go up to the top right and edit your profile to add your web page. Some blogs send you to google plus and some send you to a blogger profile. I don’t know which does which – just something I’ve noticed.
  • WordPress.com (free version) versus WordPress.org (self hosted paid version) So if you are a self hosted blogger not only do you have your own wordpress domain wordpress login but you have to create a wordpress.com user login and password as well. Which is annoying as hell – then hope they sync together (mine does thankfully but I know Maggie and Tina have had issues with theirs already) Anyways – I recommend making them the same userid, whether you use the same password is up to you. Make sure when you create your wordpress.com user id that you choose the option to create a profile only NOT a blog. It will default to blog when you go to register and make an account.
  • update your gravatar profile with your blog url! Be sure to also add your blog url to places like twitter.
  • If you see random commenting systems that ask you to create a profile – go ahead if you want I tend to just use the “log in with twitter” option IF it is available because then poof it takes them to your twitter page which should have your blog url right there.
  • Captcha – the evil pain in everyone’s arse! Yes it deters spammers but it makes the lives of us regular commenters just awful. Oh captcha – oh how I hate you – let me count the ways. If you have captcha on your blog you might want to consider finding a different way to deter spammers because while you are deterring spammers you are also deterring A LOT of other bloggers from commenting.
  • Intense debate (makes you make an account) Livefyre (doesn’t this make you make an account as well?), DISQUS – another account you need to make or sign in as anonymous which means hey…who’s going to visit you back then – or with your twitter which is better I guess, I won’t even go into the other ones I’ve seen lately that look freaking stupid and you can’t even click on the commenters name for it to take you to their website. I’m sure there are more that I’m not mentioning.
  • The KEY THING HERE – is to always make sure your blog url is easy to find. Try to keep your name consistent across commenting platforms and maybe even your photo too. If you have a photo people will start to remember you better. If you have an email address with a domain on the end that always helps too.

So we all know commenting can be a headache and can take quite awhile to get the hang of. I’m still to this day trying to find a good method.

TABITHA

Tina

Tina

Gamer girl extraordinaire, law student, mother of twin boys and one lil girl. I can often be found taking care of my family, working on home renovation projects, reading, gaming, and all the while text warring with Tabitha.
Tina

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31 Responses to “Misadventures in Blogging (3) – When the internet eats your comments”

  1. blodeuedd

    I HATE google + and people really should do what you say. I can’t say how many times a winner of a contest has had a google + account and I have found neither email or anything at that account. And in other cases just to find a blog link is a mess
    blodeuedd recently posted…The Leopard – K.V. JohansenMy Profile

  2. Isa

    So what exactly was the problem for you, Tina, and how did you fix it?

    And ugh, I hate the different commenting systems so much. I really dislike that when I comment on blogger with my google account, it always defaults to some massively old blogger account that I made with that same email address a billion years ago. 🙁 And I think one of my least favourite things in general is that often the ticky boxes under the comment box are misleading as heck. Like, right now yours is fine because it has already pre-ticked the follow-up comments box. The right one. Cause there’s always two options for that and I always choose the wrong one where I end up getting aaaaaaaall the comments on the post in my inbox. (Which is still better than not getting any replies at all despite ticking boxes and having to remember where I commented to check back if there were answers.)
    Isa recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday • Books On Our Summer 2014 TBR ListMy Profile

    • Tina

      I actually let my tech savy Fiance at it. Turns out my privacy setting on my chrome browser were turned up to high and it wouldn’t let the websites do their are you a bot thingies… I also learned about the check boxes after having my email blown up one day! It’s all a journey right?
      Tina recently posted…Review: Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. MartinMy Profile

  6. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I’ve definitely lost comments…irritating. But Captcha is worse!! Seriously, there’s not *that* much spam that you need to do that to people who are trying to comment on your blog. And I firmly believe that commenting is just good etiquette — no, people don’t have to return every comment every day but if someone comments on your blog for a while and you still don’t leave even one comment for them ever…you kind of suck. (The worst offenders are those who then bitch on Twitter or other social media about how they don’t get many comments. Duh. You don’t comment so you don’t get comments.) Uh…sorry for the little rant there. I’ve been holding it in for a while.
    Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted…And then there were three: SHATTERED by Kevin HearneMy Profile

    • Tabitha (Pabkins)

      You can rant to me all you want sister! I Hear you and TOTALLY agree. You know its sad too because sometimes I find a blog that I really think is cool. So I’ll make it a point to visit frequently and comment hoping to get some sort of interaction back and forth going because I like their content. But if I never get any interaction why am I going to keep going to visit? I WON’T – no matter if I think they read similar stuff as I do because to me blogging is about community and conversation and INTERACTION – yes and etiquette. So if it’s all going one way it’s pointless.

      I think at some point some bloggers get ‘too big’ so then they literally can’t comment back to everyone that visits but they should still try to make an effort. But if I consistently comment and like you said never get a response I figure they just can’t be bothered with me so I stop visiting. There are many other more friendly people out there I can expend my friendliness on *wink*

      I may be bad sometimes about returning comments on my own blog if I’m behind by a few days. But I always make it a point to go visit them back on THEIR blogs. So they get a visit and some love as well.

      So yeah… I want to rant rant right along with you!!
      Tabitha (Pabkins) recently posted…Review: Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. MartinMy Profile

  7. Annie

    I love leaving comments but honestly, it can be a pain in the butt like when your comments get lost! I think the WordPress system is the best but really, I don’t mind. I do agree that making multiple accounts can be really annoying but as I’m all signed in for them on my laptop, I don’t need to worry about forgetting them. And grrr, CAPTCHA. Words cannot express how much I detest seeing CAPTCHA on blogs.
    Annie recently posted…Vampire Academy by Richelle MeadMy Profile

  8. La Coccinelle

    I used to have Captcha set up, but I got rid of it… because I suck so badly at it myself. I still moderate comments, though. If I didn’t, I’d get all kinds of spam. I tend to get these comments on really old posts that say stuff like, “This is a really interesting article. If you want to run your own home-based business, visit my link.” Yeah… I think I’ll stick with comment moderation.
    La Coccinelle recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR ListMy Profile

  9. kimberlybuggie

    I’m so glad you ladies posted about this and that I’m not alone. There are so many things that can go wrong just by commenting! haha funnybutnotfunny and I get Captcha, but wow. I hate to say it but I am less likely to comment on your blog if you have Captcha. There’s already sometimes weird stuff like comments having to be approved and/or disappearing. I don’t want another hurdle! Though I totally understand all of these things and why they are important.
    Great post!
    kimberlybuggie recently posted…Review: Fracture by Megan MirandaMy Profile

  10. Kirsty-Marie

    I would have cried if that happened. I get pissed off when I write a long comment, make a mistake, go to backspace and goes back to the main page. :/ Captcha’s are the devil. Nooo captcha’s, just go away. 🙁 Personally I love commentluv, so much easier.
    Kirsty-Marie recently posted…Review: The Long FallMy Profile

  12. Angie @Angela's Anxious Life

    google + is the WORST commenting system. I only comment on one blog with it and wish I didn’t have to. I hate that my comments are public with that too… just a nightmare. I had to switch out of the Blogger commenting system. It was always screwy and I never could reply. Finally I switched to Disqus and love it. The thing that sucks about Captcha is that I have typed out a long comment go to submit it and then Captcha shows up. I don’t want to not comment because by now I typed out a long comment. Just sucks!
    Angie @Angela’s Anxious Life recently posted…Comic Adventures Issue #13My Profile

  13. Reviews from a Bookworm

    I hate when my comment gets eaten and doesn’t show up and you’re forced to write it again… NOT FUN! I also hate captcha and all the different ways and hoops needed just to comment on some blogs. I hate to say it… but the having to reload a page and only realising it after you have typed it all out can be really frustrating. Thank god for copy & paste! 🙂 I think my blog url is easy to find but I am going to start checking that now.
    Reviews from a Bookworm recently posted…Five Friday Favourites: Favourite HeroesMy Profile

  14. Finley Jayne

    Trying to leave comments can be such a pain, ugh. It seems that most of the blogs I follow are on blogger, and usually the only way I can leave a comment is with my google+ account, yuck!

  15. Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms

    I HATE commenting with Google. Hate it so much. I have more than one Google account, and it usually always picks the wrong one. When I visit blogger blogs I get headaches. They don’t have like WordPress where you just fill out your info (or have a username) and that’s it. Sometimes I use the name/url option, because it’s the easiest one, but other times I just feel the laziness set in and not comment at all (even when I had the perfect comment).
    Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms recently posted…Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer MathieuMy Profile

  17. Miriam @ Inky Realms

    Yep, totally joining you on the CAPTCHA hate! Numbers I can deal with (ish), but letters are so frustrating. Actually I find all the different login systems are quite frustrating, because if I’m not using my regular computer I always forget my password and give up in frustration.

    Comment luv ftw, right? I’m shifting to WordPress soon and it will be the first thing I set up!
    Miriam @ Inky Realms recently posted…Book Review: Child of a Hidden Sea by A. M. DellamonicaMy Profile

  18. Miriam @ Inky Realms

    Yep, totally joining you on the CAPTCHA hate! Numbers I can deal with (ish), but letters are so frustrating. Actually I find all the different login systems are quite frustrating, because if I’m not using my regular computer I always forget my password and give up in frustration.

    Comment luv ftw, right? I’m shifting to WordPress soon and it will be the first thing I set up!
    Miriam @ Inky Realms recently posted…Book Review: Child of a Hidden Sea by A. M. DellamonicaMy Profile

  19. Charleen

    I flat-out do not comment on blogs with CAPTCHA anymore. There are plenty of blogs out there that don’t make me jump through hoops, and I’d much rather spend my time there, thank you very much.

    Related topic, and since it came up for me just now… I’m not a fan of your weird refreshing thing. This is the only blog I’ve ever seen it on, and it’s annoying because when I visit blogs, I open up a bunch of tabs and then work my way through them. Maybe this is something spammers do too? I don’t know. But now I’m seeing a message that says “You’ve let the page sit all alone and sad for much too long – Did you take a nap? Because I’m trying to deter spamme–” and then it gets cut off and I can’t even see the rest of the message, but I get the gist. So I copy my comment, refresh… and have to wait 15 seconds before I can publish the comment. No, it’s not as annoying as CAPTCHA… but it’s still annoying. Just one reader’s opinion.
    Charleen recently posted…Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts – #26My Profile