Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Commenting: Verification or Moderation, but not both!

Comments

We all want them but we want good comments, not spam or obscenities or links to porn sites. Blogger has two good ways of helping us make sure the bad stuff doesn't get through.


Comment Moderation


You get to this option by clicking Layout, then Settings, then Posts and Comments.



Comment Moderation has 3 options:

Always - the blog owner must approve every comment before it appears.
Sometimes - the owner moderates comments after a period of time.
Never - anything goes.

This option is a personal preference. Personally, I don't moderate this blog or my inspirational site, SusanStilwell.com (a Wordpress site).

Word Verification


This option is found under Comment Moderation, and has 2 options:
No - the comment immediately posts.
Yes - the commenter is prompted to type in garbled text. As of this writing, there is a second field that's a blurred photograph of numbers.

In theory, this is a good idea. It keeps automated commenting programs from leaving unwanted messages. 

In reality, it's a pain in the neck. Some of the text strings are indecipherable and I've had photographs that were completely black with no images. Plus, I've purposely entered wrong data and the comment posted anyway!

Word verification will also keep visually impaired people from leaving comments. As hard as it is for us to see, it's impossible for a visually impaired person to hear because their software thinks the garbled text is a word. Very frustrating!

Moderate or verify, but NOT both! 

(Tweet & spread the word!)


It's like wearing suspenders with a belt! Plus, it's annoying. Make your reader's experience on your blog as pleasant and simple as possible. You might even try taking everything off and running naked for a while!

But only on your blog. Don't get crazy...

Happy blogging!

Susan


I appreciate your comments and feedback - please leave yours below!

8 comments:

  1. Yes- not both, and I recommend the moderate comments option. A lot of readers get turned off by the inconvenience of verification. Blogger did a great job of catching spam when I "ran naked". I'd rather delete a few spam comments than lose readers.

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  2. I seem to have the hardest time deciphering word verification. I get it wrong often and sometimes I simply don't leave a comment because it's frustrating. I don't have moderate comments on my blog and don't seem to have a problem. Blogger does a pretty good job of catching spam but once in a while I need to delete an obvious junk comment. I encourage dialogue on Heart Choices so not everyone agrees with me and I leave those comments intact.

    Btw, do you know how to enable replies back to people who comment. I see many who have the same form of comments (like you do on this blog) but there's a tab for reply. I have been searching Blogger help. I know it's there but can't find it. If you know that would be so helpful.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

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  3. Uh...yep, you woke me up with that running naked comment! Not that I was dozing. Really. Your posts are always totally packed with useful info!!!

    Keeping on my jogsuit! (Even if I don't jog.)

    Merry Christmas!!

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  4. I agree, can anyone tell me where there is a sidebar advert about this, I find word verification gets more difficult to do, I moderate personally, I think spammers still get past verification but not moderation.

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  5. I have shared this with everyone, and re-blogged it crediting you with it, I hope that is ok.

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  6. Susan, I'm finding all your info on here really useful! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful knowledge with us :-)

    Quite a few of our writers in our church writers' guild have decided to start blogs. So they asked me to help them, yes, me!!! So I shared your blog with them for all the stuff they needed beyond the basics that I could do. Aren't you proud of me?!!

    Anyhow, our church is doing fasting in community this Lent using "A Place at the Table" by Chris Seay (great book) and they asked me to do a blog to encourage discussion and sharing of resources. Here it is http://cotsfastsandfeasts.blogspot.com/ Thought you'd enjoy seeing what ripples are moving out from your patient instruction!

    Blessings to you and yours this Lent!

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  7. OK, Susan,a plea for help! I seem to have lost the "comments" link at the bottom of my last two posts and have no idea how to get them back. I went into advanced on the template section and tried to find where I'd perhaps put the text as 'transparent' or something, but no luck. Help!

    Here's my link - http://acontemplativespace.blogspot.com/

    Thanks so much!

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  8. You have a nice blog. Do you want to follow each other in Google friend connect? Just follow me and leave a comment and I will follow you back :) We could follow each other on Google+ as well if you want. :) Cheers

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Thanks for the feedback!