Should blogs have comments?
That’s the question that Day 9 of the comment challenge asks. It’s an interesting question that is discussed here on the blog Eloquation.
I agree with several of the points Sameer makes about carrying on a discussion and responding through your own blog. But his commenters also make some very valid points. For example, some commenters may not have their own blog, or they may not think their response or the issue is worthy of a full blog post of their own.
Personally, I don’t see it as a black and white, either/or issue. In the past, I have frequently chosen to respond to a discussion with my own blog post. That is what I do when I want to make a longer response to the issue, when I think it’s important enough to want to spread to more readers, or when I feel very strongly about an issue. I like to leave comments, however, when I have a small contribution to make, want to add support or validation for the author, ask a question etc.
It’s a little like the issue of tags and categories - the differences can be a little unclear, as they seem similar, but they actually fulfil quite a different purpose, and both can be very useful tools.
So I vote for leaving comments open AND for continuing some discussion on my own blog - that’s what I intend to do anyway.
Extremely well articulated Suzanne.
Thanks for the great discussion (I found your post via a trackback).
You’re welcome Sameer. Thanks for following along. I love how many new blogs I have found through the comment challenge!
My tips and advice are exactly that tips and advice based on my personal opinion and observations on what works well. Personally I don’t agree with turning off comments but Sameer and many others have their own valid reasons for why they don’t allow comments. The key is its our blogs — and these are our choices to make.
I do use a combination of posts and comments to respond to other bloggers comments but am less likely to write a post because it takes me considerably longer to write and its harder for readers to keep up with the conversation when its spread across different blogs.