Blogs, Comments, and Social Responsibility
by Joseph Dilworth Jr.
Have you ever read a particularly thought-provoking post on a blog that really made you want to leave a comment joining in on the conversation only to find out that the blog was “members only?” I’m not talking about blogs that make you register in order to stop spam comments, but the type of registration that requires a review by the blog owner for an indeterminate amount of time. Generally, I doubt one would write down their comment and save it until such time that they may or may not be accepted as a member of the blog. Besides, by then several other posts will have already buried the interesting post way down in the blog. There are very valid reasons for limiting who can and who can’t post comments on your blog, but there are also implications to consider when doing so.
The aforementioned spam comments are probably the most common reason for limiting who can comment on your blog. Spam isn’t just for email anymore as those that deal in such insidious things have now figured out how to fill your comments with all those useless ads and legally questionable too-good-to-be-true free offers. I haven’t given these idiots enough thought energy to research how they are able to spam comment, but it seems to be turning up more and more. Fortunately there are things like Haloscan commenting that you can add to your blog to ensure all your commenters are real live human beings.
Another reason could be that you only want people that you know to comment on your blog. This could be because your blog is on a very specific subject and you only want people who are interested in that subject to be part of the conversation. This is another understandable reason as you don’t want idiots ridiculing your knitting blog time after time. This is why celebrities who blog oftentimes don’t allow comments at all, except through email. This is perfectly understandable as they run the risk of too many people commenting to the point of hampering the server that their blog is on.
A more narcissistic reason could be that you really only want people who agree with your opinions to post comments. Here is where I think we run into a problem. First of all, if you’re going to post about things of interest to everyone, such as politics or community issues, is it really socially responsible to limit those who can comment to only those that you choose? In other words, what’s the point of making commentary or espousing an opinion that you know is going to be acceptable to some yet inflammatory to others, but you don’t allow those that disagree to speak their mind? I know of a few blogs that often post very passionate, sometimes factually incorrect or hateful content, yet limit comments to only those they approve of. If you want your blog to only be read by those that you’ve chosen, make it necessary to login to the blog to read it. Otherwise you just come across as a self-important.
In the real world we are insulated by like-minded friends and a narrow world view in the local paper or on the national news. The internet knows no such boundaries and is not limited to one ideology or thought process. Open your blog and, by extension, your mind, to the world and you may just be surprised by what you learn. If your core beliefs are too fragile to stand up to such an audience, then perhaps blogging isn’t for you. Then again, it may be time for a new way of thinking. In that spirit, I welcome any and all comments.
You can read Joe’s personal blog and freely comment on anything you agree or disagree with him about.
