Blog Etiquette

I have been a blogger for a few years now. I enjoy blogging and reading other's blogs. I love the social interaction and exchange of ideas available on the internet. However, some people do not understand proper blog etiquette. I'd like to share some basics that constitute proper blog etiquette. I'll use quotes from other blogs, as there isn't much to say that is new on the subject.

Commenting on the web is one of the most important factors that lead to the Internet social revolution, from the last few years. In the not so distant past, commenting and public social interactions on the web was more or less exclusive on forums and was limited by a series of complications. When blogs first became popular in the early 2000s, they were hailed and highly praised, not for their particular concept, but rather for their social innovation; a never before seen connectivity between the readers and the article authors. Readers could now freely and easily interact with the authors, publicly share and discuss the post’s ideas and form a bond with the blogger (http://www.lostartofblogging.com/the-comment-etiquette-the-guide-to-proper-blog-commenting).

Blogging is not always suppose to be a feel good kind of gig. Some people may have some harsh views, and others may agree wholeheartedly. It is okay to “agree to disagree.”Most readers will do a couple things after reading a post:

• Read maybe the first couple lines or the title and then leave the site

• Read the whole article and then leave the site

• Read and leave a comment in general

• Read and leave a comment in favor of the author

• Read and leave a comment not in favor of the author 

Some bloggers get really riled up when another person leaves a comment that seems negative. However, this is not to be taken bad unless it is truly meant to be so. It is an opportunity to open the floor to a civil discussion. Even if the outcome still is an “agree to disagree” situation, it is a worthwhile conversion, and likely to build a respectful relationship between the author of the post and the readers (http://blondish.net/agree-to-disagree-blog-comment-etiquette/).

 My sister-in-law was getting nasty comments from anonymous commenters when she started her blog, so she added a blog policy to her blog. She did this by changing her settings to moderate all comments on her blog before they get posted. When you comment on her blog, a little message pops up that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, and that she does screen comments and will if you are rude (this is all paraphrased). This is totally ethical to do, as the freedom of speech is only with respect to the government not infringing on your rights. You have no rights on someone else's blog. That is why there is also a place to remove comments in your dashboard. Just click on Comments, and you can remove whatever comment you don't like.

As for people who don't want anyone to disagree with them on their blog, they have the right to screen that out, too. However, they lose a lot of integrity when they do that, and fewer people will want to read their blog. After all, the whole purpose of the blog was to share ideas. If you don't want to listen to other people's opinions, why would they want to listen to yours?