www.Wednesday: My blog, my rules. If you want ‘free speech,’ go get your own blog!

Blog comments are both a blessing and a curse. They are an excellent way to receive feedback from readers, and interact with them. They are also a great networking venue. However, for every great comment you receive as a blog administrator, you’re likely to have to delete at least one spam comment, threat, or vile insult. There are basically three methods that can be used to referee the comment sections of blogs.

Filters

Spammers continue to try to use pingbacks and direct comments to sell their wares, regardless of how clear the blogging community makes it that they are not welcome, and there are many ways to deal with this. One is through filtering software, such as Akismet. You’ll still have to periodically review the comments sent to spam, however, because sometimes relevant comments are sent to spam.

Your blogging software may also allow you to set and adjust certain filters. For example, in Blogger, the blog administrator has the option of requiring “word verification” (”captcha”), to filter out spam. In Wordpress, there is the option to automatically filter comments that contain more than a certain number of links, or from new commenters that have not left a comment before. I also have the ability to set my filter so that I have to review every comment that comes in, or have users register and verify their e-mails before leaving a comment. Filters can also be set to catch comments that contain certain words such as vulgar language or other “red flag” words on certain topics.

The problem with these more stringent filters is that it discourages not only the unwanted spammers but also the new readers from commenting.

My very good blogger friend, Leslie Carbone, who is a libertarian with a very strong belief in freedom of speech, found herself recently in the position of needing to set a spam filter for the first time due to problems that she was encountering with behavior that was “over-the-top obscene and contribute nothing of value to public discourse” by commenters on her blog. She explains her rational very eloquently in her post from earlier to day, I hate doing this.

Comment Policies

Comments on a blog post can reflect positively or negatively on the blogger, especially by new readers to that blog. In some extreme cases, especially in cases where negative (possibly untrue) information is shared in the comment section of a blog, a blogger could be sued for libel. It’s unlikely such a lawsuit would be successful, but who wants that hassle? Plus, if targeted readership on a blog might be offended by off-color humor, or vulgar language, the blogger may wish to set a policy that comments containing such matter will be deleted.

Bloggers who have been around awhile, and receive hundreds of thousands of readers a day find it necessary to not only filter their comments and set very strict policies, but also make it very difficult for commenters to gain “membership” to be able to comment. Examples are Michelle Malkin, HotAir, Little Green Footballs, and Ann Coulter. Requirements might including being online at the right time during a registration window, certifying willingness to comply with terms of service full of legalese, or being able to verify an ISP-based e-mail address. These extra security measures are necessary for high-profile bloggers who commonly receive death threats (and who have a fan base that is more than willing to jump through hoops to be able to comment on their blogs), but are really too extreme for the average blogger who is trying desperately to build a readership.

Attitude

Contrary to what some bloggers and some blog readers seem to believe, a private blog is not a “public space.” Yes, most are open to the public for reading, but the blogger is ultimately responsible for the content on his or her blog (including the content in the comment section), and is under no obligation to allow readers to comment.

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, comments are a great way to network, and interact with readers, but just as in a private home or in a private business, the blogger has the right to set the tone and ambiance, and to kick unruly guests out at will.

And no, it is not hypocritical to support “free speech,” and first amendment rights and at the same time to implement what more obnoxious commenters may refer to as “gestapo” tactics that would rival airport security. Just like our Dad’s used to tell us (paraphrased), “My blog, my rules. If you want ‘free speech,’ go get your own blog!”