When The Need For Moderation Arises
For the longest time I’ve held that the comments section should remain free because I believe that it is more effective in encouraging an open discussion, which is what blogging should be all about. I love getting comments because I see it as opportunities to understand diverse opinions. Some may feel differently as they do not welcome opposing views, finding that those who do give those opposing views offensive. For many times I’ve argued with Arbet, Ederic, and Jon on many different things, but I do not find them offensive because the arguments were presented against my arguments, not against my person. That’s just the big difference between arguing and quarreling.
But some people, apparently, fail to distinguish between the two.
I think the first time I’ve experienced that in my blog was when I posted about an actor’s daughter and her idiocy. Flamers left some rude comments in my shoutbox, perhaps afraid that they might be identified if they leave comments in the comments section. Other instances included:
- My post on Malu Fernandez
- My MLM posts (here and here)
- Coke’s Biggest Surprise post
As I’ve always said, those who leave the most scathing comments dare not identify themselves. I think it is mostly attributable to keyboard courage. While I do not outright condemn anonymity, it is certainly interesting how certain people would suddenly become rudely confrontational when their identities are hidden. In a way, anonymity allowed these people to be de-individualized and thus, acquiring certain traits that usually a collective body has (I think this is perfectly mirrored in the case of the Malu Fernandez phenomenon. People may disagree with me but I still do believe that there had been lynching involved in that case).
Also, it can also be noted that there are people who tend to read selectively. They read some parts of the post and when some words offend them, they automatically leave negative comments, oftentimes leading to disjointed and off-topic discussions. It can also be very tiring responding repeatedly to those who, either purposely or unintentionally, misreads the post. It is as if:
- they don’t understand what you’ve written, or
- they don’t WANT to understand what you’ve written
And so, because of all of that, I’ve decided to put the comments section of the blog in moderation. Some may disagree about enabling the comment moderation because it may discourage those who’d want to leave viable comments or that it may create a negative impression to your commenters. It may also slow down the exchange of comments as readers will have to wait for administrator’s approval before they could read new set of comments.
In my experience, those who honestly wanted to contribute to the discussion aren’t really discouraged by comment moderation as I know of several blogs with large readership and very active comments section who have been using it for a time. Moderation may not discourage all blog trolls but, at least, it can decrease their number. And, as for the flow of comments exchange, I don’t think it will affect this blog that much because I find that visitors do come on a regular basis. It will be another workload though, with the need to check the comments before it appears in the site, but I think, it will be for some benefit of the blog and the readers.
So, for the mean time, comments will be moderated. Let’s see what happens next.
How about you? What do you think about comments and moderating comments?
i moderate my comments. remember yuga’s case? that’s why.
Irrelevant, hateful, and most importantly libelous comments are deletable. Comment moderation, for me, is amenable especially when the flow of discourse, or just a remark in response to the article, turns yucky.
About the libelous comments, the anonymity protects them (the yucky people) from being legally responsible with their remarks. Blah.
Neil’s last blog post..I repeat
Hi Prudence,
I believe that as a whole, the internet is susceptible to this kind of behaviour and scathing comments exactly because anonymity can be preserved. Moderation has also been a part of internet forums for a long time now and have been necessary because just like in real life, portions of a community will never be able to regulate themselves and what they say to others.
Maybe it’s human nature to let of steam about a topic sometimes or maybe people can get too emotionally involved and thus not think too clearly sometimes.
I’ve just started blogging myself and a few of my friends and I have been wondering what the blogging and social media scene is like in the Philippines and so have decided to blog about it. Due to my recent addition to the blogosphere, I’ve not really had a full look at things yet but on the surface, it looks like something that’s always been around the internet. Careless Commenting.
Cheers.
Benjamin Chia’s last blog post..A Goldmine is Discovered
I’m all for moderation. It’s quite useful when Akismet quits working, hehehe. :p
By all means, go for it! Best way to kill them trolls.
Jon Limjap’s last blog post..Profundity Addiction
I remember having this commenter on a post about Mad Miriam. He kept on calling me palaka. I never laughed so hard.
I don’t believe in comment moderation, because I’m a firm believer of free speech etc. However, I do delete comments. Also, comment moderation is ok; what is not OK is requiring me to login. That, I hate. =P
Arbet’s last blog post..Technical problems
Comments are not moderated in ederic@cyberspace, but I delete spam and flames left by anonymous cowards. Opps, by saying “anonymous cowards,” I’m not flaming naman, di ba? :p
Ederic’s last blog post..Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez at ang mga binibini ng Amazing Race
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
My site has a smaller “niche” audience, mostly confused and led from Google searches, so I do not worry about this problem too much.
Carl Demetria’s last blog post..At Home, Compiling
Hello,
Personally I am not for censorship. And that is what moderation represents. The very same precept that allows us to have blogs that are not kept in check should apply to others who wish to have their voice heard.
There will always be two sides to the coin. Is it fair for us to judge which side is allowed and which isn’t? A voter is anonymous as well. Should he be denied his rights based on that cloak of anonymity?
Should you choose not to place this comment I will fully understand. It will merely stress my point.
Viva la Internet Revolucion!
to jester-in-exile:
Yup, I do remember that. And it reminded me that how vulnerable people online could be.
to Benjamin Chia:
Yes, I do agree that people sometimes lose control of how they behave online. But then, as human beings, we should be always on our toes to keep ourselves checked. We cannot be too judgmental of others and how they behave, how they talk, how they relate to another person, but we should realize that there are universally recognized values that we ought to always keep in mind in dealing with ourselves, with others, and with our surroundings. It cannot always be, “I was angry so I did it”. If it was a little out of bounds, then the person who did should always take responsibility for it, not continually blaming “anger” or “human nature” for the action.
I agree that careless commenting abound the internet. It’s unfortunate, but it’s something that we have to deal with since we wanted a “free” internet because it comes with the blessing of freedom of speech.
to Jon Limjap:
Yup, I’ve noticed that I’ve got less spammy comments posted because all comments/pingbacks go through moderation first. It’s my problem really, spammy comments. Sometimes there are a number of them that slip through my akismet and thus, get posted. It can really be difficult to look for them and delete them, especially when they’re posted in my old posts.
to Arbet:
There is a problem, though, with deleting comments that already went online is that people would already have read them and wonder why you have to delete it. Not that it’s really problematic having to explain that to everyone, but I find it quite embarrassing for the owner of that comment that has been deleted. I don’t know…it’s just how I feel about it. So, I chose to just moderate all comments and if an owner of a comment see that his comment is not up, only he will know about it and maybe he could just ask me why it wasn’t posted. In that way, the problem will be kept between him and me, as the administrator.
to Ederic:
Yup, most anonymous comments are made by those who do not want to be identified with what they’ve said online. Also, it can give readers’ headaches just reading comments that really meant to be inflammatory, rather than contributory, to the discussion. So yeah, I’d also agree to deleting those kind of comments.
to Carl Demetria:
Don’t underestimate your blog’s audience, Carl. You might be surprised at the number of people who’re actually reading your blog. It could be through their phones, which visits do not register in most site meters. Or rather, that’s what I believe. Somebody tell me if this is true or not. Hehehe.
to dr. ernesto guevara:
I understand your point. But I think that would only be applicable in those blogs who severely moderate their blogs comments, to the point that they want to eradicate comments that oppose his views or expose his views in an unfavorable light.
Of course, if one wanted to reliably assess what readers think about the post, one has to listen to all sides. However, when obviously there are those who meant only to attack personally people who’re engaging in honest discussions, I don’t think it would be helpful at all and would be, instead, destructive. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to take crap in my own home.
What should be done perhaps is to setup certain reasonable rules in commenting that would be effective in a particular blog. And I’m thinking of listing such rules, not because I want to limit readers or commenters on what they should say, but only remind them there are still rules to be followed, in consideration for the discussion taking place, in consideration of people they may unreasonably and unfairly hurt, in consideration of what they should actually thinking when composing relevant comments.
At the very least, even a proxified connection, using Tor, or a phone, would have the IP address being used as a gateway identifiable to SiteMeter.
Some bloggers take the initiative to post controversial, even nonsensical comments. I believe it is more of a motivation to drive more readers to their sites. If these are anonymous comments, those may be created to deflect some attention to your site by inserting unfavorable words on the page. I think it’s more of a commercial motive than anything else; I still believe in the innate goodness of people.
Carl Demetria’s last blog post..Time Flies While Watching Errors
Your guidelines may in fact define the parameters of the blog. Yet, would it be fair to say that it should also be subject to comment to assess if the rules are indeed just?
Selectiveness is not always a good thing though. It has an elitist feel or a certain aloofness to it and I must say defeats the purpose of blogging.
Btw, the comment about “anonymous cowards” unfortunately is rude and derogatory towards a real group on the net. Had blogs not seen the need for anonymity it would not be a feature in blogs. We use a service provided to us by the internet. Who are we to scoff at it?
i understand your concerns. however, if i have the choice i will not moderate the harsh comments in my own blog. the only reason i am doing this is because of spam. i don’t mind personal attacks. i just hate spam. but then again, i’m anonymous (for now), so i may not really know how you feel.
marketingmanila’s last blog post..Bad Luck from 7-Eleven
Of course I moderate my comments since almost all of them are Spam. But even if I moderate comments, those comments which seem to oppose my own thoughts are still welcome. For me, it’s educational (or something like it) to know and argue about each other’s opinion. As long as it’s not a personal attack, I can tolerate them. :p
utakGAGO’s last blog post..That punch Febfair gave me.
Ms. Tess. Mukhang PExer yata yung nakasagutan mo sa isang post dito sa blog mo ah. hmm.. wala lang. nagulat lang ako nung nakita ko yung link ng blog mo sa PEx. oh, in case you’re not a PExer, PEx is the short term for PinoyExchange dot com.
aajao’s last blog post..rat is full of surprises
Moderation is for your legal protection . A subpoena was once sent to my sister’s home in CA because they found out my daughter lived there for the summer. A libelous comment was in the comments of her group blog. In the end, they harassed my sister because the US courts could not subpoena my daughter here. That entailed a retainers fee which was not cheap.
noemi’s last blog post..Links for 2008-02-20 [del.icio.us]
to Carl Demetria:
Thanks for the information. I’m not too knowledgeable when it comes to the Internet and computers
to dr. ernesto guevarra:
“Your guidelines may in fact define the parameters of the blog. Yet, would it be fair to say that it should also be subject to comment to assess if the rules are indeed just?”
- But what is wrong with defining the parameters this blog should follow? Isn’t it that in the beginning of a discussion, the objective is always clearly laid out, so as to guide all the participants as to what is the goal of the entire activity. Same with blogging. Perhaps, the purpose of blogging is different for each blogger. For me, I’d rather have a blog with exchange of rational, liberal comments, free of words whose purpose is to slander the good names of those who’re participating. I don’t believe that freedom should be absolute. We may gain so many rights, but with those come responsibilities.
“Selectiveness is not always a good thing though. It has an elitist feel or a certain aloofness to it and I must say defeats the purpose of blogging.”
- I do not find anything wrong with being labeled an elitist, as I believe every person, in one form or another, is an elitist in at least one aspect. It is how one uses that elitism that would matter more. And certainly, I wouldn’t want this blog to be a conduit for more hatred and unbridled anger. I’ve already seen that many times and I don’t want that for this blog.
“Btw, the comment about “anonymous cowards” unfortunately is rude and derogatory towards a real group on the net.”
- I don’t think it is derogatory. It was well explained that the term does not pertain to the entire group of people who’d rather remain anonymous online for numerous reasons. The term is only applicable for those who wanted to be rude and not be accountable for it, while the object of their rudeness becomes openly exposed to such attacks. The existence of anonymity wasn’t being attacked, but rather the idea that the anonymity was being used to inflict intentional harm towards those who’d rather discuss openly. It is not as if the commenter said all anonymous commenters are cowards. He clearly said that the “anonymous cowards” are those anonymous commenters who flame blogs.
“Had blogs not seen the need for anonymity it would not be a feature in blogs. We use a service provided to us by the internet. Who are we to scoff at it?”
- Well, if I’m going to follow your argument, then this should also apply to using the delete comments feature in most blog platforms. After all, this is a “service provided to us by the internet” also. So, what now then?
I think, at the end, we should just realize that the internet is free but some people just tend not to consider the responsibilities that come with the right for free speech. And if one will argue that the internet is free for everybody, then that also applies to the idea that one is also free to do what he deems fit for his own space. It does not take away people’s right to free speech in the internet, but rather, defines the structure by which one wants his space to be. If people cannot follow such parameters, then there will always be other niches that will suit their liking.
to marketingmanila:
But then, you do have some sort of parameters which you define as “tolerable” personal attacks, don’t you?
I do have tolerance for such (it comes with my line of work as I meet a lot of people with different idiosyncrasies). But then, there will always come a point during which commenters do really go overboard, one would just wonder why civility is such a burden to them.
There are pros and cons to comment moderation, but I think it all boils down to weighing the benefits against the disadvantages and prioritizing which you really want for your blog.
I don’t actually dream of having a blog with conversations going like this:
commenter1: A**hole, you’re an airhead, you know. You’re a bunch of crap.
commenter2: (to commenter1) Up yours, sicko.
commenter3: Which school did you come from anyway? They must be so sorry they’ve taken you in.
Well, of course, those are just examples. And I don’t think any productive discussion could come out of those kind of statements.
to utakGAGO:
I agree with you. I do not mind those who share a different view, as long as they keep it civil. One can always make an argument without having to attack the person. Just state the reasons for opposition and support those reasons.
to aajao:
Maybe so. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised. Hehehe :-p
to noemi:
Now that reminds me that I should have attended that RTD about blogging ethics and libel. Maybe next time.
I find comments in general to be incredibly difficult to maintain. In fact, on my own website I have done away with them for similar reasons, as well as due to spam. I think freedom of speech is important, but at the same time, when it’s your own personal website, your freedom of speech is #1 in my opinion, and anyone who is going to be incredibly negative just for the sake of argument should definitely move on or have their comments moderated and possibly removed.
With all that said, the Internet is a public forum, and no matter what, there will always be the “bad apples” out there to contend with. Fortunately there are many other positive aspects regarding the Internet, so it is a happy medium when it balances out.
Kudos to you with your website (it is one of my favorite visits on the Internet)…….
[...] Having experienced lots of instances where the healthy discourse on the comments section has been neglected, Doc tess decides to turn the moderation option on. Find out her reasons on her article, When the need for moderation arises. [...]
I’ve always moderated comments on my blog. Like what Ate Noemi said, it’s for your legal protection. Another reason why I moderate comments is because I get a LOT of spam comments and I don’t wanna waste my time deleting them from my posts. Rather spend that time to do something more productive.
Jaypee’s last blog post..CNN Producer Fired Because of Personal Blog
[...] shares her experience on comment moderation and her recent decision to turn on comment moderation on her blog. I’ve always moderated comments here in JaypeeOnline. Not only to prevent libelous comments [...]
[...] they want to write without due regard to the accuracy and the consequences of their statements. Tess Termulo of tesstermulo.com attributed this problem to “keyboard courage”. She noticed that [...]
Hi Tess! I just activated moderation in my blog. May nag-attack nanaman!
LOL nakakatawa kasi about britney spears na entry ko as in super babaw haha…then I checked the Google Earth addy via the IP and boom! Makati area…probably one of those lowlife headhunters.
Maki’s last blog post..When’s it’s not safe to ‘troll’ anymore