Your thoughts on Editing Terrible Comments
Hi guys,
### edited to clarify - I'm talking about weak, fluff comments that don't add any value or have any relevance to the blog post they are made in.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on editing comments received on your site (either from Wealthy Affiliate or general visitors).
Some of the comments I've received from general visitors (ok, visitors coming from Facebook because I've put my blog post up for comments in a comment share thread) have been basically spam. On the order of 'wow that's a great post'. I toyed with the idea of editing them to say something meaningful but decided against it out of respect for the person giving the comment - I think it would be weird to see a comment on a site that 'you' wrote but had been changed to say something you didn't actually say.
I have less compunction about editing WA member's comments as it feels more businessy - I am basically paying $1 for the comment so I want it to be a good one. Plus (slight rant) most are riddled with spelling errors and require editing anyway.
So yeah, would love to hear your thoughts about what you do. :)
Cheers,
Cath
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Most are doing it to get the money and probably don't even read the post. And changing someone's comment would be unethical. Just delete it and look for a better comment source.
Thank you Barbara. I was never comfortable changing comments.
Just to clarify, I am not paying for comments though you can now purchase credits to use for comments here at Wealthy Affiliate. I am just making the connection that a comment costs about $1 using this system. You are probably correct also that some members are not reading posts and just commenting to get their credit for a comment on their own site....
I quit using the comments here I received good reviews, but the comments were awkward because we are colleagues here and not consumers, if that makes since. I found the comment length required by WA to be extremely difficult when trying to comment, so I have avoided for a while. Too many here are just beginning and unsure how to write a comment or the difference between a comment and feedback. I don't have a good solution...
I have the same problem. I receive many feedbacks instead of comments.
I received one today, correcting me about my grammar. I find it very unprofessional and improper to do that in a public comment.
Not so interesting for my readers..
As far as the content goes, CathyLou, we would not tamper with it or, edit it any way, save for obvious typographical or punctuation errors.
We would still publish a 'negative' comment regarding any product or idea presented on our site, although it would have to fit the criteria of respectful constructiveness.
Any spam or overtly obnoxious negativity would summarily be dismissed.
Thankyou for the response. I haven't had any negative comments yet, but I would publish them if they are respectful and use it as an opportunity to present a strong rebuttal.
I'm going to stop editing the content of WA members comments and reject them if they are irrelevant. Hopefully they will improve their game and we'll get better quality comments overall.
Thank you Marion. You may have saved me a huge headache sometime down the line. :) if I could double like your post I would!
HI Marion, what if I delete the entire spam comment and whatever website they included and just rewrite something completely new?
As I said above, beware of editing spam comments because they could harbor malicious code.
I didn't know it could harbor malicious code even if you deleted the entire spam comment, I thought it was just possible if you edited it partially and left some in, so thats why I asked
Hi Cath, I know what you mean about spelling and grammar issues - drives me mad lol, (mind you I am a bit of a grammar freak!) I think it's definitely acceptable to edit those but I too would have to think twice about editing to such an extent that it's not the comment that was there in the first place! :)
Yes, spelling and grammar editing is needed on basically every comment. I think it is perhaps because people are typing on their phones.
Regarding content, I have edited one or two (from WA members) that were totally irrelevant to my post to make them more relevant. I think i will reject them in future in the hope that they will learn to do better.
Hi Cath,
I Haven´t had too many comments yet, and only edited some spelling in one of them.
I think it´s very ok to edit spam comments to your liking. It´s like using the Sunday paper ads for kitty litter or to fold a hat out, or whatever.
Thanks for the input Tezsie. I think i will avoid messing with spam in case they harbour malicious code as per Marion's comment.
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I realize this post is a year old, but I appreciate that it's still here because I had the same question. I won't feel weird about editing for grammar, missing words, and spelling anymore! I'd never edit content, but I don't want the person who was kind enough to leave a comment to look bad in writing. Thanks for the question.