SiteRubix SiteComments: The dos and don'ts

bychristianWA

623 followers

Updated 9 years ago

Today I had the unfortunate displeasure of having to disapprove two comments through the SiteRubix comments tool. I did not feel at all good about doing so, but if I did not, how would they understand what makes a good quality comment? The comments in question would have added no value at all to my post and may have even caused a distraction.

It can be very frustrating to spend time paying it forward, taking the time to read an article and giving a well written, thought provoking comment with a question relevant to the topic of the writer's blog post only to receive a poor quality comment back.

While the system does have a check in place to ensure a comment's uniqueness, it is by no means perfect and you will get some poor quality comments. With this in mind I have come up with a list of does and don'ts that I follow when leaving a comment.

Do read the entire post carefully

How in the world are you going to be able to leave a good quality comment if you have not read the topic. Sometimes it seems as if people just look at the pictures real quick and write just enough to squeak by the system's unique check. Read and understand the content entirely. Once you have done that start working on your comment.

Don't critique anything but the content

This is not the place to critique site design, whether it is a positive or negative. We have another tool for that: the SiteRubix SiteFeedback tool. The comment tool is intended to get engagement between the reader to the author on the content he or she has written.

The comment tool is not the place to say, "Great job on your site so far," or "You should work on your menu structure." While these critiques may be helpful, and the intent is to help the site owner, this is not the place. If you really want to give feedback on a site, do so through the appropriate tool or contact the site's owner via PM or on their profile. The comment tool is to get engagement on your content.

Do remember that we give two comments to receive one

This is a good system and we should be paying it forward, but remember that we all give two comments to get one back. It can be frustrating to dish out ten comments to get five back only to have to throw two away.

We can disapprove the comment and get another one, and I will be exercising that option more in the future if a comment is not helpful to my post. I would encourage others to do the same. That is how we, as a community, can foster quality comments and help people to understand what is helpful and what is not.

Don't rush through it

This is not a race to get your comment done as quickly as possible.

Take your time and write out a well thought out comment. If you've followed these steps so far, you have thoroughly read the entire post. Start writing your comment and really engage the author. Go back and re-read sections of the post that really piqued your interest and focus on them in your comment.

Do proofread

You don't want grammar, punctuation or spelling errors on your own pages and posts. You don't want them in your comments either. Nobody is perfect and the recipient of the comment can address these errors that we may have missed by editing them, but they should certainly not have to rewrite an entire comment or even a sentence within the comment.

When approving comments, keep in mind that there is sometimes a language barrier between you and the person offering the comment. If that seems to be the case, and the comment is on the content, help them out by making the comment more readable.

Don't comment if you're not inspired

If you cannot come up with a good comment, move on to the next post asking for one. You can do that by simply clicking the "Offer Feedback" button again and another request will be served. In my humble opinion, there is nothing wrong with doing this if a particular post does not inspire you to create a good quality comment.

There are varying reasons for this. I try not to do it, but there have been times where I have had to because I could not come up with a constructive comment due to a world view conflict or just having absolutely no interest in the niche the author is writing about. It is rare but it does happen and you should not feel bad about it.

Do be honest

Be completely honest in your comment. If you don't agree with someone's assessment or opinion of a product or service or what they have to say in their content, let them know tactfully in your comment. This will allow the author to either provide more detail in a reply to your comment at the very least. You may even inspire them to go back and modify their post to make their feelings more clear or to provide more detail, thus, you have helped them build better quality content.

Just mind your manners when you do this. Say it in a way that is not confrontational or offensive. Remember, these are usually opinions we are talking about and you know what they say about those.

Do ask a question (if you can)

I always try to ask the author of the post a question. Is there something that you don't understand about what they have written? Do you need clarification on some product details? Was there a problem exposed but no real solution given? Aim for asking a question that will engage the author and allow him or her to expand on their thoughts. Maybe they missed something or they have already answered it elsewhere on their site and you have given them the opportunity to provide a link to answer your question.

With that said, sometimes you can write a good quality comment that expresses your agreement (or disagreement) with their content. You can do this by providing a relevant experience or opinion, but adding a question to your comment should certainly always be a goal.

Do aim for quality

I know I'm not perfect. I may have left a comment for a post that was less than imaginative, but I really try not to. This community works hard to help one another. Pay it forward in the quality of your comments.

What are your thoughts on comment quality? Do you have a comment checklist? Let me know in the comments.