My comment was disapproved - FOR ASKING 2 QUESTIONS! Why?
I know there are too many rants about various issues with comments. Here is mine, to add to the pile.
I got an article from Site Comments, read it thoroughly and left a comment with several sentences and 2 questions to the author.
It was disapproved with the wording of something like "it was a good comment, but I didn't ask for questions (didn't tick that option out of 4 available), so I disapprove"
I'm quite shocked. Usually, questions are the "gold mine" in the comments as they allow the blogger to add more content with keywords.
Let's say you REALLY don't want any questions. Then why not just remove them and leave the rest of the comment?
I'm really disappointed and kind of offended. Not a big loss, but I never had any disapproved comments before, as I try hard to make them good.
No need to say that I will NEVER leave a comment on that site again.
What do you think??
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I must admit I love people asking questions like you say gives you the chance to reply with some depth in the answer.
Maybe he was unable to answer the questions and didnt know you could edit it.
I think you have been unlucky here Mary, crack on with more comments and content its their loss not yours plenty of others out there wanting comments.
Martin
Hi Mary,wow i must of left comments on that same site,got the same reaction,I left a question,it was a subject i was interested in but not familiar with ,I was hoping to get a answer,you know maybe learn something...apparently her site was the holy grail ,and i am not worthy, OK, water off a ducks back ,new day thanks for sharing T.C
I try very hard to approve comments even when I have to re-write them. People do have a choice when requesting comments. They probably had reason to not want questions.
I understand your frustration but;
1. It was really good that u read the whole post
2. It was good that u left relevant comments
3. But when we leave comments we have to believe the person requesting knows what their blog needs.
So sorry u had to go through this. Please remember that constructive criticism is for us to learn from.
Laura
Maybe it's partially my fault for not noticing that there was not a specific request for questions.
But a question can be a part of any comment, isn't it?
Usually, it's a bonus for a blogger, not a disadvantage.
And there are better ways to get out of this situation when you see that the commenter just wants to help you and not make 50c in 1 min.
I do see your point. And again it is good that u read the post and left a good comment.
Think of it like this;
You spend your precious time writing a post. You know exactly what you are trying to say to your readers.
Someone comes a long and changes your post because they feel they can help.
Their change totally messes up what you intended for your post.
They wanted to help.
You didn’t see it as help.
Do you see how this can hurt your intent?
We each own our blogs and we each know what we need better than another.
Does this help?
This is one of the reasons we can choose questions with comments.
Even though you may not feel it is right it is a good way to learn and allow the person requesting the comment to have the autonomy they require.
Laura
I'm sorry, but I don't think you're talking apples to apples here. When someone leaves a comment, they're not changing your post or your hard work or messing it up in any way--especially when they're asking a question.
I believe the person requesting comments has a responsibility to respect the time and effort someone put in to engage with their content, which is what the commenter has been asked to do.
In a valid comment it's perfectly acceptable to add a question, and in fact, it's encouraged in our training! So if the requester refuses to answer them, they should be willing to put the time and effort to edit it out.
Respect needs to be given both ways--in this case I believe respect was only given one way.
You have a very good point. I did try to use an analogy to get my point across. It appears it did not accomplish my goal.
I wish only the best for you and much success.
Keep keeping on.
Laura
Hi Mary it was me who disapproved your comment. I’m sorry if you are disappointed. Honestly, I should probably have contacted you via PM to ask you to revise your comment. However I’ve had quite a frustrating time on Site Comments lately. I’ve been dodging the spammers and wading through several comments that include questions.
As you are probably aware, when we request comments we have the option of whether we want questions or not. I do not tick the circle for questions.
If I have to keep editing all comments I receive by removing questions it will not only take a fair amount of time, but sometimes the comment then becomes either very short or doesn’t make sense. In addition I prefer not to edit a comment someone has taken the time to write.
I understand the training teaches us that we should ask questions to encourage engagement. However, site comments gives us the option of not requesting questions in the comment.
I didn’t mean to offend you, hope you understand. No problem if you no longer want to provide comments on my site, I get it.
Hi - I applaud you for coming forward to put your side of the equation, I doubt many others would have done that. As the owner of your website, you have complete control as to what you wish to appear as regards to comments.
I think some of the responses here are somewhat overly critical to what, in the grand scheme of things, is a very small matter.
I'm glad you answered and explain your point.
Hope you read the other comments as well and can see that most of people don't think it's a good reason to disapprove.
The consensus here was mostly to distinguish between commenters who really read and try to help and those who come for the easy money. Which one did you think I am?
One of the ticks is "offer opinion", right?
So if one doesn't tick it, we barely can say anything without giving a reason to disapprove. PM would be a much better idea.
By doing this you will get bad reputation and people won't comment on your site.
You have control - you can decide not to publish.
But you should be fair to people who put effort into trying to help you with the best thing that 99% of bloggers like - the questions.
It's about the consensus of how comments supposed to work here, what behavior should be punished and what appreciated.
Thanks for your response Mary and whilst I take the comments of others here on board and think everyone is entitled to their opinion, it doesn’t change mine.
I have reasons for not wanting questions from WA commenters on my site which is why I specifically do not tick that circle.
I certainly don’t think you fall into the category of those commenting to make easy money. As I said I SHOULD have pm’d you. That is a mistake I made which I already acknowledged and apologized for.
However I’m not going to edit comments. I have the right to expect commenters will leave the type of comment I request. People can either leave comments for me in Site Comments or not, it’s entirely their choice.
I don't believe that not checking the box that says offers questions is saying that someone is doing something wrong by asking a question. It is included in the training from WA, and even in the email that tells you a comment has been disapproved you're told that a good way to improve your comments is by asking questions.
For me, it's a matter of respect. The time and effort that someone puts in to make a comment that follows the training for quality should be respected by the person asking for the comment. If that isn't acceptable to the requester, he/she should be willing to put in the time and effort to edit, not disapprove.
They are permanently banning people if the acceptance of their comments gets to low. Asking a question is not a good reason not to approve when you know the platform says we should ask questions.
Until there is a button for DON'T ask questions maybe you shouldn't disapprove for questions. Would love to know why you don't want people asking questions. Afraid of not knowing the answers?
We took the time to actually read your article to formulate a decent response and you threw it away while everyone else at WA is complaining no one will put the time in that we did. Best of luck with your site.
I always go by any feedback is good (except generic replies that have no context )- Additional questions allow you too get a more in-depth review and I say should be encouraged - If you ever get too offer me feedback ask as many questions as you wish .
I WISH people asked more questions when they left me comments! It helps me clarify things that I probably didn't mention in the original article and a lot of times it gives me ideas for new posts that I can add to my content plan!
I think that's a ridiculous thing to disapprove a comment for! Since they didn't appreciate the effort you put in and the opportunity you gave them (which was great!), I wouldn't ever comment on their site again either.
I seem to be offending many bloggers lately. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep or something. As for asking questions, I don't know why that is a problem since there is an approve and answer option. I have answered questioned I have received myself. It shows more interaction between the blogger and the commenter. Maybe the blogger is too tried to keep the conversation up.
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I'm sorry that happened. I wish people would realize they can edit the comments.
The person who disapproved your comment could have simply edited out the questions. It would have been easier and faster and a much better work flow to simply edit the comment.
Whoever disapproved of your comment is just making work for themselves.
Agreed.