Site Comments, You need to consider this!

byPieterStr

115 followers

Updated 7 years ago

There are so many tools offered on the WA platform and every single one has a valuable usage. I have been on several other platforms before but none has offered what WA offer. If you are a newbie like me this is for you. If you have been around the block for a couple of times and considered an old hand, this is for you. Don't stop reading, my approach is from a totally different angle, and hopefully, you will understand the message. This might be something you have never consider and can help you in your future.

I joined a couple of weeks ago and did the tasks faithfully from lesson to lesson and learned a staggering amount of technical stuff and could not gobble up enough information fast enough. You have to understand, I have a quenchless appetite for knowledge. Before I continue, let me offer my apology for the grammar mistakes in advance. I am not of your standard as yet. I will get there with your help off cause. With that out of the way.......Then come lesson 4 site feedback comments. This is were everything comes crashing down.

I offered my first comments and as always got screen 1, the feedback page and screen 2 the article. Went through the guidelines for the structure of the comments and made my notes, must contain a, b, and c. I start reading and writing my comments as I am reading. Hours later I am done! I do the spelling test and grammar test(with my free program) read through the comments I wrote and again check if it has the required a, b and c content. Well, I felt pretty good about myself as I thought it was good. After spending 2 hours on my first comment, editing, and rephrasing I publish. Went back to my training tasks and continue.

Unfortunately for me, my first feedback did not take long to reply. Got the message" Hi Pieter I would have like to approve your comments but I was looking for something short and just a few word for the comments". I thought, well no problem short one or two paragraphs, I can do that. Offered comments no 2. Did the same routine but now with short one or two paragraphs as redirected by my first disapproved comment. Before publishing, I checked the other pages for approved comments and yes there they were, just one or two short paragraphs just touching base. So I publish. A day passed and still pending. So I did one more. Another day past and all were still pending. I needed credits to get some comments on my pages so I did 10 more and then ask for 5 of my pages.

The requested comments on my pages come in and my offered comments were all still pending. Open my first comment, no problem short one-liner paragraph. Endless spelling mistakes. I thought would I want that comment on my public display? Then I saw 'edit' in their comments block. I click on edit and correct the spelling mistakes. Approve and publish. No 2 come in the same story, correct and publish. Comment no 3 were absolutely phenomenal. Four paragraphs with more depth into my subject, than any of the previous comments. Below all the beautiful contents in brackets were some eye-opening comments. Clearly, this was not to be published. Now I was conflicted as it was such a beautiful comment and I needed it on my wall. But not with the last two sentences. I went back and checked the comments test I conducted earlier. I remembered that I can edit and even delete words. Went back, delete the last two sentences(very thank full for pointing out the serious mistakes)approve and publish. I did the suggested corrections and publish.

Now, 5 day's later come my second pending result. Disapprove, but this time what he was looking for was what I delivered to Mr. a. Same-store 'Pieter I would have like to approve but....' Now I was totally confused. I did what Mr. a ask and suggested. Mr. b now disapproved. Unfortunately for me, I did 2 pages on Mr. b so both were disapproved. No 4 and 5 come in and then 6, approved! No 7 come in, disapproved, the reason " too many grammar mistakes". What! are you kidding me? This is not a white paper for my P.h.d. Not approving because of grammar mistakes? this was one too many. No 8 approve, No 9 Disapproved. No 10, well we are still waiting 7 days and counting still no result. Needless to say, the algorithm in the program has by now set me at 68% approve rate and marked me as spam. I was devastated as I did not understand the results. I checked the persons approved messages beforehand on their other pages and they were all done the same. Bottom Line, if you don't like the comment, change it to your liking. Add sentences or delete whatever you feel is necessary, but don't disapprove the comment.

I stopped in my tracks. I enrolled in the boot camp program, and my site had just been listed on Google. Something was seriously wrong here. How can some being approve and some not when the structure is the same Worst of all when I went back to the disapproved comments the comments on previous pages were even worst but approved. To give insult to injury, I am banned from using the tool. That led me to the following realization.

We are all different and lives in different parts of the world. We are all intellectually on different levels. For a lot of us, English is not our first language. English is only my 3 language. We all use different spelling and grammar add-on and programs. Some are using the free program but for those fortunate enough, the expensive bought programs. We are all part of a platform to help each other to develop and invest in each other's futures. We all interpret things differently. When 10 people read the same page of a script you will get 10 different interpretations. Just because I did not meet your expectations does not make my comment invalid or bad.

Before you blindly hit the disapprove button consider this: What is it this person is trying to tell me with his comments? Just because the comments did not meet your standard does not mean it is not valid. You had 10 ideas but only one or two made an impression and it was the only one I needed at the time. Just because I did not mention 5 more does not make it a bad comment. Consider this, if this was a public comment from a customer in India or Africa will you answer him? Have you ever consider what influence your disapproval of the comment will have on the other person? Never despise for small beginnings. We all start somewhere and we all learn on our journey as we progress. Have you not made the same mistakes when you started? Now you are making use of freelance writers and that is wonderful when you can afford it, but I am not there yet. With your help and God willing, I will get there. I am not saying just approve everything, but really to disapprove because of a spelling and or grammar mistake? that is pushing it over the edge. We all need the comments on our posts to help us with a better Google ranking. Do you realize that your actions can cost me a better ranking? To be part of a community and or platform we are woven together in one main goal to help and assist, to guide and direct. Why sit on a pending comment for days?

As a newbie. When you offer comments:

• Only offer one at a time.
• Wait until your result is in before you continue to the next one.
• When you are disapproved, keep it at the back door and do not base your next comment on the previous reason for disapproval. Every one is different and expects something differed.
• Never give comments on pages of the same author. Click not interested and move on especially if you had been disapproved by that particular author.
• when you do get disapprove, don't be discouraged. Build on your experience and improve your comment.

My future:

Well, it is uncertain for now. I except what happened was mainly my own fault, due to inexperience and a lack of wisdom. We all handle disappointment differently and what is important to you maybe not what is important to me. To you this maybe no biggie. To me well it is, so much so that I am considering to opt out. How can I continue if one of the greatest tools on the platform are excluded from me? I wanted to move too fast too quickly and did not give the system time to work. I don't know how the system works if I am blocked for a limited time or permanent? I don't even know if my story will be allowed to be published, I truly hope so. If there is one person out there that will think twice before they hit the disapproval button, it was worth it. If I can help one newbie not to make the same mistakes I did, it was worth it.