@Odzyskiwanie Danych, digg like commenting sounds good… Moderation done by users…hmm, I dont know the impact of the same on individual blogs. Thanks for your thoughts anyways.

@Nihar, thanks for your views…and I am glad that you agree on the difficulties related to threaded comments. Some blogs where I saw an average of 10-12 comments per post before WordPress 2.7, now have 25 comments per post

@Harish, yes… blog commenting in its ethical form is the best mean to build backlinks. I checked out your post on backlinks as well

@George, I liked your simile -> ‘Blogs without comment is equal to a graveyard’

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Comment Luv and Keyword Luv are good in a way. It encourages commenting and also in exposes your posts.

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@Kim, thanks

I totally agree with your views on the need for commenting. The problem is that regarless of nesting/otherwise, it seem to be still difficult to track the topic. For example. I had a habit of quitckly scan through the post as well as the comments (in a linear way) before commenting myself. With nesting, my linear scanning is somehow interrupted and sometimes I wonder where to hit the ‘Reply’ button

@Shirley, I am in the same boat…though I know that currrent structuring of comments may not be ideal, I do not exactly have a real suggestion Also like you, initially I wasted a lot of comments without putting my URL as well.

I agree on the role played by the sidebar… I was thinking of some crazy stuff on where else comments can present

@Strategist, Somehow, I am yet to digest the threaded comments. I had implemented it on this blog long ago and removed it after a while.

Rightly said on the participation part. Regarless of whether it’s fore SEO needs or due to genuine interest, there’s participation!

@Richael, that’s the reality! I think we are all with the population as well.

You are absolutely right on the ideas generated by comments. The article that I just posted were based on queries on my comments in the last two or three posts.

(Hope you have gotten rid of that bad flu)

@Dennis, true…the discretion can be always applied while moderating. However, isn’t it a bad thing that the marketing side of commenting overtook the genuine intentions? Blame Google?

@Indo context, thanks buddy.

@Timon, I do the same.. i mean, the comment reading. And as you rightly said, commenting can create some long term relationship and patronage.

Thanks everybody, I am already feeling well and that’s why the replies

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I myself comment on different blogs with SEO in mind. But that is not all I expect from commenting. Some of my comments often compile up to become a post of its own…if the topic really interests me. Comments should encourage discussion while providing a new perspective to the original theme of the post. After all, blogs are another form of online community (as are forums and other discussion groups) so comments form an integral part of the everyday discussions.

Offtopic, I hope you are feeling ok now, Ajith. I am also down with flu…but not so down that I have to keep away from internet

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Comments are as effective as the authors who leave them. Some have great ideas while others are clearly commenting to keep themselves on the Recent Comments or Top Commentators lists or to win a Top Commentator contest. The rest may not have much to add but at least they do participate.

Your idea of having the comments next to the article is an intriguing one. I suspect we’d have to see it to decide whether we preferred them that way or not.

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And in response to your questions, I don’t really know how to improve comments. And I am not a fan of threaded comments at all. I think it makes it harder to track the conversation… And I don’t like how some opportunists use it as a way to bump other comments further down the list and get ‘preferential’ placement. So my ideal layout of comments would be chronological comments with the ability to quote previous comments. (eg. like phpBB forum comments)

And yes, comments are now used for SEO and marketing. That’s probably the main use. When I first started commenting on blogs, I never used my url. But now, even though my main purpose is not marketing, I always use my url because if I am going to comment, I like the benefits that leaving a url will give me.

@Kim: That is a good idea. I think comments next to the post is a great way to layout a blog page. However, it isn’t really practical because sidebars are typically in high demand. They house widgets and advertisements…

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I find that the comments serve three main purposes; 1. people who are supportive of you and your blog so they comment on many articles 2. people who have questions, need assistance, or have a opposite opinion they want to share 3. people who want to simply promote themselves through links, commentluv and the list of top commentors. I have done all three. I’ve found when I do number 3 I either lose interest in the blog or I end up becoming a supporter of it.

Blogs without comments would certainly not be the same and blogs that make it difficult to comment will not get any. For example, I follow the publication Scientific American on Twitter. They posted a link to an article, I read it and then responded to the article via Twitter. I didn’t comment on the article because registration was required in order to do so.

I’m still of two minds about nested comments. On an article with a normal amount of comments they really aren’t necessary. But on an article with say 30+ comments, people start having discussions and the nesting makes it much easier for the conservations to occur.

Comments next to the post is an interesting idea. I bet it could be done although I can’t recall seeing it anywhere.

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