Tripter Blog

It’s a delicate balance between encouraging comment spam and encouraging legitimate comments. Frankly, I’m prone to keep my ideas to myself since I have plenty of work and my hands hurt enough as it is. But if I can benefit my site or a client’s site, then maybe it’s worth taking a minute to write out some thoughts.

Unlike some, I don’t write anything unless I have something useful to say. But I also usually won’t take the time to share an idea if there isn’t some encouragement - and a link is often just the encouragement I need. I link being able to link to my blog, or to another website of mine or a clients if I feel like it. I wonder how many people are like me. Sure, allowing URLs to be placed on your site encourages spammy comments like “Great post!” but it also encourages people with good comments to take a moment out of their day.
The proof is in the pudding: if comment links didn’t serve a purpose we’d all have removed the “Website:” field from our blog comment systems long ago. Some have done this (like Engadget a few months ago), but perhaps they won’t just lose their spam; they may also lose some valuable comments (and readers). I certainly find myself going there less now that I know I can’t benefit from a link when I add a comment. I’d rather read (and contribute insights) on a site that gives me something in return.

In general, it feels like blogs and, especially, message boards that allow users to give themselves a link, become more popular than those that don’t. Has anyone noticed the same?

(Originally posted as a comment on The Undersigned)