Comments question.......

1. 71

   Diane Insideposted 14 years ago

   I have had someone who has visited several times and commented with very long comments on one of my hubs, He stopped for a few weeks and now comments to other commenters (very long comments), not to me, on one my hubs.
   
   They are positive comments, just excessive.
   
   What do you do just approve and don't worry about it?
   
   Or What?
   
   Does it even matter how much comments are on the hub?

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   1. 77

      Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Let people interact on your hub.  Unless they are spamming some links to stupid crap and jacking up your tag focus, let people participate in your ideas.  That means your hub is working.  Doesn't even matter if they agree with you.  If your hub is so good that people are emotionally engaged enough to pipe in to that degree, be glad you write so compellingly.

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   2. 67

      nicregiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Diane Inside!
      
      Normally I would approve all the comments and create a good and healthy conversation.
      
      However, if the person is posting nonsense or even stalking, then report it to the admins and I believe they will do something towards it
      
      Comments are good (regardless if they are positive or negative) as people are giving you a chance to know what others are thinking. If it is a bad one, learn from it and thank you the person. If it is a good one, keep up the good work and give yourself a nice small treat for a job well done!

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      1. 71

         Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah its iffy, I did look at his profile and he has no hubs written only comes to comment thats it. So I don't know don't think its stalking given the nature of the hub, but who knows.

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2. 0

   Website Examinerposted 14 years ago

   It's a menace. I would either deny them or tell him to back off. Many people are much more tolerant, and long comments may even add prestige to your hubs.

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   1. 61

      Teresa McGurkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well--if it were a form of stalking, that would be a menace. If it's someone genuinely interested in the topic, what's the harm?

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      1. 0

         Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Sometimes, comments are used for people to lecture, to show off and so on - then it becomes a menace, even if apparently "well-intended."

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         1. 77

            Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            If someone is showboating but is a moron, you just destroy them.  Deleting or dreading comments is an admission of weakness.  If you have a point, and it's good, and you have the rhetorical skills to carry off an argument (which you should have if you are a writer) then why run from the confrontation?  If you dodge conflict because it's uncomfortable you are tacitly recognizing that the opposition is right.  Nut up or don't write at all.

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            1. 0

               Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               If "you" means me, I take exception to what you are saying. If a comment is in poor taste, I will delete it - period. Others can set their own standards.

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               1. 77

                  Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  I was speaking to the universal you. I thought it was pretty obvious, so please don't spend any extra effort trying to be offended.  My point was that people (writers, "you") should have conviction when they write.  If they are just throwing up random crap that they can't defend, then they shouldn't write it to begin with.

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                  1. 0

                     Website Examinerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     I find your point of view somewhat overly broad and simplistic. People write for all sorts of reasons.

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                     1. 77

                        Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes, but do they write stuff they don't mean or have no commitment to? 
                        
                        I'm not even saying that's "wrong."  My point is, in a thread that is examining comments on hubs, that if you write stuff you are on the fence about, don't understand, are wrestling with, have a half-assed grasp of... and people comment on it in a way that feels aggressive or offensive, you (not YOU you, just You in general… don’t be offended) only have yourself to blame. 
                        
                        Don't write about stuff and post it in a public place if you aren't ready to deal with the consequences of your public declaration.  To think you can post some half-baked approach to some topic on THE INTERNET of all places and then avoid consequence is naive beyond measure.  (Again, I'm not saying YOU are naive, I'm making a broader point about people in general not an attack on you personally.)

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                        1. 71

                           Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                           Boy, didn't know I was gonna be opening up a can of worms. lol
                           
                           Thanks for the different view points. Guys.

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3. 61

   Teresa McGurkposted 14 years ago

   That's great--knowing that your hubs are generating interest and encouraging conversations among other hubbers is good.  The comments being left are an indication that you're doing something right! (unless of course the comments have nothing to do with your content. . . .)

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4. 86

   WryLiltposted 14 years ago

   As long as they are constructive, they should be fine. In fact they are good because they appear to google as 'fresh content'.
   
   I have heard some pro hubbers mention they don't like too many comments because it 'waters down' your keywords.
   
   But I think it's completely up to you. I don't know if there can be too many comments - some popular hubs have hundreds.

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   1. 71

      Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      fresh content, good point.
      thanks a bunch.

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   2. 73

      livewithrichardposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This is true, comments are part of what makes the hub dynamic since it is constantly  changing.  If your targeted keyword is used too much then the overall keyword density is affected.
      
      For the OP, extremely long comments will have a "watering down" affect on your keyword density.  Of course this is only important if you are concerned about earning adsense revenue from your hub.

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5. 71

   Diane Insideposted 14 years ago

   Thanks guys that's a help, so they are nice comments, and relevant to most of what the hub is about. I just didn't know if there is such a thing as too much.
   
   I really appreciate you input.

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6. 84

   wychicposted 14 years ago

   I also have someone who has left some very long comments on one of my hubs, and in fact it looks more like blogging than anything else (about a dozen or so very informational comments loosely related to my hub) and has actually been answering questions about the comments. Personally, I think it's great..."he" (not sure if male or female) is knowledgeable on the subject and the observations and experience jibe with my own experience in the area, and so he's basically saving me a lot of work while adding a ton of extra information to my hub. Where's the lose there?

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   1. 71

      Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      yeah your right, never thought of it that way, thanks a bunch.

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7. 71

   ddsurfscaposted 14 years ago

   I went and checked out one of your hubs, the one about being deaf in one ear, and the comments that followed, and I see what you mean.  I can suggest two things, both of which I might do myself.  One would be to take out the old comments so that the newer ones are easier to see.  The other is to maybe suggest if you have one person that is doing most of the commenting, that they could write to you at your email address, unless there is content in the comments that you want to have shared.  This is what I would and have done from time to time.

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   1. 71

      Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      okay, I see, I really didn't think about taking out old comments.
      
      And yes that's the hub I was talking about.
      
      He seems nice enough just long winded.
      
      And yes I guess I could suggest email correspondence as well, I'll have to think about that one.
      
      As I am not sure I want to keep up correspondence to the degree that he might. lol 
      
      In any case thanks for taking a look and understanding my quandry.

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8. 71

   ddsurfscaposted 14 years ago

   I had one hub that a lady began making long comments on, and it was about the subject, but more about the subject and how it was happening in her family.  I asked her to email me instead of making her personal life public on my hub, and she did.  I wrote her back one or two times, and she stopped communicating because the effect she was after was gone.  I believe she was just after attention, and after it became private it was over.  It is a different situation each time, and therefore up to your discretion.

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   1. 71

      Diane Insideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      well dd, I really do appreciate, your suggestions, and I will take it under advisement especially if he continues in this manner, so far nothing today.
      
      Anyway thanks, I really appreciate it.

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9. 76

   Aficionadaposted 14 years ago

   I was curious, so I checked this out.  Here's my read on the specific Hub and comments mentioned:
   
   You stated more than once (in it) that you are interested in knowing about other people's experiences.  You specifically requested comments.  The long-winded, frequent poster mentioned that he had found your "blog" through an internet search.  He was not a part of HubPages before that time, and apparently he joined only so that he could comment on your Hub.  (He didn't have to do so, but he may not have known that.)
   
   Since he thinks of your Hub as a blog, he's also apparently thinking that the comments are like a message board, where anyone can jump in and converse with others who comment.  I didn't read all of his posts, but that was how it seemed to me as I read.
   
   As for your question about whether to leave them or not, I agree with others who have mentioned that new comments add dynamism to the Hub.  If you want to direct his interest elsewhere, you could just suggest in one of your replies that he check out some of the other very interesting Hubs on health matters and hearing. 

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10. 63

    4x4posted 14 years ago

    >They are positive comments, just excessive.
    >What do you do just approve and don't worry about it?
    It's case to case, but 99% of the time I approve comments to my hubs.
    
    >Does it even matter how much comments are on the hub?
    I think it does matter but being relatively new, I am not a hundred percent sure on how that goes. But I am sure that a healthy doze of comments and interaction, do a lot more good than bad.
    
    Keep writing what you enjoy writing about, and I am pretty sure that whatever it is, it is working.

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